David De Gea: Another One-Man Disaster Area Between the Old Trafford Sticks?

Sir Alex Ferguson must be experiencing that sinking feeling once again. It took him six years and no less than six goalkeepers to finally replace Peter Schmeichel and he must now fear that history is repeating itself.

Ferguson had little choice but to publicly support David de Gea after he followed up two howlers in the Community Shield with the dying swan routine against West Brom on his Premier League debut that allowed Shane Long an equalizer.

In the end Manchester United, just as they had done against Manchester City seven days earlier, emerged as winners and Ferguson then cited the problems that Schmeichel had during his initiation into English football before becoming the best of the best.

Yet the Old Trafford manager will be deeply concerned. Just as it took so long and cost so much to fill the void left by the Great Dane, replacing the venerable Edwin van der Sar is already beginning to look like a perilous business.

Not only does his £18.3M gamble on the 20-year-old Spaniard start to look like a very big, very bad bet, those who might have been best counted on to offer support and protection—Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic—are injured, the former hamstrung for six weeks, the latter sidelined for a minimum of two.

As he watched de Gea eat dirt at The Hawthorns, Ferguson’s mind must surely have gone into flashback. The year 1999 was a glorious one for him and his team as they won the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, but it was also when Schmeichel quit Old Trafford and the era of dodgy goalkeepers began.

Massimo Taibi was the first actor in what became a black comedy after arriving as Schmeichel’s immediate replacement for a then hefty fee of £4.5M from Venezia.

He lasted only four games before being shipped back to Italy in humiliation. He did, however, find himself with a nickname even after such a short time. He was known as “the blind Venetian”. He earned it.

It will be a chilling thought to Ferguson that de Gea, at almost five times the cost of Taibi, may be even worse.

They say that good players do not become bad ones overnight but when it comes to goalkeepers and Old Trafford, such perceived wisdom goes out the window…or into the back of the net.

So many have tried and failed to fill that No 1 jersey, first in replacing Schmeichel and now, very possibly, in making up for van der Sar’s retirement.

Following Taibi’s calamitous experience Mark Bosnich, who played at Old Trafford at youth level and returned in 1999 on a free transfer from Aston Villa, was given the opportunity but the Aussie folded and made only 23 appearances in two years.

On and on it went. There was Raimond van der Gouw, backup to Schmeichel and given his chance after his retirement but he couldn’t take it and left in ’02.

Or there was Fabien Barthez, the eccentric Frenchman who cost £7.8M from Monaco in 2000. He did win two titles at Old Trafford but his crazy antics made him too much to handle for Ferguson. He was ditched in ’04.

Roy Carroll was a £2.5M signing from Wigan and battled Barthez for the gloves after arriving in 2001 but left four years later having refused a new deal. 

Tim Howard looked a perfect choice after arriving from MetroStars in 2003 but by ’07 he was an Everton player, since when he has developed into a true star and is considered to be one of the best in the world, but at Old Trafford he had turned into a nervous wreck.

Finally van der Sar arrived from Fulham in the summer of ’05 and after all the angst, there was only calm and order but that year Ben Foster also signed, arriving for £1M from Stoke.

He was touted by Ferguson as the next England goalie and with van der Sar injured at the start of season ’09-’10 had the chance to prove it. He endured a nightmare, played just 13 times and was sold to Birmingham for £6M where, away from the glare of Old Trafford, he prospered just as Howard did before him when he left. 

Tomasz Kuszczak arrived from West Brom originally on loan in ’06 but the Pole never showed the charisma or the ability to break past van der Sar and his career is currently in limbo.

It is supremely ironic that Ferguson’s only viable alternative to de Gea, should he continue in blunder land, is Anders Lindegaard, who arrived in January to snorts of derision from a certain Peter Schmeichel. History may indeed be repeating itself….