Onana has not worked out. We need a new keeper.

[erikcred]

I won’t write him off yet but he needs a lot of coaching on shot stopping which is a bit of a problem considering the money we paid for him.

That's way more than a 'bit' of a problem.

It's like a striker who needs to be coached not on which runs to make, but on how to strike the ball in the general area of the net.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

He's not very good is he.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

He's a goalkeeper. His main function is to stop the opposition from scoring. He's not very good at that so far. His qualities with the ball at his feet are negated by his almost comical handling and positioning as a goalkeeper. A keeper that's good with the ball at his feet is a game changer provided he's at least average at the core competencies of the goalkeeping craft.

Data can be used in all sorts of ways and manipulated to fit ones own views. The lack of security he transmits cannot be quantified and every time he has to grab the ball there is a palpable sense in the stadium that something bad is going to happen. If we as fans feel that way, I don't want to imagine what his defenders feel.

I hope you're right about him being a good signing for the future. But he has to improve. A lot. We need a goalkeeping coach that can teach him some fundamentals and get him in the right mindset.

Good post. The worrying part is he should be in his prime. The basic fundamentals should already be present. Which makes me wonder if he'll ever possess them.

 

[M Bison]

I was critical of him at first but I can’t help but feel he’ll come good and be an asset.

the games against Liverpool recently and Arsenal earlier in the season (granted we conceded 3 in the Arsenal game) he was a big part of how we retained possession and took the sting out of the game.

Obviously he’s made some howlers this season, most of which are indefensible, but i do see what the plan is and what his role is in the team.

 

[Woodzy]

I just hope we don’t stick with him out of sentiment or anything like that.

Plenty of big clubs have made flop goalkeeper signings over the years and almost instantly replace them.

 

[Reapersoul20]

I really want to like him, but he has been objectively shite so far.

He is on a slightly upwards trajectory though, let''s hope it continues! If Maguire can turn it around, Onana certainly can.

 

[Mwooyo]

I was critical of him at first but I can’t help but feel he’ll come good and be an asset.

the games against Liverpool recently and Arsenal earlier in the season (granted we conceded 3 in the Arsenal game) he was a big part of how we retained possession and took the sting out of the game.

Obviously he’s made some howlers this season, most of which are indefensible, but i do see what the plan is and what his role is in the team.

Its like people only see the bad mistakes but completely ignore the stuff he does on the ball. In the prem, I don't think there is a keeper right now who is as good on the ball as Onana. Not even the Mancity keeper invites pressure and then finds the man with the right weight. Onana is really good on the ball...yes he can be miles better in terms of saves and coming off his line but he is good on the ball. He needs competition though and I think his going for the African cup is good...it helps another GK to stake his claim in the interim

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Its like people only see the bad mistakes but completely ignore the stuff he does on the ball. In the prem, I don't think there is a keeper right now who is as good on the ball as Onana. Not even the Mancity keeper invites pressure and then finds the man with the right weight. Onana is really good on the ball...yes he can be miles better in terms of saves and coming off his line but he is good on the ball. He needs competition though and I think his going for the African cup is good...it helps another GK to stake his claim in the interim

He's a goalkeeper. His job isn't to be good on the ball. It's to keep goal. He isn't very good at it.

 

[lex talionis]

Feel pretty confident that this thread will age very poorly.

Onana’s instrumental for playing out 11 vs 10 from the back and is better than nearly all of our outfielders right now at playing under heavy pressure. There were several times tonight when Onana did his job perfectly at committing Watkins, before cutting out one or two further Villa players with his pass, yet Evans or Mainoo fumbled quickly progressing the ball further with their next pass. Onana is gonna be a big part of this team reaching their ceiling once better players are more regularly playing with him.

He’s making a lot of goalkeeping errors, yet his saving data across the season isn’t terrible even when you take those into account.

Of all ETH’s signings, I feel more confident about Onana’s next ten years than anyone else’s, whether here or elsewhere.

There's zero chance Onana will be the United keeper five years from now, let alone ten. He's 27 already and if does pull himself together in the second half of this season he'll get 1-2 more seasons at OT.

Best to start scouting alternatives at the right age, 21-22 or so, to succeed Onana.

As for this point: "Onana’s instrumental for playing out 11 vs 10 from the back...", Villa crucified us for playing out of the back and it wasn't until we abandoned absurd ponderous buildup play that we crucified Villa. We can go back to self-defeating tactics again and again, but it will be pressing and quick, direct play that is our only hope of securing CL qualification again.

