Blogs

Where did it go wrong for this Manchester United goalkeeper and can he resurrect his career?

|

When Tomasz Kuszczak joined Manchester United on loan in 2006, he had little experience or pedigree at the top level. However after an impressive season for West Brom, many started to see the potential in the Polish keeper, and Ferguson brought him to Old Trafford. He wasn’t expected to have a huge immediate impact, but demonstrated his talent in cameo appearances, notably saving a Gilberto Silva penalty against Arsenal. When his loan spell was made permanent the following year, it was to be more of the same, as his opportunities in the first team were limited.

His breakthrough season was 2005/6 at West Brom, where he donned the gloves on a regular basis after retaining the position acquired at the start of the season when Kirkland got injured. One particular performance stood out, against Wigan, where he won the praise of the fans and neutrals after making ‘save of the season’ and keeping a clean sheet. Upon joining United, after some initial controversy, Tomasz was welcomed by the United fans.

He stated at the end of the loan spell in 2007 that he wanted to become Man United’s first choice keeper at some point down the line. However, he has never really broken out of the role as backup or reserve keeper at the club, with many budding young goalkeepers ready to take away his opportunity.

I think there have been two main points in his United career where Kuszczak missed out on the opportunity to work his way into the first team, neither being really his fault. Firstly, at the start of the 2007/08 season, after his move to Old Trafford was made permanent, he must have felt in with a chance to prove himself after injury left Ben Foster out of the side.

However, the in-form Edwin van der Sar was chosen as United’s first choice keeper from the outset, which later proved to be the right decision as he went on to have what was arguably his best season for the club. Kuszczak’s second missed opportunity to shine on the big stage was the League Cup final in 2009, where he was left out in favour of Foster. Although he would make a few more appearances after this, the general feeling was that he would never really get a chance to showcase his consistencies when it mattered.

After the purchase of Anders Lindegaard and later David de Gea, it began to signal the intentions of Alex Ferguson that Kuszczak isn’t the goalkeeper he has faith in to start a new era without Van der Sar. The fact that he is now left behind two keepers for important games, and the promising Ben Amos is getting opportunities to come through also, means that the Polish goalkeeper seems doomed for a career on the sidelines unless he can engineer himself a move away from United.

It seems regretful that he never really got a genuine run as United’s number one, but at this level you don’t often get many chances to shine, and without a proven track record it was always going to be difficult for him to get a permanent place between the sticks.

With his contract up in the summer, it seems like the perfect time to get his career back on track and get some regular game time. There would also be a lot of value in him going out on loan in January, so that he can get in some games and showcase his talents before a potential move in the summer.

After some recent disagreements and reactions in the media over Kuszczak being reportedly denied a loan deal, I hope for his sake that he can resolve any problems and get the move he wants, because he is a goalkeeper definitely worthy of a place at a Premiership side. Sunderland have been linked with a loan deal for him, which seems like a good option with the injuries to Gordon and Mignolet, and appears viable with the obvious connections between Ferguson and Bruce.

I do have a bit of a heavy heart for a keeper who is trying his best to get into his national side to represent his country. He’s never really been taken seriously at United, none more so than when a misprint on his shirt left him being displayed as ‘Zuszczak’, and was thrown into the deep end at a club who arguably had the most hotly contested number one jersey in the world.

Follow me on Twitter: @HazbTwit

Introducing the neat little app that’ll pay you to view content tailored to your interests:

ThisisFutbol.com are seeking new writers to join the team! If you’re passionate about football, drop us a line at “thisisfutbol.com@snack-media.com” to learn more.

Share this article