David de Gea | 2011-14 Performances

[mungy]

He's looking more beefy everyday

Said this while at the Chelsea match, visibly bigger.

Steroid check please

 

[bosnian_red]

Was looking for the Cafs opinion on Pagliuca, and stumbled on this post by Chiraq (16th June 2011 on the summer we unofficially signed de Gea):


https://www.redcafe.net/f9/david-de-gea-signs-confirmed-330640/index17.html#post9945981

Pretty strong statement. This guy really knew his onion. How come I've never seen this Chiraq guy posting anyway?

Not really a huge statement though, anyone who followed football outside of England knew that he was probably the highest rated young goalkeeper in the world, and he was receiving very praise from everyone, and Mourinho said that if De Gea is unlucky that he is Spanish because he would start for pretty much any other country in the world (or something like that).

 

[20solskjaer]

Not really a huge statement though, anyone who followed football outside of England knew that he was probably the highest rated young goalkeeper in the world, and he was receiving very praise from everyone, and Mourinho said that if De Gea is unlucky that he is Spanish because he would start for pretty much any other country in the world (or something like that).

Im not sure it de Gea thats unlucky in this one, its Casillas, Reina and Valdez

It wont be more than a couple of years max before de Gea's number 1 for spain and the other 3 are fighting it out just to sit on the bench

 

[bosnian_red]

Im not sure it de Gea thats unlucky in this one, its Casillas, Reina and Valdez

It wont be more than a couple of years max before de Gea's number 1 for spain and the other 3 are fighting it out just to sit on the bench

Well now it's like that but the quote was from 2 or 3 years ago, either De Gea's first or second full season with Atletico Madrid. He should probably be starting for Spain now though, considering he's the best performing spanish goalkeeper around. Casillas has been well below par and I think he's better then the other two.

 

[surf]

I'm very pleased with his progress. The main thing now is how he plays as a unit with the rest of the defence, knowing when to come for crosses and through balls and when to stay, communication, mutual trust to make the right decision, etc. VDS was outstanding at this kind of teamwork.

 

[Isotope]

Not really a huge statement though, anyone who followed football outside of England knew that he was probably the highest rated young goalkeeper in the world, and he was receiving very praise from everyone, and Mourinho said that if De Gea is unlucky that he is Spanish because he would start for pretty much any other country in the world (or something like that).

I watched few games of Athletico Madrid before we signed him. Didn't see the hype about him, though. And I think Neuer and Lloris were still rated higher than DDG as young gk in the world at that time. Then there was Hart.

 

[NM]

I watched few games of Athletico Madrid before we signed him. Didn't see the hype about him, though. And I think Neuer and Lloris were still rated higher than DDG as young gk in the world at that time. Then there was Hart.

Hart is only rated as world class in England. He is 25. Loris is 26 and Neuer is 28. DDG is 22. Neuer and Loris are probably better now, but DDG has time on his side.

 

[Isotope]

Hart is only rated as world class in England. He is 25. Loris is 26 and Neuer is 28. DDG is 22. Neuer and Loris are probably better now, but DDG has time on his side.

I was replying to bosnian, when he said that DDG was the highest rated young goalkeeper in the world by the time we signed him.

 

[Revan]

Hart is only rated as world class in England. He is 25. Loris is 26 and Neuer is 28. DDG is 22. Neuer and Loris are probably better now, but DDG has time on his side.

Lloris isn't better than De Gea at all. I think that our keeper has been the best in England this season, and Lloris had similar weakness but the press were busy because De Gea could have catched the ball higher or he should have made the save with hands not with legs. Neuer yes, but he is much older.

We can't compare De Gea with those two about who was the best young keeper. Those two are in another generation. In his generation De Gea was the most highly rated keeper, and there were Courtuis and Ter Stegen. On the other side, Lloris was very highly rated as a young keeper, while Neuer not as those others and only the injury of Adler made it possible for him to be the No.1 of Germany. After that, he didn't look back and become one of the 3 keepers in the world.

Hart had a great season last year when probably only Casillas, Neuer and Buffon were better. Had some good seasons before and a mixed one this year. Anyway, De Gea's season this year can be compared with that of Hart's last year, but because the media are idiots, Hart is the reincarnation of Banks while De Gea is the reincarnation of Taibi.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Perhaps I haven't seen enough of Lloris, but the only people I've usually seen rave about him is Spurs fans. when I've watched him, I've not really seen what it is that makes him so revered. He looks quite small for a keeper, and whilst he seems to do everything in a reasonable fashion, I don't think he's got the outstanding streak in him that De Gea has. De Gea is still ironing out the basics, but he's pulled saves out of nowhere which have won us games. Saves you don't expect him to make, with his Schmeichel-esque star-fish parrying and Jedi reactions. I think it's those match-winning moments that separates good goalkeepers from great goalkeepers. His all-round game is improving all the time and you can see an evident confidence boost in him where he's bombing off his line to claim aerial balls now, when he'd usually stay nailed onto his goal line. His anticipation in that respect has definitely improved massively, and that was arguably his biggest flaw when he first joined.

