Author: Doron

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Manchester United’s academy is famous worldwide. Its reputation for producing top level professional footballers is, thanks to the Ferguson era, unparalleled amongst England’s elite clubs. However, history shows this is no new phenomenon – Louis Rocca famously set up the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC) in the 1930s and Sir Matt Busby’s team of ‘babes’ was built upon home-produced talent.

One area of production that United haven’t quite perfected though is goalkeepers. The club have only ever produced four goalkeepers who’ve gone on to get a full international cap. However, times are changing and at last goalkeeper production appears to be taking a positive turn. To what extent is this luck and why have United not produced more top level goalkeepers?

Understanding a history of United’s goalkeeping is important. Substitutes were only allowed in the English league in the 1965/66 season so before that most sides had one out and out goalkeeper. United have been lucky enough to have some very fine goalkeepers but most have not been self-produced.

Jack Crompton who turns 90 in a couple of weeks and can still be found at most United Reserves fixtures was at both Oldham and Man City before he finally turned pro aged 22 at United. Crompton had been at City during the war when they were short of players but was only on an amateur contract. United had been aware of Crompton for sometime, Rocca had watched him on numerous occasions. Cheeky as it may be, United can almost claim him as one of their own, he had been Goslings as a youngster; they were United’s nursery club and United had an informal youth system in place there.

Alongside Jack was Reg Allen, who at the age of 31 became the most expensive goalkeeper in the world when he joined United from QPR in 1950. Reg was in the side for two years but Crompton and eventually Ray Wood took over. Wood had been at Newcastle as a scholar and made his United debut against them having been signed from Darlington. He was one of the survivors of the Munich Air Disaster but Busby quickly phased him out of the side and he left in 1958. Busby later tried to re-sign Wood when Harry Gregg got injured – as was common practice pre the mid 60s; teams didn’t keep a back-up keeper.

This period around the Second World War and just after shows why United and many other clubs have little history of successful goalkeeper production. It was only in the mid 60s that clubs started to have more than one first team goalkeeper on their books due to the introduction of substitutes. David Gaskell was the first true back-up goalkeeper at United. Gaskell had come through the academy and played 119 first team games over a 13 year spell, ending with a transfer to Wrexham in 1969.

Gaskell was rarely first choice on ability, playing back-up to Harry Gregg and Pat Dunne, both of whom were signed. Gregg was very much the pick of the goalkeepers but was somewhat injury prone. He spent nine years at the club playing nearly 250 times. Dunne was signed and became first choice in 1964/65 but was soon displaced by Gregg whom he’d replaced. Neither would stay at United much longer – Alex Stepney joined from Chelsea and a fine young keeper called Jimmy Rimmer would push for the back-up spot. Gaskell followed Gregg and Dunne out of the club, understandably not wanting to be third choice.

Alex Stepney’s made more appearances in goal for United than any other keeper. He sits 6th on the list of all time United appearances with 539. Stepney’s probably most famed for being the United keeper when the European Cup was won in 1968 against Benfica. Stepney was a solid goalkeeper but not exceptional. In fact, many felt that his deputy, Jimmy Rimmer, was possibly the superior of the two but Stepney was the keeper who’d cost a record £55,000. Rimmer, an FA Youth Cup winner in 1964 was the first keeper United ever produced to get an international cap – he got just the one in 1976 (by which point he’d already left United). Rimmer never even got to 50 first team appearances for United in his nine years in the first team but his talent was unquestionable as he’d go on to play over 400 times for a combination of Arsenal, Aston Villa and Swansea.

The 70s proved to be a fairly barren spell for United in terms of production. Stepney was an ever-present until the 1978/79 season when Gary Bailey took over. Other goalkeepers rarely got a look-in but one self-produced goalkeeper, Steve Pears did play in five first team games in the mid 80s. Gary Bailey got capped twice by England whilst at United but never came through United’s academy – he signed for United aged 19 following a trial.

United started to produce goalkeepers in the 80s who’d go on to have good careers elsewhere. Few were good enough for United though which highlights a stumbling block all young players have. It’s one thing to be a good young player but it’s another thing to then be good enough for one of the top sides in the country. Today, it’s particularly hard as United want only the best players available. Young players at the club have to be right at the top of the game in order to get a chance or the club will look elsewhere, such is the nature of modern football. A prime example is Phil Hughes, the goalkeeper in the defeated 1981/82 FA Youth Cup final team. Hughes ended his career early to go into coaching but whilst playing in the football league for various teams he got three caps for Northern Ireland.

