Goalkeeper Stuff… And Stuff A tribute to the hapless role of the football goalkeeper…

Well, well, well.

Who wasn’t just a bit suspicious when, asked a few weeks ago about Edwin Van Der Sar’s impending retirement, Sir Alex Ferguson commented that now would be the right time for the great Dutchman to end his career – on a high and at his peak?

No no, not because that’s a stupid way to think, although it is. (Retiring “at your peak”? Why? Players like Van Der Sar should go on for as long as they possibly can. I’d love to see him gracing the semi-professional Blue Square North at the age of 63).

But not because of that. The reason Ferguson’s comment was suspicious was because, well, the Manchester United manager is so successful because he is extremely astute. He’s wonderful at helping players see that their best future also happens to be the same as the best future for the club. In other words, if United didn’t have another stopper lined up a few weeks ago to replace VDS, who Ferguson thought would be the long term replacement for him starting next season, there is no way he’d have made any comment about letting Van Der Sar go at his peak.

So here we read in the newspapers today that Manchester United have signed the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper David De Gea for a British transfer record for a goalkeeper of around £17 million. And that’s the second highest a club has ever paid for a goalkeeper anywhere – Buffon remaining at number one. Now Ferguson’s comments make sense.

De Gea is a very highly rated young goalkeeper, and a lot of people are going to be approving of this move by United. There are many painful memories in the red half of Manchester of the club’s difficult period attempting to replace Peter Schmeichel before finally finding Van Der Sar. United went through a number of goalkeeping figures who were less outstanding at Old Trafford. So this time, in De Gea, United will be expected to have got it just right.

But have they?

Yes, there are plenty of examples of some nice saves by the young Spaniard. In fact – take a look for yourself!

But a few fancy saves a great goalkeeper does not make.

And so here are my concerns about De Gea.

He’s 20. Twenty. A club like Manchester United, where history rests on the single catch or drop of a football (imagine the Champions League final), should not be putting so much into the hands of a 20 year old goalkeeper. Players of that age can be enormously talented, and great prospects for the future, but as a rule they lack the self assurance, consistency, temperament, good judgement and experience to be somebody you should place in a position of such importance.

That’s the main issue.

He’s never been capped for Spain – nor is likely to be for a while in any serious fixtures (with Reina and Casillas in the way).

He’s 20.

He’s made less than 100 professional club  appearances in his whole career. We’ve only really seen a couple of seasons from him until now.

Did I say he’s 20?

He’s never played under the pressure he’ll face at Old Trafford, with an entirely unforgiving level of demands. No mistakes, ever.

Instead, United should be looking for an older keeper with much more experience. I would make it a rule to avoid keepers under 30 (OK a bit arbitrary, but you get the idea). A big move for Buffon, Given, Reina – proven, top level keepers – would leave me feeling a lot more confident if I were a Man United fan today…