Does Ole have it in him to drop De Gea for the last 2 PL games?

[Fortitude]

Dropping your #1 is perhaps the most rarest replacement seen in football. It is a huge statement and vote of no confidence, more likely to create unfixable rifts than not.

However, De Gea alone, before the CB's in front of him are even considered, has the potential to cost us a CL qualification, again (some might say), so the stakes, relative to our predicament, couldn't be any higher.

Ole hasn't made this kind of decision yet - one where the damage could be irreparable if not managed and handled correctly, so my question revolves around whether he will for the supposed greater good, or whether he stands by our #1 who, one would assume, has hit rock bottom in terms of confidence and self-belief.

Putting aside emotional fallout, what do you believe that Ole will do? Further, what should he do? De Gea may well rebound and give two performances for the ages, or perhaps he compounds matters and has another disasterclass or two.

Romero tends to be very good most of the time, but putting him into two games of such magnitude, with all the potential miscommunication and disruption to his CB's, is far from a sure thing or a call that couldn't spectacularly backfire.

 

[AKDevil]

My guess is he’d rather it go wrong with de Gea than after he’s picked Romero. Sadly, he’s backed De Gea too far and too strongly now.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

No and he shouldn't

 

[Galactic]

Too late in the season to gamble. But he really should have started with Romero, the regular cup goalie. That was the chance to gamble.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

As I said a bunch of times already. I don't think.he knows there's more the 13 players in the squad. He doesn't rotate these days.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

He should, Romero is a perfectly capable goalie and de Gea's current form is not trustworthy enough to put CL qualification in his hands.

 

[Strelok]

I was dead serious about us should drop DDG next match. Then suddenly I remember Romero's distribution and passing. It kinda sucks imo. We'll have the majority of possession for sure, and we probably would dominate the game as well. And we'll build from the back like the recent matches. So imo we should play DDG next match, just because he's better with the ball than Romero. Please don't bash me, just having a logical opinion.

 

[NickSantigo]

Look at SAF's record in this regard:
1990 drops Jim Leighton for FA Cup final replay
2003 - Barthez never kicked another ball for us after the 4-3 v Real Madrid
2004 - Tim Howard spills it against Porto, we get knocked out Roy Carroll starts the rest of the season
2005 - Roy Carroll spills Seedorf's shot v Milan, we get knocked out, Carroll is finished at United

Ole has to be ruthless here, he should have dropped De Gea for Romero on the run in for top 4 last season, he didn't and it cost us

 

[tenpoless]

Not strong enough to lift him up, let alone dropping him.
Sack Ole, sell Rashford.

 

[mkso]

He should but he wouldn’t.

 

[Jev]

I still believe he's the best goalkeeper in the squad. Bit of a knee-jerk reaction to an admittedly terrible game yesterday, when he's actually been quite good recently. People have a narrative and every mistake will further convince them, while they'll fail to internalise his good performances.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

I said yesterday this should be his Les Sealey moment, there’s every chance De Gea fecks this up for OGS for the second season running.
No question in my mind he should be dropped.

 

[Tarrou]

he simply has to drop him

 

[ArjenIsM3]

Romero has a mistake in him too. I feel he's a bit overrated around here. That being said I do think De Gea needs to be dropped. His performances have been subpar for too long.

Is it possible for Henderson to play in the EL for us when he comes back from his loan or is that against regulations? It would be an ideal opportunity for us to try him out. It'd be cup games so DDG shouldn't be too pissed off for not playing either (second keeper usually plays those) so if it doesn't work out we can still fall back on him.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

I still believe he's the best goalkeeper in the squad. Bit of a knee-jerk reaction to an admittedly terrible game yesterday, when he's actually been quite good recently. People have a narrative and every mistake will further convince them, while they'll fail to internalise his good performances.

sorry but...

2 years of horror mistakes does not ”knee-jerk” make.

 

[PoTMS]

I still believe he's the best goalkeeper in the squad. Bit of a knee-jerk reaction to an admittedly terrible game yesterday, when he's actually been quite good recently. People have a narrative and every mistake will further convince them, while they'll fail to internalise his good performances.

Why on earth would you think that?

 

[roonster09]

I dont think he will. I think Ole will just go with same 11 and try to make changes for the next season.

 

[Samid]

He should but he won't. At the very least I hope he sends DDG on holidays after Sunday's game and tells him his services won't be needed for the EL knockouts.

