With all the Neuer praising going on, I was thinking about what our Dave could learn from watching him. For me, the one big hole in De Gea's game is his occasional indecision when it comes to coming off his line. Watching keepers like Neueur and Lloris this tournament really brings that home. It's not even about coming to claim high balls too (the traditional criticism of continental keepers) so much as being consistent and decisive when it comes to advancing off his line to claim or clear a ball, inside or outside his box whether in the air or on the ground. I don't think he does this enough and it's a defensive vulnerability for our back four as a unit. Doesn't even need to be a charge out, dozens of yards upfield. Watching Neuer get down to block crosses at the edge of his six yard box reminded me of how often we see low crosses go right the way through our box without any intervention from our keeper.
De Gea doesn't need to do the whole "sweeper keeper" thing but he's a quick, athletic footballer who could do a lot more clearing up around his box than we've seen from him so far. So yeah... yong and lernin...