Can someone please explain De Gea’s overnight decline?

Jeppers7

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This is akin to arguing that great defenders are defined by great tackles. Keepers can offer teams so much more than just reflex saves.
I agree....but you can’t argue what DeGea gave us for four years....even when you factor in what he didn’t give us.....which is what puts Schmeichel above him.
 

::sonny::

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Last game he played well has been 5 yrs ago, a weak point like Lindelof and Martial
 

MAME DIOUF 32

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Aside from his reputation and salary, I'm not seeing much difference between his form now and the times earlier in his career where Lindegaard was coming in for him. Henderson is a better player than Lindegaard and should be doing the same.
 

alexthelion

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This is akin to arguing that great defenders are defined by great tackles. Keepers can offer teams so much more than just reflex saves. For me, Van der Sar is a cut above De Gea. I have always been disappointed by the fact that De Gea has never seemingly sought to address the weaknesses of his game.
easily.

IMO, VdS is United's greatest goalie, just ahead of Schmikes. Those two both made their defences better by organising them and instilling confidence, neither of which de Gea can do.
 

SirMattlives

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I dispute he is a club legend. It takes a bit more, over time, for someone to be legendary at United in my view.
 

devilish

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I attribute it to two things

A- Football has changed. The typical shot stopper goalkeeper isn't that fancy anymore
B- Our defence unit is a bad match for him. It lacks leadership (and DDG is as vocal as the goalpost), it lack pace (DDG won't leave his line even if the goal is on fire and his life depended on it) and its not that great in air as well.
 

devilish

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I dispute he is a club legend. It takes a bit more, over time, for someone to be legendary at United in my view.
It depends whom you ask. At MUTV they think the likes of Fletcher, Fortune, Ji Sung Park and Phil Neville are legends. If those are legends then so is DDG. The guy had done more to United then all those players.
 

Wilt

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Watched him play the game of his life away to Spurs January 2019. Where Spurs absolutely battered us 2nd half with DDG make save after save, a truly amazing performance. It’s been down hill ever since.

The pressure of being the Worlds highest paid keeper (signed Sep 2019) probably hasn’t helped. Also no longer Spain’s first choice keeper could be affecting his confidence.

At 30, he should be coming into his prime as a keeper, but he’s nowhere near the player he once was.

Physically he seems fine, IMO it’s all to do with his mental approach. He needs time away to get his mind right, but with the club paying him such ridiculous money, I can’t see that’s going to happen.
 

Jacob

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I attribute it to two things

A- Football has changed. The typical shot stopper goalkeeper isn't that fancy anymore
B- Our defence unit is a bad match for him. It lacks leadership (and DDG is as vocal as the goalpost), it lack pace (DDG won't leave his line even if the goal is on fire and his life depended on it) and its not that great in air as well.
Definately B. Thinking back to VDS times, what a great keeper he was despite his age. It's about the shots and crosses you don't have to save, purely because of mitigating communication and control.
 

devilish

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Definately B. Thinking back to VDS times, what a great keeper he was despite his age. It's about the shots and crosses you don't have to save, purely because of mitigating communication and control.
Yet VDS was in DDG's same situation at Juventus once.

In my opinion you can't really compare one player to another. Some seem to be finished by the time they hit their early 30s (ex Rooney, Owen, Bale etc) while others seem to last forever (Giggs, Ibra, Scholes etc). I also think that unless we're talking about flawless geniuses (ex Buffon) then each and every player will have weaknesses. Its up to the club to compliment those players with other players whose strengths cover such weaknesses. I am no football expert but through my time I've seen formidable defences being made up by half decent defenders who were bought on a budget. Unfortunately the contrary can also happen as in United's case. We spent ridiculous money (salaries/fees) on decent players who are made to look worse then they actually are simply because no one bothered to compliment them. United tend to play with a high line despite having 2 of the slowest CBs in the EPL. On top of that we've got a goalkeeper who is uncomfortable leaving his line. DDG, Maguire and Lindelof lack leadership, positioning and quite frankly a football brain.
 

