David De Gea Appreciation Thread

As the thread has been bumped again.

1. No, it wasn't a mistake selling De Gea
2. Yes, it was a mistake signing Onana.

Both of those things can be true.
 
KStandBarmyArmy1993 said:
As the thread has been bumped again.

1. No, it wasn't a mistake selling De Gea
2. Yes, it was a mistake signing Onana.

Both of those things can be true.
Click to expand...
How about:
1. Yes it was a mistake to let go of DDG that summer because we had bigger problems in different areas
2. Yes it was a mistake signing Onana, for 50m euros when we had bigger problems in different areas.
 
Kostov said:
How about:
1. Yes it was a mistake to let go of DDG that summer because we had bigger problems in different areas
2. Yes it was a mistake signing Onana, for 50m euros when we had bigger problems in different areas.
Click to expand...
In the aftermath of course the Onana signing was a big mistake and unfortunately it turned out the way it did for us and him - he is not good enough on all areas.
Back then, I think a lot of us were already "annoyed" by DDG, like in a relationship which is not going well anymore. Also, we were brainwashed buying into this "ballplaying GK" stuff, which since then has already lost most of it´s hype in modern football.
All we need is a solid guy who
a) is a good shot stopper, preventing most goals which can be prevented
b) reduces howlers to a minimum (<5 a season)
c) provides a safe and calm aura on the line and in the box

No need for the wonder stopps or the inch-perfect assisting goalkicks etc.
 
KStandBarmyArmy1993 said:
As the thread has been bumped again.

1. No, it wasn't a mistake selling De Gea
2. Yes, it was a mistake signing Onana.

Both of those things can be true.
Click to expand...

Regardless of who replaced him. I find it very strange that people argue for keeping an declining performer on insane wages.
 
doomy20 said:
In the aftermath of course the Onana signing was a big mistake and unfortunately it turned out the way it did for us and him - he is not good enough on all areas.
Back then, I think a lot of us were already "annoyed" by DDG, like in a relationship which is not going well anymore. Also, we were brainwashed buying into this "ballplaying GK" stuff, which since then has already lost most of it´s hype in modern football.
All we need is a solid guy who
a) is a good shot stopper, preventing most goals which can be prevented
b) reduces howlers to a minimum (<5 a season)
c) provides a safe and calm aura on the line and in the box

No need for the wonder stopps or the inch-perfect assisting goalkicks etc.
Click to expand...
We were also annoyed to see Alisson and Ederson won trophies for Liverpool and City constantly with their courage to lead the box, and pin-point assists to their strikers.
 
KStandBarmyArmy1993 said:
As the thread has been bumped again.

1. No, it wasn't a mistake selling De Gea
2. Yes, it was a mistake signing Onana.

Both of those things can be true.
Click to expand...
#1 is true in isolation but if the solution was #2 then #1 was a mistake. He would have accepted lower wages and money could have been spent elsewhere. Now we're in a position that we need to replace a goalkeeper who cost huge money that nobody would ever pay for him. Disaster.
 
Kostov said:
How about:
1. Yes it was a mistake to let go of DDG that summer because we had bigger problems in different areas
2. Yes it was a mistake signing Onana, for 50m euros when we had bigger problems in different areas.
Click to expand...
De Gea was going downhill. He was making an ever increasing number of mistakes. The decision to not give him a new contract was the correct one.

Of course, like a lot of what we've done post 2013, we made the situation worse with our next decision.
 
Rista said:
#1 is true in isolation but if the solution was #2 then #1 was a mistake. He would have accepted lower wages and money could have been spent elsewhere. Now we're in a position that we need to replace a goalkeeper who cost huge money that nobody would ever pay for him. Disaster.
Click to expand...

The whole sticking point was him not wanting to accept lower wages, which seems to have been forgotten.

He was almost out of contract and the club offered a renewal at his current wage. He chose to sit on that and wait to see what other clubs would offer.

He received no (better) offers and tried to come back, months later, and sign the offer, which the club decided to withdraw and replace with a lower one.

He rejected that and left.
 
Love is blind.

I know people see things differently. But, sometimes I wonder if we've been watching the same team play?

Right from the beginning of his United days, teams targeted De Gea on corner kicks because he was absolutely useless at handling crosses. It was a thing, you know.

I agree that he had a fair amount of brilliant performances, but it was always tucked in between unexplainable errors and a lack of concentration. He's been our player of the year for a record number of times (I think), but honestly, that is more due to the lack of quality players around him.

I never fully trusted De Gea, like i've trusted some of our former goalkeepers. And even though they made the occational mistake, the team trusted them to be a safe last stand. It never felt like the team fully trusted De Gea, and you just can't have that when competing at the highest level. It's exactly the same with Onana now.

We can't talk about De Gea without mentioning THAT penalty shootout against Villarreal. 11 penalties conceded, and missing the final one himself. It just highlights one more area where he didn't exactly shine.

All of this, combined with ridiculous wages meant that it was 100% the right decision to let him go. Should have happened many years earlier though.

KStandBarmyArmy1993 said:
As the thread has been bumped again.

1. No, it wasn't a mistake selling De Gea
2. Yes, it was a mistake signing Onana.

Both of those things can be true.
Click to expand...

:+1:
 
De Gea was a fantastic player for us. To overcome those early challenges and become one of the best keepers in the world was a testament to his ability and character.

However, it was clear (probably post 2021 Europa League final if we're being honest) that he was no longer good enough for the very highest level. At that point, we should have signed a replacement or trusted Henderson to be number one for a year and sold De Gea whilst there was some demand for him. The fact we didn't is probably as much to the club's instability and lack of decent scouting. It still seems mad that we gave Henderson a five year contract whilst keeping De Gea. Lack of strategy again...

