Unless we are linked with some mega rich goal keeper signing, De Gea stays as he is the best we have by a mile. The biggest problem ETH will have is sorting our midfield. Our defense and attack can hang on for one more year (Unless CR7 falls of a Cliff). So yeah, I don't think De Gea is in any immediate thread (but he is not the most suited for ETH style)
Why is everyone so certain that DDG will be a starter under ETH?
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De Gea's position might not be under fire YET. But he is also responsible for improving other aspects of his game (Assertiveness, distribution, mid-air battle, strength...etc). Such as the life EVERY player should have: You push yourself day-by-day.
I don't believe in the notion that he is too old as a player to improve his game and clear out weaknesses. Look at Courtois at Real Madrid. He arguably had flopped in his first years at Real. Within last year he has improved by leaps-and-bounds on everything, including ball-playing skills (Who thought a goalie with such high frame can be so agile?) and became an absolute colossus in the Champions League this year, including that Liverpool Final.
I see no reason why the world's greatest paid goalkeeper cannot do the same thing and have a similar to Courtois. De Gea's position might still be safe, but he ought to think of this year as another make-or-break occasion for him.
I actually see potential in Henderson, but he's nowhere close to where De Gea is right now. Maybe in 2-3 years, but not now. Fukking hell we'd deserve our miserable fate if we ditched De Gea for Sa.
Maybe an illustration might help. Let's say you, JB7, has underling medical conditions such as diabetes as well as an ingrown toenail, but you're being rushed to the ER because your car got smashed into on the road with you sitting in it. The ER medics have got to take care of the brain trauma first or else you're finished. Once you're out of the ICU you can start taking medication for your diabetes and get that ingrown toenail taken care of, but not until you're out of the ICU. We're in the ICU right now.
Any serious observer of Manchester United this season will acknowledge that the De Gea was in nowhere near close to being the most pressing problem in the squad, and in fact he was arguably our best player this season -- some would say Ronaldo, but no one would say someone other than De Gea or Ronaldo -- and when you break it all down by player apart from De Gea and Ronaldo, to a man we were pretty fukking shambolic most of the season. Fullbacks, shit. CB's, for the most part shit. McFred, shit. Pogba, shit. Lingard, shit. Bruno, not quite shit but almost. Rashford, shit. Sancho, ok at best. Ronaldo had some incredible moments but the end of his career is coming quickly. Apart from Garner our players on loan don't look all that promising. We've got a lot of problems to deal with first, which will eat our transfer budget quickly, before we should even think about ditching De Gea.
Fix the crisis to the patient first, then fix the ingrown toenail.
No money and Dave makes bank. It’s his job to lose next year.
To me he is one of the players of the season alongside Ronaldo.
Let's be sensible here, we have many other more pressing issues to solve in the squad. GK is the last position we need to worry about.
Let's solve our central midfield first and foremost (2 CM), then right wing and finally CB/RB this season.
Next season we need to look into two world class attackers and CB/LB.
Third season we need to complete our rebuild with new GK, another quality attacker and a CM.
Let's be sensible here, we have many other more pressing issues to solve in the squad. GK is the last position we need to worry about.
Let's solve our central midfield first and foremost (2 CM), then right wing and finally CB/RB this season.
Next season we need to look into two world class attackers and CB/LB.
Third season we need to complete our rebuild with new GK, another quality attacker and a CM.
I love De Gea, but personally I feel he is finished. He will do well for us for one more year until we sort other positions as he is one of the BEST shot-stoppers in the world. But all this learning thing is hard to predict. De Gea's biggest problems is not distribution. Personally distribution by a goal keeper is an overrated skill, its great if a GK has it, but its not make or break. Its possible to circumvent it with a good CB or a CDM who can drop down and distribute.
De Gea's biggest problem is coming out of the lines. There is a vast difference between PL teams in 2000-2010s to the ones today. While earlier teams where trying to hold out for a draw and eventually succumb, teams today try to do a Mourinho by nicking it through a counter or a set piece. COMING-OUT is a underrated GK skill, which is an absolute must against low block teams. De Gea lacks this and for me this alone warrants a new keeper. He has not been great at coming out to collect corners and neither has been good at snuffing out 1 v 1 counter attacks. This can't be easy to learn and I would guess is more instinctive for a keeper, unlike distribution which I think can be learned or circumvented.
