[Adnan]

Valdes refused to play a U21 friendly.

That's correct, he refused to play in a reserve game.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

We don't know that. He could've just as well arrived and said I want Antony, Malacia, and De Jong, and in De Jong's absence, lets see if we can get Casemiro. Scouts wouldn't have been able to do anything about that, nor would a DOF. The club gave ETH broad latitude to pursue the players he wanted, and he did.

But what we know is we have history in buying deadwoods, ten Hag had confirmed that it's the board's business to organise the budget, and Edu was the one who told Arteta not to buy Caicedo for 100m. That's should give you impression that it's not on ETH for splashing the 80m on Antony.

 

[Raoul]

But what we know is we have history in buying deadwoods, ten Hag had confirmed that it's the board's business to organise the budget, and Edu was the one who told Arteta not to buy Caicedo for 100m. That's should give you impression that it's not on ETH for splashing the 80m on Antony.

I'm sure they gave him a budget and told him "you have up to 150m to spend on players, but no more". The actual player selections were likely his, as i can't see him being so hands off as to allow anyone else to influence which players he buys for his "project" at United.

 

[Gazza]

It's totally on ETH for spending so much on Antony. He panicked early in the season after those two defeats. It is a shame.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

I'm sure they gave him a budget and told him "you have up to 150m to spend on players, but no more". The actual player selections were likely his, as i can't see him being so hands off as to allow anyone else to influence which players he buys for his "project" at United.

That bold one is something we don't know. Or may be he was being told and at that time the club's valuation is that Antony could be signed much cheaper if we act quicker before Ajax sold Haller and others. Again, that's not up to ten Hag for not acting quicker in transfer. It's up to the board, we are fecked up, we were too slow, and we no longer have the money to afford him.

 

[Raoul]

That bold one is something we don't know. Or may be he was being told and at that time the club's valuation is that Antony could be signed much cheaper if we act quicker before Ajax sold Haller and others. Again, that's not up to ten Hag for not acting quicker in transfer.

The club obviously have a budget that ETH would need to adhere to. Whether that is 150m or another number, ETH wouldn't be able to spend unlimited amounts of money

 

[Idxomer]

Young up and coming keepers don't join to be #2. I think if we sign a young up and coming keeper, he will come in to be #1. And I think ten Hag wants DDG to stick around until the new keeper settles in and also due to DDG reportedly being a positive influence in the dressing room.

That's another problem on its own.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

The club obviously have a budget that ETH would need to adhere to. Whether that is 150m or another number, ETH wouldn't be able to spend unlimited amounts of money

If sporting director job is not to get involved in giving advices to his managers like Edu did with Arteta and City did with Pep, then they are absolutely useless. ETH has no reason to do everything alone including organising the budget.

 

[Raoul]

If sporting director job is not to get involved in giving advices to his managers like Edu did with Arteta and City did with Pep, then they are absolutely useless. ETH has no reason to do everything alone including organising the budget.

Do we have a sporting director ?

 

[L1nk]

A shockingly bad goalkeeper

Cannot pass or play out from the back well
Has absolutely no command of his area
Complete inability to claim high balls
Weak and fragile, will not commit to anything that might get him hurt
Makes defense nervous because he mostly sticks to his line
Multiple blunders that probably should have leas to more goals than they have

But all of this is forgiven and swept aside because every now and again he makes a good save? Saves that a multitude of other really good keepers in the world can make by the way, keepers that we can buy that come with the ability to pass and claim balls etc

So I have absolutely no idea how anyone can defend him at all in this thread or want him to stay. Please, explain after reading the above.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

Do we have a sporting director ?

We have Murtough. Whether he actually does his job properly, however, is another question.

 

[Milo2035]

Props to FA for building such high-reputation League. No one would suspect De Gea of anything.
In my country, the first goal and the pass to Shaw in the beginning of the second half would trigger an match-fixing investigation.

 

[Raoul]

A shockingly bad goalkeeper

Cannot pass or play out from the back well
Has absolutely no command of his area
Complete inability to claim high balls
Weak and fragile, will not commit to anything that might get him hurt
Makes defense nervous because he mostly sticks to his line
Multiple blunders that probably should have leas to more goals than they have

But all of this is forgiven and swept aside because every now and again he makes a good save? Saves that a multitude of other really good keepers in the world can make by the way, keepers that we can buy that come with the ability to pass and claim balls etc

So I have absolutely no idea how anyone can defend him at all in this thread or want him to stay. Please, explain after reading the above.

Not defending his mistakes, but the perception that he's as bad as some claim is probably a bit overblown given that people are frustrated we're dropping points, which more down to a lack of goals than DDG. If we had a few goals to offer, the criticism of DDG would be far less imo - especially given that he leads the league in cleen sheets.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Do we have a sporting director ?

