What's the thinking behind all United's goalkeepers?

The Boy

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I don't get what Ole and the club are thinking here, you had 3 first team keepers at the end of last season and then added Heaton this summer while Henderson and DDG are still battling it out for the number one spot, but it doesn't look like any of them are leaving or ever had any intentions of leaving.

Henderson: Apparently (according to the Athletic) Wolves made an enquiry for him and were rebuffed immediately, so it seems there s no intention to sell.
DDG: With the wages he is on, PSG was the only realistic option for him, but now Donnarumma has gone there, that rules that move out and apparently (again according to the Athletic, DDG's partner and daughter are in Manchester looking to relocate to the city.
Heaton signed for 2 years and Grant has just signed on for another season.

So with Romero finally leaving and the club bringing the numbers down to 3 keepers, why bring in a new keeper?
 
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Idxomer

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It's a mess and most fans will want a new one next summer.
 

Adamsk7

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Because we now have the best goalkeeping department in the world! We may not win any trophies but when we look back, we can remember these times with fondness.

“if De Gea and Henderson got injured, we could still play Tom Heaton! He’d probably be a starter at some clubs” we’d chortle

“if De Gea and Henderson AND Heaton got injured, we could still play Lee Grant! He’d probably be a starter at your local Dog and Duck Sunday 5 a side over 35’s league” we’d exclaim with glorious purpose.
 

largelyworried

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Its obvious one of De Gea or Henderson will be going.

Henderson/De Gea - 1st choice
Heaton - bench
Grant - backup

That's a pretty straightforward goalkeeping set up.

I'd guess its De Gea going. Granted, its hard to see exactly where he goes given his wages etc. But in the end, you don't build your squad based on who you can't get rid of. We might see De Gea on the bench for a while before he eventually goes, but unlike last season, I think Ole will tell him his time's up and he won't be getting game time. It'll be up to him to find a new club.
 

Mr.Ridiculous__

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We could have 10 keepers but we still wouldn't sub in the ones that are better at penalties
 

The Boy

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Its obvious one of De Gea or Henderson will be going.

Henderson/De Gea - 1st choice
Heaton - bench
Grant - backup

That's a pretty straightforward goalkeeping set up.

I'd guess its De Gea going. Granted, its hard to see exactly where he goes given his wages etc. But in the end, you don't build your squad based on who you can't get rid of. We might see De Gea on the bench for a while before he eventually goes, but unlike last season, I think Ole will tell him his time's up and he won't be getting game time. It'll be up to him to find a new club.
It certainly doesn't look like DDG is going though it would make sense, but he isn't the hot property he once was and his wages are huge.

De Gea, meanwhile, gave some the impression he wished to leave United immediately after the disappointment of the Europa League final. He cut a distraught figure. But he soon afterwards made plain to Solskjaer his desire to stay and reassert his authority over the position.

There will always be practical impediments to De Gea departing. His £375,000 per week contract means the pool of potential takers is minimal and the only realistic destination this summer was removed last week when Paris Saint-Germain signed Italy’s Euro 2020 final match-winner Gianluigi Donnarumma.

De Gea, an unused back-up to Unai Simon throughout the tournament as Spain lost to Italy in the semi-finals, is said to have acknowledged his form could have been better but to be feeling confident about the coming season after reflecting on areas where he can improve. His partner Edurne Garcia and their baby daughter Yanay may relocate to Manchester. Mother and daughter are believed to have flown in from Madrid for the last two weeks of the season after De Gea had been in Spain for the birth.
 

Skills

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Grants apparently part of the coaching staff, but doesn't have his badges yet.

Heaton will be third choice with De Few/Henderson playing for starting role.
 

wolvored

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De Gea has made it plain to see that he isnt going nowhere. He has come back early to start training. Does that mean Henderson will be sold? Something must be in the pipeline as you dont get rid of Romero to bring in Heaton, with 2 goalies in front of him.
I read that Grant is a player coach, so although he wasnt a top class goalie, he is somehow going to coach our goalies to be better. :lol: Never a dull day at United.
 

Alex99

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I don't get what Ole and the club are thinking here, you had 3 first team keepers at the end of last season and then added Heaton this summer while Henderson and DDG are still battling it out for the number one spot, but it doesn't look like any of them are leaving or ever had any intentions of leaving.

