Just have to win CL to do De Gea justice. Vds and PS both have won it.
I'm calling it: DDG is the best we've ever had
- Thread starter Rado_N
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I agree with this. Especially in his last couple of years with us, Schmeichel (brilliant though he was) would often be totally at fault for some really soft goals. Not loads and loads of them but far more than DDG.
Schmeichel had much more of an aura about him; I'd bet players would rather face current DDG than peak Schmeichel.
Someone ask Gary Neville on that there tw@tter?
Someone ask Gary Neville on that there tw@tter?
Don't see that, Schmeicel over-arm throwing a ball 60+ yards to Kanchelskis feet was a wonder to behold (and a huge advantage to our early/mid 90's sides). Tbf, De Gea has less opportunity as modern game is a lot about goalies making short-ish passes to defenders or deep midfielders to guarantee possession.
Yip. That game should be much higher than it is in "games of importance for United"... one of the best buzzes I've ever had watching United. The media fawned over NUFC and I was hyper at the final whistle...effectively the footballing equivalent of rope-a-dope and a massive impact on the way the rest of that season went.
Big pete by a distance...Best keeper iv ever seen,again...By a distance.
We do have a tendency to overrate the past and underappreciate the present. Maybe after Dave retires with us, we'd start considering him as our best ever and there won't be any argument about it
I disagree with this and would say that often it's the other way round.
I remember it well, I played in goal as a kid and idolised the big man. Met him a number of times which was amazing. He was absolutely awesome.
But... Time erases everything but the highlights reel in your mind. He was amazing but I think DDG pulls off the incredible more regularly.
Or people just think pete was a better keeper. Im suprised people who saw pete at his best think its even close,but each to there own. Imo daves the best in the world right now but petes the best iv ever seen,I havnt seen the great ones from way back in the 50's and so on but id be shocked if theres been a better keeper than pete ever.
Schmeichel wasnt just a goal keeper. He sent confidence through the whole side. He was intimidating to the opposition as well. Look what he did to Ian Wright. Wright was one of the best strikers in the country, and his bottle went every time he played against us because Schmeichel had his number before the kick off. For me, Schmeichel's best games are ahead of any keeper I've ever seen. Was he the best ever? Its debatable, but there were times when he was on form where you knew the ball wasnt going past him. He basically won us the league in 1995-96 in the second half of the year. Cantona would score the goals, Schmeichel made sure the ball never went past him.
A few things that stand out during Schmeichels time here was the amount of injuries we had at the back and also the run change in 92-93. Look at all those mistakes from keepers in 92/93 when they got rid of the back pass law. He adapted greatly to it, when others died on their arse. And the injuries for us were shocking in the mid-90s. Pallister, Bruce, Parker, May all knackered for long periods. That was before the days of giant squads. If you had one or two injuries, you had to loan shite like William Prunier or put Roy Keane there. When it comes to great players we've had, the reason Schmeichel, Keane and Cantona stick out was because they led by example. First to training, last to leave, influencing the young players who came after them.
De Gea's the best in the world by far IMO. But Schmeichel goes way past stats and "he had the odd mistake in him." There's a much, much bigger picture when it comes to the big man.
A few things that stand out during Schmeichels time here was the amount of injuries we had at the back and also the run change in 92-93. Look at all those mistakes from keepers in 92/93 when they got rid of the back pass law. He adapted greatly to it, when others died on their arse. And the injuries for us were shocking in the mid-90s. Pallister, Bruce, Parker, May all knackered for long periods. That was before the days of giant squads. If you had one or two injuries, you had to loan shite like William Prunier or put Roy Keane there. When it comes to great players we've had, the reason Schmeichel, Keane and Cantona stick out was because they led by example. First to training, last to leave, influencing the young players who came after them.
De Gea's the best in the world by far IMO. But Schmeichel goes way past stats and "he had the odd mistake in him." There's a much, much bigger picture when it comes to the big man.
Sorry can't agree. Peter the Great was possibly the very best of all time, and I've seen Jennings, Banks, Wilson, Shilton and Clemence, not to mention Barthez 
(bloody clown)
(bloody clown)Neuer has better anticipation, quicker off his line, has a stronger presence and is better on the ball.
No slight to come second to him though.
Really don't recall all these mistakes Schmeichel is supposed to have made, last season aside. I remember a complete mis-kick I think against Charlton in the FA Cup in 1994, maybe one or two dropped crosses, and that's about it for me - am I forgetting any major ones?
