Sir Alex in for Akinfeev

And again (from today's Mirror):

Manchester United chase £10m Russian goalkeeper

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Manchester United have been given the green light to step up their interest in Russian No 1 Igor Akinfeev.

CSKA Moscow are prepared to let United speak to the £10million-rated goalkeeper in the January transfer window.

Sir Alex Ferguson is keen to recruit a world-class keeper with Edwin van der Sar set to retire in May and growing doubts over Ben Foster.

Akinfeev, 23, who has also been watched by Arsenal, made his Russia debut five years ago is one of Guus Hiddink's emerging stars.

It is understood he would jump at the chance of moving to Old Trafford and has told CSKA he wants to speak to United in January.
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The fact we're playing CSKA soon doubtless has just a leeeeetle bit to do with this. But he's looked pretty good the few times I've seen him. Will be very interested to see how he plays against us.
 
I saw Akinfeev playing against Besiktas the other week. He managed to flap on one cross and palm one ball through the middle carelessly (thankfully, it fell to a CSKA defender). I've seen him flap on crosses many times in the past, and I don't think he's very tall or really physically well-built, which explains why.

As far as I know from some interactions with CSKA fans, he's been in fairly poor form this season - maybe because his mind is already set on leaving Moscow. One would think that, being 23 years of age, he is at the right moment in his career to try his luck at a bigger club. Besides, a host of Russian players have been securing big-name moves lately (Pavlyuchenko, Arshavin, Bilyaletdinov), so he may be anxious for one also.

He is certainly a very good goalkeeper, but, being somewhat slight in stature, may be better suited for playing outside the Premiership.
 
Sauxees Moi Hui said:
I saw Akinfeev playing against Besiktas the other week. He managed to flap on one cross and palm one ball through the middle carelessly (thankfully, it fell to a CSKA defender). I've seen him flap on crosses many times in the past, and I don't think he's very tall or really physically well-built, which explains why.

As far as I know from some interactions with CSKA fans, he's been in fairly poor form this season - maybe because his mind is already set on leaving Moscow. One would think that, being 23 years of age, he is at the right moment in his career to try his luck at a bigger club. Besides, a host of Russian players have been securing big-name moves lately (Pavlyuchenko, Arshavin, Bilyaletdinov), so he may be anxious for one also.

He is certainly a very good goalkeeper, but, being somewhat slight in stature, may be better suited for playing outside the Premiership.
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Yuri Zhirkov too

He's not that small, 6"1' according to Wiki. The errors he sometimes makes, misplacing passes or flapping crosses, are in my opinion more down to a dip in concentration than proper lack of ability.

He's one of the cleanest goalkeepers in the world technically, very orthodox unlike some other names in contention to take Edwin VdS's sequel at United, like Neuer who, aged 24, seems to have acquired less of the goalkeeper's craft than Akinfeev yet. To me the safest option would be Akinfeev, or Lloris who is probably twice as expensive though.
 
Akinfeev would never be a safe option. I dont know a first team premier league keeper who has more problems with coming out and collecting the ball than him and although a fine shot stopper, I've seen him make mistakes and let in some weak shots too. He's young with potential but with more problems than Foster.
 
Ekeke said:
Akinfeev would never be a safe option. I dont know a first team premier league keeper who has more problems with coming out and collecting the ball than him and although a fine shot stopper, I've seen him make mistakes and let in some weak shots too. He's young with potential but with more problems than Foster.
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You cannot be serious. :wenger:

Any keeper aged 23 in the world, and this includes Lloris, Neuer and all the others, has some problems somewhere in his game. But Akinfeev has already proved he's one of the brightest European goalkeepers in the Russian league and the Russian national side alike, and has displayed tremendous abilities in every single aspect of the goalkeeping game. He makes much scarcer errors and in less fields than Foster whose positioning (Bellamy's second goal), shot-stopping (Lampard in the Charity Shield and Arshavin against Arsenal) and kicking (City's first goals, Everton) are mistake-riddled, whilst Akinfeev's problems mainly consist of aerial misunderstandings with his defenders.

If he's put with world-class defenders in front of him, he'll have little problems fixing that.
 
