I stress on the same point. Our keeper's role is much more demanding than that of constantly 3-5th place clubs. Its even more demanding to the Italian top sides where being an excellent shot stopper is usually enough to give you a good chance at top club level.
David De Gea (SAF confirmed signing!)
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I stress on the same point. Our keeper's role is much more demanding than that of constantly 3-5th place clubs. Its even more demanding to the Italian top sides where being an excellent shot stopper is usually enough to give you a good chance at top club level.
They won't have a choice. I dont see him renewing his contract with the interest that is going to develop in him as it runs out. Also as club captain and legend, I can't see them forcing him out either.
I doubt that he will end up our second choice keeper though.
Your point is of no value. Because it has no bearing on what I pointed out. The aerial demands on EPL keepers are the same through out. As long as a De Gea has that aspect of his game down he is unlikely to fail with us if signed. Because he already possesses ice in his veins type calmness and unrelenting self belief. 2 pre-requisites for being a successful keeper for United. Because the role carries with it pressure and great expectations & demands constant concentration for a keeper to deliver the few times they are called upon.
I don't want him as our keeper in any capacity. He is Barthez part 2.
The aerial ability is the same throughout but the pressure to perform is not and so is the demands asked by the keeper (ball control, leadership, delivery of the ball etc). You really have to be a complete package (mentality, experience and physical wise) to make it at United.
Bullshit. What is needed is the most is talent and the right mentality. Experience is just a bonus.
He's actually done quite well after that very difficult period in 2001/02, and for most of the following season he was terrific, until his form again dropped towards the end of the year. He was not stable enough. To say he couldn't handle the pressure is a bit presumptuous. Some of the keepers we've had before Edwin just weren't good enough, period.
Spot on.
If Buffon, Casillas and Cech could make it with big clubs at a young age, a special talent could do that at United as well. We're not THAT unique.
No, that is not true at all. Barthez used to make the odd crazy mistakes due to his concentration issues. He never made mistake because of pressure. Never ever. Barthez was a keeper who would consistently switch between the sublime and the ridiculous through out a season., Even for France. What finished him at United was a failure to recover sufficiently after a hip operation. he developed a weakness on one side that was ruthlessly exploited by opponents. Especially by Real Madrid and fat Ronaldo.
Would SAF want a 20 year old as his no1? I very much doubt it.
Juventus where happy to settle for an excellent shot stopper since the Serie A teams rarely rely on crosses and they got the best of the pack. Do you think that being an excellent shot stopper is enough to make it at United?
If that was all they looked for in a keeper they'd never have kicked out VDS to bring in a Buffon for so much money. They were obviously looking for much more than even VDS could offer.
I reckon one of the most important factor for a goalkeeper to succeed in our club is that they need to have the balls to keep their confidence even after screwing up. PIG has the balls but he lacks the proper talents. Foster was lacking in his balls. Everytime he played, he looked like he was one mistake away from pissing his shorts on the pitch.
Does De Gea have the balls to succeed? It's still early days, but he has time on his side (he's 19, that's not even half of VDS's age!) along with the fact that he has big game experience. If we don't go for him soon, we'll regret it other European clubs start going for him.
Does De Gea have the balls to succeed? It's still early days, but he has time on his side (he's 19, that's not even half of VDS's age!) along with the fact that he has big game experience. If we don't go for him soon, we'll regret it other European clubs start going for him.
VDS was passing from a very bad patch expecially during his third season at Juventus. He was particularly renowned there for leaking goals from shots coming from out of the box. The Serie A may not have the crossers the EPL is renowned for but their midfielders tend to be particularly deadly from outside the box. That is why Italian clubs tend to prefer shot stoppers to keeper who are dominant in air.
No. Is De Gea only a shot stopper?
So what the feck do we do when VDS retires?
Haven't seen much of this kid, but what I have seen I have liked.
If we do sign him, then ideally (as somebody's already mentioned) it would be good to have an old head with plenty of premiership experience as back-up. In a perfect world this would be somebody like Jaaskelainen of Bolton. I think Kusczak will probably look to move if he fails to be made 1st choice so maybe we could arrange a swap deal and keep the fee down. Of course, Bolton probably wouldn't go for this and Jaaskelainen may not want to come as a number 2, though he may see it as his last opportunity to secure a move to a top club. This would give us good goalkeeping options and could possibly take some of the early pressure off De Gea.
Maybe VDS would be willing to stay on and be phased out but until we know his intentions it's all speculation.
If we do sign him, then ideally (as somebody's already mentioned) it would be good to have an old head with plenty of premiership experience as back-up. In a perfect world this would be somebody like Jaaskelainen of Bolton. I think Kusczak will probably look to move if he fails to be made 1st choice so maybe we could arrange a swap deal and keep the fee down. Of course, Bolton probably wouldn't go for this and Jaaskelainen may not want to come as a number 2, though he may see it as his last opportunity to secure a move to a top club. This would give us good goalkeeping options and could possibly take some of the early pressure off De Gea.
Maybe VDS would be willing to stay on and be phased out but until we know his intentions it's all speculation.
Have I said that?
Unlike Juventus, who could at that time settle for an excellent shot stopper, we need someone with character, experience and an overall package (excellent in distribution of the ball, good in air, ball control etc). Someone who does not crumble under pressure at playing with Manchester United. I do feel that its difficult for a 19 yr old keeper to leave Spain, settle in the EPL (a football world which is different to the one he had been used to) and take on one of the toughest roles in football. If he does make it then his achievement would be even bigger then Casillas and Buffon's who made a name in their own country and where expected (at least in the first years) to be brilliant shot stoppers and not the overall package needed to succeed at United's goal.
