Edwin van der Saar - £2million

Where does the figure 2 Million come from,? the official announcement is for an undisclosed fee.
 
he will play his 100th cap for Holland on wednesday, only the second player to reach that amount for Holland.
Certainly has experience.
 
I think utd will pay 1 milllion pound up front and the rest depending on appearance,acheivement etc,so thats not a big deal
 
Good signing. Can give the club 2-3 solid seasons, fingers crossed. And hopefully Timmy will learn a lot from Edwin and go on to reach top class status.

I was really wanting Isaksson, but in SAF we trust. ;) Besides, Isaksson may remain at Rennes for another year or two and SAF can snap him up later. But for the next two years, Edwin the Exceptional will occupy the posts for United.
 
gd buy. I still see howard as long term so its gd move for both gk.
 
Manchester United new boy Edwin van der Sar has spoken of his delight at landing a dream move to Old Trafford.

The experienced Holland international has been a long-term target of Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scottish tactician has now finally landed his man.

United have experienced difficulties in replacing former favourite Peter Schmeichel and van der Sar is the latest to step from the shadow of the big Dane.

Van der Sar admits that the decision to quit Fulham for United was not a difficult one to take and is now looking forward to continuing his long and distinguished career in Manchester.

''Of course you're happy if you get a chance to join United,'' said van der Sar.

''You don't have to think about that for a very long time. I think first contact was about eight-nine days ago and yesterday we sort of concluded it.

''Maybe in the back of my head I had the idea of that possibility but I was fully committed to Fulham until the end and I think that showed.

''The manager Cookie (Chris Coleman) called me, he was happy with me and wished me all the best.

''Of course the next two years will be great for me. I hope to bring United back to where they belong and that is in the top position.

''I signed a two-year deal, had a few talks with the manager, he explained my role and what he wants from me, so it's clear for me what I need to do and I will perform the best I can.''

Van der Sar admits that David Gill sold the club to him whilst he was back in his homeland and that despite off-the-field turmoil with regards to the club's takeover, the able custodian is predicting a bright time for the Manchester giants.

''I had a good chat also with Gill in Holland,'' he continued.

''He explained a lot of things about the club, also the new takeover and position of him and Ferguson and everything seems in place perfectly to get some more success at Old Trafford.

''I'm not thinking of retirement, I wanted to finish my career at Ajax. Maybe at end of this contract it's the end for good for van der Sar but I've got two nice years to look forward to and i'll do my utmost to perform at the level that's required at United.''
 
Probably the best ever 2m paid this decade. Many thought he would be here for only 2 years but we managed to get 6 great years out of him. 4 league titles and a CL, what a signing. Here's hoping he signs off with another medal on his neck after Wembley :drool:
 
In fairness to this thread, I was fairly underwhelmed at the time too. Not that I had anything against Van Der Sar, but I think I had new goalkeeper fatigue by then.

Nobody really could have predicted he'd have gone on past 40 and still been one of, if not the, top keeper in Europe.
 
This thread is the perfect demonstration that you should give a Fergie signing time and get behind them. Too many threads are just full of "WHY SIGN HIM???" "HE'S AVERAGE!!!" "HE'S PAST IT!" and so on. Manchester United is a special club that can bring the best out of people.
 
What a player & servant he ended up being for us after that, even at 40 he is signing out as one of the best keepers in the world. A Fantastic keeper & an even better pro.
 
All it does is show some people are dumbasses...thanks for that :)
 
Signings like these are what makes SAF question the whole "value in the market" argument.

The only regret I have about VdS is that we signed him 5-6 years too late. I have no doubt that we would have added one or 2 more trophies (especially the UCL in the year Porto knocked us out) to our haul over that period.

Is it alright if we call him a "United Legend"?
 
I've a huge problem with the whole retrospective dismissal of everyone's opinions.

If we took the opinions of people in this thread as they were at the time when we signed a number of players over the last ten years, there isn't one of us who wouldn't be embarrassed.
 