Chris Turner joined in the mid 80s as back-up to Bailey and ended up playing more than 50 first team games. Fraser Digby and others would go on to have very solid careers in the football league; something we see today from many United produced keepers. It was just before Turner was signed that Gary Walsh started to be talked about. He was by some distance the best goalkeeper United have probably ever had in their youth team and aged 19 was made first choice in the first team. His career however took a nasty turn when he picked up a serious head injury on tour in Bermuda; incidentally on that tour Sir Alex Ferguson played for United for the only ever time. Walsh would never fully recover from his head injury and despite playing up until 2006, he never fulfilled the potential he had both at club and international level.

As the 90s rolled in, United started to improve producing goalkeepers. Peter Schmeichel was never going to be displaced but the likes of Mike Pollitt (over 500 league games), Ian Wilkinson (forced to retire early) and Mark Bosnich (capped at international level) all came out of United’s academy. The 90s saw most goalkeepers to come through the United academy go on to play successfully elsewhere – Paul Gibson; FA Youth Cup winner Kevin Pilkington who still plays today; Nick Culkin who famously played for only a minute for United’s first team in a league game at Arsenal in 1999.

What changed though? Why suddenly were United and other clubs producing goal keepers of a very respectable standard when previously they hadn’t? To me, the answer seems simple – technology in football progressed; the demands in football got higher; scouts searched further than before; and with the Premier League, money in the game allowed for top-level training facilities. As United improved under Ferguson, the Reserves and Academy players got the chance to train with better first team players and naturally improved. It seems obvious to say but a goalkeeper with Peter Schmeichel as a role model to look up to and train with would improve more than a goalkeeper whose competitor was say Chris Turner.

Harsh as it may seem, United still haven’t quite cracked what it takes to be a top keeper. Tony Coton’s work with our young keepers should not be overlooked. So many who came through the United Academy in the late 90s and the 2000s play or have until recently played in the football league today: Paul Rachubka, Ben Williams, Tommy Lee, Tom Heaton, Lee Crockett, Nikki Lee-Bulmer, Luke Steele, Luke Daniels, Gary Woods, Conor Devlin etc.

More recently, there are signs that Eric Steele has carried on Tony and Rich Hartis’ good work. Ron-Robert Zieler has just become the fourth United-produced goalkeeper to win a full international cap – his move to Hannover has done wonders for him after his spell at United was blighted by injury.

The United goalkeeper production conveyor belt is fully on the move now. Looking at the current squad it shows no sign of letting up. Ben Amos has made 6 first team appearances and despite the fact he turns 22 later this season, he’s still considered to be young. Ben’s had really positive loan spells and is widely acknowledged to be the best keeper United have produced in years. He’s won caps all through England’s youth levels and has impressed on first team tours. He’s now third choice at United and ultimately needs regular minutes in order to progress. However, staff within the club have faith in his abilities and he harbours hope of being able to dislodge Anders and David who are ahead of him.

Beyond the first team, England’s first choice Under 19 goalkeeper is Sam Johnstone, another hugely talented United player who was a key figure in last season’s FA Youth Cup success. Sam’s only 18 and yet is already impressing out on loan at Scunthorpe in League 1. Even below Sam, Jonny Sutherland was recently in the England U18 squad and there are high hopes for Pierluigi Gollini who’s currently injured.

Sam and Ben will have been keenly watched by Jack Crompton as they’ve played for the Academy and Reserves. Goalkeeping’s come a long way since Jack played with the number of goalkeepers on a club’s books the most drastic change of the lot, as well as how goalkeepers are now rotated like outfield players.

An outfield player is lucky enough to learn to be versatile and play in a number of positions to increase the chances of ‘making it’. However, a goalkeeper arguably has it easier. Goalkeeping is such a specialist position that players in other positions cannot be brought in to cover (unless there are exceptional circumstances mid-game). If a club is short on goalkeepers, they have to turn to the youth keepers; yet if a club is short on say a right back then often other more senior players will be asked to cover despite not actually being a right back. A goalkeeper can sometimes need just one chance and one good performance in order to make it really difficult for them to be dropped, as Szczesny at Arsenal has shown.