Nani Nana said:
You cannot be serious. :wenger:

Any keeper aged 23 in the world, and this includes Lloris, Neuer and all the others, has some problems somewhere in his game. But Akinfeev has already proved he's one of the brightest European goalkeepers in the Russian league and the Russian national side alike, and has displayed tremendous abilities in every single aspect of the goalkeeping game. He makes much scarcer errors and in less fields than Foster whose positioning (Bellamy's second goal), shot-stopping (Lampard in the Charity Shield and Arshavin against Arsenal) and kicking (City's first goals, Everton) are mistake-riddled, whilst Akinfeev's problems mainly consist of aerial misunderstandings with his defenders.

If he's put with world-class defenders in front of him, he'll have little problems fixing that.
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No chance. He's scared to come off his line, and rightly so because he's appauling at making the right choice. When he does come out, he doesnt collect. And for a shot stopper, I've seen him let in worse shots than Foster has in his run in the first team. And he got slaughtered for those from some parties.
 
Nani Nana said:
You cannot be serious. :wenger:

Any keeper aged 23 in the world, and this includes Lloris, Neuer and all the others, has some problems somewhere in his game. But Akinfeev has already proved he's one of the brightest European goalkeepers in the Russian league and the Russian national side alike, and has displayed tremendous abilities in every single aspect of the goalkeeping game. He makes much scarcer errors and in less fields than Foster whose positioning (Bellamy's second goal), shot-stopping (Lampard in the Charity Shield and Arshavin against Arsenal) and kicking (City's first goals, Everton) are mistake-riddled, whilst Akinfeev's problems mainly consist of aerial misunderstandings with his defenders.

If he's put with world-class defenders in front of him, he'll have little problems fixing that.
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If he struggle to handle a cross or he is unable to communicate with defenders who speak his own language then I cant see how he can settle well in the EPL where crosses are considered an art and defenders speak in English. We had much higher profile goalkeepers (ex Barthez) who failed at United because of those two weaknesses. Akinfeev is not better then Baldy.
 
Nani Nana said:
Yuri Zhirkov too

He's not that small, 6"1' according to Wiki. The errors he sometimes makes, misplacing passes or flapping crosses, are in my opinion more down to a dip in concentration than proper lack of ability.

He's one of the cleanest goalkeepers in the world technically, very orthodox unlike some other names in contention to take Edwin VdS's sequel at United, like Neuer who, aged 24, seems to have acquired less of the goalkeeper's craft than Akinfeev yet. To me the safest option would be Akinfeev, or Lloris who is probably twice as expensive though.
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Trust me. Neuer is a superior keeper to the Russian
 
Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:
Trust me. Neuer is a superior keeper to the Russian
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You may be right, I haven't watched Neuer enough, but the German is far from being an established keeper just yet. He is certainly better than Akinfeev reflexes-wise, but all the other aspects of their games I see Akinfeev edging it. Let alone the fact Neuer has played in 88 competitive games in comparison to Akinfeev's 254, besides of 33 caps with the national side.

devilish said:
If he struggle to handle a cross or he is unable to communicate with defenders who speak his own language then I cant see how he can settle well in the EPL where crosses are considered an art and defenders speak in English. We had much higher profile goalkeepers (ex Barthez) who failed at United because of those two weaknesses. Akinfeev is not better then Baldy.
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Barthez was far from being lame in the air, it was even one of his strongest qualities. His positioning (remember Ronaldo's hat-trick) and kicking were basically what let him down at United because he didn't manage to get his concentration together. But Akinfeev is in my book a keeper who is much tougher to distract than the Frenchman. As for the language barrier, I don't think it would be a massive problem at all as great minds think alike.
 
Nani Nana said:
You may be right, I haven't watched Neuer enough, but the German is far from being an established keeper just yet. He is certainly better than Akinfeev reflexes-wise, but all the other aspects of their games I see Akinfeev edging it. Let alone the fact Neuer has played in 88 competitive games in comparison to Akinfeev's 254, besides of 33 caps with the national side.
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TBH He doesn't need to be as established to be better. He is just a classic all round German Keeper. A natural leader, dominant in the air, quick on his feet and off his line, a great shot stopper, quick with reflexes, and a brilliant game reader. He is also pretty good with a ball at his feet. Adler too who incidentally is a United fan, another German keeper is pretty similar.