Sir Alex also dismissed De Gea (Atletico Madrid gk) rumours. "I was here last week to watch Valencia. We're playing them tomorrow!"
Nick Coppack (nickcoppack) on Twitter
Nick Coppack (nickcoppack) on Twitter
I doubt that Steele went to watch the game just to see how Valencia play.
I am but the messenger. I think you're right though.
You Fergie, yes maybe, but not Mr Steele.
Akinfeev is far, far too poor under crosses for my liking. He's probably the worst in that aspect out of all the young keepers we've been linked with over the last few years.
I must say that De Gea has impressed me when I have seen him. Looks to have a very good all round game and is extremely calm and composed. Now I'd still have a bit of the same worries as Devilish as to just how he'd handle the pressure here and how he'd recover from mistakes, but he's joined Neuer and Adler as the young keepers I'd be happy to see sign.
Id rather have the latter then the former. Adler and Neuer are 4-5 yrs older then De Gea + they are used to strikers who are taller then the average 5.9ft Villa type of strikers they face week in week out. On the other hand Im no scout so De Gea may be showing qualities that the other keepers are not showing.
In conclusion, for whatever reasons, Devilish agrees we should buy de Gea.
Alright then, simply delete the previous page in this thread
My last comment was sarky, because you missed my question and I wanted you to answer it. If you don't believe de Gea is the best option at this stage, who, IYO is?
I won't engage into a we need X,Y,Z player since it would look a bit too football managerish for my tastes. I think that I've already highlighted what I think that our next goalkeeper needs, my concerns about De Gea + I gave my opinion on the keepers already mentioned in this thread. You just have to search.
I do agree that it's a bit to ask. Thing is whenever I look at some of the other names we've been linked with - Lloris, Adler, Neuer, Akinfeev (the worst of the lot), now Stekelenburg - I feel a bit underwhelmed. They are good goalkeepers but they all need to improve in order to really be good enough for United. So the way I see it, all options would be a big gamble. A 19 year old who may be a bit special might not be a bigger gamble at all.
I'm only talking in theory here, mind. I haven't seen enough of De Gea to make a sound judgement. Just looking at the keeper options, I wouldn't rule him out because of age.
Neuer and Adler seems to be decent keepers. Both keepers may not have loads of experience themselves but they do have more experience then De Gea. Alternatively we can go for an experienced keeper like lets say Buffon (whom is a bit suspect on crosses + he had his own share of injuries) or Cesar. Such route may be considered as a safer bet but it will make spend loads of dosh on a short term solution. There is no perfect solution to this problem and our discussions is based on opinions on what we believe to be the best option to solve such problem.
If we do get De Gea I hope that we will sign him alongside another experienced keeper who knows the EPL well and is ready to accept the bench. Ideally it would be VDS altough as I said before I seriously doubt that SAF won't fall in the temptation of playing him instead of the kid. If this option is unavailable then someone else is a must.
We may have different opinions and concerns but at the end of the day we all want the same thing ie the good of the team. If De Gea comes at OT and does well then Ill be more then happy to be proven wrong (altough I've never questioned his skills in the first place and my concerns may be unfounded but do make sense) on this one.
Absolutely agree with that. If you've got a young keeper, it's always good to have a seasoned pro around who can do a job when needed.
Barthez >>> Igor
Make him young?
That free kick against Bremen is horrendous!
everyone makes mistakes. On the other hand German keepers are more used to tall strikers then the Spanish ones.
If you list the GK who have consistently been very good in the EPL both on crosses and shot stopping they have apart from 2 beenwell above 6ft
Neville Southall
Chris Woods
Shilton
Schmeichel
Seaman
VDS
Cech
Reina
Pat Jennings
Ray Clemence
Bob Wilson
etc.. I know I have missed a few but the point is the EPL is quite unique in the modern European Leagues in that their is need for a GK who is very good in the air.
Our next GK should at least have the right physical characteristsics.
Decision making comes with experience.
Neville Southall
Chris Woods
Shilton
Schmeichel
Seaman
VDS
Cech
Reina
Pat Jennings
Ray Clemence
Bob Wilson
etc.. I know I have missed a few but the point is the EPL is quite unique in the modern European Leagues in that their is need for a GK who is very good in the air.
Our next GK should at least have the right physical characteristsics.
Decision making comes with experience.
The folly of making arbitrary generalisations stripped bare! Christ.
It's not the fact that he makes mistakes really. Of course everyone makes mistakes, it's the type of mistakes really, he has glaring weaknesses in his game and that 'mental strength' that you doubted a 20-year old De Gea would possess, Adler is clearly lacking.
Not a strong, confident personality who commands his area or organises his defence effectively by the looks of it. Weak on crosses, not the most impressive reflexes either. This might be bit much of a conclusion based on a Youtube compilation, but he doesn't really look better than Foster IMO.
FFS, this video was made by a German fan, apparently aghast that he was picked for the national side.
Can't really argue with all the mistakes Adler made in this compilation, but there is no doubt he's going through a rough period right now, probably the first in his career. Needs to focus on his strengths though, he has already shown he can become a top keeper if he irons out his concentration lapses.
IMHO he's miles better than Foster and I'm watching him on a regular basis week in, week out. That said he must raise his level of performance again if he indeed wants to move to a top side. Neuer has been outshining him over the last year.
Haven't seen much of De Gea, but what I've seen looks exciting. The kid definitely has incredible potential.
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