Jeff Stelling: Merse, do you think he could sort that defence out by buying another goalkeeper in the transfer window? If you look at David de Gea again, in the Newcastle game, certainly for the first goal he has to be culpable, doesn't he?
Paul Merson: Yeah, I think the first goal was a poor goal - I was saying to Tiss just then. I mean, the save, he pushes it straight into his hands and he didn't have to do that. He's a young goalkeeper. I don't think that is the problem. I don't think that if you spend £15-20M on a goalkeeper, I don't think he will save them too many more points. I think he's done alright, I think he makes the odd mistake. I mean, for me the fullbacks push so far forward it's a joke. I mean, people go on about Evra at the moment and he's scored a few goals - that is just covering the cracks. I mean, both fullbacks - you feel sorry for Evans and Rio Ferdinand and Vidic because they're just playing two at the back.
JS: I just want to stick to de Gea at the moment because, you know, Matt the crowd are on his back at the moment.
Matt Le Tissier: Yeah, yeah they are. It is tough for him, especially... they've conceded the same amount of goals at home that Southampton have.
JS: You can see the ire, the anger of the crowd when he does this.
MLT: This is just poor, this is a lack of confidence, Jeff. It's a complete lack of confidence.
PM: He's probably thinking it's pouring with rain, the ball's wet, I'll get rid of it - I'll punch it.
Charlie Nicholas: I think he's done that three or four times. I think it was the Fulham game, Jeff, and he came and went to punch it and it hit, I think it was Vidic when he was fit and went in for an own goal. He was all over the place at doing that. Three or four occasions that game and I think, you know, Alex Ferguson gets to the stage where players get: he's been out, he's brought him back in, he's left them out, he's brought them back in and none of the two goalkeepers have nailed it down for people to say "right, ok, it looks as if we're going to get stronger in that department", and he'll be sitting there thinking to himself if that problem is just the goalkeeper - I think it is broader than that, I think Evra has been really poor defensively. I think right back has been poor. I think Smalling looks as if he's badly needed games but there's mistakes there, but if the problem is goalkeeping and the manager's eye, then that will be sorted.
PM: If you're talking about getting a goalkeeper, and getting someone to play for now and in the Champions League and you want a good shot stopper, then, Shay Given?
JS: Hmm, I was thinking more someone like Begovic?
PM: Yeah, yeah Begovic is top drawer. I don't know how much he'd cost, though. But yeah, yeah he is top drawer.
They then go on to discuss other things like Carrick, our attack and whether we'll continue the way we have been doing, then back to the goalkeeping situation.
JS: We talk about goalkeepers, Phil, I mean, you saw an ex-Man Utd keeper play at the weekend in Ben Foster. I mean, there was a save at the end and we weren't sure if it was a save or not initially. I think we're pretty convinced it was now but..
Phil Thompson: This was absolutely... but, in fairness to de Gea, he can do these things - shot stopping. It's his decision making on crosses and whether to come or not, which confuses him.
JS: Is Foster a better keeper than de Gea?
PT: More reliable, because I think he's English and he knows and has been brought up to communicate with his back four, come and deal with things more, but that was just sensational. That was at a time that if that had gone in, they could have ended up getting beat.
PM: Same scenario with both goalkeepers, the club is probably too big for them. Probably too big for them, you know? If de Gea would have done that somewhere else and punched it, the crowd wouldn't have gone on like that, like they did. At big clubs, sometimes people can't do that.