Of other keepers around IMO Diego Lopez and Asenjio are of that ilk.

They both have what Akinfeev doesn't. Which is aerial dominance with crosses. A must for a Premier league keeper to stand out.

Akinfeev is too similar to Barthez IMO. Serious skills but best used as a line keeper. He'd only survive with 2 aerially dominant CB's ahead of him. The way Barthez was always superb behind Blanc-Desailly and Thuram-Desailly. Yet fell into problems whenever he had to bail out United's rear guard aerially. At United we currently don't use such a partnership in central defence.

Nani Nana said:
Barthez was far from being lame in the air, it was even one of his strongest qualities. His positioning (remember Ronaldo's hat-trick) and kicking were basically what let him down at United because he didn't manage to get his concentration together. But Akinfeev is in my book a keeper who is much tougher to distract than the Frenchman. As for the language barrier, I don't think it would be a massive problem at all as great minds think alike.
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Barthez wasn't lame in the air. But he wasn't dominant either. Which is the same problem Akinfeev has. To survive at United and in the EPL you can't flap at crosses often.
 
Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber said:
TBH He doesn't need to be as established to be better. He is just a classic all round German Keeper. A natural leader, dominant in the air, quick on his feet and off his line, a great shot stopper, quick with reflexes, and a brilliant game reader. He is also pretty good with a ball at his feet. Adler too who incidentally is a United fan, another German keeper is pretty similar.

Of other keepers around IMO Diego Lopez and Asenjio are of that ilk.

They both have what Akinfeev doesn't. Which is aerial dominance with crosses. A must for a Premier league keeper to stand out.

Akinfeev is too similar to Barthez IMO. Serious skills but best used as a line keeper. He'd only survive with 2 aerially dominant CB's ahead of him. The way Barthez was always superb behind Blanc-Desailly and Thuram-Desailly. Yet fell into problems whenever he had to bail out United's rear guard aerially. At United we currently don't use such a partnership in central defence.

Barthez wasn't lame in the air. But he wasn't dominant either. Which is the same problem Akinfeev has. To survive at United and in the EPL you can't flap at crosses often.
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Was looking for a clip but to no avail, remember in anfield in 2001 Owen beat Bartez to a cross and scored at the kop end. fecking arsehole should have got that one
 
I'm really looking forward to our back to back Champions League games against CSKA so i can have a good look at him myself.

We need a goalkeeper, no doubt about that.
 
Neuer and Adler are both better than him. Could be around the same price region too as they are playing for Leverkusen and Shalke.
 
Nani Nana said:
You may be right, I haven't watched Neuer enough, but the German is far from being an established keeper just yet. He is certainly better than Akinfeev reflexes-wise, but all the other aspects of their games I see Akinfeev edging it. Let alone the fact Neuer has played in 88 competitive games in comparison to Akinfeev's 254, besides of 33 caps with the national side.
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He's far better than Akinfeev in the air. You can twist it whatever way you want but Akinfeev struggles with crosses and that's an even bigger problem in this league.
 
Brwned said:
He's far better than Akinfeev in the air. You can twist it whatever way you want but Akinfeev struggles with crosses and that's an even bigger problem in this league.
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Either way you look at it there seems to be some very promising young goalkeepers breaking through at the minute which is perfect timing for us. Hopefully we'll act upon one of them.
 
samabachan said:
I still don't get why some people seem so determined to see Ben Foster fail, as if any of these expensive foreign players have proved themselves to be any better so far.
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i don't think anyone is determined to see him fail, just that people are beginning to see that he isn't good enough at this moment, and isn't showing any signs of improvement
 
A lot of people seem to take joy in the fact that he hasn't been good enough so far, and want to replace him with Adler, or Asenjo, or Neuer, or Akinfeev or [insert other flavour of the month here] who have all so far proved to have similar flaws (although I'll happily admit to not having seen Neuer play so I'm not qualified to judge him). Foster has had about 10 games for the first team and it's simply not enough time to either let him bed in or make a final judgement on him.
 
Decotron said:
Bit off topic but does anyone think Fergie may go down the VDS route again and go for a proven established keeper rather than the more risky young and learning option?
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Hopefully.