Aaron said:
I've a huge problem with the whole retrospective dismissal of everyone's opinions.

If we took the opinions of people in this thread as they were at the time when we signed a number of players over the last ten years, there isn't one of us who wouldn't be embarrassed.
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At the end of the day 34 is not old for a goalkeeper and it's been the same for a very very very long time....'slow down his reflexes' my arse...people are entitled to be wrong, it's ok but stuff like thats nonsense. It wasn't embarrassment, it was writing vds off at 34. I remember some people moaning about us paying 2m...it really doesn't matter if you bring the right guy in. You'd think some people own the purse strings
 
Sharky7 said:
Without doubt for me!

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:drool:

It is literally and figuratively going to be massive (in every sense of the word) boots to fill. I'm confident in can be done though, we must just have a bit of patience with [insert GK of choice here].

Aaron said:
I've a huge problem with the whole retrospective dismissal of everyone's opinions.

If we took the opinions of people in this thread as they were at the time when we signed a number of players over the last ten years, there isn't one of us who wouldn't be embarrassed.
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:lol: That is true. Don't take it so personally mate, we ALL get it wrong sometime or another. Like you said, who would have predicted back then that we were going to get these 6 magical years from a 34 year old, seemingly nearing the end of his career?
 
Striker10 said:
At the end of the day 34 is not old for a goalkeeper and it's been the same for a very very very long time....
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How is 34 not considered old for a goalkeeper? By today's standards it isn't but Schmeichel 'retired' from English football at aged 35, Barthez 36, Zenga effectively retird at 36, Seaman should have retired about three years sooner than he did.

I think that just because the odd keeper goes on beyond 40, we shouldn't be fooled into thinking it is the 'norm'.

Mid 30's surely IS the time when most goalkeepers retire, isn't it?

I don't think anyone could honestly say they saw VDS staying here that long. I'm sure even Sir Alex or the player himself wouldn't have said as much.
 
Aaron said:
How is 34 not considered old for a goalkeeper? By today's standards it isn't but Schmeichel 'retired' from English football at aged 35, Barthez 36, Seaman should have retired about three years sooner than he did.

I think that just because the odd keeper goes on beyond 40, we shouldn't be fooled into thinking it is the 'norm'.

Mid 30's surely IS the time when most goalkeepers retire, isn't it?

I don't think anyone could honestly say they saw VDS staying here that long. I'm sure even Sir Alex or the player himself wouldn't have said as much.
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It isn't. If you watched Schmeichel, he 'quit' united not retired as he moved to portugal - at the right time (he felt it was too much for him with the champions league/the cups/the league etc). He made more mistakes in his final season then he ever did but then he played on. However, he was a giant. VDS is a stick in comparison.

No it's not mid 30's, it really depends on a players desire but at top clubs it's naturally harder as one mistake and you're past it not to mention top teams can't afford to make too many mistakes

You have Rooney saying he won't play till he's say mid 30's because of his build. In spite of his energy, but someone like VDS, who had all that experience and who carryed no weight, was always going to be an improvement at the least on who we have before him.
 
Striker10 said:
It isn't. If you watched Schmeichel, he 'quit' united not retired as he moved to portugal - at the right time. He made more mistakes in his final season then he ever did but then he played on. However, he was a giant. VDS is a stick in comparison.

No it's not mid 30's, it really depends on a players desire but at top clubs it's naturally harder as one mistake and you're past it not to mention top teams can't afford to make too many mistakes

You have Rooney saying he won't play till he's say mid 30's because of his build. In spite of his energy, but someone like VDS, who had all that experience and who carryed no weight, was always going to be an improvement at the least on who we have before him.
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Schmeichel did effectively retire. He wanted an easy life to see out his career in the sun. In the end he missed the game in England and came back.

There are other keepers who either quit, wound down or buggered off to somewhere like the MLS in their twilight years.

If you're saying you foresaw VDS still being at the club beyond 40 and maintaining the same high level of performance then you should seriously do my lottery numbers this week as that would have been a prediction nobody at the time would have made.

