As David De Gea arrived at Old Trafford in the summer, the £18m 20 year old had enjoyed media attention building him up to become the perfect to successor to Edwin Van Der Sar, who retired from the Manchester United goal at the end of the previous campaign after enjoying a glittering career.
However, De Gea is looking far from the promising talent he was in Spain with Athletico Madrid; his reputation now lies in serious doubt. Is he really the solution for Ferguson? His nervous, clumsy performances had resulted in the more reliable, consistent reserve keeper Anders Lindegaard calling the 18-yard-box his own for several spells this season.
Critics of De Gea will detail how his timid character on the field leaves him incapable of dealing with crosses (of which he most certainly had less to deal with in Spain), corners and simple situations. He has been beaten at his near post several times, and continues to look more and more like an expensive flop.
This situation leaves fans unhappily reminiscent of the goalkeeping issue that followed the departure of Peter Schmeichel-players like Tim Howard, Roy Carroll and Fabien Barthez were unconvincing as long-term replacements, leaving Ferguson to continue searching.
So far this season, Manchester United have looked a similar team to last year-not performing brilliantly, yet accumulating a monstrous points tally leaving them as serious title challengers along with City and Spurs. Let’s not forget, a certain Paul Scholes has had to pull his socks back up for Ferguson to add experience and composure to a side that is in real threat of letting their title eventually slip to Mancini’s Sky Blues. Therefore, what United need is some security at the back in their hour of need.
Is the answer to this problem the replacement of De Gea then? That’s what many are thinking, or in fact, hoping for. However, Sir Alex Ferguson has publicly defended his young keeper, stating that the Spaniard is only under pressure because he of the size of the club he plays for. Additionally, Michael Owen publicly defended De Gea through Twitter after United’s 2-1 loss against Liverpool at Anfield left fingers being pointed at the goalkeeper’s incapability.
De Gea is going to have to live up to that faith in the coming weeks, especially with Lindegaard suffering a spell on the sidelines after an ankle ligament injury-Ferguson surely would not rely on the inexperienced Ben Amos (like he was forced to for United’s victory over Stoke due to Lindegaard’s injury and De Gea’s injury) for a prolonged period over the 2nd most expensive goalkeeper of all time.
A replacement may be becoming increasingly more likely for Feguson-he cannot rely on a goalkeeper who simply isn’t good enough to wear the number 1 shirt for a club with the highest ambitions. On the other hand, surely the shy De Gea will prove critics wrong, to eventually flourish and adapt to the English game under the unique guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson, and not wither under the media’s (and the fans’) expectation and pressure that comes with playing for Manchester United.
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lfc v spurs, friedel made a hash from a corner and no one says anything. everton v city howard fails physically an no one says anything. cech over past few matches made errors yet no said much.
de gea makes some errors and its gn crazy, why? he plays 4 man utd