Yes I know you could, and I would also. This is why I said that I was very conscious of not including him in the options list, because he is indeed excellent.
However, the points a, b and c that I listed would put him out of contention in the face of keepers such as Akinfeev and Adler.
Firstly: Has he really done remarkable? He got relegated, he failed to win a single trophy aside from the Intertoto Cup... No, he hasn't done remarkable. He has done well considering the defence he has had put in front of him, but you can't just say 'it's only Newcastle' because Given was at Newcastle when they were one of the biggest clubs. It is so so simplistic to blame everything on the defence. Just like people say Barca's defence is so great so VV is a crap goalkeeper. No - he is not, and Barca's defence isn't so great. Madrid's defence has often been crap (until this season, perhaps) and yet Casillas is one of the best, if not the best GK in the world.
Also, you don't play in a team with a bad defence because of random reasons, you play there because you haven't merited a move up to a better club. Why have Arsenal and Liverpool - to name a few, not replaced their bumbling goalkeepers with Given if he were so great?
Never mind that - at this point you have to compare him to the other players who I have put on the list but may or may not merit a place ahead of Given.
Akinfeev and Adler both play for clubs who are better than Newcastle, and are either currently participating in top European competition or if not this year then have consistently done so. They are the undisputed no.1 keepers at their respective clubs. More importantly, they have reached these prominent positions at the ages of 23 and 25, respectively, which is a full 8 years younger than Given. This is significant, and certainly tips the scale in their favour if we consider them to be of roughly equal ability.
Secondly: Ireland did not qualify for Euro 2008, nor did the qualify for the 2010 World Cup. They did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup, nor did they qualify for Euro 2004. They did not qualify for Euro 1996, nor did they qualify for Euro 2000.
In fact Shay Given has only ever participated in international finals competition in 2002 in Japan & Korea. So yes, saying that Ireland are a crap team is a slight exaggeration, but Shay Given's Ireland have indeed been crap, just as Hungary have been, in that they've failed to qualify. Ireland are bad because they failed to qualify for 6 out of 7 of the international finals, which is an 86% failure, which imo classifies as not world class. However, Akinfeev and Adler are at the head of the international footballing world as they are no.1s for two massive teams. Russia made the semis under Akinfeev during Euro 2008 and Given was at home watching him make world class saves to win Russia the tie against the Netherlands. Russia failed to qualify for the World Cup in 2010 just as Ireland did in the knockout phase, but if you look at the wave of talent and strength coming from the east in club competition, Russian qualification for the Euros in 2012 and the next WC is a safe bet. And then you have Adler whose case doesn't even need to be argued since he is with the Germans, who are always there, always good, always successful, and always piss me off.
Thirdly: Of course, I know given will probably go on to play for 4, maybe 5,6 more years. But I think anyone would say a 23 year old performing at the same level as a 33 year old is more deserving of note.
Nah, everyone can have an off-day, but he was shocking with Kalou's shot.