Too tough to call. Dave is the best around today IMV. He makes outstanding saves and his concentration is superb. Many many times he has been the difference. With Pete, he was an incredible keeper but also extremely vocal and a leader at the back. Different characters.
Let's see if Dave commits to the club for the long haul and starts winning stuff under Jose.
Let's see if Dave commits to the club for the long haul and starts winning stuff under Jose.
I agree, but it won't ever be a popular opinion unless we win a few more leagues and/or a CL.
Lionization of older players makes perfect sense re: primacy and anchoring biases -- time obscures the past and earlier top players get more mindshare, leading to bloated opinions.
DDG is a better shot-stopper, with worse players in front of him, in a more competitive era. Best we've ever had -- people are hesitant to crown him because there's still a chance he's off to Madrid at some point. But would you say Giggs is a better player than CR7?
DDG is a better shot-stopper, with worse players in front of him, in a more competitive era. Best we've ever had -- people are hesitant to crown him because there's still a chance he's off to Madrid at some point. But would you say Giggs is a better player than CR7?
Very true. Just look at residual opinions of Maradona and Fat Ronaldo. People always remember their best moments and forget about everything else, which often skews their memories of how good certain players were.
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Barnsley in the FA Cup in '98
Absolute clanger against Sheffield Weds in the 98/99 season.
There are more but I can't place the teams they were against right now.
Possibly the best shot stopper of all time. I've never seen anyone consistently make the saves that he does. Whether that's enough to propel him to greatest of all time status overall, I don't know, but by the end of his career he'll be in the conversation.
Spanish cat is nowhere near his peak yet. Absolutely staggering
Schmeichel - organising defence/presence
Van der Sar - Positioning
De Gea - Shot stopping
All great goalkeepers in their own right, but for very different reasons. In terms of United's best, you probably have to go with one of the first 2 given the amount of success we had during their stays - and I'd edge for Schmeichel. That said, if you were to take those keepers out of a top side and put them in a struggling team then I'd expect both Van der Sar and De Gea to be more valuable in terms of points earned. I think of the three, Schmeichel arguably benefitted the most from having top defenders around him.
Van der Sar - Positioning
De Gea - Shot stopping
All great goalkeepers in their own right, but for very different reasons. In terms of United's best, you probably have to go with one of the first 2 given the amount of success we had during their stays - and I'd edge for Schmeichel. That said, if you were to take those keepers out of a top side and put them in a struggling team then I'd expect both Van der Sar and De Gea to be more valuable in terms of points earned. I think of the three, Schmeichel arguably benefitted the most from having top defenders around him.
No way is Neuer better with the ball at his feet. DDG is unbelievable with it at his feet and I'd argue his distribution has gotten better than Neuer's.
And that is a massive IF. We don't know if VDS would be bad behind our present CBs, what VDS achieved over his 20 year career suggests otherwise. Likewise, we also don't know how De Gea would have fared if he played when the PL teams were better during VDS's time and we were constantly playing so well in Europe. VDS hardly made any mistakes during his time for us, and the pressure and margin for error was higher because we were competitive and expected to win every game. I doubt De Gea's reflexes would still be good playing at 40 and competing for the PL and CL every season. De Gea has played in a time where expectations are low and he definitely let some easy ones slip last season. Remember stoke last season at home? and there were some others which were an easy catch too but he fumbled and the opposition scored. Remember his EURO 16 performance where he was poor against Croatia and Italy and cost Spain with his goalkeeping errors? I'm not trying to attack De Gea here, he has made some unbelievable saves and saves you don't expect from any normal keeper for us. But I don't see any point where VDS is any less than DDG, maybe VDS didn't make the same Hollywood moves that DDG does, I guess we think players are better when they are more flashy, some players keep it small and simple and make it look really easy instead of the breathtaking stuff.
Neuer is basically a clone of Schmeichel in terms of attribute without the charisma. Which accounts for a lot on the field.
Also, Big Pete is a scary man charging at you. 193 cm, 110 kg, broad shouldered. That's scary.
Also, Big Pete is a scary man charging at you. 193 cm, 110 kg, broad shouldered. That's scary.
Sorry... Disagree I'd pick Ronaldo... You never said the position!
Although DDG has a chance to overtake on longevity if he sticks around longer.
Although DDG has a chance to overtake on longevity if he sticks around longer.