U.N.C.L.E

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Not an overnight decline - I remember his first season and some fans we’re calling him a vampire (scared of crosses). He’s ALWAYS been jittery and it seems the yips have reappeared.
 

BusbyMalone

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The really frustrating thing for me with De Gea is the fact that he has never worked on certain aspects of his game. In all the seasons he has been here, he's still just as poor with his distribution, his weaknesses on set-plays, and his complete inability to come off his line as he was when he first came. That's really poor for a supposedly elite keeper. He does a certain thing really well and there's no denying that he has had some phenomenal seasons for us; one of the few stand-out players over the years. But he is still so weak in these areas of the game and it's really frustrating to still see him struggle after all this time.
 

rakesh289

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I have a suspicion that Emilio Alvarez leaving has a lot to do with his declining shot stopping capabilities.
DDG never was a commander in the box. He was such a good shot stopper that it never mattered, but since Emilio and DDG had a fallout his shot stopping has been awful.
 

Lentwood

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I have highlighted the stats behind De Gea's decline on other threads, so I won't go over them again, however, I will outline a few theories and general observations below.

De Gea has always been a very unique GK, especially by PL standards. In the PL, you usually want a physically imposing GK. The English game is notoriously physical and there are a number of sides who almost solely rely on crosses, long balls and set-pieces to score goals. Therefore, if you have a GK who can deal with this and take the pressure of the defenders by commanding his area and claiming crosses, that's a massive plus-point.

De Gea lacks these physical attributes, has never commanded his area and is suspect aerially. Likewise, he has a relatively small, relatively light frame for a GK, so rarely throws himself at the feet of attackers when they are through on goal or the ball bobbles loose in the penalty area.

What De Gea has done, and is something that has been deliberately coached into him, is remain firmly planted on his line and rely on his (previously) super-human reflexes to make saves other GKs just can't make. By staying on his line, he gives himself a split-second longer to react to the shot and can turn a weakness (command of area/lack of physical size) into a strength i.e. by saying to the attacker "i'm not going to make your life easier by coming out of my goal, you're going to have to beat me!)

If you want a good example of this, go back to the Liverpool game we won 3-0 at Old Trafford under LvG. That was one of the single-best performances I have ever seen by a GK and I was lucky enough that at the time, my season ticket was East Stand Tier 2, right behind De Gea with a perfect view for most of his saves. That game could easily have been 3-3, Liverpool created a ridiculous amount of chances but De Gea just would not be beaten.

I believe Sterling went through on goal at least 2/3 times and Ballotelli a couple of times as well, and each time De Gea stayed rooted to his line, stood up and then reacted like lighting to get a hand to the ball. There was one, I think from Ballotelli, that he nudged onto the bar which was outrageous. The crowd were absolutely loving it, almost not caring that our defence was a shambles, and actively goading Ballotelli and Sterling to try to beat De Gea...both Sterling and Ballotelli were looking around like "what can I do....this bloke is just a freak!"

The problem is now, as with any player, there's an inevitable physical decline with age. Now, we have just entered the world of Big Data and Analytics, so we know that all the old lazy soundbites about GKs improving with age and peaking in their 30s is just not true. The Data tells you that MOST sportspeople are in their physical prime around 26-28. David de Gea is 30, so should now be well into his physical decline.

Now, this drop off is hard to quantify - I'm not saying he went overnight, but even a 5% decline between 28-29 and a 5% decline between 29-30 would be very noticeable for a GK who relies so heavily on agility, reflexes and hand-eye reaction. Take the Ballotelli save I mentioned earlier, that was a fingertip save from a shot smashed at him from 12 yards, he isn't making that save now, he's probably not even getting his arm up past his shoulder before it's whistled into the net.