The reality is that actually United are producing good goalkeepers; granted some may not be good enough to play for one of the top 20 sides in the country but in the past 15 years many have been good enough to play for the top 100 and thereby are in the top 100 goalkeepers in the country – some achievement. A combination of good coaching, better competition and more goalkeepers at a club means that the improvements witnessed recently should hopefully be set to continue with the likes of Ben, Sam and whoever comes after them. It may not be long before United’s Academy is famed for goalkeepers too.

My thanks to Tony Park as ever for his help and advice on this piece. You can follow Tony on Twitter – @mrmujac. Tony has a book coming out soon documenting the complete history of United’s Academy; having seen snippets of it already I think it’ll be a must-have piece of property for all Reds.

AUTHOR: – Bricki

It’s a brave new era at Old Trafford this season, the loss of Van Der Sar as established number one has left as big a gap as when Roy Keane or Cristiano Ronaldo moved on.

The big money signing of David De Gea would suggest that he is the future for Manchester United between the sticks but this season could see a genuine battle for the starting spot at No. 1.

The signing of De Gea looks to have been a long term decision and one that was potentially made 12 months before he officially signed. It is the signing of Anders Lindegaard however that raises questions when you look to the immediate future of the goalkeeping spot at United.

The arrival of De Gea bears similar hallmarks to when Cristiano Ronaldo was purchased and arrived at the club as a lanky, greasy haired boy. Under the care of Uniteds development and fitness staff he became a beast of a man and something similar may happen with De Gea.

De Gea has only 18 months of genuine first level experience in Spain with Athetico Madrid and the Spanish Under 21s but has displayed all the mental attributes to suggest he can be an excellent goalkeeper. He fits a similar style to Van Der Sar in his frame, ability to use his feet and goalkeeping traits. Whilst Van Der Sar had ‘bulk’ to fill out his long body frame this has yet to happen for De Gea, who at 20 years of age is still developing physically. It could be argued therefore that we won’t see the real De Gea until he has gone through the majority of this change.

The English league is considered a more physical league over the Spanish and the adjustment to this will also take time for a young keeper adapting to a different social life in a new country.

The signing of Anders Lindegaard at Christmas would appear to show an understanding of the potential for this situation to arise. At 27 years of age and capped at international level, Lindegaard offers the maturity and experience that De Gea currently lacks. He has also been involved with the club since the turn of the year so has an additional 8 months of experience of the differences in the English game for keepers as opposed to other leagues that offer more protection to a goalkeeper.

It is a fair suggestion then that in the next 18/24 months we may see both goalkeepers experience spells as the first choice. It is inevitable that De Gea will make ‘errors’ during his development and due to his bodies need to adjust as well he will need spells out of the time to ease the demand on his body. The role of goalkeeper at Manchester United is on a totally different level to that of Athletico Madrid. Following in the footsteps of Schmeichel and Van der Sar draws instant comparisons with added pressure experienced only at other select clubs. Lindegaard has already had the ‘Schmeichel’ comparisons but at 27 years old shouldn’t feel the same demands that the young De Gea will now be feeling. A good knowledge of English for Lindegaard also allows him to step into the team with ease where required. De Gea will no doubt be learning English at an increased pace but again the presence of Lindegaard can ease the nerves that he needs to step up straight away.

By the middle of 2012/13 i expect De Gea to have fully established himself in the team as the first choice number one and will be showing a bigger physique to match his status. Lindegaards’ three and half year contract signed in January suggests his main role will be to support the development of De Gea into the definitive number one before moving on once De Gea is fully established.

The first stage of that development starts now and if we were to see both keepers play a similar amount of games come May next year it would be of no surprise to many.

Ferguson made the mistake last time of trying to parachute goalkeepers that were already developed into the squad. Players such as Bosnich, Barthez and Taibi were good goalkeepers in their own rights at different clubs but never understood what it took to be a complete success as a Manchester United goalkeeper.

De Gea is still very much a lump of clay and using the knowledge of Eric Steele, Sir Alex Ferguson and the support of the more experience Lindegaard, he is going to be moulded into a Manchester United goalkeeper.