 

[Lost bear]

Its like people only see the bad mistakes but completely ignore the stuff he does on the ball. In the prem, I don't think there is a keeper right now who is as good on the ball as Onana. Not even the Mancity keeper invites pressure and then finds the man with the right weight. Onana is really good on the ball...yes he can be miles better in terms of saves and coming off his line but he is good on the ball. He needs competition though and I think his going for the African cup is good...it helps another GK to stake his claim in the interim

I agree he definitely is good on the ball. However, for a goalkeeper he appears to lack a somewhat crucial capability, namely- that of keeping goal ( that is, preventing opposing teams from inserting the football into our goal.)

This lack of goalkeeping ability might, I suspect, represent a problem.

 

[Lost bear]

I agree he definitely is good on the ball. However, for a goalkeeper he appears to lack a somewhat crucial capability, namely- that of keeping goal ( that is, preventing opposing teams from inserting the football into our goal.)

This lack of goalkeeping ability might, I suspect, represent a problem.

With apologies to those who have, I see, already made a similar point.

Edit: This not to say that he never makes good saves, more that he is woefully inconsistent. Maybe this will change.

 

[cyril C]

That's way more than a 'bit' of a problem.

It's like a striker who needs to be coached not on which runs to make, but on how to strike the ball in the general area of the net.

Shot stopping is last of his problem. His decision making on short passing is alarmingly poor. With opposition players inside our box, he would insist on passing it to a CB, who with any common sense, can only pass it back to the keeper. Any minor error, meant a gift.

 

[Yakuza_devils]

I think he is over do it with his ball playing. He takes too much time and slow the game down. It was usually unnecessary to take so long. City, Arsenal and Liverpool GK definitely recycle the balls quicker. We are a counter attacking team and he should be paying more long ball quicker if necessary.

 

[Piskin]

More clangers to come from him before the seasons out.

 

[RedRicardo]

are we ignoring how much saves he's made
and how he's joined the biggest football club in world football and hasn't had a stable back four

he's got defenders and midfielders who are not comfortable receiving the ball unlike other clubs he's been at

id give the man some time DDG was a disaster with his feet and threw a good amount inches net aswell

 

[york_cole_99]

I just hope we don’t stick with him out of sentiment or anything like that.

Plenty of big clubs have made flop goalkeeper signings over the years and almost instantly replace them.

You can't just move off a guy earning 200k a week whilst still paying off a 50m transfer fee.

Without FFP of course this was much easier.

We also have 2 more years Sancho contract to move @350k + 35m transfer fee

If we are honest Antony will never be good enough and we have close 50-60M still left over on his transfer fee to pay off + 180k week wage

I think they are looking at moving off Varane & Casemiro who are on Sancho money with little resale value.

Good luck Brailsford, Blanc and whoever comes in as the sporting director...

 

[Hughie77]

My thought on him have been clear from the time we bought him ..and I can't see it changing over time ... I'm still hoping he can improve.. like I'm still hoping for a massive pay rise next year??.

 

[Revaulx]

I really want him to do well; not just for the team’s sake (I very much hope we all want that) but for his own because he seems like a sound and likeable character. I thought his long kicking was good v Villa, and certainly far better than anything De Gea was ever able to manage.

It would also be helpful if we could stop giving away idiotic free kicks on the edge of our box.

But yeah, realistically it’s not looking good. There are just too many aspects of his game that aren’t good enough.

 

[DRJosh]

Would you chose Barthez over Onana?

 

[Red the Bear]

Would you chose Barthez over Onana?

The United version? Only his first season.

 

[Flying high]

With everything he's had to deal with this year, I can't believe he's being written off by so many after a handfull of mistakes.

For me, he's shown great resilience and character to come back from those early mistakes and put in some really solid performances since then. Anfield in particular.

My dad was moaning about his risk taking. But our defence needs the extra time on the ball Onana gives them by drawing the forward in those extra few steps.

 

[lex talionis]

We all knew, or I should say should have been willing to acknowledge, that Onana would be a basketcase in his first season at Old Trafford. He’ll always be a downgrade from De Gea but he’ll be good enough the next two seasons during this transition period to a club that can compete for major trophies in 2-3 seasons.

 

[Remember the geese]

He’ll always be a downgrade from De Gea

The first half of De Gea's career here, yeah. The second half? Nope.