So OK...I think most posters can accept that he has never been the bravest, most commanding GK and that there has been some physical decline, but granted, that doesn't explain goals conceded like Barcelona (A), Watford (A) etc...which were just bad mistakes in any GKs book.

My theory is that De Gea now feels a vulnerability he has never felt before, and that is affecting his confidence and his all-round game. Imagine if you've always been very good at your job and you suddenly start to feel vulnerable. You're in a high-pressure environment, the spotlight is on you and you know you're not as good as you once were. You start making little half-mistakes, in De Gea's case you let in the odd goal or two you know you would have saved two years ago. You start over-thinking it, adjusting your technique, changing your body position, you're no longer doing things naturally or instinctively. I think all of that combined with the associated loss of confidence has led to the more serious, comical errors we have seen.

Remember, football is a sport played by millions around the world. De Gea plays GK, a very specialist position. At one time, he had claim to be the best in the world at it. Think about that! Being the best in the world at something millions of people train all of their lives to do! Therefore, my point is, there's a long way to fall! De Gea's decline from world's best to one of the Premier League's worst is more noticeable because of how good he was and how bad he now is - but that drop-off has probably only been 10/15% across the board. Unfortunately, that's enough to really expose a GK.

Finally just to wrap-up, as I said 18-months ago, this is not a blip, this is not a downturn in form. De Gea is just not as good as he was. That's a fact for me. The responsibility now lies with the management to put him out of his misery. It's not his fault he gets picked every week when fundamentally incapable of performing to the standard required. Ole has to make that decision and do what is best for everybody now
 

Alfie092

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Think it was a steady decline. What made him world-class was his general shot-stopping and reflexes. He was never a commanding goalkeeper or good with the ball at his feet - however, he was better in his early days with his feet than he is now that's for sure.

Think he will remain a good goalkeeper for another 2 seasons but if we want to go back to the top we need more than just good...
 

sempleat

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I’m really not sure that his reflexes started deteriorating at the age of 27/28, although it would’ve been an easier explanation (a la Casillas). It’s still a mystery to me, but the most likely breaking point would be the World Cup for me. He was struggling for so long to get that starting spot for Spain, spending many years as the best/second best keeper in the world on the bench behind Casillas, looking at them winning on trophy after another... and when he finally got his chance, he completely shat the bed. In front of the whole world and in front of the Spanish fans, who spent years underrating him because they didn’t watch PL... only to be proven right on their suspicions. After that he even lost a starting spot to Kepa of all people!
Well, he didn't sit on a bench while Spain won any trophies. They won between 2008 and 2012, he didn't even have the chance to sit on the bench back then and he wasn't the second best keeper in the world. 2010 was all Valdes vs Casillas.

I do agree with you though. The only tournament he sat on the bench was the 2014 World Cup where Spain decidedly did not win, and of course he would have been sitting there watching the horror show of keeping and defending thinking 'what if...'

And when he finally did get his chance for Spain in 2016 (he played every game of the Euros) they disappointingly fizzled out. Then 2018 was a disaster. On the other hand a young Iker Casillas had basically the opposite experience (albeit similar decline). He was benched in the 2002 Champions League final because he hadn't played that well in the league that year - the starting keeper then gets injured, 20 year old Iker comes on and makes several saves to ensure Madrid the victory. Incredibly, at the 2002 World Cup Spain's number one keeper Canizares dropped a bottle of aftershave and severed his tendon so couldn't play - again Iker comes in, he does well and kept his spot as Spain's number one. That must have given him such a confidence boost, the complete opposite of 2018 for De Gea - he became one of the best goalkeepers in the world and saved Real Madrid match after match in a tough period for the club.
 
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SadlerMUFC

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For me, De Gea's decline has been inevitable. He has always been a keeper who depended way too much on natural ability and agility rather than technique, positioning and being brilliant at the basics. So even though he still isn't old, the agility of a 30 year old isn't going to be anywhere near the agility of a 25 year old. This is the time when De Gea should be coming into his prime as his knowledge how to play the position should be top level.

