What's happened to De Gea?

[Davs]

I thought DDG had put his worst years behind him during Fergies last years and the start of Moyes/LVG era. He was absolutely world class for us at times and still does have periods in a game where he can pull off a fantastic save - he will always have that.

However; compare DDG to the other world class keepers in the league (Alisson & Ederson in my opinion), they just don't commit howler after howler like DDG has been this year. I'm fully aware that keepers go in and out of form like any other player on the pitch, however to be #1 at United requires you to snap out of that form far quicker than DDG has this season. Solskjaer has had to publicly defend him multiple times this year and I feel his mistake(s) last night could be one of the last nails in his coffin for many United fans.

You can call it a 'knee jerk' to last night if you want, but for me he's been at fault for far too many goals in the last 18 months and we cannot have that going forward.

EDIT: To top it off for me, he walked off the pitch last night smiling, waving and shaking hands/talking with the Chelsea lot. FFS man, you've had a howler and don't even look bothered by it.

 

[Revan]

I thought DDG had put his worst years behind him during Fergies last years and the start of Moyes/LVG era. He was absolutely world class for us at times and still does have periods in a game where he can pull off a fantastic save - he will always have that.

However; compare DDG to the other world class keepers in the league (Alisson & Ederson in my opinion), they just don't commit howler after howler like DDG has been this year. I'm fully aware that keepers go in and out of form like any other player on the pitch, however to be #1 at United requires you to snap out of that form far quicker than DDG has this season. Solskjaer has had to publicly defend him multiple times this year and I feel his mistake(s) last night could be one of the last nails in his coffin for many United fans.

You can call it a 'knee jerk' to last night if you want, but for me he's been at fault for far too many goals in the last 18 months and we cannot have that going forward.

Ederson? Seriously?

I grant you Alisson, but Ederson is average as feck. He has made 3 howlers in the league against us this season resulting in 3 goals. If De Gea conceded either of them, everyone would have been complaining.

 

[Godfather]

Why is every post SAF manager determined to saddle us with at least one exorbitantly paid declining player? Rooney, Schweinsteiger, Sanchez, and now this. Where's the judgement capable of avoiding this? Happened 4 times in a row now.

We've become way too nice to declining players or players that are straight out not good enough. Many in our squad should have been booted out of the club way sooner.

 

[Davs]

Ederson? Seriously?

I grant you Alisson, but Ederson is average as feck. He has made 3 howlers in the league against us this season resulting in 3 goals. If De Gea conceded either of them, everyone would have been complaining.

Yeah, agree probably. The thing with Ederson I suppose is he has more to his game in being a sweeper and great distributor of the ball. De Gea doesn't do that and solely relies on his reactionary saves to class him as a top keeper - which this past 18 months simply haven't been there.

 

[Revan]

Yeah, agree probably. The thing with Ederson I suppose is he has more to his game in being a sweeper and great distributor of the ball. De Gea doesn't do that and solely relies on his reactionary saves to class him as a top keeper - which this past 18 months simply haven't been there.

Oh, he is good at sweeping and passing, but he is meh at shot stopping and if I was a City fan I would have dreaded every time the other team shoots at goal (same as now I panic when someone shoots at De Gea).

He is nowhere close to a world class keeper.

 

[crossy1686]

We've become way too nice to declining players or players that are straight out not good enough. Many in our squad should have been booted out of the club way sooner.

Because we have no succession planning that comes with either a DOF or a long term appointed manager

 

[Strelok]

I don’t even know if Romero can play as a number one can he? I thought his knees (or something else maybe) weren’t up to it. I also don’t think Romero or Henderson’s kicking accuracy is much better.

I’m 90% we’re just going to continue with DDG next season either way. The club can’t afford to spend 100 million a new keeper, and I don’t see us being able to shift DDG to bring back Henderson.

We won't able to shift him out, true. But that doesn't stop us from benching him or loaning him out and give Henderson a shot I think.

