Tag Archives: david de gea

How Was It For You?

Having dreaded it for years, City winning the European Cup and completing the treble didn’t turn out to be the end of days scenario I’d anticipated. Like the FA Cup final that preceded it, I can’t say I enjoyed it much and it’s not something l’d like to repeat, but a week-long news blackout ensured I missed the worst and it was easy enough to swerve the blues I encounter going about my daily business. If anything, at least I’ll never again experience on that January-onwards fear that this might be their year and spend the next 4 months willing them to fuck it up. It’s happened now, it’s done. Nothing that bad can ever happen again, at least until next May.

I can’t be alone in thinking that the expected barrage of media coverage was a tad muted compared to when United completed the same feat back in ‘99. I’m not trying to belittle their achievement or claim some sort of moral victory, it’s genuinely how I perceived it. Whether they care to admit to it or not, there was a palpable indifference from the wider football community probably because… well, to put it extremely politely, some of some of the methods used in attaining their current level of footballing immortality have been somewhat questionable. To borrow a couple of cliches, whilst their success proves that cheats do prosper, it also appears true that you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

Closer to home, the shortened summer break has seen all eyes focused on the club’s continued attempts at piecing together a squad capable of usurping our blue brethren and challenging them for the title. It’s an exhaustive process fraught with difficulty at the best of times, made even more difficult this time out by FFP requirements and the lack of financial certainty due to the ongoing takeover. At least the objectives were clear enough, we needed a goalkeeper, a striker and midfield options minimum.

After a slow start during which the club’s media team had nothing to report whatsoever for a few weeks… ok lads, we get there’s a new kit, you might have mentioned it several hundred times… De Gea was the first to make a move when he announced he was leaving. No complaints here as his departure was long-overdue, but you have to say the manner in which it was handled wasn’t the best. For a club obsessed with social media optics, it’s not the best of looks when a player with 500-odd appearances departs having had a long-standing contract offer withdrawn. I suppose we should just be thankful that common sense is back in the building because I don’t think I could’ve handled watching his attempts at playing out from the back for another 3 years.

I’ve seen nothing of his replacement previously but going off several YouTube clips floating about, Onana looks to be the complete opposite of his predecessor. Having watched a keeper rooted to his goal line for the last dozen or so years, it looks like the Cameroonian is a full-on Barthez-esque lunatic with a penchant for sprinting out to the halfway line at regular intervals. Honestly? This new development probably won’t end well but I’m trying to focus on the positives for now. He can’t be any more detrimental to the team’s progress than De Gea was throughout the duration of last season.

As usual, the ridiculous wages offered by United mean we struggle to offload faces deemed surplus to requirements. Ideally, the likes of Fred, Martial, McTominay and Maguire should have been moved on by now, but it’s difficult to achieve this when they’re earning double what anyone else is prepared to pay them. On a positive note, it’s an encouraging sign that the manager can at least see where upgrades are needed if we’re going to compete at the very top level again. As things stand, all remain up for sale and a couple might be shifted by the end of the window if we’re lucky.

The Mason Mount signing was a strange one in that I figured it might signal game over for Sancho, but it looks like we’re persisting there for another year at least. Presumably Mount has been bought to play deeper than he has done previously because his natural position is Bruno’s domain. We need more discipline in there to counteract Bruno’s waywardness and Mount has never stood out as that sort of player to me. I’d argue we’ve overpaid for a position we already had covered and we’re still short of a quality holding midfielder to complement Casemiro and improve on the consistency Fred and McTominay offer.

As regards a striker, the obvious preferred choice was Kane but that was always unlikely given the numbers involved – though there’s still a part of me thinking United could be biding their time for a surprise move as the end of the window draws nearer. Let’s face it, he doesn’t strike me as the kind of bloke who’d be entirely comfortable living abroad and I’m convinced Manchester would be his preferred destination if it were entirely up to him. Hojlund is exactly the profile of player the club should be looking to sign but it’s a huge ask for him to come in, settle and adapt to English football whilst taking on the main goalscoring burden at such a young age.