 

[EdWeatherall]

Out in 42s apparently last night, pic from their twitter feed

 

[Bread]

42's is an absolute shithole. He can do better, at least The Venue.

 

[EdWeatherall]

42's is an absolute shithole. He can do better, at least The Venue.

I can't disagree with that

 

[Buchan]

Being a rock'n'roll aficionado, I thought The Ruby Lounge in the Northern Quarter would be more up De Gea's street.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

The last time I visited The Venue I was kindly advised to get a bit of fresh air by a bouncer who must be the tallest man in the free world. I took the advice, needless to say.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Being a rock'n'roll aficionado, I thought The Ruby Lounge in the Northern Quarter would be more up De Gea's street.

I've picked up that he's a rock n' roll man too - though I ain't registered exactly what his preferences are. Do you know what the Rabbit's groovin' to?

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

I've picked up that he's a rock n' roll man too - though I ain't registered exactly what his preferences are. Do you know what the Rabbit's groovin' to?

https://www.redcafe.net/f6/david-de-gea-334187/index298.html#post13153492

‘David’s asked Patrice if he’ll change the music. He’s more thrash metal than RnB,’ a source revealed.

‘He’s asked to have tracks by Slayer and Napalm Death added to the dressing room playlist.’

Slayer and Napalm Death are big acts in the world of Thrash Metal – the fast tempo rock music that De Gea is known to be a big fan of, but it’s not likely he’ll get his way.

 

[Damien]

https://www.redcafe.net/f6/david-de-gea-334187/index298.html#post13153492

And he tweeted this today:

David De Gea ‏@D_DeGea 9h

Thanks for the CD's @RhinoRecordsUK Great albums!! Metal will never die...

https://twitter.com/D_DeGea/status/319775774091649025

Rhino UK ‏@RhinoRecordsUK 7h

For anyone wondering which albums we sent @D_DeGea check out this link! http://bit.ly/WDXwJ1 #Metalwillneverdie

Rhino UK ‏@RhinoRecordsUK 7h

Got a nice Tweet from David De Gea, Manchester Utd's Metal loving goalkeeper! We sent him some of these...... http://fb.me/zb6xEbqf

 

[Buchan]

I'd love to headbang with De Gea.

Top lad!

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Heh! Good for the lad - though he seems more of a metal man than a rocker, going by that. I wonder if he's won through - Napalm Death are Villa fans, ain't they?

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

And he tweeted this today:

https://twitter.com/D_DeGea/status/319775774091649025

Nice selection.

Not the kind of stuff I would choose to listen to most of the time but would rather listen to that than the stuff you usually hear about footballers liking.

 

[Bread]

Sounds like Satan's Hollow is more his cup of tea then.

 

[Isotope]

And he tweeted this today:

Love one comment on that Rhino UK facebook link:

Funny Bloke: erm, why should famous rich people get shit for free? everyone else has to pay and we aren't generally rich or famous. I shall no longer buy your merchandise.

True words.

 

[anything about now]

Maybe because that famous person is endorsing the product for free? He could've bought the cd's but probably wouldn't have tweeted about it then

 

[Isotope]

Yeah. I just found it funny.

 

[Lynk]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?_encodin...ode=ur2&tag=rhinocouk-21&url=search-alias=aps


This is what he got. Nice to have someone who isn't into just hip hop on our team.

 

[Lynk]

Sounds like Satan's Hollow is more his cup of tea then.

A mate of mine is adamant he's seen him there too. Would make sense.

 

[George Owen]

Brilliant keeper and Metal fan...

definatly a keeper

 

[Solius]

Brilliant keeper and Metal fan...

definatly a keeper

I...ugh...can't think of anything. SteveJ will have a good joke.

 

[Lynk]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...id-De-Gea-will-still-be-here-next-season.html

 

[Solius]

Normally I don't like the rolleyes smiley but it sums up my feelings perfectly about that.

 

[Ainu]

I'm ecstatic, I hope he also confirms Carrick will still be a midfielder next season. It's just too hard to live in such doubt.

 

[20solskjaer]

I'm ecstatic, I hope he also confirms Carrick will still be a midfielder next season. It's just too hard to live in such doubt.

im more worried about RVP, theres been no confirmation in the sun/mirror/star/mail that he wont be sold, he has after all gone about 12 games or something without scoring, surely ferguson has lost patience?

great news on de Gea though

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Player of the Month: De Gea

David De Gea has scooped ManUtd.com's Player of the Month award yet again.