The moment we start dominating, unless we play a Mourinho style low-block or a Ole style camp/counter, I cant see much use of having a 10/10 shot stopper who is not great coming out of lines, as we will need it to prevent sucker-punches.
He'll be a starter simply because we're not backed by an oil state and there are far more pressing areas to spend money on upgrading. He's at least pretty good at making saves, which I'd say is a key attribute. It's not like midfield where we have players who are bad at almost everything
DDG does not come out of the line whereas Henderson wants to show that he does it and then messes it up badly at times.
Both are terrible at that along with their kicking.
Both are terrible at that along with their kicking.
In terms of with the ball at his feet. And with some poetic license. Early 2000s throw back doesn't gave the same ring to it.
I think DDG will start, but he's easily one of the names that can be upgraded in a transfer window or 2.
DDG has been immense for us, totally immense. But he's not in the elite bracket any longer.
The problem we have is his wages, as ever an example of why our club has been a shit show for years with contracts.
If we put DDG up for sale today, the question isn't who would want to buy him, it's who will pay his insanely high wages? I can't think of a club in Europe who would replace DDG on his wages with what they currently have.
PSG, Barca, Bayern, Real, Atletico have better keepers anyway. No Italian club would pay him what he's on here and I can't see him going to another Prem team.
Undoubtedly there would be interested clubs, but would De Gea want to step down a level to a say, Sevilla for example and half his wages? I'd say no.
DDG likely stays here until he's out of contract and take a free.
For the first transfer window, I think there's too much going on to swap DDG, which is a bold move in itself.
Central defence and Central midfield HAVE to be seriously upgraded and with Lingard, Mata, Cavani, Greenwood, Martial all looking to be out of the picture, we need a forward or 2 also.
The bold move would be to start Henderson as no1 and stick with him while benching DDG. I think we can only do that when the squad has mostly been transitioned as the current group will just down tools and at any decision they dont like - such is the toxic environment our dressing room is
DDG has been immense for us, totally immense. But he's not in the elite bracket any longer.
The problem we have is his wages, as ever an example of why our club has been a shit show for years with contracts.
If we put DDG up for sale today, the question isn't who would want to buy him, it's who will pay his insanely high wages? I can't think of a club in Europe who would replace DDG on his wages with what they currently have.
PSG, Barca, Bayern, Real, Atletico have better keepers anyway. No Italian club would pay him what he's on here and I can't see him going to another Prem team.
Undoubtedly there would be interested clubs, but would De Gea want to step down a level to a say, Sevilla for example and half his wages? I'd say no.
DDG likely stays here until he's out of contract and take a free.
For the first transfer window, I think there's too much going on to swap DDG, which is a bold move in itself.
Central defence and Central midfield HAVE to be seriously upgraded and with Lingard, Mata, Cavani, Greenwood, Martial all looking to be out of the picture, we need a forward or 2 also.
The bold move would be to start Henderson as no1 and stick with him while benching DDG. I think we can only do that when the squad has mostly been transitioned as the current group will just down tools and at any decision they dont like - such is the toxic environment our dressing room is
Firstly, Sa was comfortably the second best goalkeeper in the league last season after Alisson. He was considerably better than De Gea at the one part of the game De Gea is actually good at - shot stopping - and streets ahead at other elements like crosses, sweeping & distributing. If you wouldn’t swap De Gea for him then you haven’t watched him properly frankly, I don’t know one Wolves fan that would take the swap.