 

[Redstain]

It's a hard one really, I don't think he suits the counter attacking football element being that the team conceding possession means he will face more activity as a shot stopper rather than a distributor. On the other hand, in a more possession orientated team his skillset could be so important that him playing out from the back would be of much significance.

So if Erik intends to keep this team as a transition team I think a keeper who's fundamentally sound in shot stopping is a better choice long term.

 

[Revan]

The first half of De Gea's career here, yeah. The second half? Nope.

De Gea at his absolute worst was still significantly better than what we have seen from Onana so far this season.

 

[Remember the geese]

De Gea at his absolute worst was still significantly better than what we have seen from Onana so far this season.

Completely disagree.

 

[Mwooyo]

I agree he definitely is good on the ball. However, for a goalkeeper he appears to lack a somewhat crucial capability, namely- that of keeping goal ( that is, preventing opposing teams from inserting the football into our goal.)

This lack of goalkeeping ability might, I suspect, represent a problem.

Every time I see these responses it gives the impression that De gea was a better GK than Onana is right Now. We forget so quick



And this is just last season and is not a complete compilation of his errors...Onana may not be the best at saving etc but he is equal to De gea at it...and miles better on the ball

 

[2 man midfield]

I don’t know why people are still persisting with this onana vs De Gea argument. The fact Onana has made errors doesn’t suddenly mean De Gea didn’t need replacing.

He deserves a chance to show his Inter form until the end of the season, and things could change with a consistent defence in front of him. But if he keeps chucking goals in like he has done, you’d like to think we’d be keeping an eye out for an upgrade.

 

[el3mel]

Every time I see these responses it gives the impression that De gea was a better GK than Onana is right Now. We forget so quick



And this is just last season and is not a complete compilation of his errors...Onana may not be the best at saving etc but he is equal to De gea at it...and miles better on the ball

You're comparing Onana at his prime to De Gea at past his prime period. Basically a nonsensical and one sided comparison.

Compare both keepers at their prime or don't even bother instead of orchestrating a biased comparison that paints one keeper better than the other.

And by the way, a past it De Gea is still a better shot stopper than Onana, but that's not the point.

 

[sebsheep]

You're comparing Onana at his prime to De Gea at past his prime period. Basically a nonsensical and one sided comparison.

Compare both keepers at their prime or don't even bother instead of orchestrating a biased comparison that paints one keeper better than the other.

And by the way, a past it De Gea is still a better shot stopper than Onana, but that's not the point.

I think it's a comparison of the keeper we had last season to the one we have this season. Pretty reasonable really.
They're both pretty average shot stoppers, both capable of making big errors. De Gea could still occasionally pull out world class saves.

What's shown in part in that clip is how De Gea would gift the opposition chances with really poor distribution, that occurred so often it was actually ridiculous.

 

[lex talionis]

The first half of De Gea's career here, yeah. The second half? Nope.

De Gea 22/23 > Onana first half of 23/24 by some distance, but we’ll see about the second of the 23/24 season. Hopefully Onana will come back from AFCON a new keeper, christened with renewed confidence and his Benny Hill antics purged by exorcism.

Where De Gea’s haters have a point is that we needed to move on from De Gea soon, this season or next. After all, he was 32 and although that’s not old for a keeper, it is old for a keeper whose strength was in his quickness in reacting to the shot. His anticipation and read of where the striker would go with the shot was extraordinary, but it was his quickness in reacting to the shot that set him apart from all other keepers of his generation. Onana, on the other hand, has poor anticipation and his quickness is barely decent, but certainly nothing special.

Without any question the reason we brought in Onana was that his masterful footwork that would supposedly transform our attack. A ball-playing “modern keeper” we were all promised, but whoever authorized this transfer forgot to inquire into Onana’s shot stopping ability, which is far from elite. So while it’s true that our buildup play is better under Onana, our buildup play has not transformed us into an attacking juggernaut and at the same we’re conceding goals that makes De Gea 22/23 look like prime Yashin.

 

[Mike Smalling]

We'd be better off at this stage of the season with DDG in goal instead of Onana - noone can convince me otherwise. It might still turn out to be the right decision in the long run, and no matter what, we needed to move on from DDG at some point.

I think Onana might be able to turn it around, as he seems to have a strong personality, but there are certainly elements of his fundamentals that look worrying.