It was also clear that even in summer 2023, United still believed De Gea was the best option. When the contract didn't get signed, we had very few clear options. For all his faults, Onana (on paper anyway) had a decent track record to be his replacement. It quickly became apparent that he wasn't up to it and now we're in a situation where we've gone so far downhill that a keeper who wasn't good enough 4 years ago probably is just about good enough* for our current situation and is better than our current two keepers.

*That doesn't mean he's good enough now just a sad indictment of how bad our recruitment is.

The same can be said for Fred, McTominay, Elanga etc
 
top1whoisman said:
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If he liked it so much at United I am sure they would be fine with him staying and taking a massive paycut. His story really doesn't make sense when he was free agent for so long.

No other club would pay him anywhere near what he was earning at United, I am sure many clubs would offer him a contract for a year or two before Fiorentina if he lowered his demands.
 
Looking forward to giving him a proper goodbye in the Fiorentina game. Shame how he never got to say goodbye to the fans.
 
Will be fantastic for him to get a proper farewell at OT.
 
Amar__ said:
If he liked it so much at United I am sure they would be fine with him staying and taking a massive paycut. His story really doesn't make sense when he was free agent for so long.

No other club would pay him anywhere near what he was earning at United, I am sure many clubs would offer him a contract for a year or two before Fiorentina if he lowered his demands.
Click to expand...

Didn't he agree to take a significant pay cut?
 
Amar__ said:
If he liked it so much at United I am sure they would be fine with him staying and taking a massive paycut. His story really doesn't make sense when he was free agent for so long.

No other club would pay him anywhere near what he was earning at United, I am sure many clubs would offer him a contract for a year or two before Fiorentina if he lowered his demands.
Click to expand...
Maybe he just wanted a year out or wasnt that fussed?
 
Sir Erik ten Hag said:
We were also annoyed to see Alisson and Ederson won trophies for Liverpool and City constantly with their courage to lead the box, and pin-point assists to their strikers.
Click to expand...
Given the state of our general ability on the ball (our best years post Fergie have all been moments based counter attacking) and the fact we conceded far more chances than Liverpool or City, my preference was always to keep the best shot stopper in the world.

Mental decision to let him go. He’d just won the Golden Glove in a team which still brainfarted and gifted chances to the opposition.

I’d have understood the calls to have a ball playing goalkeeper more if we had outfield players who were adept to playing and ticking the ball over but at that time we had pretty much just Martinez capable of it and the rest were all about on the spur vertical counter attacking
 
Looking forward to seeing him back at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Hope we give him a proper send off he never got.
 
dannyrhinos89 said:
Looking forward to seeing him back at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Hope we give him a proper send off he never got.
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Bastian said:
Will be fantastic for him to get a proper farewell at OT.
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Definitely. I don’t know if that was the aim with choosing Fiorentina for a friendly or just a nice coincidence but it will be well deserved. Hopefully there is a good crowd in.
 
ThanksBoss26 said:
Definitely. I don’t know if that was the aim with choosing Fiorentina for a friendly or just a nice coincidence but it will be well deserved. Hopefully there is a good crowd in.
Click to expand...

Nah, if it was the aim, we'd have given him a testimonial.
 
Given Florence is lovely and has much better climate than Manchester, does Dave's partner actually live with him now, or is he still doing the long-distance thing even when they have a kid?
 
Everything De Gea has said and tweeted since leaving in 2023 shows he loves United. Understandable given he was at the club for 12 years but still great to see given the way club and him parted ways two summers ago. Will be great to watch him at Old Trafford again, for most probably last time given his age and everything.
 
KStandBarmyArmy1993 said:
De Gea was a fantastic player for us. To overcome those early challenges and become one of the best keepers in the world was a testament to his ability and character.

However, it was clear (probably post 2021 Europa League final if we're being honest) that he was no longer good enough for the very highest level. At that point, we should have signed a replacement or trusted Henderson to be number one for a year and sold De Gea whilst there was some demand for him. The fact we didn't is probably as much to the club's instability and lack of decent scouting. It still seems mad that we gave Henderson a five year contract whilst keeping De Gea. Lack of strategy again...

It was also clear that even in summer 2023, United still believed De Gea was the best option. When the contract didn't get signed, we had very few clear options. For all his faults, Onana (on paper anyway) had a decent track record to be his replacement. It quickly became apparent that he wasn't up to it and now we're in a situation where we've gone so far downhill that a keeper who wasn't good enough 4 years ago probably is just about good enough* for our current situation and is better than our current two keepers.

*That doesn't mean he's good enough now just a sad indictment of how bad our recruitment is.

The same can be said for Fred, McTominay, Elanga etc
Click to expand...

Spot on.

And it’s ok for fans to think that all of the above is true while still having a soft spot for DDG (and Fred, McT, Elanga) He’ll get a great reception tomorrow. Which is well deserved.
 
Annihilate Now! said:


fecking class video - really glad he's going to get something of a send off this weekend.
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He really has the best compilations of pretty much any goalkeeper out there. Such a legend. Yes, he tailored off at the end and made more mistakes than we would like, but we haven't improved. I'd argue we would be a better side with DDG than we are now, unfortunately. That being said, I still think it was right to part ways, but everything about that situation was handled the wrong way. Not giving one of our true legends a proper send off is diabolical from the club, and his replacement has been well below par. I doubt Onana would save half of the saves DDG makes in that video, and then I'm being kind.
 
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