We have. And he is supposed to foresee of how much United should spend on single player otherwise United would be in trouble with the FFP if we don't control this and that is not football manager job. This is why it's not on ten Hag.

 

[L1nk]

Not defending his mistakes, but the perception that he's as bad as some claim is probably a bit overblown given that people are frustrated we're dropping points, which more down to a lack of goals than DDG. If we had a few goals to offer, the criticism of DDG would be far less imo - especially given that he leads the league in cleen sheets.

But you have ignored all of my other points,, are you denying that they exist? Because it’s existed in him for years

The point is whether it’s overblown or not is a moot point when he clearly doesn’t have the attributes that we need in a keeper anymore, namely, playing out from the back, virtually every game now you can point to a couple of times he’s passed it to an opposition player in dangerous territory, not to mention hooding it all the time and it never going to a United player

 

[Raoul]

But you have ignored all of my other points,, are you denying that they exist? Because it’s existed in him for years

The point is whether it’s overblown or not is a moot point when he clearly doesn’t have the attributes that we need in a keeper anymore, namely, playing out from the back, virtually every game now you can point to a couple of times he’s passed it to an opposition player in dangerous territory, not to mention hooding it all the time and it never going to a United player

If you think they've existed for years then I would imagine that if these were shared by the club, they would've done something about it. I do agree that he's frustratingly fixated on shot stopping and is deficient in a couple of other notable areas, but that's a lot of keepers. Its very rare where one is very good at everything with no weaknesses in his game.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Not defending his mistakes, but the perception that he's as bad as some claim is probably a bit overblown given that people are frustrated we're dropping points, which more down to a lack of goals than DDG. If we had a few goals to offer, the criticism of DDG would be far less imo - especially given that he leads the league in cleen sheets.

He doesn't lead the league in clean sheets because of exceptional goalkeeping though. Our first choice backline with Casemiro was genuinely elite for a good portion of the year, De Gea hardly had anything to do in many games. Every statistic backs it up as well.

I've said he's terrible even when we were winning. I said he was terrible last year as well. Spain kicked his ass out years ago because of the same issues he has for us (prone to howlers in big games, terrible with his feet, terrible commanding his box). But yet again (as seems to be a pattern with this club) we support a player far past his expiration date until his position becomes untenable. And even then we give him another contract!

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

If you think they've existed for years then I would imagine that if these were shared by the club, they would've done something about it. I do agree that he's frustratingly fixated on shot stopping and is deficient in a couple of other notable areas, but that's a lot of keepers. Its very rare where one is very good at everything with no weaknesses in his game.

Assuming that Manchester United would identify clear shortcomings and look to rectify them efficiently is hilarious given how we have been run in the Post Ferguson era. Did we also not ever have a midfield issue until last year? Is that why we waited to ever sign a top DM (or even a top DM prospect)?

 

[Raoul]

He doesn't lead the league in clean sheets because of exceptional goalkeeping though. Our first choice backline with Casemiro was genuinely elite for a good portion of the year, De Gea hardly had anything to do in many games. Every statistic backs it up as well.

I've said he's terrible even when we were winning. I said he was terrible last year as well. Spain kicked his ass out years ago because of the same issues he has for us (prone to howlers in big games, terrible with his feet, terrible commanding his box). But yet again (as seems to be a pattern with this club) we support a player far past his expiration date until his position becomes untenable. And even then we give him another contract!

Agreed on the contract renewal. He's in his 30s now and will never be the peak DDG of about 5-6 years ago again. Good time to move on imo, especially given that his wages, even in reduced terms, are far more than what most keepers make.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Agreed on the contract renewal. He's in his 30s now and will never be the peak DDG of about 5-6 years ago again. Good time to move on imo, especially given that his wages, even in reduced terms, are far more than what most keepers make.

Yep, but we'll give him another contract and best case scenario sign a first choice in the summer, but most likely he's sat in goal yet again next year as we go through the same song and dance. Sad really

 

[amolbhatia50k]

We probably need to sweet talk him at this stage. Do we have a no 2 to come in and play high pressure games? Can’t have DDG and his joke performances cost us top 4.

 

[kouroux]

The most annoying thing is his reaction to his howlers. It feels like so fake in terms of being annoyed by his blunder.
What I find absolutely shocking and unprofessional is the lack of good kicking ability, I'd even wager he got worse since he first arrived.
I don't understand how you get worse at passing and how you cannot improve it. The crazy pass he made in the 1st half which almost led to them scoring, whatever the feck he was thinking, I'd like to know

 

[The Urban Goose]

Can’t have DDG and his joke performances cost us top 4.

...again.

 

[Harry190]

He's basically Casillas' clone at this point.

 

[gregwar]

Bye Dave.