 

[treble_winner]

Look at SAF's record in this regard:
1990 drops Jim Leighton for FA Cup final replay
2003 - Barthez never kicked another ball for us after the 4-3 v Real Madrid
2004 - Tim Howard spills it against Porto, we get knocked out Roy Carroll starts the rest of the season
2005 - Roy Carroll spills Seedorf's shot v Milan, we get knocked out, Carroll is finished at United

Ole has to be ruthless here, he should have dropped De Gea for Romero on the run in for top 4 last season, he didn't and it cost us

If Ole drops De Gea in the next 2 matches, we may still lose top 4. However it would really convince me that Ole has it in him to be ruthless when necessary and he really learned his traits from the great Fergie. If not, his words about "being ruthless" were just all-talk.

 

[MadMike]

Look at SAF's record in this regard:
1990 drops Jim Leighton for FA Cup final replay
2003 - Barthez never kicked another ball for us after the 4-3 v Real Madrid
2004 - Tim Howard spills it against Porto, we get knocked out Roy Carroll starts the rest of the season
2005 - Roy Carroll spills Seedorf's shot v Milan, we get knocked out, Carroll is finished at United

Ole has to be ruthless here, he should have dropped De Gea for Romero on the run in for top 4 last season, he didn't and it cost us

Ole has dropped players from starting XI when they haven't performed for him after prolonged runs. Lukaku, Sanchez, James, Lingard and spring to mind.

I'm not sure why he defends De Gea so blindly that it becomes comical.

 

[MadMike]

He should but he won't. At the very least I hope he sends DDG on holidays after Sunday's game and tells him his services won't be needed for the EL knockouts.

And what happens if Romero picks up an injury or ban? We haul De Gea from the Spanish beaches to suddenly play? Or do we throw Grant in?

 

[Jev]

sorry but...

2 years of horror mistakes does not ”knee-jerk” make.

People have failed to recognise/admit the progress he's made recently. There was a period when these kinds of mistakes were way too commonplace, but lately he hasn't made too many mistakes and has saved us on quite a few occasions. Been an overall good goalkeeper since the lockdown. Then he had a mare yesterday but let's just see whether that was a freak occurrence or a return to poor form.

 

[CG1010]

I would drop De Gea to be honest for the long term benefit of the team as it gives out a message that non-performance by one, not even our best player for years, would be tolerated.

Having said that, if Ole drops him, and we let in even one goal in any of the two matches, knives will be out for him here. Like they have been out for Ole daring to rotate in FA cup match even though lots here were of the same opinion.

 

[TMDaines]

You can’t make the decision in isolation. The only reason to do this is because you’ve already decided De Gea won’t be involved next season.

As others have mentioned though, De Gea has essentially been given the status of undroppable, so it becomes a big deal if he’s not there.

 

[CG1010]

People have failed to recognise/admit the progress he's made recently. There was a period when these kinds of mistakes were way too commonplace, but lately he hasn't made too many mistakes and has saved us on quite a few occasions. Been an overall good goalkeeper since the lockdown.

DDG's only strength has been his world class shot stopping abilities, as he has been relatively poor/average in organising defence, commanding the box, sweeping up and even his distribution has gone progressively worse. With his shot stopping becoming erratic (its not a case of 1-2 errors but over a prolonged period of time since the world cup), and him developing a reputation for bottling at key stages, we would be mad to not atleast consider our options.

My preferred approach would be to strip away DDG's automatic starter status and drop him for the next 2 games (Romero isn't that bad either). Next season we should give Henderson a fair chance to become first choice along with DDG. Somewhat the same approach SAF followed back in 2012-13 season with DDG and Lindegaard.

 

[izec]

No

 

[izec]

Why on earth would you think that?

That is what Ole said

 

[Adam-Utd]

Not sure any decisions will be made until Henderson is back tbh.

Romero isn't the answer either, while he's a good shot stopper and better aerially he's dodgy with his feet and has a mistake in him also.

 

[Fortitude]

I still believe he's the best goalkeeper in the squad. Bit of a knee-jerk reaction to an admittedly terrible game yesterday, when he's actually been quite good recently. People have a narrative and every mistake will further convince them, while they'll fail to internalise his good performances.

There is a very real possibility he has howlers in these upcoming games; it doesn't take any kind of narrative to see he is shaky, unsure of himself and error prone, at the minute at least.

Romero, so late in the season, with barely any playing time with the CB's in front of him, is hardly a sure thing, so either way, it's not a decision to be taken lightly, but if De Gea has a nightmare, nobody should be saying they didn't see that coming.

 

[arnie_ni]

I dont think he can.

If he does an romero makes a mistake it could be his job on the line.

I think he'll stick with de gea and prays he has 2 worldies and then he'll bring henderson back next year

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Who is to say dropping him is for the greater good?

