Radek Vitek joined Middlesbrough from Manchester United this summer

After Middlesbrough shipped another two goals against Cardiff City, a conversation around Radek Vitek’s start at the club was ignited.

The goalkeeper signed from Manchester United this summer in a deal worth an initial £7 million, and was one of many eye-catching and ambitious transfer moves from Boro in the transfer window.

But, 11 games into the new season and Vitek has kept only two clean sheets and has conceded 16 goals. It’s unfair, of course, to attribute that only to him. The goalkeeper is but one part of a bigger defensive unit, and Boro’s defensive frailties this season have been of concern.

And it’s for that reason that the conversation around Vitek, and similarly around Sol Brynn last season, is so interesting.

Right now, Vitek’s stats don’t suggest he’d made a positive impact. His goal prevented rate is -1.95, which suggests, based on the quality of chances that have resulted in a goal, Boro should have conceded 14, rather than 16.

His save percentage of just 59% puts him 19th among the Championship goalkeepers so far this season too.

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And yet, Vitek hasn’t made any errors that have led directly to a goal. Being hypercritical, there are a couple where you question whether or not he could have done better, but they certainly weren’t errors, and haven’t been defined as such in the official records of statisticians either.

Even Cardiff’s first goal on Saturday didn’t immediately look great for him, as he was beaten by Jack Moylan at his near post. But watch the goal back and, aside from the fact that Moylan should never have got into a position to have that shot, when he does get there, the finish is close range, powerful and quite emphatic.

The more I watch it, the less convinced I am that Vitek has any right to save it. If he had saved it, we’d be proclaiming it an excellent save, which begs the question: should he be criticised for not saving it?

There’s always a conflict when it comes to the numbers and statistics and the eye test. The numbers might not look great, but unless we’re being far too harsh, the reality is, Vitek hasn’t done an awful lot wrong.

His commanding of his area could certainly be improved, particularly given his giant frame. But in terms of shot-stopping, he’s merely part of a team that don’t tend to concede many chances, but when they do, they’re usually clear cut.

The numbers back this up too. Only two sides have conceded fewer chances than Boro. But, of the shots they’ve conceded, only six sides have a higher ratio of shots to goals conceded.

That could lead to questioning of the goalkeeper, but, again, the eye test tells you, unless you’re being ultra-critical, there’s very little Vitek could have done to prevent many of the 16 goals he’s conceded.

The flip side of that is, because he’s not facing many shots, he’s also not getting the opportunity to make the kind of saves that earned him rave reviews last season at Bristol City, which would potentially change some of the narrative around his start at the club.

The conclusion to be drawn, ultimately, is that we might have to change the way we judge goalkeepers at Middlesbrough.

It’s arguably the toughest position on the pitch anyway. But at Boro, and the way Kim Hellberg’s team currently play, it’s becoming a bit of a thankless task.

The other is that, perhaps those who were so harsh on Brynn last season might now realise that the Teessider wasn’t as bad as the narrative around him at times suggested either.

Brynn was, largely, a very good Championship goalkeeper. Over the course of the season, he did make a few errors, and he did let in a few that you felt he should have prevented.

But he also had similar problems to those that Vitek is facing, and was a young goalkeeper who could have learned from the experiences of his first season and developed from it.

You could draw the conclusion that Boro may not have needed to spend the money they did to bring Vitek to the club this summer then, though the ambition shown to do so should certainly not be criticised.

Vitek will no doubt hope to have a greater impact as the season progresses, making whatever saves he can to help his side when needed.

And in the giant Czech, who, it should not be forgotten is himself only 22, Boro probably have a keeper who will not only develop into a Premier League-ready star, but one who might even prosper more from the increased shot rate he faces if Boro do achieve their promotion ambition.

Vitek is a good goalkeeper. Middlesbrough isn't currently an easy place to showcase that.