Henderson: Apparently (according to the Athletic) Wolves made an enquiry for him and were rebuffed immediately, so it seems there s no intention to sell.
DDG: With the wages he is on, PSG was the only realistic option for him, but now Donnarumma has gone there, that rules that move out and apparently (again according to the Athletic, DDG's partner and daughter are in Manchester looking to relocate to the city.
Heaton signed for 2 years and Grant has just signed on for another season.

So with no goal keepers leaving and having finally parted ways with Romero, why bring in another keeper?
How can we simultaneously have seen no goalkeepers leave and parted ways with Romero?

Heaton has been signed to replace Romero. You answered that yourself.

Grant is about as emergency backup as you get and barely counts. He's apparently involved in the coaching side too.
 

GazTheLegend

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De Gea has made it plain to see that he isnt going nowhere. He has come back early to start training. Does that mean Henderson will be sold? Something must be in the pipeline as you dont get rid of Romero to bring in Heaton, with 2 goalies in front of him.
I read that Grant is a player coach, so although he wasnt a top class goalie, he is somehow going to coach our goalies to be better. :lol: Never a dull day at United.
Coaching is a completely different world to playing the game. The best tennis coaches in the world are not the best players. Nor are the best managers. Intelligence, for some reason, seems to remain an underrated asset in football. Arsene Wenger got a masters degree in economics and a degree in engineering.

https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/man-utd-goalkeeper-lee-grant-reveals-plans-for-future

One day I think people will wonder at the ridiculousness of hiring (lets be honest) some pretty stupid ex players to run multi million dollar football clubs into the ground. If Manchester United see something in Lee Grant, it's for a reason.
 

kouroux

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De Gea has made it plain to see that he isnt going nowhere. He has come back early to start training. Does that mean Henderson will be sold? Something must be in the pipeline as you dont get rid of Romero to bring in Heaton, with 2 goalies in front of him.
I read that Grant is a player coach, so although he wasnt a top class goalie, he is somehow going to coach our goalies to be better. :lol: Never a dull day at United.
You don't need to have been a top class goalie tl be a good coach
 

Kajus

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De Gea has made it plain to see that he isnt going nowhere. He has come back early to start training. Does that mean Henderson will be sold? Something must be in the pipeline as you dont get rid of Romero to bring in Heaton, with 2 goalies in front of him.
I read that Grant is a player coach, so although he wasnt a top class goalie, he is somehow going to coach our goalies to be better. :lol: Never a dull day at United.
The absolute majority of top coaches were never top players, not sure why this is a problem for you :confused:
 

11101

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De Gea might not be going anywhere this summer but i'd guess it's been made clear that they're not going to be equals anymore and by the end of the season one of them will be the clear number 1. Better to have Heaton in and bedded in now than scrambling for a second keeper later on.

Plus i think Ole has realised Grant isn't good enough if we did get injuries in both of them.
 

MDFC Manager

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I read somewhere that the idea is to have more goalkeepers to allow flexibility in training. You can have more smaller sided games in training.
 

The Boy

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Grants apparently part of the coaching staff, but doesn't have his badges yet.

Heaton will be third choice with De Few/Henderson playing for starting role.
This makes sense, but why extend Grant on a playing contract for another season, you can have him on a cheaper coaching contract without his badges nd his contract had run down, so it wasn't as if anything was being cancelled.
 

OverratedOpinion

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Grant is going to be a coach in all but title, he is not good enough to be third choice but whilst he is doing his badges we keep him here to help with training and keep continuity.
 

led_scholes

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De Gea has made it plain to see that he isnt going nowhere. He has come back early to start training. Does that mean Henderson will be sold? Something must be in the pipeline as you dont get rid of Romero to bring in Heaton, with 2 goalies in front of him.
I read that Grant is a player coach, so although he wasnt a top class goalie, he is somehow going to coach our goalies to be better. :lol: Never a dull day at United.
I m pretty sure all the people who coached Pele, Maradona, Messi, the Ronaldos and all the other great players were far far worse than them.
 

Gopher Brown

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I doubt we signed Heaton and renewed Grant’s contract without a deal in place for either de Gea or Henderson to leave, we just don’t know about it yet.

That’s assuming we’re suddenly a well-run club with some semblance of a plan
 

KeanoMagicHat

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Doesn't matter if De Gea starts or not, he has a contract until June 2023 at the very least. Nobody wants an out of form keeper on high wages. So he's just there, like Bale at Real or a Sanchez for a while, you have to continue on regardless.
 