Do not expect to see Van der Sar Mk2 when you see De Gea, be prepared to see a quality goalkeeper develop in front of our eyes in the next 18/24 months.

AUTHOR: – Bricki

AUTHOR: – Doron

Manchester United are all but able to confirm that David De Gea is the man they’ve chosen to replace Edwin van der Sar at Old Trafford.

With Edwin retiring, who should replace him has been an ongoing debate for some time now amongst United fans and the press. It seems almost certain that David De Gea is the one they’ve gone for though. United’s interest in the 20 year old has long been known of and a couple of months ago United made their first foray into the transfer market with a bid for him.

In the time since rumours of a bid, there have been concerns over whether his heart was in a potential move to United given how long it had taken him to agree personal terms however it seems he’s now accepted a move and is set to move to Manchester with his girlfriend and parents. United’s goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele, has been taking Spanish lessons for some time now in order to help David settle in with his move. Interestingly, Edwin van der Sar is said to have recommended Ajax’s Maarten Stekelenburg – who will now be Atletico Madrid’s top target to replace De Gea.

Considering his age, he’s already played 83 first team games for Atletico, been capped at every youth level for Spain and has made their senior squad too. He’s credited with being a good footballer, comfortable in possession whilst he’s confident, calm and widely considered to be in the mould of Edwin.

After Gary Neville’s testimonial tonight, Sir Alex told Sky Sports:

“We’ve been working on it for quite a while. We identified him quite a while back as one we should go for. He’s a young goalkeeper, very quick, good composure, presence and an oustanding replacement for van der Sar. We were looking for same type of qualities as Edwin, composure and organisational ability. De Gea is very similar that way.”

I believe United have got the best young goalkeeper in world football – he’s certainly always been my first choice. Do you think De Gea is the right man? What do you think his strengths are and do you have any concerns?

AUTHOR: – Doron

AUTHOR: – Doron

Despite the wishes of many Man United fans, Edwin van der Sar is retiring this summer and the club are looking to replace him. There have been many rumours about who this could be but the biggest indication of who Edwin’s replacement might be is in The Times today…

James Ducker has written in The Times that Manchester United have had a bid of £17.5m turned down by Atletico Madrid for goalkeeper, David de Gea. Despite being only 20, de Gea has played 74 times for Atletico’s first team and has been in the full Spanish squad. United have been linked with him for some time now and recently the Spanish media have reported that a deal is close.

Without any extra pressure heaped on the new goalkeeper’s arrival, de Gea has long been compared to current United keeper, van der Sar. De Gea, who is 6ft 3in is still growing and Ducker reveals that Fergie believes he has the qualities to be a top keeper for United. According to Ducker, Eric Steele (United’s goalkeeping coach) is taking Spanish lessons to help de Gea settle in.

In truth, de Gea has had a mixed season for Atletico but he has had a poor defence in front of him and as Graham Hunter recently wrote, he has saved them many times this season. If de Gea is a new name to you or you don’t know much about him, I highly recommend Hunter’s article which you can read here.

Personally, de Gea is the goalkeeper I’d like to see us sign. Despite his age, I’ve regularly been impressed with him and he stood out even aged 16. Failing de Gea, my next choice would be Manuel Neuer. Who would you like to see take over from Edwin and why?

AUTHOR: – Doron

AUTHOR: – Bricki

With the announcement that Edwin Van Der Sar will hang up his gloves and return to Holland at the end of the season, the question appears to be… Who will replace the Dutchman?

Every major and emerging Goalkeeper in Europe has been mentioned but im not going to look at them in this article. I feel it is more pertinent to look at the way that Van Der Sar has changed the role of Goalkeeper at the Club and the impact it has had.

The common consencus going round is that Sir Alex Ferguson missed a trick when he didn’t pick up Van Der Sar when he left Juventus for Fulham in the Summer of 2001 instead opting for a mix of Barthez/Van Der Gouw/Bosnich and a fair few others. The only one who could be viewed as a success in parts was Barthez, though he did implode to a degree towards the end of his time with the club.

So what did Van der Sar bring to the club that had been missing since Schmeichel’s reign?