The Spanish goalkeeper, who also collected the honour in February, garnered 41 per cent of the vote in the latest poll, conducted on ManUtd.com and the club's six foreign-language websites.

Michael Carrick and Shinji Kagawa shared between them almost the same number of votes De Gea won on his own, with Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand rounding out the five-man poll.

De Gea has now won the award four times since arriving at Old Trafford at the start of the 2011/12 season, more than any other United player during the same period.

In March, De Gea played in all five of the Reds' fixtures, keeping clean sheets in the league against Norwich City, Reading and Sunderland to extend his unbeaten Premier League run to six games. In Europe he performed well against Real Madrid (and was powerless to stop either goal), while last-minute heroics against Chelsea at Old Trafford earned United an FA Cup replay.

Speaking in the latest edition of Inside United, De Gea, who also earned his first call-up to the senior Spain squad in March, admits he's thriled with his recent performances.

"I'm satisfied because keeping clean sheets is key for the whole team. not conceding helps us play better - it's a big contribution to our goal.

"I put a great effort into what I do and to know I'm valued by the fans and club gives me much motivation."

Some man for one man.

 

[rcoobc]

Thread title needs changing in my opinion. Only way "some" journos will get it.

 

[Buchan]

He's fast becoming my current favourite United player. Valencia was for a long while, but his form is gone to pot lately. De Gea has been in sensational form in the past six months, I cannot believe the media still have an axe to grind with him.

I genuinely hope he sees out his career with us. If he does so, and continues on the upward trajectory he's been on lately, he'll usurp Schmeichel as our greatest ever goalkeeper in my view. His potential really is that big.

 

[I'm always right]

DDG just had a "doh" moment 5 mins before the end of the Dortmund game:

"Tremendous Willy_ Caballero. Keepers can also win games."

Wait till the end of the game Dave ffs.

 

[Skywarden]

I know a lot of keepers who can't handle the press playing in the Premier League, let alone playing for us. Strong mentality is something SAF bangs on about quite often and de Gea is a great example of such mentality.

 

[LR7]

The lad is finally getting some of the recognition and credit he deserves. It took that game at the Bernabéu for the journos to finally wake up and see what we've been seeing for ages.

Contrasting keepers
Their reputations are very different but David de Gea has outperformed Joe Hart this season. Adam Bate looks at the disparity between the reputations of the goalkeepers at the two Manchester clubs.


Joe Hart and David de Gea: Is this the real power shift in Manchester?
On Monday evening against Manchester City, David de Gea was just 17 minutes away from matching the longest time Peter Schmeichel ever went without conceding a Premier League goal for Manchester United. With that achievement in his sights, Ryan Giggs attempted an ambitious and ill-advised backheel and the ball soon fell to James Milner whose deflected strike flew past the outstretched fingertips of the young Spaniard. The plaudits that would come with eclipsing Schmeichel were not to be. That just seems to be the way it goes for De Gea.

"I could have bought Joe Hart for £100,000 so we all make mistakes," admitted Sir Alex Ferguson in February of last year. "If you look at the England goalkeeper situation for the last 20 years, I would think he's easily the best." Perhaps it wasn't meant to be a slight on the young goalkeeper in possession of the No.1 shirt at Old Trafford but the message was clear: Hart is just about the best around.

Indeed, the perceived contrast between the form of Hart at Manchester City and the high-profile errors of De Gea at Manchester United became a key narrative of last season's title race. For the second season running, Joe Hart picked up the Premier League Golden Gloves award after keeping the most clean sheets of any top-flight goalkeeper. De Gea, meanwhile, made an error on his league debut against West Brom and endured an ongoing struggle to shake off the stigma for the remainder of the campaign.

So while Hart was named in the Premier League team of the year, De Gea faced a summer of seemingly endless debate about his future and suggestions that Anders Lindegaard might take his first-team place. England goalkeeping legend Gordon Banks summed up the mood of many in putting Hart on a different level to either of the United options.

"I am not sure about the two keepers at United, not at all," Banks told the Daily Mail last year. "Sir Alex Ferguson could have got a better keeper than either of them. I am sure he wishes he had signed Joe, who is the best English goalkeeper by a mile and could become the best in the world. He is now making terrific saves for Manchester City, while these lads at United look as if they can let in important goals."



Premier League - Saves to shots
Player 2012/13 2011/12
David De Gea 77% 78%
Joe Hart 66% 77%

Premier League - Errors leading to goals
Player 2012/13 2011/12
David De Gea 1 2
Joe Hart 4 1

The statistics suggest that De Gea's struggles were overstated. There is often an innate scepticism of new goalkeepers and, given the nature of the position, mistakes can be amplified. Few remember, for example, that Massimo Taibi was man of the match in his first two games because of what followed in the third. In fact, the Opta stats indicate that De Gea only made two errors leading to goals in last season's Premier League. He even had a better shot-stopping percentage than Hart.


