Manchester United’s David De Gea Is Being Left Behind By The Game

Hands on hips, David De Gea stared into the distance slowly shaking his head.

It was as if the Manchester United keeper himself couldn’t believe what had happened, the Red Devils were 0-1 down and it was all his fault

Falling off balance West Ham United attacker Said Benrahma had brushed a pee roller of an effort in the direction of the Manchester United goal.

De Gea dived toward the ball his body and appeared ready to make a comfortable save, but then, inexplicably, it all went wrong.

The Manchester United goalkeeper somehow contrived to let the ball squirm under his body and into the net.

It was the type of error that illustrates just how precarious the position can be, the consequences for those who mind the net in soccer are always the most severe.

Nonetheless, the criticism from the media pundits was scathing.

“He’s been a top-class goalkeeper over the years, but at the moment it feels like he’s making big errors in big, big games,” said former Tottenham Hotspur striker Peter Crouch.

“David de Gea has had a shocker, we can’t dress it up. You can’t justify it at all, it’s a terrible mistake.”

His manager Erik Ten Hag was slightly more magnanimous, but even he had to admit it was poor.

“Mistakes are part of football and in this team, you have to deal with it and bounce back because it is a team sport,” said the Manchester United coach.

“Over the season he is the one with the most clean sheets and also we did it as a team. It can happen, it’s football but everybody has to take responsibility.”

But it was hard not to feel like this error was an unfortunate marker to the end of an era.

The goalkeeper role changes

In what has been far from a vintage decade for Manchester United, David De Gea has often been one of its few shining lights.

There were games when his lightning reflexes seem to single-handedly keep the opposition at bay, but, this season in particular, his discomfort on the ball is becoming more evident.

His apparent sluggishness demonstrates the extent to which English soccer has changed in the 12 years since the Spaniard arrived in Manchester.

These days, a keeper must be as adept at playing a ball between the lines as they are narrowing an angle for a striker’s shot.

It’s a shift that can be traced back to Pep Guardiola’s arrival in English soccer in 2016.

One of his first significant acts as manager was jettisoning arguably the league’s most well-respected keepers; Joe Hart.

Just two seasons before the Catalan arrived, the England goalkeeper earned a record-equalling fourth Golden Glove award-the prize handed to the shot-stopper with the most clean sheets that year.

But barely a handful of training sessions were enough to convince Guardiola Hart’s skills with his feet were not of the required standard.

It was a decision frequently questioned as Manchester City flattered to deceive in the Catalan’s first season. Not least because replacement Claudio Bravo appeared to be lacking some of the fundamental shot-stopping skills a keeper requires.

The following season, however, Manchester City bought Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson Morales and nothing was the same.

As well as possessing being able to mind his goal far better than Bravo, Ederson’s ability on the ball was game-changing.

“He is the calmest keeper I have seen,” said then-Burnley boss Sean Dyche. “It is like having Ronald Koeman in goal. He defuses the game.”

After Ederson’s breakthrough campaign, Liverpool also decided to invest in a goalkeeper who was stronger in possession bringing in Alisson Becker from Roma.

With City and Liverpool vying to be the best at home and in Europe the pair demonstrated how having a goalie good with their feet made a team stronger defensively.

One of the pair has won the Golden Glove in each of the past five years and more teams have begun to embrace the concept of the ball-playing keeper.

The development was further hastened by the 2019 change to the goal kick rule, which allowed players to be present in the box and receive the ball inside the area from the restart.

These days, the goalkeeper punt upfield, a tactic that used to be so synonymous with the English game, is practically extinct.

The ball is lofted forward, but it is far more likely to be a clipped pass to a winger rather than a lump to the striker.

De Gea left behind

These changes have meant keepers like De Gea suddenly look less comfortable in comparison to younger players trained to play this way.

At the age of 32 he is far from a veteran, but watching him misplace pass after pass against West Ham not for the first time this season, it had the air of a man the game was leaving behind.

Signs of this are also apparent in the national team where he was once an ever-present.

De Gea has not made an international appearance since 2020 and in March of this year was excluded from the Spain squad altogether.

This for the man tipped to replace Iker Casillas in the Spanish goal must hurt.

But it is a demonstration of the fact keepers at less prestigious clubs, like Brighton’s Robert Sanchez or Brentford’s David Raya, are more trusted to integrate with the possession-based approach the national team has.

At the end of the season De Gea’s contract with Manchester United will expire and, at present, a renewal doesn’t look likely.

Although when asked about it in February the Spaniard sounded hopeful.

“We’re still talking,” said De Gea. “For sure it’s going to end in a good way. I’ve been in very tough moments for this club. Now I’m enjoying it more.”

The sad truth is his set of skills might not be enough anymore.