 

[mancan92]

I would rather literally any other goalkeeper in the league. Every shot hit at him I have no confidence he will save it.

 

[justboy68]

Don't think he looks interested anymore personally. Not that he is purposely throwing in the towel, but if the focus and desire is not 100% there then you are done at the top level. He's been a good lad for us but it's definitely time to move on.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

I think there's more going on in his personal life than has been known, the comments by the Spanish goalkeeping coach who left at the end of last season were alluding to something not quite right behind the scenes. Maybe the girlfriend feels estranged and he wanted to go to Spain but the money being offered at United was too good to turn down and now he is mentally left standing with his left foot in Manchester and right foot in Madrid.

 

[Feed Me]

He’s finished and should be fecked off. His contract is a disgrace to the club. Every inch as bad as Sanchez now. If anything, he’s worse because he actively causes us harm each work. I despise him.

 

[MiracleInMadrid]

Oh, he is good at sweeping and passing, but he is meh at shot stopping and if I was a City fan I would have dreaded every time the other team shoots at goal (same as now I panic when someone shoots at De Gea).

He is nowhere close to a world class keeper.

I agree that he ain't world class, but I bet that Pep thinks that his sweeping and passing more than outweighs his average shot stopping and command of the box. Peps tactical system is very reliant on having a goalkeeper that is able to participate in the build up. Their goal is to absorb pressure by having a goalkeeper and central defenders with good composure and passing ability, and then attract the opposition players to come high up the field and thereby expose areas they are supposed to cover. When doing so it is fundamental to have a goalkeeper that can pick a pass almost everywhere on the pitch in order to play around the opposition players and trap them high up the field.

So I think it is neccesary to look at the whole picture when assesing Edersons qualities. Personaly, I'm not a fan of a goalkeeper that will only work in a very specific tactical setup. And I don't think that it makes him a better keeper than Allison for example. I just don't think that Pep would switch if he could.

 

[RoyH1]

I like Dave, but it’s time to bring in a replacement. A positive change at the goalkeeper position can improve the team immensely.

 

[Revan]

I agree that he ain't world class, but I bet that Pep thinks that his sweeping and passing more than outweighs his average shot stopping and command of the box. Peps tactical system is very reliant on having a goalkeeper that is able to participate in the build up. Their goal is to absorb pressure by having a goalkeeper and central defenders with good composure and passing ability, and then attract the opposition players to come high up the field and thereby expose areas they are supposed to cover. When doing so it is fundamental to have a goalkeeper that can pick a pass almost everywhere on the pitch in order to play around the opposition players and trap them high up the field.

So I think it is neccesary to look at the whole picture when assesing Edersons qualities. Personaly, I'm not a fan of a goalkeeper that will only work in a very specific tactical setup. And I don't think that it makes him a better keeper than Allison for example. I just don't think that Pep would switch if he could.

Alisson is as good at passing, and far better at goalkeeping. Not as a good sweeper though, I do agree.

No idea what Pep would have done.

 

[P-Nut]

I think it's got to the point that Henderson needs to come back next year and have a chance of truly competing for the GK spot.

Whilst Romero has been a great back up, I think he is viewed exactly as that, just a back up who will never be given the shot of being number 1.

The ideal scenario would be to sell DDG to someone like PSG, and have Romero as back up still, but I don't think even they would go for it this summer with everything going on.

It's been around 18 months of sharp decline now, with a steady decline coming even before that.

Ole has got a big call to make in the next 2 games as well, any more errors like that for the next couple of games could cost us massively!

 

[Dan_F]

We won't able to shift him out, true. But that doesn't stop us from benching him or loaning him out and give Henderson a shot I think.

Depends if Henderson wants to risk being on the bench. I’m not convinced that rotating keepers, other than cup competitions, is useful. There’s no good option!

 

[Strelok]

Depends if Henderson wants to risk being on the bench. I’m not convinced that rotating keepers, other than cup competitions, is useful. There’s no good option!