Unfortunately it doesn't appear that way. Many have been quick to point out his mistakes. Not me. Sure, they piss me off, but it's not the big mistakes that drive me crazy. It's the little ones that drive me nuts. There have been so many goals that he's allowed in that are because of his positioning. If a defender is taking away one side of the goal, he should be cheating to the other side. But because he doesn't do that, if the opponent finds a corner they score because his starting position is wrong. Most look at that and say "wasn't De Gea's fault, it was a good shot". Sorry, but I disagree. If his starting position was right then he would have saved it.

I've also heard a lot of people defending him saying "he wasn't at fault for any of the goals". To be a keeper for this great club "not being at fault" isn't good enough. 3 goals on 3 shots vs Everton just isn't good enough, especially when only one of them was unsaveable. And if I'm honest, the unsaveable goal is probably the one of the 3 that he would have saved a few years ago. That's just what De Gea did. He made saves that no other keeper could. He would help us steal 3 points instead of drop 2.

So unless De Gea all of a sudden becomes brilliant at the basics, I can see his career going into a massive decline. And seeing Henderson come out and grab crosses last night was something we haven't seen in a long time and it was nice to see. Time to give him a run of games...
 

Jim Beam

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It's not an overnight decline.

He has never been a great goalkeeper.

He has always been a great reflex shot-stopper though, especially from close-range efforts, and that has scewed people's opinions, leading them to think he is a great goalkeeper.

He was never a dominating goalkeeper. He never owned his 18-yard box. Heck, this guy didn't even own his own 6-yard box which is why he had to make so many good-looking close-range effort saves. So, for example, the close-range saves Dave made against, say Arsenal two seasons ago in a game he got hailed for, feck me... most of those saves most goalkeepers wouldn't have to make, simply because they wouldn't have invited play into their six-yard box in order to have to make those saves. The danger would have been dealt with by a better goalkeeper well before a great save had to be made.

If we go back to when he first came, Alex Ferguson didn't want De Gea.. He wanted to sign Neuer because he saw him as a more dominating goalkeeper. But our goalkeeping coach at the time Eric Steele insisted De Gea would transform into a more dominant goalkeeper, not just a shot-stopper. But this has never happened. EVER. And I still, to this day, believe Ferguson thinks he got that decision wrong. Even in 2015 when everyone was labelling De Gea as world class... he was rubbish. He was the least effective goalkeeper in those days, playing at such an elite level. No defensive line has ever looked comfortable with De Gea behind them. And I even mean Vidic and Rio. And I even mean the Spanish backline. The fecker keeps his studs stuck on his goalline. He is literally an ineffective goalkeeper.
What a load of crap. And sudden echo on this forum that he was always a bit crap also. Some of the saves he made during his peak was Matrix stuff.
 

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Only so long you can rely on cat like reflexes to save you as a goalkeeper. His box authority was always poor, never left his 6 yard box when he should have to come get the ball resulting in lots of goals conceded and his handling of crosses and lack of command have always been lacking.
 

The Oracle

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Interesting thread from a more technical perspective.

It is definitely true that those Leipzig and Everton goals are the type of incidents where peak De Gea used to pull of reaction save with his feet but that specifically isn't happening as much any more.
I honestly believe the issue is his eyesight deteriorating with age.

The eye condition he has is far-sightedness, which means he is able to view objects from a distance, but the closer the object (football) is to him, the more difficult it is for him to see it.

May go a long way to explaining why one-on-one's that are closer to him, are resulting in more and more goals conceded as the years go by.
 

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Anyone ages and the body changes. The mind and thought are all starting to converge to something. It’s normal process. We have to accept that even though we all wish him lasts longer in such a brutally competitive elite pro sports. He is a hero of this club.
So, I hope Henderson gets a run of games now. Let’s just accept it at least for now.
 