All doubts aside, it’s nice to see the club operating with a degree of efficiency again as opposed to the haphazard nature of our transfer dealings in recent years. We’re still overpaying for players but that’s not surprising since we’ve become notorious for doing precisely that. Selling clubs can probably sense the desperation. Despite certain improvements, United remain hamstrung by the Glazer ownership model and will continue to struggle as long as they have a stranglehold over the club’s finances.

Whilst I’m not surprised the potential sale is dragging on as long as it has – the assumption it would be boxed off in a period of weeks was always wide of the mark – I’m genuinely mystified as to why we’re still awaiting a decision on the future of Mason Greenwood. To me it’s an absolute no brainer what should happen and anything other than moving him on would be absolutely catastrophic in PR terms. It honestly defies belief that the club haven’t already reached this conclusion, but the longer it drags on I fear they’re going to do something really stupid and offer him the opportunity to resurrect his career at OT.

I understand that although his current value is diminished, Greenwood remains an asset who is potentially worth a lot of money. As a consequence, the club might be unwilling to write this off knowing his value could increase dramatically if he moves elsewhere and scores a load of goals. Honestly though, I couldn’t care less if that happens because his future shouldn’t be at Manchester United. His army of supporters on twitter will be up in arms at the mere suggestion, but some things are bigger than football and the club should send out a message about what it considers acceptable conduct for United players. They need to do the right thing here, despite the possibility of losing out financially.

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Oranges & Lemons

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Back in August when all pre-season optimism was obliterated at Brentford, I doubt even the most optimistic United fan would have predicted one trophy already in the bag and another up for grabs as the season draws to a close. Whatever happens from now until the start of June, what we’ve witnessed has exceeded pretty much all expectations. Regardless of horror shows served up at the Etihad, Anfield and most recently in Seville, we’ve comfortably avoided the never-ending shitshow of the last few campaigns. The players at least look bothered again and honestly, that will do for me given the state we were in 12 months ago.

Setbacks remain fairly commonplace but what’s different now is the response to these. This time last year the team looked to be actively seeking reasons to down tools, and that’s if they even bothered to turn up in the first place. You can’t fault the effort being put in and certain players have helped re-establish a bond between players and supporters. Personally speaking, rather than wishing death on them as a group, it turns out that some of them are actually quite likeable. This feels like a major turning point, and I suppose indicative of how low the bar had fallen at the end of last season.

As far as setbacks go, one I didn’t foresee was that last 10 minutes at home to Sevilla. 2-0 up and cruising then all of a sudden we’d managed to concede 2 and both starting centre backs were lost to injury. What looked like a relatively simple task in the away leg became a huge test, plus we’re now reliant on Lindelof and Maguire for the remainder of the season. The absence of Martinez is arguably a bigger blow than losing Casemiro or Fernandes for any length of time given how he’s come to influence how United function in both defence and attack. It’s a huge miss and the only positive is that the diagnosis wasn’t more severe than what was originally feared.

The spotlight now is fixed squarely on Maguire again. I’ve been a staunch defender of him over the last few months amidst the utterly moronic pile-on that occurs every time he’s mentioned on social-media. That said, moments like that first goal in Seville make me realise I’ve attempted to defend the indefensible in his case. Some players have big enough shoulders to move on from career slumps whereas others simply crumble. I’m not going to add to the chorus of ridicule but Maguire looks completely shot now. It’s the same thing that happened to Phil Jones, it doesn’t matter what he does at this stage because he’s basically become a living, breathing meme.

De Gea is another one who needs shipping out sooner rather than later. If he does stay, it’ll be only be indicative of the club’s perilous financial footing and our unwillingness to spend on a replacement. Any other rival club wouldn’t think twice in our situation. If a new keeper isn’t currently high up the list of priorities this summer, then I’d argue it should be. He was equally culpable for that first goal in Spain and just like in his early days at the club, opponents now routinely target him given his reluctance to leave his line and inability to command the penalty area.

