[Pat Cat]

If you watched that match today and didn't realise how much of a problem his poor distribution is then I really give up.
We have absolutely zero chance of controlling possession of he's just going to kick the ball out of play or straight to an opponent with most of his passes.
This alongside the usual timidness, being rooted to the line, zero communication or organisation with his backline and zero command/authority of his box.
He's 100% the only goal-keeper on the planet that has nothing at all to say to his defenders when they're getting set up to defend a corner, as a goalkeeper and, a senior player now, he should be taking charge and organising the defence but time and time again he says and does nothing apart from shout "awayyyy" as the ball comes in, it's infuriating.
As I've said many many times before, the only way in which anyone could convince me that De Gea is not a massive liability would be if goalkeeping was all about shot-stopping but it's not, that's a fact and always has been.
It's not that he's just ok or below average at the other aspects, he's absolutely atrocious at all of them.
At this level of elite sport, fine margins are everything and I'm genuinely baffled how anyone who knows anything about football can watch a Man Utd match and notice how much of a major problem this is for us.

Side note, I'm well aware that the outfield players were equally shambolic with their ball retention today but the difference is they actually get criticism for it whereas De Gea gets made out to be our saviour.
So long as he is our goalkeeper we will remain a mid-table side, fact.

You've summed it up fantastically. It's no coincidence that he 'shines' when we're awful and looks far worse when we're a better team. He doesn't possess the skillset to play in a great modern team.

 

[Bebestation]

Same shit.

Great reflexes but other than that he leaves a lot to be desired.

No distribution. No ability to come off his line.

I actually feel that any other goalkeeper would have been able to collect the cross that went past Lindelof and Varane that led to the goal.

 

[JeffFromHK]

he had great saves but he kept booting the ball out of the touchline in the 2nd half and invited pressure on us

 

[RuudtheRed]

His distribution was poor today - he kept lumping it to a Villa player when under no pressure. Having said that, there's no way he could have done anything about the two goals conceded. It's funny how people wave away his great saves and say the goals he concedes would be saved by any other goalkeeper

 

[Oranges038]

If you watched that match today and didn't realise how much of a problem his poor distribution is then I really give up.
We have absolutely zero chance of controlling possession of he's just going to kick the ball out of play or straight to an opponent with most of his passes.
This alongside the usual timidness, being rooted to the line, zero communication or organisation with his backline and zero command/authority of his box.
He's 100% the only goal-keeper on the planet that has nothing at all to say to his defenders when they're getting set up to defend a corner, as a goalkeeper and, a senior player now, he should be taking charge and organising the defence but time and time again he says and does nothing apart from shout "awayyyy" as the ball comes in, it's infuriating.
As I've said many many times before, the only way in which anyone could convince me that De Gea is not a massive liability would be if goalkeeping was all about shot-stopping but it's not, that's a fact and always has been.
It's not that he's just ok or below average at the other aspects, he's absolutely atrocious at all of them.
At this level of elite sport, fine margins are everything and I'm genuinely baffled how anyone who knows anything about football can watch a Man Utd match and notice how much of a major problem this is for us.

Side note, I'm well aware that the outfield players were equally shambolic with their ball retention today but the difference is they actually get criticism for it whereas De Gea gets made out to be our saviour.
So long as he is our goalkeeper we will remain a mid-table side, fact.

Ah, Come on now.

Don't you know. He's back to his shot stopping best. He makes some saves and adds to his YouTube reels, what more could you possibly want?

 

[Remember the geese]

No one player is the problem, but he is certainly a problem. He is what he is. A world class shot stopper, but everything else in his game is either very mediocre or non-existent.