Bondi77

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We talk about competition in all positions and we have that in spades in the GK department.
If any of our immediate rivals have a problem in that department then there is a big drop in class and yet we are well covered.
 

charlenefan

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It is a bit of a mess, 4 senior GK's and none of them are the clear number 1

I thought De Gea would go on loan somewhere which while could still happen all the noises are he's happy to stay and fight for his place which I assume is a consequence of the lack of offers his agent has received

It's very frustrating that even if we do get Sancho and Varane over the line we still have the long term GK, CM and CF positions all to address. A reminder we're still a long way off
 

sullydnl

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According to Whitwell in the Athletic both De Gea and Henderson are set to stay.

Which isn't good because aside from seeing us spend a lot of money on two goalkeepers, I don't think it helps either of their performances.

Here's Henderson speaking about last season:

I worked every day, day-in and day-out, I was grinding down to get into that team at Man United. I went through every brick wall I could get through, I fought hard and when I got into the team I was shattered, I was exhausted. I was mentally tired, I'd done everything right to get into the team, but I'd used up all my energy worrying about getting into the team. So when I got into the team I had a good little run and then got injured and then I struggled.
That suggests that in this particular case, competition isn't a plus. Meanwhile De Gea has reportedly cut his holiday short to start on pre-season earlier, with Whitwell suggesting that De Gea still backs himself as #1, so no sign of that competition easing up any time soon.


If we are going to back Henderson as #1, having De Gea breathing down his neck seems (from his own words) like it will be a hindrance.
 

iHicksy

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I think if De Gea was on something like 150k a week no one would care. In fact we'd be overjoyed to have Henderson as current number 1 with De Gea as competition. Having two great Gk's is always good. However, the fact that he's on 400k a week and the highest earner at the club and sitting on the bench (and rightly imo) doesn't sit well. And nor should it. We really need to be shipping De Gea on, i'd like to see us do some kind of sanchez like deal where we pay half his wages or more for a loan with a purchase option. Personally speaking I think he's past his best and has been for a while. The things he used to excel at covered his weaknesses and now he no longer excels at those things it's time for us to get him gone.
 

Mr Smith

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I suspect Heaton has been brought in to force the issue. Like "alright gents, time for the two of you to sort it out; if neither of you rise to the challenge, we have a model professional here who's quite good, and he's not here to feck spiders"... or something like that.

I'm a big Henderson sceptic; he's 24 and while he's great at communicating and commanding his area, that's a minimum requirement, and frankly I've seen nothing to suggest that he'll become world class, which all of the great keepers in recent years (De Gea, Ter Stegen, Oblak, Allison, Neuer, Buffon, Casillas, etc) were at his age. But then there's De Gea, who despite having been world class for 6-7 years somehow has lost any ability to take control of his area. I'm really hoping that can be coached, as a really do believe he's much better than Henderson, and as we have pretty much no chance of shipping him, we might as well commit.
 

AgentSmith

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Regardless of opinions or preferences about the goalkeepers in which question the reality is this:

De Gea - £375,000 a week
Henderson - £100,000 a week
Grant - £30,000 a week

Then adding in Heaton who’s reportedly on a similar wage to what he earned at Villa (~£47,000 p/w) and we’re totalling well over £500,000 a week on goalkeepers. Without a clearly defined number 1. I don’t understand the thinking behind that.

It’s not even particularly useful from the perspective of competition as I don’t think Henderson and De Gea are pushing one another to be better, but rather the prospect of being dropped in favour of the other is hindering performance. De Gea’s confidence in himself seems shot while Henderson seems to be trying to overcompensate in areas De Gea struggles in which leads to some unnecessarily erratic moments.

Continuing with this goalkeeping purgatory is counterproductive imo.
 

sugar_kane

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Honestly, I think De Gea is trying to Gareth Bale us but in a much more sensible way - ie. making all the right noises about wanting to stay, fight for his place etc

I don’t blame him either - it’s the clubs fault for giving him such a stupid contract. No one is going to turn down 400k a week to sit on the bench.
 

stevoc

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Lee grant hasn't played in years and that won't change, Heaton probably won't play much if at all either. So one of Henderson and DeGea will play in the league and the other in the cups same as last season. What's changed really?
 