In few more years could easily become best we've ever had. 26 years old is still young age for a goalkeeper. He has all the time in the world to even climb to the Buffon level of goalkeeping.
Dont agree with any of this.
Your opinion that de gea is better than pete is fair enough,whilst i dont agree,everyone has differant views on differant players and it makes for good footballing debate.
The rest is rubbish imo, You have no idea the reasons why some people rate schmeichel higher, to confidently tell everyone its because of the madrid link is a stretch at best,its got nothing to do with why i think pete was better. Schmeichel was the best keeper iv ever seen, dave could sign a 15 year contract and declare himself united for life, id still think pete was a better keeper than what dave is currently.
I would say CR7 is a better player than giggs,i also thought during the ferdinand and vidic days that ferdinand was better than pallister and vidic was better than bruce, so the lionization of older players theory dosnt hold true.
Moreover, the game has also been improving every decade. Every season, the tactical nous, training methods, and technology get marginally better. Every year the player pool swells, as does the amount of time they can spend on the game and the quality of the coaching received. And not for nothing, the rewards (in nominal and in comparison to GDP per capita terms) of becoming a top player continue to explode.
Thus, it becomes harder and harder to dominate, and it becomes rarer and rarer to see the levels of individual brilliance that you saw even 20 years ago -- players have to be even greater outliers to make it to the top level, let alone thrive.
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Madrid point is just conjecture, of course, but more general thought is that I find DDG more talented now than Pete ever was, even if Pete's career at United ends up being longer, more decorated, and more useful to the club overall. You're welcome to disagree, but see above for reasoning why contemporary players should be given the benefit of the doubt, if you're not controlling for era.
Furthermore, your reasoning is that, because you can name 3 players you find better than 3 of their precursors, people don't (and you can't possibly) overrate older players? And you call what I've written rubbish? C'mon.
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Big Peter for me - but DDG is a close second, and if he stays for a few more years who knows?
Schmeichel was so much more than just a keeper as he had an aura and presence around him that put the fear of god into opposing forwards, very few were ever confident in beating him and even if they were a lot of the time they still didn't.
He was a proper leader and a defensive general that told the defence where he wanted them and what he expected of them, even Steve Bruce who was effectively our captain when Schmeichel came in due to Robson always being injured and past his best would get Schmeichel screaming at him.
I believe De Gea to be the best keeper in the world and has been for 3 or 4 years but Schmeichel was just something else and is arguably the greatest keeper of all time, you'd put him up against Yashin or Zoff or Buffon and probably go with Schmeichel over them.
He was a proper leader and a defensive general that told the defence where he wanted them and what he expected of them, even Steve Bruce who was effectively our captain when Schmeichel came in due to Robson always being injured and past his best would get Schmeichel screaming at him.
I believe De Gea to be the best keeper in the world and has been for 3 or 4 years but Schmeichel was just something else and is arguably the greatest keeper of all time, you'd put him up against Yashin or Zoff or Buffon and probably go with Schmeichel over them.
I've feel he's been the best for about 2 years now. I've thought he's the best keeper in the world for longer than that. Granted I see him more, but whenever I've watched goalies who've been compared to him as the best (Hart first, then Lloris/Courtois domestically and Neuer internationally) he's just looked so much better for me. I was a massive fan of Pete and VDS, but feel Dave is even better.
nostalgic posters will prefer pete. He had an aura, big personality and was very vocal. These are things that i have realised people especially epl fans hold dearly. Interms of actual talent, david de gea is by far the best skilled goal keeper we have ever had.
Bit harsh on Mark Bosnich, a man who brought a new meaning to being "rooted to his line".
I think DDG is close to surpassing Pete. De gea's reflexes are just unworldly some of the saves he makes no other goalie in the world could make.
Schmeichel was a better leader and organizer than DDG and we were hugely successful with him net so that's a plus for him. But as good as Schmeichel was he was prone to the odd mistake which I think DDG has almost eradicated for his game.
We're basically just nitpicking. They are both 2 of the greatest goalies I have ever seen.
Schmeichel was a better leader and organizer than DDG and we were hugely successful with him net so that's a plus for him. But as good as Schmeichel was he was prone to the odd mistake which I think DDG has almost eradicated for his game.
We're basically just nitpicking. They are both 2 of the greatest goalies I have ever seen.
Ah, thanks for telling me why I think Schmeichel was better!
Most welcomeAh, thanks for telling me why I think Schmeichel was better!