 

[Lost bear]

Every time I see these responses it gives the impression that De gea was a better GK than Onana is right Now. We forget so quick



And this is just last season and is not a complete compilation of his errors...Onana may not be the best at saving etc but he is equal to De gea at it...and miles better on the ball

De Gea had been great for us, but deteriorated rapidly over recent seasons. My comments on Onana should not be taken to imply that I wanted us to keep David. I didn’t. I would just like a goal keeper that can play the ball and ALSO save goals. Should not be too much to ask, really. I am still hoping that Onana will come good on both those roles.

 

[redshaw]

Just have to see how he goes over the next 12 months. If we're still facing many uphill battles to his mistakes then he'll have to go.

I can see our team and him improving a lot over the months, he's very indecisive right now which is understandable. Still those armed with the stats did point out he was worse with shot stopping than De Gea, and he was already on the lower end of the table.

Onana has made some very good saves and positioned himself well, you can see how he'd be an asset to a top controlling side in keeping the ball and making the odd save or a team focused on defence. Coming to OT in our state is like someone taking off all your protection and flinging you into a lion's den.

 

[Mwooyo]

He's a goalkeeper. His job isn't to be good on the ball. It's to keep goal. He isn't very good at it.

I don’t know why people are still persisting with this onana vs De Gea argument. The fact Onana has made errors doesn’t suddenly mean De Gea didn’t need replacing.

He deserves a chance to show his Inter form until the end of the season, and things could change with a consistent defence in front of him. But if he keeps chucking goals in like he has done, you’d like to think we’d be keeping an eye out for an upgrade.

Nope. This is a comparison of De gea last few seasons and Onana this season. Besides, How do you know this is peak Onana. Van der sar peaked in his 30s...until Onana ends his career, we cant know his peak.

 

[Mwooyo]

We'd be better off at this stage of the season with DDG in goal instead of Onana - noone can convince me otherwise. It might still turn out to be the right decision in the long run, and no matter what, we needed to move on from DDG at some point.

I think Onana might be able to turn it around, as he seems to have a strong personality, but there are certainly elements of his fundamentals that look worrying.

Nah..keep dreaming with these ideas. De gea was as bad at GK stuff as Onana and he was even worse on the ball. There is a reason de gea was never picked up by any other serious club in the summer. Real Madrid, Bayern, Inter all needed GKs in the summer and he was literally available for free. De Gea has been bad statiscally for years

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

Nope. This is a comparison of De gea last few seasons and Onana this season. Besides, How do you know this is peak Onana. Van der sar peaked in his 30s...until Onana ends his career, we cant know his peak.

No, this isn't a comparison thread. It's a thread about Onana. And so far, he's been poor. You can't assess him on what MIGHT happen. You can only assess him on what he's done so far. This is the third most expensive keeper of all time, who should be in his prime, remember.

 

[Mwooyo]

No, this isn't a comparison thread. It's a thread about Onana. And so far, he's been poor. You can't assess him on what MIGHT happen. You can only assess him on what he's done so far. This is the third most expensive keeper of all time, who should be in his prime, remember.

The moment you say he has been poor...you are introducing comparison. Poor as compared to who or what. Poor means there is a standard to be compared against. He has been at the same level as De gea was last season. Also, you keep missing this, we can NOT know if this is his prime until his career ends. Keepers regularly peak in their 30s. You pushing this prime idea is purely conjecture.

 

[frostbite]

The moment you say he has been poor...you are introducing comparison. Poor as compared to who or what. Poor means there is a standard to be compared against. He has been at the same level as De gea was last season. Also, you keep missing this, we can NOT know if this is his prime until his career ends. Keepers regularly peak in their 30s. You pushing this prime idea is purely conjecture.

Onana is not good enough for Man Utd. And we are not going to wait till he is 35 and magically transforms to VDS.

 

[The Bloody-Nine]

The moment you say he has been poor...you are introducing comparison.

No, I'm not. You are. Or at least you're trying to. Onana has been poor. Look at the amount of catastrophic basic errors he's made so far which have led to goals.

Poor as compared to who or what. Poor means there is a standard to be compared against.

Poor, as a goalkeeper. As in, a player who keeps goal and tries to prevent the ball going in the net. That's his primary job.

He has been at the same level as De gea was last season. Also, you keep missing this, we can NOT know if this is his prime until his career ends. Keepers regularly peak in their 30s. You pushing this prime idea is purely conjecture.

Please stop talking about De Gea. I don't give a shit about him. And please stop talking about what MIGHT happen. It's not a valid argument.