Throw £20m or so at Brentford for Raya if we're as skint as reported. Out of contract next summer and fits into how the gaffer wants to play.

Thanks for the last 12 years Dave, but shot stopping isn't enough now.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

...again.

It’s happened before hasn’t it? Feels like we were chasing top 4 a few years and De Gea fecked us over royally then as well. Was wondering if it was my imagination or based on facts

 

[AR87]

He's atrocious. If we want to keep him around, because have earmarked other positions as bigger priorities so be it, but he should be offered a 1 year deal on bottom of the squad level wages.

If he doesn't want to accept that then dare him to prove he can get a better offer on the market. I doubt he can.

This absolute clown of a keeper hasn't even been credibly linked with another club despite being out of contract this summer. Says it all.

 

[Bebestation]

I’ve always thought of him as one of SAF’s worst signings.

A bit of a curse he left behind.

I genuinely think no matter who we replace him with that we see an improvement right away just because we get more all rounded play from a goalkeeper which promotes confidence in the defenders - then which promotes confidence in midfielders which then creates chances for attackers.

 

[Art]

If he gets a contract extension we are done for. An utter coward of a player.

 

[Bebestation]

I’d be okay with him as our number 2 on lower wages but if others do not I understand as well.
Not our number 1 anymore.

 

[Milo2035]

It’s happened before hasn’t it? Feels like we were chasing top 4 a few years and De Gea fecked us over royally then as well. Was wondering if it was my imagination or based on facts

Xhaka knuckleball in Ole's first (half) season. We were doing so well.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

It’s happened before hasn’t it? Feels like we were chasing top 4 a few years and De Gea fecked us over royally then as well. Was wondering if it was my imagination or based on facts

There was that horror period at the end of 2018-19, right after Ole got the job permanently, when DDG kept dropping clanger after clanger, getting us knocked out of the cups and out of top 4 contention.

 

[MadDogg]

If sporting director job is not to get involved in giving advices to his managers like Edu did with Arteta and City did with Pep, then they are absolutely useless. ETH has no reason to do everything alone including organising the budget.

If I remember correctly our scouting network was basically ripped up and turned on its head in the time leading up to ETH joining us. A huge amount of changes from Murtough down, which will inevitably cause issues in the short-term with scouting and choosing players. My hope is that that was the reason that we seemed to rely on ETH choosing the targets more than we really should have. Hopefully as that all settles and the network gathers more information we'll see them having a bigger influence going forward.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

If I remember correctly our scouting network was basically ripped up and turned on its head in the time leading up to ETH joining us. A huge amount of changes from Murtough down, which will inevitably cause issues in the short-term with scouting and choosing players. My hope is that that was the reason that we seemed to rely on ETH choosing the targets more than we really should have. Hopefully as that all settles and the network gathers more information we'll see them having a bigger influence going forward.

Fingers crossed

 

[bosnian_red]

What is wild is that he had just had an absolutely garbage year when we gave him this insane contract. Ole and Ed thought it was a fluke year. Turns out he's been an average to shit goalkeeper for his entire contract span. Stopped being world class after 2017/18 (which was a great year TBF).

 

[Bebestation]

Did anyone always prefer Romero?

I always thought we looked like a totally different team when he was our goalkeeper in cup competitions than De gea in the league.

 

[Slevs]

Only renew for less than a 100k to give the new keeper some competion. If he refuses we let go. We have shot ourselves in the foot a few times with these extensions.

Which team in the world pays a backup keeper 100k a week? Either keep him nb 1 (wrong decision) or get rid entirely

 

[afatzp]

Only until I see the team started to yell at De Gea when he made mistakes, then I could call this team a proper character to challenge something. Today the answer is still no, and the whole team chose to sink to De Gea's level and run down the remaining time without a fight. What a shame.

It's quite clear that we need to replace De Gea and I find it waste of time to still discuss this point. You see something repeat again and again, and you expect something different the next time, that is really against science.

By the way, De Gea is also one of the root causes why the whole team suffered fatigue at this point and only can run half time of the game. If next season he was still our No. 1 and we luckily still at the title race at this time, no surprise we would bottle it because the team could not sustain the intensity for the whole season. Each time they have to run 30 yards more covering the ground of which De Gea left unguarded.

 

[Escobar]

It's totally on ETH for spending so much on Antony. He panicked early in the season after those two defeats. It is a shame.

What would you have done? We were so shit he needed to act

 

[led_scholes]

Which team in the world pays a backup keeper 100k a week? Either keep him nb 1 (wrong decision) or get rid entirely

This. We cry about money but we tend to keep players on high wages. Honestly, what's the point to have Heaton and butland if they are not suited for N. 2 too? They probably get 50 k per week too.

We all remember that DDG, when he was actually good, was threatening to leave, how we are even sure that he can be even trusted as a backup and not being shite and whining all the time.