Doesn’t mean he’s ‘weak’ if DDG is not dropped. We only have 2 games left on the league, and then the manager can reassess, and look at where we go from here.

 

[Jev]

Quoting himself and me

I'm not saying we shouldn't consider our options. DDG is no longer a world-class goalkeeper and he doesn't earn his salary, we all know that. That doesn't mean he's crap, though, and with the contract he's on, realistically he's not gonna leave. At the moment I believe that, while a shadow of his former self and probably likely to decline further fast due to the reasons you're mentioning, he's still, as of now, the best goalkeeper in the squad. Whether that will still be the case when Henderson's back, time will tell. What we won't do is buy a new elite goalkeeper as long as DDG is here and have two goalies earning around 300,000 a week.

 

[Samid]

And what happens if Romero picks up an injury or ban? We haul De Gea from the Spanish beaches to suddenly play? Or do we throw Grant in?

Play Grant. Hopefully CL is secured this week so EL will just be a bonus chance at a trophy.

DDG needs a proper wake up call. Sending him on holidays when the rest of the squad is fighting for a trophy will send a loud and clear message.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

That is what Ole said

What managers say to the public, and what they say behind closed doors are completely different.

 

[P-Nut]

I reckon he's got the strength to, but I actually don't think he should.

Romero has got some mistakes in him to, and putting him into the line up with CL on the line and 2 games to go is going to heap huge pressure on him.

I'd rather we get through these 2 games by the rest of the team playing well and it being comfortable that way. We're playing a West ham team on the beach and Leicester with 5(?) injured players who have been poor even with most of them fit.

If the rest of our side do their job, then hopefully the GK shouldn't make much difference.

 

[VP89]

You shouldn't drop DDG for the last 2 vital games, that would be too risky.

Sure, if we beat West Ham 3-0 we can start Romero vs Leicester to send a message as by that time 4th is as good as ours.

 

[Withnail]

Romero has a mistake in him too. I feel he's a bit overrated around here. That being said I do think De Gea needs to be dropped. His performances have been subpar for too long.

Is it possible for Henderson to play in the EL for us when he comes back from his loan or is that against regulations? It would be an ideal opportunity for us to try him out. It'd be cup games so DDG shouldn't be too pissed off for not playing either (second keeper usually plays those) so if it doesn't work out we can still fall back on him.

I absolutely agree Romero is over-rated on here and I really don't see it.

He's nowhere near the keeper De Gea is and I'd agree that he has a mistake in him. A better keeper saves that goal against Norwich, for example.

Maybe DDG needs to be phased out next season but I don't see Romero as the answer. I'd rather stick with him for the next two games.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Play Grant. Hopefully CL is secured this week so EL will just be a bonus chance at a trophy.

DDG needs a proper wake up call. Sending him on holidays when the rest of the squad is fighting for a trophy will send a loud and clear message.

That’s an utterly ridiculous suggestion. Clearly you’ve never manager a person in your life.

DDG has made some really bad mistakes, but he’s not been unprofessional. If he gets taken out of the team, then of course he’s still let is the squad and will be there on match days. Sending him on holiday, and jettisoning him from the squad. Bloody mental.

 

[izec]

What managers say to the public, and what they say behind closed doors are completely different.

That is true, i just wanted to say that it wasn't what the poster thinks, but what Ole said. If Ole believes the drivel he says or not, is another matter.

He won't drop him, also not next season. I can make a bet with anyone. Rooney would still play for us regularly if he was here. Ole is too sentimental and the United way is hurting us more in this instance than it helps. he hasn't dropped him last season, he hasn't dropped him this season and he won't drop him the next one either. Ole is insane by sticking with a past it GK leaking goals

 

[Bondi77]

Look at SAF's record in this regard:
1990 drops Jim Leighton for FA Cup final replay
2003 - Barthez never kicked another ball for us after the 4-3 v Real Madrid
2004 - Tim Howard spills it against Porto, we get knocked out Roy Carroll starts the rest of the season
2005 - Roy Carroll spills Seedorf's shot v Milan, we get knocked out, Carroll is finished at United

Ole has to be ruthless here, he should have dropped De Gea for Romero on the run in for top 4 last season, he didn't and it cost us

VDS and Schmeichel made clangers as well but Fergie did not drop them because they were brilliant GKs but he did drop De Gea for Lindergard early on and then De Gea came good.
De Gea is in the top three GKs we have had and Ole is not going to drop him.
Fergie said one of the reasons why they went for De Gea was his temperment so we will see if he can bounce back from that horror show.