If Ole decides to bench or loan out DDG and give Henderson a shot next season why would he be ?

In that scenario, he would be benched only if he doesn't perform. If he can't even accept that risk, he should not play for us.

 

[GazTheLegend]

Circa the early 2000's, there was another goalkeeper that had a nightmare against Chelsea. It wasn't just 'that' game though but the one against Southampton that sealed his fate. That was Massimo Taibi.

Alex Ferguson was ruthless and he never played him again, despite having a large (for the time) price tag. He played a grand total of four games. A good goalkeeper but we didn't have the time to wait.

If de Gea is costing us points instead of saving / earning them, then unfortunately he needs replaced. Weird that he's making these mistakes in front of no fans though, I used to think it was a fan pressure thing that caused those mistakes.

He's not been the same since that world cup.

 

[Josep Dowling]

Oh, he is good at sweeping and passing, but he is meh at shot stopping and if I was a City fan I would have dreaded every time the other team shoots at goal (same as now I panic when someone shoots at De Gea).

He is nowhere close to a world class keeper.

I actually think Ederson is a good shot stopper. His issue is that he takes too many risks with playing out from the back.

On to De Gea. He should be dropped and sold. Too many howlers over a two season period. Let’s not forget the ridiculous contract he got out of us. He’s not worth the wages we pay him.

 

[diarm]

He’s finished and should be fecked off. His contract is a disgrace to the club. Every inch as bad as Sanchez now. If anything, he’s worse because he actively causes us harm each work. I despise him.

Surely this is a joke?

The lad is most likely finished as a top class keeper and I agree, he should be moved on if possible as there's no room for sentiment at this level. But you despise him? He was our best player consistently for close to 5 years, when we were at our worst - deserves a little more respect and compassion than that.

 

[Zlatattack]

If he's this bad next season, we should replace him in summer 2021. He's still a very good keeper but he's clearly on a downwards trend.

 

[Mr Anderson]

He saved us for years, but he has regressed. This is far too long to be simply a 'blip in form'.

A mistake to give him that bumper deal last year. But he needs to be dropped now - leave him on the bench and give Henderson a go next season.

Game is cruel, but when you don't perform, actions need to be taken. Leaving him in goal won't find form, he needs to get his head right and taken out of the fire.

 

[Zlatattack]

He saved us for years, but he has regressed. This is far too long to be simply a 'blip in form'.

A mistake to give him that bumper deal last year. But he needs to be dropped now - leave him on the bench and give Henderson a go next season.

Game is cruel, but when you don't perform, actions need to be taken. Leaving him in goal won't find form, he needs to get his head right and taken out of the fire.

That's a good option, have him compete for a place with Henderson next season.

 

[Feed Me]

Surely this is a joke?

The lad is most likely finished as a top class keeper and I agree, he should be moved on if possible as there's no room for sentiment at this level. But you despise him? He was our best player consistently for close to 5 years, when we were at our worst - deserves a little more respect and compassion than that.

I see a mercenary who was very good for a pretty prolonged spell, but someone who openly wanted to leave for Real Madrid. Now he’s stayed and is taking an astronomical wage relative to his performance level. I’d say he was a key contributor to us not getting in the top four last season and has now cost us a cup final berth, and that’s without mentioning the glut of mistakes in the last two years. He earns over 300k a week and phones it in every other game, I can’t stand him.

 

[buchansleftleg]

I'm concerned about his physical and mental health to be honest. Something isn't right. He looks positively gaunt rather than fit and he seems to have the look of someone who is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I also think this is why the club is giving him the "100%" backing publicly...because his confidence is totally fragile at the moment.

IF we drop him I think that will be the end of his career to be honest, given how he is looking. As a long time servant of the club I would hope that the club would not just abandon him like they did with Taibi. That was fair enough and there can be a time for ruthlessness...I just don't think this is the time for that yet. It surprised me that Romero wasn't used in the cup as it would be a chance to give him a rest. Something must have happened this week I think to make Ole think he HAD to play him perhaps?