 

[CloneMC16]

If you watched that match today and didn't realise how much of a problem his poor distribution is then I really give up.
We have absolutely zero chance of controlling possession if he's just going to kick the ball out of play or straight to an opponent with most of his passes.
This alongside the usual timidness, being rooted to the line, zero communication or organisation with his backline and zero command/authority of his box.
He's 100% the only goal-keeper on the planet that has nothing at all to say to his defenders when they're getting set up to defend a corner, as a goalkeeper and, a senior player now, he should be taking charge and organising the defence but time and time again he says and does nothing apart from shout "awayyyy" as the ball comes in, it's infuriating.
As I've said many many times before, the only way in which anyone could convince me that De Gea is not a massive liability would be if goalkeeping was all about shot-stopping but it's not, that's a fact and always has been.
It's not that he's just ok or below average at the other aspects, he's absolutely atrocious at all of them.
At this level of elite sport, fine margins are everything and I'm genuinely baffled how anyone who knows anything about football can watch a Man Utd match and not notice how much of a major problem this is for us.

Side note, I'm well aware that the outfield players were equally shambolic with their ball retention today but the difference is they actually get criticism for it whereas De Gea gets made out to be our saviour.
So long as he is our goalkeeper we will remain a mid-table side, fact.

Can't agree more with this post. His distribution was absolutely awful yesterday. He kept kicking it out of play and passing straight to Villa players. He's one of those players that you find it hard to criticise, because a lot of people will point to the world class reflex saves he makes. You can't talk about the rest of his game, because he makes good saves. He probably wouldn't have to make as many as he does if he were a more proactive keeper.

We still have more pressing issues to fix, but his negatives are definitely a problem.

 

[Siezard]

I am sure he can improve in his distribution as he uses to be great. He has quick feets and used to throw long balls as well.

 

[::sonny::]

Same shit.

Great reflexes but other than that he leaves a lot to be desired.

No distribution. No ability to come off his line.

I actually feel that any other goalkeeper would have been able to collect the cross that went past Lindelof and Varane that led to the goal.

This

I still prefer Henderson

 

[bond19821982]

Same shit.

Great reflexes but other than that he leaves a lot to be desired.

No distribution. No ability to come off his line.

I actually feel that any other goalkeeper would have been able to collect the cross that went past Lindelof and Varane that led to the goal.

Bit harsh. To come for it , your starting position should be bit of advanced. That would mean , you are exposing the near post and given that attacker had enough time to look and shoot, it would have been suicidal.

I would ask my defence why was there a man free at second post.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

I agree with what people said about great reflexes. Perfect when your team conceded lot shots. Other than that, is there any of his attribute you want to be a modern keeper? Not like I'm trying to recommend to sell DDG this summer but it's definitely a position that I would like an upgrade after the key problems are being upgraded.

 

[Oranges038]

I agree with what people said about great reflexes. Perfect when your team conceded lot shots. Other than that, is there any of his attribute you want to be a modern keeper? Not like I'm trying to recommend to sell DDG this summer but it's definitely a position that I would like an upgrade after the key problems are being upgraded.

Everything he doesn't do has nothing to do with modern keeping though. Communication, sweeping, claiming high balls etc. have always been part of goalkeeping. He's never really been that good at any of it.

The most modern part of being a goalkeeper now is being expected to show for the ball and being able to control and pass it as well as any other player on the pitch. He's just not very good at that either.

 

[TSE123]

De gea (as written above) is a good goalkeeper when it comes to shot stopping and reflexes (related to this, he often seems to be positioned well). BUT he is not the kind of keeper who is going to steer the defense, dominate his 6-yard box or who is the 11th outfield player when in possession. It doesn't mean he is a bad goalkeeper; simply that he is not a perfect fit for United at the moment. This makes an unconfident team worse. There are few things as unsettling for a defender as knowing that the keeper might struggle with the ball at their feet. A keeper - in the style of Neuer or Hart (at their best) - would make a big difference for the whole team - from defending to build up of play. Two CBs and a keeper with good feet would calm things down a lot and give United the chance to keep possession. Is Hendersson the solution? Im not sure. Maybe.

 

[sullydnl]

There's no real doubt that his claiming, sweeping and ability on the ball is severely lagging.

The only question is to what degree he can maintain his current shot-stopping form. Because (loathe though some may be to accept it) it would be extremely difficult to argue that his current shot-stopping form doesn't compensate for his poor chance prevention skills as he's been operating at an insanely high level this season, even by his standards.