The Boy

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Lee grant hasn't played in years and that won't change, Heaton probably won't play much if at all either. So one of Henderson and DeGea will play in the league and the other in the cups same as last season. What's changed really?
I think the acknowledgement that last season when Henderson came back, Romero was surplus to requirements, but as soon as Romero's contract ends, you bring in Heaton leaving you with one extra goalkeeper again. It just seems to be a but of waste of money and there is no sign of Henderson or DDG going anywhere else.
 

Blood Mage

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We should grow some balls and sell Henderson as he'll never be good enough to be first choice keeper at a club of our size. The only edge he has on De Gea is most likely penalty saving (but most keepers are better at saving pens than De Gea).

We have an ideal no.2 now in Heaton so we should let one of De Gea or Henderson leave and it should be the latter.
 

AjaxCunian

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Regardless of opinions or preferences about the goalkeepers in which question the reality is this:

De Gea - £375,000 a week
Henderson - £100,000 a week
Grant - £30,000 a week

Then adding in Heaton who’s reportedly on a similar wage to what he earned at Villa (~£47,000 p/w) and we’re totalling well over £500,000 a week on goalkeepers. Without a clearly defined number 1. I don’t understand the thinking behind that.

It’s not even particularly useful from the perspective of competition as I don’t think Henderson and De Gea are pushing one another to be better, but rather the prospect of being dropped in favour of the other is hindering performance. De Gea’s confidence in himself seems shot while Henderson seems to be trying to overcompensate in areas De Gea struggles in which leads to some unnecessarily erratic moments.

Continuing with this goalkeeping purgatory is counterproductive imo.
This is truly awful planning by the club. 550k a week without 1 elite goalkeeper. This club has too much money and it is evident with the Mata situation as well.
 

Devil81

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United will be desperate to get De Gea off the books but in a market where only essential transfers are likely to happen I don't see a single club that could afford his wage wanting him. I think he's going to end up back in Spain at a middle of the table club on loan with us paying about 75% of his salary.

Can't see the benefit of having him around, Heaton himself is good enough to give Henderson the competition needed to push him to perform better.
 

Tiber

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De Gea is a bit better than Henderson, but expensive and not at his best.

Henderson is a decent keeper, is 'new', didn't cost anything and has a low salary, so is appealing to the club.

Heaton is an excellent backup.

Grant, is presumably some sort of mascot?
 

Ajr

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We are preparing for the fifa rule changes allowing 2 goalkeepers at a time (This is actually allowed right now, it doesn't say it isn't but no one has tried it)
 

Tincanalley

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Didn’t you hear? Well in American football, all the players can handle the ball. In light of the new rules, you’ll need specialist kickers and catchers in between cheerleader breaks.
 

Varun1

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Its obvious one of De Gea or Henderson will be going.

Henderson/De Gea - 1st choice
Heaton - bench
Grant - backup

That's a pretty straightforward goalkeeping set up.

I'd guess its De Gea going. Granted, its hard to see exactly where he goes given his wages etc. But in the end, you don't build your squad based on who you can't get rid of. We might see De Gea on the bench for a while before he eventually goes, but unlike last season, I think Ole will tell him his time's up and he won't be getting game time. It'll be up to him to find a new club.
I can't see any team buying DDG. He'll go out on loan and we'll be subsidising his wages. I can't even see which top team will take him on loan, maybe inter who were linked to some keepers.

While I agree that players should be rewarded for their performance, we do love throwing mega wages at players and then getting bogged down by it when they're in decline.
 

JakeTheRed

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The transfer window hasn't even closed yet, so this speculation about 'what's the thinking behind it all' is null, as we don't know the full extent of the clubs plans regarding 'keepers.

Even so, why do we care so much? Not like Grant/Heaton will be on loads of money. If anything, it's good for United as we have more experienced keepers around.
 

stevoc

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I think the acknowledgement that last season when Henderson came back, Romero was surplus to requirements, but as soon as Romero's contract ends, you bring in Heaton leaving you with one extra goalkeeper again. It just seems to be a but of waste of money and there is no sign of Henderson or DDG going anywhere else.
Grant it seems is being groomed for a coaching position and is being retained as a registered player just in case. But from my point of view Heaton is the 3rd choice with degea and Henderson 1 and 2. Not much has changed.

I don't think having a 4th choice goalkeeper is a major concern or even a concern at all.