Edwin Van der Sar: Still Manchester United's First Choice?

Edwin Van der Sar is certainly still a top shot-stopper, but since the turn of the year (and even further back if you look closely enough), there is increasing evidence his age is finally starting to catch up with him.

The clearest sign of this is in his kicking. When the Dutchman signed for United in 2005 for around £2 million, he was regarded as a fantastic goalkeeper—strong, commanding, and great off the ground.

In his first match against Everton, he made a great save from Tim Cahill, which sparked United into life, and they went on to win 2-0. He didn't put a foot wrong all season.

Last season, his kicking got so bad at one stage Ferguson was screaming demands not to play the ball back to Van der Sar in the semi final second leg against Barcelona. I, for one, became extremely nervous every time the ball came near him on an incredibly tense night.

My point is, if as expected, Ronaldo leaves this summer, the manager will probably spend the money on a new striker and a couple of wide players.

With such a drastic overhaul, why stop there?

We have a very talented young goalkeeper in Ben Foster who I believe is better than Tomasz Kuszczak. He performed really well on his debut away to Derby and was fantastic in his two years on loan at Watford.

He's even already played for England. He can only get better, and I believe it's worth sticking him in goal from the start of next season to give him the experience needed to become a great goalkeeper for Manchester United.

I'm not saying Van der Sar is finished—I certainly wouldn't get rid of him as he has such a wealth of experience that it would be foolish for Ferguson to deprive Foster of that.

With David James also in the twilight of his career, a young English goalkeeper playing regularly for the best team in Europe can only be a positive thing all round for club and country.