Giggs86

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His best ability which made him world class was his reflexes and shot-stopping, naturally it declines with age.

Besides, he never had the ability to communicate and organize the defense like Schmeichel or VDS used to. VDS for example had that very calm and chill demeanor that calmed down the defenders and made them more confident. With De Gea, especially lately it seems that it is the opposite - he looks nervous all the time and it translates to panic and error from our defenders.
 

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I have a suspicion that Emilio Alvarez leaving has a lot to do with his declining shot stopping capabilities.
DDG never was a commander in the box. He was such a good shot stopper that it never mattered, but since Emilio and DDG had a fallout his shot stopping has been awful.
His poor form started 12 months before Alvarez left so not sure if that had anything to do with it.
 

RashyForPM

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Some keepers, like outfield players simply peaky early. Also not denying that De Gea wasn't at one point world class and top 2-3 in the world but it's worth noting that Spain never really rated him.
Spain’s loss imo. He probably never played well there because he was never trusted. He may be pretty bad in terms of goalkeepers going to the Euros now and I’d struggle to trust him if I was Enrique, but back then, the fact that he had to serve as understudy to rubbish keepers like a declining Casillas, Reina and Kepa was a joke. It was to Spain’s detriment for sure.
 

RashyForPM

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I have highlighted the stats behind De Gea's decline on other threads, so I won't go over them again, however, I will outline a few theories and general observations below.

De Gea has always been a very unique GK, especially by PL standards. In the PL, you usually want a physically imposing GK. The English game is notoriously physical and there are a number of sides who almost solely rely on crosses, long balls and set-pieces to score goals. Therefore, if you have a GK who can deal with this and take the pressure of the defenders by commanding his area and claiming crosses, that's a massive plus-point.

De Gea lacks these physical attributes, has never commanded his area and is suspect aerially. Likewise, he has a relatively small, relatively light frame for a GK, so rarely throws himself at the feet of attackers when they are through on goal or the ball bobbles loose in the penalty area.

What De Gea has done, and is something that has been deliberately coached into him, is remain firmly planted on his line and rely on his (previously) super-human reflexes to make saves other GKs just can't make. By staying on his line, he gives himself a split-second longer to react to the shot and can turn a weakness (command of area/lack of physical size) into a strength i.e. by saying to the attacker "i'm not going to make your life easier by coming out of my goal, you're going to have to beat me!)

If you want a good example of this, go back to the Liverpool game we won 3-0 at Old Trafford under LvG. That was one of the single-best performances I have ever seen by a GK and I was lucky enough that at the time, my season ticket was East Stand Tier 2, right behind De Gea with a perfect view for most of his saves. That game could easily have been 3-3, Liverpool created a ridiculous amount of chances but De Gea just would not be beaten.

I believe Sterling went through on goal at least 2/3 times and Ballotelli a couple of times as well, and each time De Gea stayed rooted to his line, stood up and then reacted like lighting to get a hand to the ball. There was one, I think from Ballotelli, that he nudged onto the bar which was outrageous. The crowd were absolutely loving it, almost not caring that our defence was a shambles, and actively goading Ballotelli and Sterling to try to beat De Gea...both Sterling and Ballotelli were looking around like "what can I do....this bloke is just a freak!"

The problem is now, as with any player, there's an inevitable physical decline with age. Now, we have just entered the world of Big Data and Analytics, so we know that all the old lazy soundbites about GKs improving with age and peaking in their 30s is just not true. The Data tells you that MOST sportspeople are in their physical prime around 26-28. David de Gea is 30, so should now be well into his physical decline.

Now, this drop off is hard to quantify - I'm not saying he went overnight, but even a 5% decline between 28-29 and a 5% decline between 29-30 would be very noticeable for a GK who relies so heavily on agility, reflexes and hand-eye reaction. Take the Ballotelli save I mentioned earlier, that was a fingertip save from a shot smashed at him from 12 yards, he isn't making that save now, he's probably not even getting his arm up past his shoulder before it's whistled into the net.