I'm sure even the manager saw him as a steady hand on the rudder for two or three years, at most.
 
Aaron said:
Schmeichel did effectively retire. He wanted an easy life to see out his career in the sun. In the end he missed the game in England and came back.

There are other keepers who either quit, wound down or buggered off to somewhere like the MLS in their twilight years.

If you're saying you foresaw VDS still being at the club beyond 40 and maintaining the same high level of performance then you should seriously do my lottery numbers this week as that would have been a prediction nobody at the time would have made.

I'm sure even the manager saw him as a steady hand on the rudder for two or three years, at most.
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No he was moaning about never being able to train properly. His standards were slipping. If he had of played for City, he'd have probably stayed in England playing fewer games. That's just what I personally think btw.

I didn't forsee anything. I said simply that two years of VDS was going to be better then what we had and were going to get from anyone else in our price range (unless there was an amazing no name out there)

You have to remember that Juve and Fulham was a wasted time for VDS. Going to United breathed new life into him and I don't think we or VDS would be in a hurry to replace him. I think Sir Alex was aware that it would be longer then two years just by talking to the guy and watching his performances. During those two years, did any of us think he'd retire at 36? I didn't personally get that impression. He cost 2 million and it was a steal.

It's very easy to forget the shite goalkeepers we had inbetween
 
esmufc11 said:
Nice video but that MUTV guy has to be the most annoying commentator there is. Thank god for Alan Parry.
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The current one is awful. Stuart Gardener, I think. He doesn't do 'excitement' very well, his voice cannot get terribly high before it cracks
 
Sharky7 said:
weird? I could've sworn I saw him playing for Man Shitty aged 40.
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It's also weird because I could have sworn I clarified the point later on.

Not that anyone would need it clarifying. He retired from English football initially because he didn't think he could keep up his standard into his late 30s. He went to Portugal for a bit but missed the game in England, possibly was more 'refreshed' then too, ready for a final couple of seasons back in England. When he originally quit/retired from England, he had no plans to ever return.

It is weird that a United fan seemingly needs a history lesson as to what happened to Peter Schmeichel, but there you are.
 
Aaron said:
It is weird that a United fan seemingly needs a history lesson as to what happened to Peter Schmeichel, but there you are.
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If you're gonna make sweeping statements like "he retired from English football" then be sure to get it right.

The Dane retired from Manchester United, NOT English football.
 
His save from Crouch's shot at Anfield(when Sheasy scored that goal) was amazing, little bit surprised that it isn't there in the highlights.

Anyone else remember it?
 
Sharky7 said:
If you're gonna make sweeping statements like "he retired from English football" then be sure to get it right.

The Dane retired from Manchester United, NOT English football.
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He did retire from English football and you don't know what a sweeping statement is.
 
Aaron said:
He did retire from English football and you don't know what a sweeping statement is.
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A sweeping statement is a statement that makes a wide-ranging and complete comment about something, or more often, everything. ;)

"everything" being, every club in England.

Annnnnnnyway, back to to topic.....
 
Aaron said:
I've a huge problem with the whole retrospective dismissal of everyone's opinions.

If we took the opinions of people in this thread as they were at the time when we signed a number of players over the last ten years, there isn't one of us who wouldn't be embarrassed.
Click to expand...

not everyone is like you, there are people who can understand different perspectives and therefore be more correct in their predictions
 
Sharky7 said:
A sweeping statement is a statement that makes a wide-ranging and complete comment about something, or more often, everything. ;)
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My comment was hardly wide ranging. Unless 'it is 10.03am' is considered a 'sweeping' statement because it is complete and accurate?

Anyhoo, if you struggle to understand the concept of Schmeichel's retirement from English football, I can't help you.

He quit English football in 1999, had a few years in the sun, missed it, decided to return and spent two (or was it three?) years here playing for Villa and City.

Now I'm not entirely sure what needed clarifying from my original point but X amount of posts later here we are. I hope you found that worth it.
 
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