David de Gea: Maturing
No matter. While a striker can go on a goalscoring spree to prove the critics wrong, a goalkeeper can only wait, chalking off the days without incident. As a result, even in January of this year, there was speculation that Asmir Begovic would be brought in from Stoke City to replace the 21-year-old. "Fergie is ready to dump dodgy De Gea," screamed the Daily Mirror headline after he was partially culpable for a late Tottenham equaliser.

That was in January. Now Begovic is being linked with Fulham instead and that's partly because the response from De Gea has been so emphatic. The former Atletico Madrid man conceded just one goal in his next seven Premier League games with six consecutive clean sheets taking him to the brink of that Schmeichel record. His form wasn't restricted to the league either with a series of hugely impressive saves away to Real Madrid keeping United in the tie.

Of course, analysing goalkeeping statistics is notoriously tricky. Perhaps he has just been better protected by a more disciplined United backline? But there have been plenty of stunning saves to show that De Gea deserves as much credit as anyone. As well as his heroics in Madrid, there was a remarkable stop to deny Jon Arne Riise against Fulham. "David has made some great saves over the last few weeks," noted team-mate Wayne Rooney. I know he got a little bit of criticism after the Tottenham game but it wasn't the biggest mistake I've ever seen."

It certainly wasn't. But any perceived De Gea lapse is still likely to be latched upon with a knowing raise of the eyebrow and the familiar dodgy keeper chatter. Perception takes time to catch up with reality. The statistics actually show that De Gea has maintained his high standards as a shot-stopper and the mistakes are being cut out too. He has made only one error leading to a Premier League goal this season. Hart has made four.


Joe Hart makes a mess of a Rickie Lambert shot to allow Steven Davis to score
Fortunately for the England No.1, a strong reputation can prove equally difficult to lose as a bad one. Much like the old cliché of a rare headed goal by John Barnes, the rare mistake by Hart has entered the lexicon. Astonishingly, the City keeper's record this year is not only significantly worse than De Gea's in terms of errors and shot-stopping - it's actually significantly worse than De Gea's record last year as well.

"I hold my hands up, sometimes I've let the team down."
Joe Hart
Quotes of the week
There was an odd attempt to stop the ball against Tottenham, then he was caught out by Adam Johnson in a defeat at Sunderland and a Rickie Lambert shot in another loss to Southampton. After that mistake, City boss Roberto Mancini pointed out that it was far from a one-off. "It's not strange because he did two or three mistakes this year and this is not good for us," said Mancini. "Joe is a good keeper but a goalkeeper can't do a mistake like this." Hart himself added: "I hold my hands up, sometimes I've let the team down."

With all the focus on events at the other end of the field and the well-documented influence of Robin van Persie supposedly proving the difference between the sides, the form of the respective goalkeepers has largely gone under the radar. Despite this narrative, just five points separated City and United when Van Persie scored against Spurs in January. The gap has more than doubled since then but the Dutchman has scored just one goal in his last 13 games in all competitions.

Far more significant has been the defensive improvement at United. "If you look back to December you'd have said both teams were on a par," Gary Neville told Monday Night Football ahead of the derby. "United had been blistering in attack and were scoring so many goals but were conceding a lot. City weren't so creative and didn't quite have that spark in attack but were defensively sound. At that point you are thinking that something has got to give. What's given is that Manchester United have conceded three in their last 11 games and City still haven't got that sparkle."

"David de Gea has developed and matured as the season has gone on."
Sir Alex Ferguson
Quotes of the week
Perhaps De Gea has been a bigger factor than people might think. He certainly seems to be well on the way to convincing Ferguson. "They have all improved," explained the United manager last week. "The concentration has become better and the importance of the games has helped that. But David de Gea has developed and matured as the season has gone on. We've seen a very progressive and developing young goalkeeper and next season he'll be even better."

He couldn't match Schmeichel's record and he didn't come at a bargain price of £100,000. But David de Gea deserves the Premier League winners' medal that looks likely to come his way. And given that he's four years younger than his City counterpart, don't be shocked if the United keeper continues to improve and people are soon pointing to his presence in the goalmouth as being the difference-maker for all the right reasons instead.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12040/8627549/Contrasting-keepers

 

[Revan]

Excellent article.

Idiots will continue being idiots and say that he isn't good enough for us, but really in this year only RVP, Carrick and Rafael have performed better than him in their respective positions. Easily he was on our top 5 players this season, and very likely the best keeper in the league.