So OK...I think most posters can accept that he has never been the bravest, most commanding GK and that there has been some physical decline, but granted, that doesn't explain goals conceded like Barcelona (A), Watford (A) etc...which were just bad mistakes in any GKs book.

My theory is that De Gea now feels a vulnerability he has never felt before, and that is affecting his confidence and his all-round game. Imagine if you've always been very good at your job and you suddenly start to feel vulnerable. You're in a high-pressure environment, the spotlight is on you and you know you're not as good as you once were. You start making little half-mistakes, in De Gea's case you let in the odd goal or two you know you would have saved two years ago. You start over-thinking it, adjusting your technique, changing your body position, you're no longer doing things naturally or instinctively. I think all of that combined with the associated loss of confidence has led to the more serious, comical errors we have seen.

Remember, football is a sport played by millions around the world. De Gea plays GK, a very specialist position. At one time, he had claim to be the best in the world at it. Think about that! Being the best in the world at something millions of people train all of their lives to do! Therefore, my point is, there's a long way to fall! De Gea's decline from world's best to one of the Premier League's worst is more noticeable because of how good he was and how bad he now is - but that drop-off has probably only been 10/15% across the board. Unfortunately, that's enough to really expose a GK.

Finally just to wrap-up, as I said 18-months ago, this is not a blip, this is not a downturn in form. De Gea is just not as good as he was. That's a fact for me. The responsibility now lies with the management to put him out of his misery. It's not his fault he gets picked every week when fundamentally incapable of performing to the standard required. Ole has to make that decision and do what is best for everybody now
Yeah great post. Agree with everything you said.
 

antohan

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The decline is anything but precipitous. His overall game has always been lacking in some critical areas like command over the box, organizing a defense, sweeping, communication, and defending set-pieces. He more than made up for it with his otherworldly shot-stopping which was insane. As that aspect of his game declined, the other aspects became more prominent and his mistakes now look flagrant.
There's two types of world class goalkeepers (some being both combined at their peak).

The ones that have what is listed in bold as "lacking" remain at the top well into their 30s and can still be top keepers at the age of 40.

The ones that rely on reflexes and agility and are incredible shot-stoppers wither away around the 30yo mark as they rely largely on physical attributes.

DDG is in the latter category.
 

Jim Beam

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yeah, he is not good anymore, but rewriting history is absolutely embarrassing... he was an absolute monster and brought around 10 from 15 points in the league.

 

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Goalkeeping is so much about mental fortitude and confidence, concentration, once you have achieved a certain physical routine, it's all about what's between your ears. He's been in a mental quicksand since 2018 and is slowly drowning. I don't know how anybody gets out of that. Him losing his starting spot might help but I feel it's more likely to push his head in deeper.
 

sullydnl

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Goalkeeping is so much about mental fortitude and confidence, concentration, once you have achieved a certain physical routine, it's all about what's between your ears. He's been in a mental quicksand since 2018 and is slowly drowning. I don't know how anybody gets out of that. Him losing his starting spot might help but I feel it's more likely to push his head in deeper.
Tbh best way for him to try and do that would probably be to move. Fresh start, new club, new coaches, new challenge.
 

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I think he is a player that does well when he has lots to do in a game.
Agree. He is very good when he is on his toes and the game helps him to stay sharp and focused. DDG style of play depends a lot on reflections. It’s almost the same as depending a lot on the right arousal and confidence.

When we first decided to bring home Henderson, we should have gone all in making him our first choice. He had proven enough in SU. It was stupid to have two goalkeepers on that level. Romero and Henderson would’ve been fine, and we could have received a fair amount money for DDG and also saved a huge wage.

Everything is more easy in retrospect ;)
 
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Scholsey2004

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He was fantastic at his peak but hes declined significantly since then. Some goalkeepers seem to go on forever but some definitely decline early. Joe Hart and Paul Robinson off the top of my head.
 