Ole needs to have a word and if he is not up to the next couple of games then invent some "training injury" to give him the opportunity to save face. He maybe needs some time away to get perspective and re-focus. He maybe needs to find a team where his "shot stopping" is all that matters as he is increasingly looking more and more uncomfortable playing behind a back four trying to play out of the back. He is struggling to dominate his 6 yard box again and maybe it is time to change the formulae at the back to suit the rest of the team.

 

[norm87cro]

He doesn't want to be here but is payed a lot of money so his mind and heart are somwhere else. I honestly belive he would rather be in Madrid for less money. And at this point I would imagine it would be the best for all parties. He's still a very talented kepeer but its obvious his hunger after years of not winning anything is gone. He's been here since 2011 so I don't want to compare him to somebody like Pogba who has had attitude problems since day 1. And even the EL trophy was won without him.

 

[Centre Half Not]

He just needs to be dropped; his ability is unquestionably among the best ever to play in the division. He seems to have no pressure on his position and no being privy to what happens in training you have to think Romero should get the nod. I don't buy into the notion that dropping a keeper is different to dropping an outfield player. No player should be undroppable regardless of performances. A couple of games in the stands will sharpen his mind

 

[Champagne Football]

You'd really have to wonder how we ended up paying him £370,000 per week, despite his performances being poor for a year beforehand.

Was that Ole's decision? Woodward decision? Madness

 

[El Zoido]

He doesn't want to be here but is payed a lot of money so his mind and heart are somwhere else. I honestly belive he would rather be in Madrid for less money. And at this point I would imagine it would be the best for all parties. He's still a very talented kepeer but its obvious his hunger after years of not winning anything is gone. He's been here since 2011 so I don't want to compare him to somebody like Pogba who has had attitude problems since day 1. And even the EL trophy was won without him.

I really doubt it, he’s very much settled and comfortable here. This whole “his head is elsewhere” idea is such BS, if he wanted to leave he’d be playing out of his skin so that another team would actually want to buy him. It’s more likely to be the exact opposite, that he’s too settled and comfortable here, on a massive salary, with no drive to compete like he used to. Classic case of someone feeling they’ve made it.

 

[iHicksy]

When he came he was playing for his reputation and trying to prove he was a great goal keeper. He worked on some of the areas where he was weak, like coming off his line or being bullied in the air. Now, he hasn't mastered either but they are areas that improved. His kicking has massively regressed and he's making errors that are costing us seriously trophies or top 4 two seasons in a row now.

What's happened?

I think he's lost his edge because he has this huge safety net at Old Trafford now. We bent over backwards to try and keep him. We made him the highest paid player in the league. He has his name sung at OT no matter what. The fans chanted his name when he was wanting to leave for Madrid (and rightly so). The club made him one of the highest paid players in the world and made it clear to him his position was untouchable. He's never been dropped for a poor performance since Fergie was here. He has no real competition.
We've brought coaches in because they are his friends to get him to stay. He must feel untouchable at the club. All of these leads to complacency. Being complacent leads to errors, and as we're seeing. A lot of them. The only possible solution is to have Henderson compete for the number one spot and see if that brings back his focus. But I'm not sure even that can bring him back to being a top 3 keeper in world football and that's the standard demanded here.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

If he's this bad next season, we should replace him in summer 2021. He's still a very good keeper but he's clearly on a downwards trend.

We can't let him have another awful season before doing something about it.

He's had 2 shit seasons in a row, what makes you think anything will be different next year?

This isn't just a blip anymore it's a decline.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

We’re keep repeating the same arguments, no one is saying that he shouldn’t be criticized. He should. The clown isn’t the only word that I’ve seen on here, and the fact that you can hear worse words in the stands doesn’t excuse those.