I mean, why not? There'll still be plenty of longetivity in a 25+ keeper and the price will probably be the same.
 
samabachan said:
A lot of people seem to take joy in the fact that he hasn't been good enough so far, and want to replace him with Adler, or Asenjo, or Neuer, or Akinfeev or [insert other flavour of the month here] who have all so far proved to have similar flaws (although I'll happily admit to not having seen Neuer play so I'm not qualified to judge him). Foster has had about 10 games for the first team and it's simply not enough time to either let him bed in or make a final judgement on him.
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So we should allow him more games, risking dropping more points because of his silly mistakes? The goalkeeping position is such that you can't give someone too many chances because its too risky. If he's not good, he's not good.
 
samabachan said:
I still don't get why some people seem so determined to see Ben Foster fail, as if any of these expensive foreign players have proved themselves to be any better so far.
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I was really excited about Ben Foster and would have loved for him to be brilliant for ours and England's sake. However, whilst i still think he has a decent shot at being England's number 1 i don't think he has the mental ability to cope at United. Every game is a high pressure game at United and he is struggling to deal with it.

I do think he'll go on to be a successful Premier League 'keeper though, much like T-Ho.
 
samabachan said:
A lot of people seem to take joy in the fact that he hasn't been good enough so far, and want to replace him with Adler, or Asenjo, or Neuer, or Akinfeev or [insert other flavour of the month here] who have all so far proved to have similar flaws (although I'll happily admit to not having seen Neuer play so I'm not qualified to judge him). Foster has had about 10 games for the first team and it's simply not enough time to either let him bed in or make a final judgement on him.
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Nonsense, absolute nonsense. To start with, these keepers are 3 to 4 years younger than Foster, and I reasonably expect them to be at a much higher level after that timespan. The mistakes Foster makes at 26 are worrying in that they not only stem from an improvable lack of abilities but a shortage of mental strength.

Any of the back-up players in our squad who'd be given extended periods in the starting 11 would be better than they currently are, Nani, Evans, Berbatov last season, Tosic, Welbeck. I don't fathom in the sake of what we should make an exception for Foster, who has already been given the reins of quite a few important games, and put him at the helm after VdS retires.

cw1984 said:
I was really excited about Ben Foster and would have loved for him to be brilliant for ours and England's sake. However, whilst i still think he has a decent shot at being England's number 1 i don't think he has the mental ability to cope at United. Every game is a high pressure game at United and he is struggling to deal with it.

I do think he'll go on to be a successful Premier League 'keeper though, much like T-Ho.
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spot on.


Decotron said:
Bit off topic but does anyone think Fergie may go down the VDS route again and go for a proven established keeper rather than the more risky young and learning option?
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There aren't many on the market at the moment, aside of Buffon, so I think he'll go for a long-term replacement, such as the youngsters mentioned above. Perhaps he'll aim for the current best as Julio Cesar who was linked with a move to United days ago but the Brazilian isn't one I'm particularly fond of.
 
Schmeichel had problems with decision-making regarding crosses his entire career. He couldn't be trusted when a cross came in. Oddly enough I only remember instances coming in from the left. The fantastic one-handed pick down for Denmark, and the incredible handball goalie butterfly late in his career, maybe in Portugal? Like night and day he was. Decent keeper overall mind.
 
phelans shorts said:
i don't think anyone is determined to see him fail, just that people are beginning to see that he isn't good enough at this moment, and isn't showing any signs of improvement
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.....



Nani Nana said:
Nonsense, absolute nonsense. To start with, these keepers are 3 to 4 years younger than Foster, and I reasonably expect them to be at a much higher level after that timespan. The mistakes Foster makes at 26 are worrying in that they not only stem from an improvable lack of abilities but a shortage of mental strength.