As for your metaphor, it’s ridiculous because the difference between football and the nonsensical toenail is that these things are linked. If this ingrown toenails was linked to blood sugar levels somehow it would make a lot more sense. Because believe me, having a goalkeeper that does not leave his line to assist his teammates both in & out of possession, does not deal with balls into the box, does not effectively communicate with his centre halves, is a problem that needs fixing and until it is fixed we will keep seeing the same things happen. If you’re saying you see potential in Henderson then why wouldn’t you play him? Especially given the individual statistics all pointed to him being vastly superior in most areas, the team statistics also pointed to a more comfortable defence in front of him too. I’m not his biggest fan in truth but the numbers don’t lie and under every metric we were a better team with him behind them.
Oh I absolutely agree, Maignan is the ideal option and is worth pushing the boat out for. But if we have a relatively limited budget then I’m just saying if Ten Hag did want his own style of goalkeeper then bringing a cheap option in while we’ve got other pressing issues, similar to what both Klopp & Guardiola did when arriving at Liverpool & City, before moving onto the top level goalkeeper in 12-18 months, wouldn’t be the worst thing.
Why is everyone assuming Haaland will start for City under Guardiola? Pep prefers to play with a false 9 if anything and Haaland's best attributes don't fit that description at all. He's been playing in a team and league that emphasize direct play which makes him look better than he is. Personally think Haaland will warm the bench next season and Bernardo Silva will be moved up front as he seems to possess some of the attributes I mentioned above.
Id argue anyone that thinks Henderson is anything like Pickford is taking the piss, completely different players. If Henderson was black and from Brazil would you say this?
De Gea is probably safe for 1 more season simply because we don't have enough money to get another keeper in yet
But I highly doubt ETH will be pushing to renew his contract. He will stay for one more season and leave as a free agent the season after.
But I highly doubt ETH will be pushing to renew his contract. He will stay for one more season and leave as a free agent the season after.
It is claimed that De Gea was the POTY this year. Well, how many goals did he concede? He was not the innocent in that disaster, his contribution was as substantial as the other defenders.
We don't have to buy a new goalkeeper this year. Dean is waiting on the bench. There won't be any additional cost involved for the club.
We don't have to buy a new goalkeeper this year. Dean is waiting on the bench. There won't be any additional cost involved for the club.
Christ
Player's power + incompetent board.
Even if ETH wants to drop him, board will interfere
Even if ETH wants to drop him, board will interfere
Yes. They style is very much alike. There is a reason why Henderson isnt in goal for England. He's worse than Pickford. And those who want that in goal for united, is a lunatic
When the Brighton and Brentford goalkeepers have made the cut for the Spanish squad but DDG has been left out because the national manager thinks "a goalkeeper should start the play and dominate aerially", that surely means there's a case for dropping him from the United starting lineup.
I get why some might disagree. But the alternative idea is not exactly an inconceivable - even amongst people who understand football better than anyone on this forum.
The Spanish manager doesn't think DDG is one of the best goalies in the league. Heck, he only rates him as the third best spaniard in England, let alone compatriots playing in other countries. At worst, the truth is somewhere in between and United should be making serious plans for a replacement.
He’s absolutely crap and the fact that him and Ronaldo have been our best players this season is part of the problem.
We have other positions which need sorting first.
Is that true though when we have the 4th choice Spanish keeper in net. We have the first choice French and English CBs for example.
Spain have a lot of quality at GK England do not at CB
Our CM cant even get into the Scotland side as a midfielder by the way
Agreed CM is our biggest priority but I don’t see how CB can be considered a bigger priority than GK. I’m convinced that De Gea is the reason our CBs look as bad as they do.
Yes DDG is the reason Maguire gets spun on the half way line and why we get pressed heavily on our flanks because we can’t handle it. He is also the reason attackers run straight through our midfield.
Everytime DDG's name is bought up I'm always surprised to see people on here still defending him. For me, he is one of the biggest reasons we struggle so much defensively. He's been a great shot stopper and seems a guy with a top notch attitude, and genuinely seems to care for the club. But his inability to come of his line to claim crosses or sweep loose balls, his horrible distribution and lack of organizational ability have now been apparent for years and I struggle to see how we win major trophies with him in goal.