People being subversive is definitely a repetitive argument tactic on here. Of all the things that take place on this forum we should either call out all name calling or not be so selective.

Happy to disagree on this point & move on.

Nah, if you call Lingard or Pereira whatever name I have nothing against. But DDG, please don't. This guy has done enough for us to deserve some respect. Remember the fax machine? It's clear af that he wanted to go to Real Madrid then was refused to let go. Most players would lose their shit and do shit things in a situation like that. But DDG, he showed his outstanding professionalism, stayed and did his job as nothing happened. That alone would deserve some respect imo.

Similar to above. It’s either ok to do it or not. Lingard has scored goals at Wembley for this club & criticism of him is often more personal whilst being based on assumption of his off field activities. Getting upset about someone calling a player a clown after [another] catastrophic performance really does come across as precious.

 

[norm87cro]

I really doubt it, he’s very much settled and comfortable here. This whole “his head is elsewhere” idea is such BS, if he wanted to leave he’d be playing out of his skin so that another team would actually want to buy him. It’s more likely to be the exact opposite, that he’s too settled and comfortable here, on a massive salary, with no drive to compete like he used to. Classic case of someone feeling they’ve made it.

Maybe youre correct but I wouldn't be suprised if he crushed the La Liga if Real signed him. All of a sudden youre competing for top prizes while there are no Emile Heskeys bullying you. I'm not saying we are not going to compete in a season or two just that maybe a solid CB instead of Lindelof and prehaps just a relaiable GK instead of Ddg is the way to go.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Problem is, he’s become another Sanchez. No one will take him on with those wages, even on a free, and he won’t take a pay cut.

 

[Siorac]

He's always relied more on the physical aspects of his game (reflexes) than on the mental / tactical aspects (positioning, defensive organization, etc). So it makes sense he would decline at an earlier age than other keepers.

But the man's still only 29 and has been less than stellar for a couple of years now. He should be at his physical peak so I don't think that's really it.

 

[Strelok]

People being subversive is definitely a repetitive argument tactic on here. Of all the things that take place on this forum we should either call out all name calling or not be so selective.

Happy to disagree on this point & move on.

Similar to above. It’s either ok to do it or not. Lingard has scored goals at Wembley for this club & criticism of him is often more personal whilst being based on assumption of his off field activities. Getting upset about someone calling a player a clown after [another] catastrophic performance really does come across as precious.

No it's not. You have to think about what a player has done for us, and not done for us. Lingard has one, two maybe three good moments in his time here. How many DDG has? This is not black and white matter.

You of course can call DDG a clown if you'd like to. It'll just tell others a lot about what kind of person you really are. That's all.

 

[sun_tzu]

his best seasons seemed to be when he was constantly facing lots of shots because our defense was shakey
perhaps his concentration lapses?
Perhaps it just happened to be that he had a couple of seasons where he didnt make errors which were the exception to the rule
Hes still a top keeper and he has another 3 years (plus an option for an extra year) on his contract so I think we have him for several years more - lets hope our coaches can work with him to cut the errors down and hopefully get back his form of a couple of years ago

 

[MadMike]

We can't let him have another awful season before doing something about it.

He's had 2 shit seasons in a row, what makes you think anything will be different next year?

This isn't just a blip anymore it's a decline.

The problem isn't just the mistakes. His usual goal-line heroics and acrobatic saves distract fans and casual viewers from his other very visible weakness.

He never comes out for long balls and when he does it's even worse because he will either miss it completely or punch a ball he should have caught. He has 0 aerial presence with makes us vulnerable with any long ball in the box. He also never sweeps out to clear balls behind the line of defence. He stays rooted on his line and leaves a big gap between the goal-line and the defence line that strikers know they can attack because De Gea will never rush out. His distribution is also mediocre.

When he's not making great saves, the rest of his game isn't up to par with that of an average EPL GK. That's a simple observational fact.