Any of the back-up players in our squad who'd be given extended periods in the starting 11 would be better than they currently are, Nani, Evans, Berbatov last season, Tosic, Welbeck. I don't fathom in the sake of what we should make an exception for Foster, who has already been given the reins of quite a few important games, and put him at the helm after VdS retires.
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:rolleyes:
 
Maroon Lucifer said:
Schmeichel had problems with decision-making regarding crosses his entire career. He couldn't be trusted when a cross came in. Oddly enough I only remember instances coming in from the left. The fantastic one-handed pick down for Denmark, and the incredible handball goalie butterfly late in his career, maybe in Portugal? Like night and day he was. Decent keeper overall mind.
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Never got to the point where he just didnt bother coming out, to avoid making a clown of himself, though.

Germany are playing Russia right now. You might as well watch Akinfeev and see if there are any other comparisons with the Great Dane...
 
Maroon Lucifer said:
Schmeichel had problems with decision-making regarding crosses his entire career. He couldn't be trusted when a cross came in. Oddly enough I only remember instances coming in from the left. The fantastic one-handed pick down for Denmark, and the incredible handball goalie butterfly late in his career, maybe in Portugal? Like night and day he was. Decent keeper overall mind.
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Some years ago, I happened to hear Fabio Capello commenting about Schmeichel. (It must have been 10 years ago).

Capello said that Schmeichel's greatest attribute was the way he organized those in front of him, keeping them focused all the time.

Leaving that aside, Schmeichel , who imo was United's greatest keeper ever, had his fair share of blunders though he also made some breathetaking saves that some keepers would only dream of.
Whilst someone like VDS tend to distinguish himself with being more consistent overall.
 
We need a goalkeeper who is the finishing product and is capable to lead the defense, pass the ball well and handle crosses. Having these attributes are more important for United than being able to make breathtaking saves.
 
samabachan said:
A lot of people seem to take joy in the fact that he hasn't been good enough so far, and want to replace him with Adler, or Asenjo, or Neuer, or Akinfeev or [insert other flavour of the month here] who have all so far proved to have similar flaws (although I'll happily admit to not having seen Neuer play so I'm not qualified to judge him). Foster has had about 10 games for the first team and it's simply not enough time to either let him bed in or make a final judgement on him.
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God knows what they would do. I bet that there are keepers out there that are better then Foster. Anyway I wouldn't mind if he remains at OT. Injury strikes every player and one day or another he may get a second chance (which he will take). On the other hand we are Manchester United FC and not Ben Foster FC. We cant afford losing points or putting wins in jeopardy just because Foster has to learn his trade.
 
samabachan said:
A lot of people seem to take joy in the fact that he hasn't been good enough so far, and want to replace him with Adler, or Asenjo, or Neuer, or Akinfeev or [insert other flavour of the month here] who have all so far proved to have similar flaws (although I'll happily admit to not having seen Neuer play so I'm not qualified to judge him). Foster has had about 10 games for the first team and it's simply not enough time to either let him bed in or make a final judgement on him.
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I know no one who is happy with seeing Foster flounder like he is doing currently.
 
I was playing a FIFA10 tourney with some mates from work, I was playing as Russia and Akinfeev's positioning was poor on several occassions. This does not bode well.

Seriously though, what we need is a commanding keeper. Whilst Rio and Vidic are both good players, I think last seasons form compared to what we have seen so far this season is at least partially down to having far less communication between the back line and the 'keeper.
 
Walrus said:
I was playing a FIFA10 tourney with some mates from work, I was playing as Russia and Akinfeev's positioning was poor on several occassions. This does not bode well.
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Agreed. I'm halfway through a season playing as Sheffield Wednesday, and Lee Grant has only let in 5 goals. Therefore we should sign him :)
 
Walrus said:
I was playing a FIFA10 tourney with some mates from work, I was playing as Russia and Akinfeev's positioning was poor on several occassions. This does not bode well.

Seriously though, what we need is a commanding keeper. Whilst Rio and Vidic are both good players, I think last seasons form compared to what we have seen so far this season is at least partially down to having far less communication between the back line and the 'keeper.
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eh???

not sure about this guy if people are already questionning his ability on crosses...

sometimes you are better just paying the extra money and buying the finished article


we should have spent big on VDS years before we eventually got him

look at chelsea spending umpteen millions on ferrara, boswinga, ivanovic, glen johnson, and belletti and they still ended up playing essien there in the champions league final (i know boswinga wasnt there then)

i think we should bite the bullet and pay what it takes to sign buffon/julio cesar
 
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