Ten Hag needs to shoulder some of the blame regarding the Europa exit as it was spectacularly naive persisting with playing out from the back given the personnel at his disposal. We all know that De Gea is limited with the ball at his feet but this is mitigated when he’s got Martinez and Varane in front of him. Maguire and Lindelof just aren’t able to offer the same level of composure so we were always going to struggle against a backdrop of 40,000 hyperactive Spaniards. He must have clocked this since De Gea was back in “if in doubt, launch it” mode for the Brighton semi-final a few days later.

Looking towards the summer, I expect much depends on whether or not the takeover occurs in the coming weeks. There’s been a lot said about the process dragging on to a 3rd round of bids but is anyone really surprised? Any sale was always going to take months and I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re still in this situation going into next season. It’s not like signing a player where everything can be boxed off within a few hours. The Glazers have been in this for the money since 2005 so it was only to be expected they’d attempt to rinse as high an offer as possible out of any prospective bidder. It’ll take as long as it takes and I doubt I’ll be happy with the outcome in any case.

I suppose we should address the likelihood of the unthinkable happening in just a few weeks. There’ve been a couple of close shaves in recent years but the manner in which City have moved insidiously closer to the treble this season is starting to cause major heartburn. I’ve tried to block it out for the most part feeling confident that Arsenal were looking comfortable at the top of the table, optimistic that their widely predicted capitulation might not happen. Except then it did. Unfortunately the wheels look have well and truly fallen off that particular bandwagon now.

Unbelievably, it seems a large number of United’s online following are quite comfortable with the prospect of Armageddon fast approaching. Apparently Arsenal imploding would be a far more desirable outcome given the comedy potential in witnessing the meltdown of their fancam lot. Yeah, let’s forget the decades-long local rivalry, 100+ charges of financial irregularities, the sportswashing, the fact that CITY MIGHT WIN THE TREBLE when you can have a good old LOL at half a dozen helmets famous for screeching performative nonsense into a video camera.

Given that Arsenal appear hellbent on bottling it, realistically it’s only us or Real Madrid who can stop them at this point. Given what’s at stake, the forthcoming FA Cup final promises to be some day. I’m not going to stoop so low as to name and shame the member of our WhatsApp group who claimed pre-match “it would be a relief to get beat by Brighton” to avoid the prospect of facing City at Wembley. This is no time for negativity despite the potential doomsday situation ahead of us. It’s a full-on death or glory scenario now, it will either be one of the greatest days ever or one of the worst. Que sera, sera.

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Pretty Vacant

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After a summer of discontent featuring a squad re-build progressing at a glacial pace, it was important that United got off to a good start this season. If ten Hag was disappointed after the opening day Brighton defeat, he must have felt almost suicidal when the half time whistle blew at Brentford. I’ve been going a long time now and I can’t recall seeing anything quite as bad as that opening 45 minutes. The mood was downbeat in the pub beforehand but I don’t think anyone anticipated the absolute horror show we were about to witness. I walked out at HT as did many others.

Of course, it never helps when your goalie starts throwing the ball in his own net. Everyone has their own take on De Gea but the consensus amongst people whose opinion I value is that he should have been binned off a long time ago. Whether Henderson was a good enough replacement is debatable, but in my opinion he should have been given a 6 month run in the team once he’d regained fitness last season. We all know De Gea has numerous weaknesses, but crucially it’s no longer enough to merit his place simply “because he’s a good shot stopper”. Christ, all Premier League keepers are good shot stoppers, aren’t they?

It’s far too early to be questioning the new manager’s methods, but watching De Gea’s feeble attempts at playing out from the back as opposed to launching a goal kick upfield was excruciating. When a keeper isn’t comfortable with the ball at his feet, he’s unlikely to develop this facet to his game at 31 years old. Brentford had clearly done their homework and exploited this in the most brutal manner imaginable. It might sound harsh and there’s no doubt De Gea has been a tremendous servant to the club over the last decade, but he needs replacing if we’re going to progress. It was a deeply embarrassing day all round.