 

[Lentwood]

August 25th 2019 - 'Should we renew De Gea's contract' - Thread now closed

"De Gea has been dreadful for over a year now. It’s nothing to do with contract disputes, he won’t be thinking about that on the pitch. It’s probably confidence related, he’s always been error prone when playing for Spain and looks like that has transferred to club football

December 2019

De Gea is the worst GK in the league

It’s not even close either, he’s the worst in the league by a mile.

Pinned to his line, never comes for a cross, never rushes out of his area to clear a ball over the top, distribution is god-awful. Has zero presence when closing down a one vs one and is also a bit of a coward (see his technique for turning his face away from the ball/opponents

We used to forgive him all of this because his reflexes were almost super human. Now that they are on the wane we’ve just got one very poor GK

I could understand the push back if this were one game but it’s been two years now

I’m always one of the first to call out a decline, get hammered for it and the within 12-18months it’s universally accepted on here

100% agree with the last part. If you take yesterday's game as a prime example, Maguire had to head several corners away from inside his own 6-yard box. Teams have worked out that DDG won't come for anything so they can drop a corner right into the mixer and throw all the big lads at it.

It's totally ridiculous to expect CBs to have to defend this way. Inevitably they can't be heroic every single time and we will continue to concede goals. The one corner DDG did come for, he crumpled to the floor under zero pressure and was very lucky to get a foul

And again....

The thing is, they are not just “mistakes”, they are absolute howlers. Pickford’s was a “mistake”...De Gea might as well of slung it in his own goal

Don’t even get me started on his “efforts” at set pieces

De Gea is still capable of making world class saves but the problem is every other aspect of his game is incredibly poor.

Command of area is non-exist. Claiming of crosses is hopeless. Ability with the ball at his feet is below average.

Should have been dropped a long time ago. The club and his teammates will be under no illusions that he’s experiencing a steep decline, Ole has a huge decision to make now regarding next season because this can’t continue.

It’s not just little half-mistakes here and there, it’s absolute clangers and usually they come at the worst possible time. I can think of maybe 4 examples this season alone (Palace, Everton x 2 and Watford) where a De Gea mistake has led to us going behind

De Gea has always been an unusual GK. For a start, his style is very unconventional. Unlike most GKs, De Gea stays rooted to his line and challenges attackers to beat his reflexes- which in his younger years where phenomenal. His wiry frame, his agility and his ridiculous reaction speed meant he could pull off unbelievable saves other more ‘traditional’ GKs could only dream of.

The problem began when those reflexes started to wane with age. Even a 5% drop off can be the difference between a save and conceding a goal. Now his total lack of other attributes leaves him very exposed.

Don’t believe the rubbish about GKs (or players in general) peaking in their 30s, it’s just bollocks. Science shows the vast majority of athletes peak in terms of physical attributes at about 27/28. A small percentage of athletes might be able to use their experience to counteract the physical decline and therefore compete at the highest level for longer - but you can’t fight it forever

Once again, I get called all sorts of names for being right.....we HAVE to stop making excuses for players. As a fan base we will literally go to insane lengths to deny the evidence that exists right in-front of our eyes.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

No it's not. You have to think about what a player has done for us, and not done for us. Lingard has one, two maybe three good moments in his time here. How many DDG has? This is not black and white matter.

You of course can call DDG a clown if you'd like to. It'll just tell others a lot about what kind of person you really are. That's all.

Steady on lad. @Bojan11 made a remark about a player who has been underperforming for 18/24 months; don’t claim to know what kind of person he is off of a flippant sentence.

I’ve attended games at countless grounds in home ends, a number at OT - sit in one when a player makes a mistake leading to a goal & clown would be a compliment.

You’re right this isn’t black & white, we live in the real world & getting emotional over that word in that context is pathetic.

You’re more than happy to call players you don’t rate anything but the ones you do are off limits. @Bojan11 isn’t the one with the issue here.