Trust me GK is a priority, we can't defend high because we have a GK who won't sweep. We can't defend deep well because we have GK who won't command his area and is a piss poor organiser, we can't build from the back because we have a GK who won't actively get involved with the build up. We struggle to counter quickly because have a goalkeeper whos distribution is very poor, even his long distribution lacks distance and accuracy.
This is a goalkeeper who also really struggles with one on ones and is in all honesty a complete pansy when it comes to physicality.
I'm glad some people are beginning to notice like Luis Enrique, that De gea is a massive negative in an awful lot of ways. He dosent do the basics at all but because he has good reflexes and agiltiy he makes worldie saves occasionally and fools cream themselves off about him being our saviour.
Replace de gea with any Prem GK and we would instantly have a more settled and stable defence. The one thing that struck me last season when Henderson had his little run is how much more organised and confident the defence looked. After watching de gea for too many years I forgot what that was like.
DDG does actually sweep when he is asked to
You cannot seriously believe that he was only asked to sweep 9 times in an entire Premier League season?
It is completely against his instincts, you see him begin to retreat and then in his head think "I should be going for that" before moving forward, by which time it's too late half the time and he takes a step forward and has to retreat.
He's not wrong though. I think if I was a goalkeeper on Courtois's level and I was being used as an example of why DDG is "one of the best in the business" (which he obviously isn't) I'd be pretty offended too. The Forest fan seems to think Courtois is slow off his line yet he's statistically more than twice as likely to deal with a ball in behind his defenders (0.58 actions per 90 v DDGs 0.24) and nearly three times as likely to deal with a cross into the box (8.7% of crosses v DDGs 3.3%). And and in terms of being poor with the ball at his feet, he passed the ball out 10 times a game on average more than De Gea (26 v DDGs 16 per 90) and threw the ball out twice more a game (5 v DDGs 3 per 90) than Dave. I'd be intrigued what Goldbridge thinks that makes De Gea by comparison if those are areas Courtois is poor at? A tree?
You cannot compare Courtois to DeGea because they have different kind of players to receive the ball. Our lot would lose it the moment it is passed to them or thrown to them by DeGea while Courtois knows they can keep possession of the ball. His weakness in the air, I will accept it.
So what, you're trying to say that De Gea makes himself available for passes on average 10 times less per game than Courtois because he knows that when it comes back to him, whoever he passes it to, regardless of whether he goes long or short, is going to lose the ball - despite one of the players in front of him being the exact same player who had been in front of Courtois for the previous few years? Seems legit
Because we have far better issues to take care of and no one's buying him at the wages he's on. Fully expect us to have a new gk by next summer though
You surely can not actually believe what your writing? Courtouis isn't even particuly strong with the ball at his feet and he is still streets ahead of de gea, it has nothing to do with the players infront if him and everything to do with De gea himself. He dosent show for the ball at all to help out and when he does have to play with his feet he quite often gives it away himself or plays someone else into trouble. He is the main reason we struggle to play out from the back.
Enrique is quite right.
But then he is also in the luxurious position of having Sanchez/Raya as immediate alternatives, not being limited in the number of changes he can make to his squad at one time, not being contractually tied to De Gea, etc. So it's easy for him to be that immediately principled in his approach. Our circumstances are rather different.
But then he is also in the luxurious position of having Sanchez/Raya as immediate alternatives, not being limited in the number of changes he can make to his squad at one time, not being contractually tied to De Gea, etc. So it's easy for him to be that immediately principled in his approach. Our circumstances are rather different.
Courtois has serious issues with how he believes he's perceived by other people. It surprises me that someone so good seems to be that insecure. He's still right, though. His shot prevention is streets ahead of De Gea's.
I love that this conversation is taking place. There are a decent chunk in the fanbase that are finally realising that De Gea isn't as good as the reputation he's earned over the years. He has way too many flaws that can't be ignored. It's not only that he's very weak in one area. There are multiple areas that he is terrible in. The stats show how bad he is at certain aspects of goalkeeping.
DDG was worth +3 goals this season. Not terrible. But the worst of the big 6 (which includes Ramsdale at Arsenal).
You can see his cross claiming, throughball sweeping and general passing are all well below par.