As pretty much all pre-season optimism had dissipated at this point, several highly vocal, self-reverential nutcases on twitter had a plan. Pausing momentarily from working themselves into a frenzy about players they’d never heard of 3 days previously, the idea of #emptyoldtrafford was born. Apparently if this hashtag was RT’ed enough times, Old Trafford would be deserted for the forthcoming Liverpool game and the Glazer’s resolve would miraculously crumble. The legions outside would carry Jim Ratcliffe into the stadium where he would by interviewed pitchside by Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville, presumably.

With 70,000 match-goers lined up outside OT, one could only assume that the twitter lads planned to stand outside their bedrooms in solidarity. The only certainty was that the campaign was doomed to failure from the moment it was conceived and that internet gobshites posing as United fans vastly overestimate the influence they have over actual United fans. Instead, a real-life protest organised by real-life supporters attracted huge numbers and widespread media attention all by itself. Who would have thought such a thing possible?

The twitter reds constantly bang on about division and toxicity amongst the “fanbase” but what they fail to grasp is that despite the numbers they attract, their influence on people in and around the club is negligible. They might consider themselves knowledgeable, but ultimately their experiences amount to little more than arguing on the internet about their favourite tv show. These individuals are never going to effect change because they possess zero credibility amongst match-goers. United supporters’ feelings are probably more aligned now than they have been at any time since the Glazers took over. At this point you’d struggle to find anyone with something positive to say about the club’s owners.

To be clear, I don’t think the idea of emptying the ground at some point should be disregarded entirely. The idea has the potential to be a highly effective protest but you’re not going to achieve this with only 5 days notice and nobody of any substance on board. Get MUST, the fanzines, TRA and The 1958 behind it and with proper publicity the idea might have a decent chance. As unpalatable as it might sound to those of a ‘burn it all down now’ disposition, Liverpool at home so early in the season was never a realistic prospect for orchestrating a mass boycott.

The fervour of the pre-match protest led to one of the best atmospheres OT has seen in a long time. The place was rocking during the first half and the team responded with a performance that was a vast improvement on the dire effort shown the previous weekend. For the first time in months we saw evidence of the basics in place. Every player looked focused, committed and willing to put in a full shift for 90 minutes. We know they’re some distance from challenging for the top prizes but if the players can maintain a level of effort somewhere above bare minimum, I expect our fortunes might improve quickly.

As is customary following the Liverpool game, there was another debate about the ‘murderers’ chant and whether or not it’s a reference to Hillsborough. It’s getting really tiresome now. Firstly, there’s no doubt the antipathy between the two sets of supporters gives the fixture an edge that nobody wants to lose. However, the ‘murderers’ insult is aired more frequently and vociferously now than it ever was previously. People point to Liverpool fans singing about Munich in the past as some sort of justification but honestly, it’s straw clutching in the extreme. It’s 2022 and we should be doing better.

I’m not suggesting that reparations need to be made and we should start handing out garlands of flowers to each other, I just find it very sad. In the past I’ve caught myself trying to explain the nuances to people as if the song actually being a reference to Heysel validates it somehow, but in truth it doesn’t. The tit-for-tat nonsense needs to stop. There can still be a rivalry and a mutual loathing without celebrating tragedies that have befallen the respective clubs. In simple terms, singing ‘murderers’ doesn’t reflect well on United fans and it makes us look and sound like dickheads.

After such a positive performance and result against Liverpool, Southampton away suddenly felt like a big game. United have been abject for months but we seem to be particularly awful at early kick offs, not to mention the fact we hadn’t seen back-to-back league wins since February. A scruffy 1-0 win was more than acceptable despite the fact that all composure went out of the window after taking the lead. The last half hour was desperate at times and we seemed determined to give the ball away at every opportunity. It’s far too early to say whether a recovery is underway but I’m taking solace from the fact the players at least look slightly interested again. That will do for now.

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