Slik

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It hasn't been overnight, his decline has been pretty steady to be honest. Check out his stats for the last four years. (Ranking among first choice PL goalkeepers only, out of 20)

2017-20182018-20192019-20202020-2021
Shot Stopping (PSxG-GA)2nd8th10th15th
Crosses collected16th17th16th19th
Sweeping (coming out early)14th18th17th17th
Errors leading to goals04 (3rd most)3 (3rd most)1 (Joint 5th)


De Gea is still able to pull off outstanding saves that are good for YouTube and easy to talk about in post-match. Its similar for his mistakes, when they happen they tend to stand out. As a result, arguments about De Gea tend to focus on "this amazing save" vs "that terrible mistake" with fans minutely dissecting each to try and prove a point. In truth the occasional outstanding save or terrible howler are not the real issue.

Three or four mistakes a season might seem bad, but you can live with them if a goalkeeper is otherwise outstanding. Nick Pope for example has made more mistakes leading to goals than De Gea (2 vs 1). But Nick Pope is the best shot stopper, best cross taker and 2nd best sweeper in the country. Based on xG, he's saved Burnley 8 goals that De Gea would have conceded. So mistakes can be a red herring when looking at a goalie. The real issue is that his fundamentals have gone to pot. So far this season, De Gea is among the worst keepers in the league on the basics.

This hasn't happened overnight. All that's really happened is that the fans have kind of accepted that De Gea is world class from back when he was, so they only really question that when high profile mistakes come along. Then when a good performance comes along, they tend to think that the mistakes must have been a fluke and he's back to normal. Slowly though, fans have noticed that the high profile saves seem to happen less and less, and begun to look at his performances more closely. And when they've looked at those performances, they're realised there's a bigger problem there than just the odd howler or two.
This post deserves a like . Spot on
 

Slik

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David De Gea is a world-class shot-stopper, probably one of the best reactive goalkeepers ever. He isn't the most focused nor are
his communication skills at the top of the game and this is why he will make costly mistakes in some big games. I think a better
and settled back 4 would help him but he isnt a general at the back like Kasper Schmeichel or Big Peter.
This is not 2017. He was a world class shot stopper. His statistics shows he has been bang average at shot stopping for the last 3 years. Add that to his poor abilities in almost all other areas of goalkeeping and he is actually bordering on average as a goalkeeper at the moment.
 

Andy_Cole

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I don’t think he was ever a keeper for a top club. As in he doesn’t have the concentration to make 1/2 saves a game when it’s quiet for 90 minutes. He’s great when bombarded with shots. See Brad Fredel.
 

Shiva87

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Agree. He is very good when he is on his toes and the game helps him to stay sharp and focused. DDG style of play depends a lot on reflections. It’s almost the same as depending a lot on the right arousal and confidence.

When we first decided to bring home Henderson, we should have gone all in making him our first choice. He had proven enough in SU. It was stupid to have two goalkeepers on that level. Romero and Henderson would’ve been fine, and we could have received a fair amount money for DDG and also saved a huge wage.

Everything is more easy in retrospect ;)
I think DDG deserved his shot at keeping his place over the summer. Ole didn't put Henderson right in to also ease him into the team and squad. From what comes across in the public, DDG has lots of respect in the squad and making that big a shift overnight could have been disruptive. Just like selling Pogba last summer would have been disruptive to the ambitions of the team.

Most people who train with both goalkeepers now may also be asking the question now on why we are persisting with DDG. So from a squad management standpoint, it was the right thing to do. Question is, does Ole have the gumption to make that decision this weekend? I will be hugely disappointed if he persists with De gea but knowing Ole and his loyalty towards his players - he may just not do it till the summer. That could be a bit late IMO.
 

Ekeke

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Possibly owed a lot to his coaching? I remember he fell out with his goalkeeping coach and he left bemused. Was probably sick of telling David to come off his line :angel: