De Gea post-season interview: "Ones who want to stay, stay at the club. Ones that don't want to stay go out. You don't have to stay here."

[Buster15]

Keane was part of a functioning dressing room. At this point my view of the squad is that they're divided into cliques and are at eachother's throats constantly.

I assume the want-outs and the disgruntled players like Bailly, Pogba, Shaw, Lingard, VdB etc are one group.

The Maguire gang (if he has one, hopefully he does given he's captain) is another.

Ronaldo has his own pull etc.

It doesn't help that Rangnick has no authority at all - partly due to his man management skills and partly because he was only around for 6 mo.

First thing for the new manager to do is to assert his authority. Do what Arteta did, freeze out senior players if necessary. Play the ones that really want to give 100% in training and in matches.

Very well said.
I still believe that a number of our many problems came from Ole. He was trying to be all things to all men and allowed himself to be at the mercy of the dressing room. Instead of controlling the dressing room.
We desperately need a true leader who is going to assert his authority and gain respect. Hopefully Ten Haag will be that man.

 

[Foxbatt]

I've heard people talk about a Portuguese clique, but never a Maguire one. Just seems unlikely if the rumours about players questioning his captaincy or being picked are true at all.

Maguire is a one man clique.

 

[Red For Ever]

Most of the serious problems have been plain to see for a while.
De Gea is not one of them

The list of why and who is long, using media, brothers, agents, wags, dressing room and team leaks all add up to a pretty poisonous atmosphere.
If you are a player at United, ( or any top club ) football first, everything else second.

 

[Natener]

Those saying DDG also needs to go and the whole lot needs to be fecked off are talking fantasy. We are not going to sign an entire new squad this summer. What DDG is saying is the committed players should stay and work hard at a fresh start next season. Replacing those that want out will be a major overhaul of this squad for just this summer alone, so what he's saying is a very sensible starting point. For now, get those who want out out, bring in replacements with good character, then work from there to fine tune in subsequent windows.

 

[Bebestation]

Can’t believe how people let Ronaldo off the hook because he had a good final month. He was United’s worst performer for much of the season, our famed resilience and team spirit vanished in the blink of an eye after he joined (no more comebacks), he threw temper tantrums, sulked and admonished youngsters on the pitch and if we’re talking about character, the guy has an extremely credible rape allegation against him.

His Juve teammates were quick to put the boot in on him after he left too. Is it not clear that he’s been cancer to that dressing room?

Run mate. Run.

 

[Lennon]

Give him the armband!

 

[sullydnl]

You’re missing the point though; if you’re good at one aspect of your job but terrible every other part of it, then it’s your professional responsibility to improve the other areas. How can he call people out for not being professional when he literally asked the club to bring in a goalkeeper coach who didn’t stretch him in those aspects of the game after Hoek left?

It's his responsibility to work as hard and professionally as he can, conducting himself appropriately in the dressing room and off the pitch. Which he has indeed done this season, returning early to pre-season to put in the extra work that saw him successfully regain his spot as #1 as his form improved on the previous few seasons. Successfully seeing off Henderson's challenge from a point where he looked absolutely shot as a goalkeeper speaks to his application this season. Because if he wasn't putting the effort in, that wouldn't have happened.

It isn't his responsibility to magically work away all his weaknesses as a footballer, because a lot of those are down to his fundamental skillset and personality. Players can strive to improve but they they can't make themselves entirely different players. He's the profile of keeper he's always been, with all the weaknesses inherent in that. If you want something entirely different you get something entirely different, you don't expect him to transform himself into something entirely different

But those performance issues have zero to do with the context we're discussing here, which is one of a toxic dressing room full of recrimination, leaks to journalists, lack of effort, undermining the manager and a lack of base professionalism in terms of how players conduct themselves behind the scenes. And both De Gea and Mata are entitled to allude to that lack of professionalism critically regardless of their faults as actual footballers or the weaknesses they've failed to overcome, because unless they've suddenly had complete personality changes they're clearly not the sources of that toxicity.

 

[gajender]

Give him the armband!

Woudn't that be great after fiasco of Maguire making someone who isn't good enough to play if United have any aspiration to get back to top Captain I wonder what could go wrong .

 

[jeepers]

Which players is he talking about? There's no need to talk about those already known to be leaving like Pogba and Lingard.

Rashford? There was mention that Rashford was considering his United future after he got dropped under Rangnick, wasn't there?

I wonder which other players De Gea is insinuating about.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

Can't wait for his tell-all autobiography.

'I usually like to chill out after training with some Slayer cranked full blast, but after one particular session in May 2022 I just couldn't get into it. Maguire was giving the room his usual stoney faced, shoulder slumped hard man routine when suddenly out of nowhere he fell out of view courtesy of a lobbed chair.

As he scrambled back to his feet I pulled my headphones out to hear the familiar dulcet tones from our frequent troublemaker. "You cat penis. I fecking kill you." I rose as Juan came charging forward, another chair in his hands. "Motherfecker. You feck up pass again. Cat penis." The last few words drowned out by the sound of the metal legs whacking against Harry's ample forehead. Juan liked chairs.

I tried to restrain him but everyone knows that once Mata starts there's really no stopping him. It's like falling into the fog, he would tell you. A fog filled with untold rage. Most of the time we just let him get on with it but after the amputated toe incident with Jesse the week before, or the squirrels nailed to Rangnick's door with the blood scrawled words "feck out the feck off" above it the previous night, we knew we had to stop him before he did something bad.

Cristiano had seen it all coming and had grabbed the tranquilliser gun. After removing his shirt he fired into Juan's buttocks. Mata eventually went down. Four darts. He's building up an immunity to them. feck."

Yeah this is the post of the year.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

It's his responsibility to work as hard and professionally as he can, conducting himself appropriately in the dressing room and off the pitch. Which he has indeed done this season, returning early to pre-season to put in the extra work that saw him successfully regain his spot as #1 as his form improved on the previous few seasons. Successfully seeing off Henderson's challenge from a point where he looked absolutely shot as a goalkeeper speaks to his application this season. Because if he wasn't putting the effort in, that wouldn't have happened.

It isn't his responsibility to magically work away all his weaknesses as a footballer, because a lot of those are down to his fundamental skillset and personality. Players can strive to improve but they they can't make themselves entirely different players. He's the profile of keeper he's always been, with all the weaknesses inherent in that. If you want something entirely different you get something entirely different, you don't expect him to transform himself into something entirely different

But those performance issues have zero to do with the context we're discussing here, which is one of a toxic dressing room full of recrimination, leaks to journalists, lack of effort, undermining the manager and a lack of base professionalism in terms of how players conduct themselves behind the scenes. And both De Gea and Mata are entitled to allude to that lack of professionalism critically regardless of their faults as actual footballers or the weaknesses they've failed to overcome, because unless they've suddenly had complete personality changes they're clearly not the sources of that toxicity.

Could just imagine Juan running into the middle of any argument shouting 'Hugs everybody. Hugs'.

 

[JB7]

It's his responsibility to work as hard and professionally as he can, conducting himself appropriately in the dressing room and off the pitch. Which he has indeed done this season, returning early to pre-season to put in the extra work that saw him successfully regain his spot as #1 as his form improved on the previous few seasons. Successfully seeing off Henderson's challenge from a point where he looked absolutely shot as a goalkeeper speaks to his application this season. Because if he wasn't putting the effort in, that wouldn't have happened.

It isn't his responsibility to magically work away all his weaknesses as a footballer, because a lot of those are down to his fundamental skillset and personality. Players can strive to improve but they they can't make themselves entirely different players. He's the profile of keeper he's always been, with all the weaknesses inherent in that. If you want something entirely different you get something entirely different, you don't expect him to transform himself into something entirely different

But those performance issues have zero to do with the context we're discussing here, which is one of a toxic dressing room full of recrimination, leaks to journalists, lack of effort, undermining the manager and a lack of base professionalism in terms of how players conduct themselves behind the scenes. And both De Gea and Mata are entitled to allude to that lack of professionalism critically regardless of their faults as actual footballers or the weaknesses they've failed to overcome, because unless they've suddenly had complete personality changes they're clearly not the sources of that toxicity.

Erm yeah, it is your responsibility to work on your weaknesses as a footballer, there is nothing magic about it, it's just hard work. And that is what Hoek had him doing, hence his stats on dealing with crosses has dropped year on year since Hoek left from circa 7% (so just below average) to 3% (worst in the league). Hoek gave an interview a couple of years ago about the importance of the relationship between the goalkeeper and the team, and the resistance he faced from De Gea as it was different to what he'd done previously. And then despite the improvements it brought to his game, De Gea then wanted the club to bring in his old Atletico coach and immediately returned to mostly individual goalkeeper training regimes and regressing in the areas he had been improving. It's not a performance issue I'm griping here, you can't call your team-mates out for being unprofessional when you're that adverse to improving your game and have given an interview saying how happy you are with your season when you've just conceded 57 league goals.

 

[hellhunter]

Yeah this is the post of the year.

Well done, now @Mr Pigeon will stop performing completely

 

[El Zoido]

Dave isn’t the problem. Sure, he’s not a “modern” style goalkeeper, but you have to feel for him standing between the sticks and watching the horror show in front of him week in week out.

 

[Zlatattack]

So many people slagging of DDG, seem to forget post Fergie David has been consistently good, in some seasons arguably world class. He had a blip last season and even towards the start of this one, yet he's pulled it back.

Fax machine or not, he stuck with us and he's been putting in good performances regularly. He might not have fancy footwork, but he did everything he could to keep the goals out.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

Dave isn’t the problem. Sure, he’s not a “modern” style goalkeeper, but you have to feel for him standing between the sticks and watching the horror show in front of him week in week out.

People are not differentiating between his weaknesses as a goalkeeper as you say in the modern game and his professionalism and personality as a person. Think this is why him and Juan are so upset by what is happening in front of them. They are trying to do their job to the best of the abilities, it might not be the best, but nobody can say they don't work. Instead they are listening to others stabbing each other in the back, not listening to instructions, disrespecting managers and coaches. They have had enough and felt they needed to bring things out into the open. People saying Luckhurst is making things up. These two have basically confirmed most of what he is saying.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

Dave isn’t the problem. Sure, he’s not a “modern” style goalkeeper, but you have to feel for him standing between the sticks and watching the horror show in front of him week in week out.

Being a modern keeper isn’t just a stylistic preference. It actually impacts our defence. Look at the immediate impact Allison has had on Liverpool and even Ederson at City who’s an inferior example. They perform as an additional player in buildup and their launches are offensive weapons. Don’t know how many times De Gea gave the ball back to the opposition or put it out of play from kick outs. More importantly though, his defenders know they can’t trust him to come off his line which stops them playing a high line effectively. He is appalling at coming for crosses and is very weak in contact.

 

[Oranges038]

Some of you who blamed him have probably never played as a GK with shit defenders that you cant trust in front of you where they keep putting you in awkward positions. Put any GK behind a defence he doesnt trust and he will perform worse.

It works both ways.

If you put a mute goalkeeper who sticks to his line, that the defenders can't trust to command his area behind them and any defence and it will immediately become a confused mess.

There has to be a level of trust and understanding between the keeper and the centre halves. An understanding that means they can control the defence together and know who is going to deal with certain situations.

The biggest problem with this Utd defence is that they just don't play as a unit. Like it or not, DDG is a big part of that problem, because apparently he thinks he's just there to make saves.

 

[El Zoido]

Being a modern keeper isn’t just a stylistic preference. It actually impacts our defence. Look at the immediate impact Allison has had on Liverpool and even Ederson at City who’s an inferior example. They perform as an additional player in buildup and their launches are offensive weapons. Don’t know how many times De Gea gave the ball back to the opposition or put it out of play from kick outs. More importantly though, his defenders know they can’t trust him to come off his line which stops them playing a high line effectively. He is appalling at coming for crosses and is very weak in contact.

I agree with your points but it wouldn’t make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. Allison would look like a calamity in this team imo.

 

[roonster09]

People are not differentiating between his weaknesses as a goalkeeper as you say in the modern game and his professionalism and personality as a person. Think this is why him and Juan are so upset by what is happening in front of them. They are trying to do their job to the best of the abilities, it might not be the best, but nobody can say they don't work. Instead they are listening to others stabbing each other in the back, not listening to instructions, disrespecting managers and coaches. They have had enough and felt they needed to bring things out into the open. People saying Luckhurst is making things up. These two have basically confirmed most of what he is saying.

Exactly. It's hilarious you see posts like "he isn't professional, if he is, why isn't he a modern keeper".

It's as good (or worse) as saying any player who isn't complete isn't a professioanl.

Maybe players like Kante are not professionals either, as he can't play long passes like Scholes or can't shoot with his weaker foot like Sneijder/Perisic.

 

[norm87cro]

If he had a better defense or a midfield I would be inclined to have a go at him as well (and we all know his limitations in the 5 yard crosses) but he is spot on and is surley here next season and hopefully we can improve every single position with probably the exception of Shaw. If then he doesn't improved then I can agree with some of the critics regarding his game

 

[WPMUFC]

DDG: *Tells it like it really is and calls out the toxicity in the dressing room*

Supporters: *Attacks DDG instead*

Some of you fans are really precious.

It's like some fans think that if they blindly support these losers they might finally get to be friends with them some day

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

If he had a better defense or a midfield I would be inclined to have a go at him as well (and we all know his limitations in the 5 yard crosses) but he is spot on and is surley here next season and hopefully we can improve every single position with probably the exception of Shaw. If then he doesn't improved then I can agree with some of the critics regarding his game

I disagree with this because the reactive elements of his game are by far his biggest strengths. He can be an amazing shot stopper and this is the attribute that shines when you are a goalkeeper with a bad defence. Don’t think anyone is saying he’s bad at that and this year at least he’s not getting shredded for letting in goals from shots he should be saving.

But he is still ridiculously bad at sweeping Up danger before it happens. How many times have we seen him routed to his line when other keepers would be running out to clear danger or letting easily attainable crosses just float across his zone. These aren’t really ‘skills’ the way accurate long passing is so it’s bizarre he isn’t being told to be more aggressive out that he’s ignoring it if he is. We’ve seen Maguire and other defenders roaring at him for not coming out this season.

 

[anant]

Can't wait for his tell-all autobiography.

'I usually like to chill out after training with some Slayer cranked full blast, but after one particular session in May 2022 I just couldn't get into it. Maguire was giving the room his usual stoney faced, shoulder slumped hard man routine when suddenly out of nowhere he fell out of view courtesy of a lobbed chair.

As he scrambled back to his feet I pulled my headphones out to hear the familiar dulcet tones from our frequent troublemaker. "You cat penis. I fecking kill you." I rose as Juan came charging forward, another chair in his hands. "Motherfecker. You feck up pass again. Cat penis." The last few words drowned out by the sound of the metal legs whacking against Harry's ample forehead. Juan liked chairs.

I tried to restrain him but everyone knows that once Mata starts there's really no stopping him. It's like falling into the fog, he would tell you. A fog filled with untold rage. Most of the time we just let him get on with it but after the amputated toe incident with Jesse the week before, or the squirrels nailed to Rangnick's door with the blood scrawled words "feck out the feck off" above it the previous night, we knew we had to stop him before he did something bad.

Cristiano had seen it all coming and had grabbed the tranquilliser gun. After removing his shirt he fired into Juan's buttocks. Mata eventually went down. Four darts. He's building up an immunity to them. feck."

 

[ROFLUTION]

It works both ways.

If you put a mute goalkeeper who sticks to his line, that the defenders can't trust to command his area behind them and any defence and it will immediately become a confused mess.

There has to be a level of trust and understanding between the keeper and the centre halves. An understanding that means they can control the defence together and know who is going to deal with certain situations.

The biggest problem with this Utd defence is that they just don't play as a unit. Like it or not, DDG is a big part of that problem, because apparently he thinks he's just there to make saves.

Not sure if that's true. "Big part of the problem" - That's just your personal interpretation.
He's won the league with other defenders in front of him, so could be he's also actually at an okay level in communications and the others are not. But yeah, surely we're missing communication and leadership overall.

Glad to see him say this at the right time - Had he said it a game earlier, he'd get called names. It puts pressure on the leeches of the club, here for a paycheck but not doing anything for the team. Lots of immature idiots in our team it seems.

 

[Smithy89]

Fair play Dave they need calling out, too many charlatans and tossers in the squad.

Cannot wait to see the back of the likes of Pogba, Henderson, Cavani, Jesse and hopefully a few others.

 

[mitchmouse]

I've heard people talk about a Portuguese clique, but never a Maguire one. Just seems unlikely if the rumours about players questioning his captaincy or being picked are true at all.

maguire had a clique but it moved faster than a snail, ran in behind him and he got left behind

 

[Sammy McIlroys fan club]

Which players is he talking about? There's no need to talk about those already known to be leaving like Pogba and Lingard.

Rashford? There was mention that Rashford was considering his United future after he got dropped under Rangnick, wasn't there?

I wonder which other players De Gea is insinuating about.

Bailly, its pretty clear he wants to leave, Martial same boat, Rashford has had a few media pieces about how he was going to replace Mbappe at PSG!! Jones wants away but I can understand that at his age that he needs gametime, and there are hints that Henderson wants a move.
That's 5 off the top of my head, then there is another list of players who may or may not be up to scratch.
Maguire, Dalot, AWB, McTom, Telles, Lindelof, I don't think those guys are pushing for a move, the debate is more about whether they are good enough and the jury is definitely still out on each of them and if someone came in with a reasonable offer I would be happy enough to see any of them go for the right price.

 

[tenpoless]

It works both ways.

If you put a mute goalkeeper who sticks to his line, that the defenders can't trust to command his area behind them and any defence and it will immediately become a confused mess.

There has to be a level of trust and understanding between the keeper and the centre halves. An understanding that means they can control the defence together and know who is going to deal with certain situations.

The biggest problem with this Utd defence is that they just don't play as a unit. Like it or not, DDG is a big part of that problem, because apparently he thinks he's just there to make saves.

The thing is De Gea played with Vidic and Ferdinand and none of them complained about DDG not coming out out of his line. Why? because they're top defenders and they know when and when not to pass around at the back.
Also, if there's mistrust between them then the person who should be organizing it is Maguire. He's the captain, he's the most important out of all defenders. De Gea needs to command his area during freekicks and corners, but really he shouldn't have to do that in general plays when we have the ball. At that time it's the defender's. The main problem is we have defenders that are neither calm nor composed actively trying to play the ball around at the back (which can also be attributed to the system, maybe they are instructed specifically to do it?) and when they realize they've made a mistake, such as opponents pressing them and they have no space to run to, they just give it to DDG. So of course I can understand DDG's frustration. After all, if the opponent manages to snatch the ball it'll be him that gets shit on when the opponent scores the goal even though it's most likely a collective, systematical mistake. Imagine the players in front of you constantly scrambling and you never know what they're gonna do, what do you do? you come out, it can lead into a mistake, you don't come out and it can lead into a mistake too. I don't agree that he's a big problem. We have bigger problems. Replace him with someone like Ederson and the defenders + midfielders will still find a way to make stupid mistakes that put the GK in a disadvantageous position. Hell, I can imagine Ederson coming out of his line only for Maguire or Fred to score an own goal. We just don't have an organization nor calmness at the back - the reasons why we brought in Maguire and so far it's been a failure. Meanwhile if we had a decent back four that don't try to outsmart themselves with playing from the back, with DDG still in goal, the difference is gonna be night and day.

 

[Dante]

Which players is he talking about? There's no need to talk about those already known to be leaving like Pogba and Lingard.

Rashford? There was mention that Rashford was considering his United future after he got dropped under Rangnick, wasn't there?

I wonder which other players De Gea is insinuating about.

Cavani, without a doubt.

Both Pogba and Cavani have pulled sickies to go on holiday this season. Rangnick even called it out in a press conference soon after Pogba did it in April.

Lingard, I think we all know about. He wanted to leave last summer and again in January, but was blocked by the board.

Bailly hasn't been happy.

Matic has opted out of an optional contract extension. I'm not saying he's caused any problems or been unprofessional. But his semi-retirement does add to the 'checked out' atmosphere.

The likes of Jones, Mata, Henderson, AWB and Rashford probably all want to stay despite everything they've been going through. I doubt any of them are who DDG is referring to. But the first three are in the same boat as Matic of being 'checked out'.

Woodward's squad contract management has left the squad bloated and full of players on a fat wage for doing next to nothing. Both Ole and Jose wanted culls but were stopped from doing so.

We've all been in offices where the guy next to us is getting paid to do nothing, or the lady in the opposite booth seems unsackable despite being late all the time and being bad at her job. It's the kind of attitude bleeds through into everyone else, and before long you're half-arsing it as well. I mean, if Rob in accounting is cutting corners to get off on an early lunch, maybe I should too.

I personally like a lot of the players I've mentioned above. But even if none of them is toxic on his own, it all adds up. Which is why I don't necessarily subscribe to idea of there being specifically 'bad eggs'. I think it's a cumulative effect from lots of players being a little bit unhappy and pulling in slightly different direction. That's one of the hazards of having too many people in one dressing room.

 

[ManRed]

From De Gea interview and Rangnick 10 incomings message a few days ago it's clear how bad the situation in the dressing room currently. We need a new captain and strong leaders in the squad.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

The thing is De Gea played with Vidic and Ferdinand and none of them complained about DDG not coming out out of his line. Why? because they're top defenders and they know when and when not to pass around at the back.
Also, if there's mistrust between them then the person who should be organizing it is Maguire. He's the captain, he's the most important out of all defenders. De Gea needs to command his area during freekicks and corners, but really he shouldn't have to do that in general plays when we have the ball. At that time it's the defender's. The main problem is we have defenders that are neither calm nor composed actively trying to play the ball around at the back (which can also be attributed to the system, maybe they are instructed specifically to do it?) and when they realize they've made a mistake, such as opponents pressing them and they have no space to run to, they just give it to DDG. So of course I can understand DDG's frustration. After all, if the opponent manages to snatch the ball it'll be him that gets shit on when the opponent scores the goal even though it's most likely a collective, systematical mistake. Imagine the players in front of you constantly scrambling and you never know what they're gonna do, what do you do? you come out, it can lead into a mistake, you don't come out and it can lead into a mistake too. I don't agree that he's a big problem. We have bigger problems. Replace him with someone like Ederson and the defenders + midfielders will still find a way to make stupid mistakes that put the GK in a disadvantageous position. Hell, I can imagine Ederson coming out of his line only for Maguire or Fred to score an own goal. We just don't have an organization nor calmness at the back - the reasons why we brought in Maguire and so far it's been a failure.

You can’t use Rio and Vidic as a reference point anymore, football has changed too much. Every team presses now. Those guys were premier league all timers but they weren’t being pressed in every game and so the goalkeeper and defenders back then have different requirements.

 

[tenpoless]

You can’t use Rio and Vidic as a reference point anymore, football has changed too much. Every team presses now. Those guys were premier league all timers but they weren’t being pressed in every game and so the goalkeeper and defenders back then have different requirements.

A functional, or should I say exceptional midfielders in Carrick & Scholes definitely help with that. But now we have non existent midfielders that instead help the opponents press by constantly making a bad pass.

Also if every team presses, I wonder how many top teams in the world actually play with ball playing GK + ball playing CB combination in order to counter that? if the answer is less than 20% then it's not even a 'meta'. It's just something you see other teams (that are doing well) do and you want it. Point is we've been shite at it after spending so much for ball playing CBs (Maguire, Lindelof). And if we do continue that way then god help ETH to slap some sense into the back four because obviously it's only making things worse. Most of the chances I saw in games this season was caused by a reckless back pass from midfielder to defender, midfielder to midfielder, defender to defender or defender to GK.

 

[georgipep]

I agree with your points but it wouldn’t make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. Allison would look like a calamity in this team imo.

I think it would make an enormous difference. Our defenders need to take care of every ball that is coming in our own half, doesn't matter how close to the keeper, purely because De Gea is too scared to claim them. Yesterday there was one occasion when the ball was actually in his own box and he backed off, forcing Maguire to spring and deal with it.

And do you know why we are always so shaky at crosses? Because we play with one less player in those occasions. Not only that, it's the one player that has the biggest power in normal conditions. Look at Alisson, he just claims the high balls and that's that. De Gea, instead, stands on his line, waiting to showcase his reflexes,pumping his stats for being a great shot stopper when there shouldn't have been a shot to begin with.

I've hoped we sell/not renew him for ages. And I'm 100% sure we will never transition to truly building from the back and playing a high line with him in goal.

 

[Polar]

Weren't we supposed to bring in players with "good" characters and value under Ole? So much for the famed cultural reset

Our scouting- and recruitmentsystem has been a joke. Seems like things are changing now; Woodward and a couple of other key recruiters/scouts are gone

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

I think it would make an enormous difference. Our defenders need to take care of every ball that is coming in our own half, doesn't matter how close to the keeper, purely because De Gea is too scared to claim them. Yesterday there was one occasion when the ball was actually in his own box and he backed off, forcing Maguire to spring and deal with it.

And do you know why we are always so shaky at crosses? Because we play with one less player in those occasions. Not only that, it's the one player that has the biggest power in normal conditions. Look at Alisson, he just claims the high balls and that's that. De Gea, instead, stands on his line, waiting to showcase his reflexes,pumping his stats for being a great shot stopper when there shouldn't have been a shot to begin with.

I've hoped we sell/not renew him for ages. And I'm 100% sure we will never transition to truly building from the back and playing a high line with him in goal.

Agree. Hard to be too harsh this year when literally everyone was terrible and he made point-saving saves in a few games but in the big picture, he's a world away from the Ajax keeper Onana and he will limit our ambitions to play that kind of football if that's what ten Hag wants.

 

[OrcaFat]

I’m 7ft 2 built like a man mountain fella. I’d throw him about like wet lettuce.

Nice.

 

[Ted Lasso]

DDG: *Tells it like it really is and calls out the toxicity in the dressing room*

Supporters: *Attacks DDG instead*

Some of you fans are really precious.

Happened with Jose. Happened with Rangnick.

Ole started his time with us calling out players, which fans ate up. And then reneged on it for the first full season.

Very much a double standard thats kind of nonsensical. I understand distrusting Jose...but De Gea!? Weird bunch.

 

[Artorias]

Those saying DDG also needs to go and the whole lot needs to be fecked off are talking fantasy. We are not going to sign an entire new squad this summer. What DDG is saying is the committed players should stay and work hard at a fresh start next season. Replacing those that want out will be a major overhaul of this squad for just this summer alone, so what he's saying is a very sensible starting point. For now, get those who want out out, bring in replacements with good character, then work from there to fine tune in subsequent windows.

Agree 100%. At least a lot of players that are part of the problem will go now.

 

[TheRedHearted]

Unfortunately the stubborn ones who wanted to leave will now be like, “try and tell me what to do? I’ll show you… I’m staying.”