If that form continued then he'd obviously be some way down our list of priority issues to deal with, despite his very evident flaws. I mean realistically he's currently the only candidate for our POTS, so the criticism has to be placed in that context and most managers would leave him be while they tried to address our many other issues. But I find it hard to see how this current form won't regress, at which point he'll quickly rise up the list of our problems once again.

Basically in the medium term I still think he needs to be replaced. But he's done enough to buy himself another season and certainly enough to see off the challenge of Henderson, who aside from having his own downsides as a keeper has also been generating rumours of a rather questionable attitude. Rather than calling for Henderson to replace De Gea when that clearly isn't going to happen, it would be more interesting to ask which young goalkeepers out there should we be targeting who actually have the potential to be a top class replacement for DDG.

 

[Wilt]

Six year £117,000,000 contract (£117m)

£19,500,000 per year = £375,000 per week = £53,500 per day

Wonder how much that works out for each clean sheet….

 

[united for life]

for me, he is the main reason we are not fighting relegation this season. he lacks certain attributes, but I don't think he is the immediate issue. We have much bigger player problems to deal with at the moment

 

[Longshanks]

If we want to be a high pressing side, we have to play with a high line as much as possible, to be able to play with a high line you have to have a proactive goalkeeper willing to sweep up far from his line.

Also if you want to be able to play out from the back effectively against a high press you need a goalkeeper that is comfortable on the ball.

Being as though de gea is neither of the above and both of the above are important in us being able to to Improve and get back to being a top side again. I would say De Ge is a massive problem. Great on his line making saves. Shite at everything else, and I mean really shite. One of the worst in the league at commanding, organising, sweeping and distribution.

He looks good in a struggling side because he's busy enough to make enough saves to mask his flaws. In a side thats playing well he doesn't look so good because you notice all the times he doesn't come for the ball, or he kicks it meekley staright out of play or stays firmly rooted to his line or retreats like a coward when he should be coming to claim/challenge.

De gea and pogba are two players i have had enough of, both vastly overated, overpaid and perennial underperformers. Both the epitomy of you tube footballers, look great in a highlight reel but in the actual nitty gritty of a high level game found wanting.

 

[KennyBurner]

One day when I have the time I will have to write a thread on how lazy and limited he is to our progression as a team. He is the biggest reasons why we cant play from the back. You watch other teams and see how comfortable their goalkeeprs are at distribution but not this guy after 5 years.

 

[KennyBurner]

for me, he is the main reason we are not fighting relegation this season. he lacks certain attributes, but I don't think he is the immediate issue. We have much bigger player problems to deal with at the moment

Definitely agree with this. He always refuses to play out from the back. He wont do it if he feels threatened.

 

[Seij]

Definitely agree with this. He always refuses to play out from the back. He wont do it if he feels threatened.

World-class shot-stopper, one of the very best.

Unfortunately, his weaknesses (air dominance, sweeping, passing, pressure resistance) are at the bottom of the PK goalkeepers and I think this really does hurt the team. The defenders do not have confidence in his ability to control the ball and pass out from the back. He also won't sweep behind the defense forcing our defenders to sit back. For a relatively tall goalkeeper, he is horrendous at claiming balls in the air.

What makes the highlight reels are his picturesque saves though. He is the highest-paid GK in the world by some distance but is nowhere near the top in terms of overall ability in modern football.

 

[atkar83]

Six year £117,000,000 contract (£117m)

£19,500,000 per year = £375,000 per week = £53,500 per day

Wonder how much that works out for each clean sheet….

I wonder how these negotiations go. Did United just offer that much hoping to keep him? If they offered $300/week, would he have said no despite no other goalie in the world making anywhere near that? Why are they so poor at contract negotiations? Whats the point of all these commercial deals if they lose most of it on pointless contracts?

 

[NewYorkRed]

One day when I have the time I will have to write a thread on how lazy and limited he is to our progression as a team. He is the biggest reasons why we cant play from the back. You watch other teams and see how comfortable their goalkeeprs are at distribution but not this guy after 5 years.

I could show you a clip like that for literally every goalkeeper in the world, whats your point?

DDG is amazing, wouldn’t trade him for too many in the world. He’s also a United legend, and the disrespect he gets is unreal. He’s been the best GK in the league this year. Both Ederson and Allison have made huge errors this season, and Allison in particular had a nightmare year last year too.

 

[JB7]

I could show you a clip like that for literally every goalkeeper in the world, whats your point?

DDG is amazing, wouldn’t trade him for too many in the world. He’s also a United legend, and the disrespect he gets is unreal. He’s been the best GK in the league this year. Both Ederson and Allison have made huge errors this season, and Allison in particular had a nightmare year last year too.

Bolded - so has De Gea, probably more so but people don't talk about them for some reason they seem to want to make ridiculous statements like "without De Gea we'd be fighting relegation". Because it appears some of our fans seem to think the only two available options are De Gea or an open goal.

He hasn't been the best goalkeeper in the league btw, Jose Sa has. And he certainly isn't "amazing". He's essentially a modern day Shay Given (obviously better but you get the drift) and it would be comical that he's the best paid goalkeeper in the world if he was at literally any other club.

 

[NewYorkRed]

Bolded - so has De Gea, probably more so but people don't talk about them for some reason they seem to want to make ridiculous statements like "without De Gea we'd be fighting relegation". Because it appears some of our fans seem to think the only two available options are De Gea or an open goal.

He hasn't been the best goalkeeper in the league btw, Jose Sa has. And he certainly isn't "amazing". He's essentially a modern day Shay Given (obviously better but you get the drift) and it would be comical that he's the best paid goalkeeper in the world if he was at literally any other club.

I’m sorry after you compared him to Given, I know for a fact you know absolutely zero (obviously you may know a little but you get the drift) about the sport.

 

[SoCross]

Weird thing is his distribution was one of his assets when he first joined us.

 

[Red_toad]

Weird thing is his distribution was one of his assets when he first joined us.

Yep we’ve developed a habit of coaching good attributes out of players. I’d say Dave had his best spell under Chris Woods, he developed very well as a complete package under him, shame Moyes turned the rest of the squad to turd.

 

[JB7]

I’m sorry after you compared him to Given, I know for a fact you know absolutely zero (obviously you may know a little but you get the drift) about the sport.

Weird because being purely a goal line goalkeeper pulling out ridiculous saves was Shay Given to a tee. The fact that that was all he ever did was why he didn't get a proper move at any point in his career. That is exactly what De Gea is - although as I said, on a much higher level, of course as his reflexes are on a different level entirely - so yeah, they are very comparable in terms of styles, if anything Given was more vocal than DDG but so is the average church mouse.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Great game, kept us in it the first half

 

[calodo2003]

Good game from him.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Fantastic game from him.

 

[arnie_ni]

So good

 

[lost7]

And people still say he's not good enough. We would have been 2 0 if not for him

 

[IhabX7]

Wonderful keeper. Back to his best this season.

 

[#07]

For whatever reason DeGea is back to his 2017/18 form. Thank God.

 

[TheGame]

One of his best seasons to date.

 

[slored1]

Great keeper but he's got to claim some of the crosses. Shot-stopping is second to none though.

 

[Oranges038]

Couple of good saves.

But, still standing looking at crosses and his distirbution was again quite poor.

 

[Longshanks]

And people still say he's not good enough. We would have been 2 0 if not for him

If we went really radical and played no goalkeeper whatsoever, maybe. Couple of good saves tonight but they were the sort of saves you would be dissapointed he didn't make.

 

[Aint gota Kalou]

Game summed him up. Brilliant at saving shots, not only that but saving them and not spilling into danger.

Very shakey under the high ball and his kicking annoys me. I'm nitpicking though he's class.

 

[KjaAnd]

Some great saves tonight but my God, why the feck doesn't he come off his line to claim even the easiest of crosses?! I don't think I've ever seen a keeper so bad in this regard. It's infuriating.