If you were to look at the areas of his game where Van der Sar excels he shares many traits of Schmeichel when he dominated the penalty box. Whilst not as physically imposing as Schmeichel, who was like a brick out-house, Van der Sar has a command over his box that had been missing in the mid 2000s at the club. This created a confidence between the defence he had in front of him and allowed an instant understanding between both sides, cutting most of the errors that were being made through ‘mis-communication’

The arrival 18 months later of Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra coupled with Rio Ferdinand starting to reach the levels required after his move from Leeds United after the 2002 World Cup created a strong backline that was in place to play together for many years to come.

In the ‘Schmeichel Era’ it was commonplace for the Great Dane to come out and ‘Rollock’ his players if the opposing side created a chance or if any player made an error. Whilst Van der Sar has never been the most aggressive player on the field he is quick to ‘discuss’ with his teammates any problems or concerns that come up during a game. This might not appear to be a big issue but it was something we didnt see too much of after Schmeichel, with Barthez being an exception as he just needed any excuse to come out of his box.

The confidence this will harbour between the keeper and defence, the idea that they are all in this together, breeds a team mentality that is the very foundation of Manchester United as a club.

One of Van der Sars’ strong points is his ability with the ball at his feet. The introduction of the ‘Passback’ rule after the shocker that was Italia 90 meant that Goalkeepers could no longer get away with not having at least one ‘good’ foot. This was the one area of Schmeichels game that was viewed as weak, whereas it is one where Van der Sar has excelled. With the ability to use either foot as well as his distribution with his throws, Van der Sar offers valuable back up and another option for the side in terms of ‘keeping ball’. In times gone by, a wayward kick out of touch or a long ball the opposition win meant that we would be back on defence and causing our own problems. This now very rarely happens to the team and very often Van der Sar will use passing triangles with his back four or the deep lying midfielder to ensure the team retains possession.

The following Chalkboards show Van der Sars distribution methods and success in the recent game against Manchester City

 by Guardian Chalkboards

The Chalkboard above shows that in ‘open play’ Van der Sar looks to keep play short with passes into the defence or the edge of the centre circle the norm. This allows the team to build from the back and gets players such as Scholes, Giggs, Nani and Carrick onto the ball faster and able to conduct the tempo of the game.

 by Guardian Chalkboards

This Chalkboard shows the use of the ball from goal kicks. Again the importance is ball retention and leads to the back four and the wide players being the players who are targeted.

 by Guardian Chalkboards

The Chalkboard above showing his unsuccessful passes in the game shows that from 38 attempted passes in the game he was unsuccessful with just 11 but all were over a longer distance and appeared to be concentrated on two areas – balls towards the area that Rooney would challenge and also balls wide towards Nani. This can be viewed as trying to release pressure on the team as well as looking to possibly get the team on the counter attack quickly. Its interesting to note that only one of his unsuccessful passes is a goal kick. This highlights the point that with free kicks and the ball in hand Van der Sar looks to switch the play quickly and catch the opposition cold.

Two great examples of Van der Sars awareness and accuracy in his passes came in the home game against Aston Villa

 by Guardian Chalkboards

The ability for Van der Sar to see a pass in the first minute and catch the opposition defence not fully alert led to the opening goal for Wayne Rooney and meant it set the tone for the rest of the game.

 by Guardian Chalkboards

In the build up to this goal the Villa team is drawn in by the close passing between Ferdinand and Carrick and once the ball returns to Van der Sar he is able to eliminate the Villa midfield with a pass into Berbatov who in turn finds Nani and then a cross into Rooney seals the win.

This abilty with the ball at his feet brings a confidence to the team and a new method to the attacking intent of the team.

Van der Sars reflexes and shot stopping ability are there for all to see and mixed in with his mind games (which accounted for Anelka in the Champions League Final) makes him a goalkeeper with few to compare.

With each game now it draws a little closer that the Dutchman will soon be on his way back to Holland and we will have a giant gap to fill in the Stretford End goal. Is there a goalkeeper out there who can bring the sort of game that Van der Sar has given us in the last 6 years? Fortunately im not the one who has to find him but looking at how special a goalkeeper Van der Sar has been… its not going to be an easy task.

Manchester United’s #1, Edwin Van der Sar has confirmed he will retire at the end of this season. This ends speculation surrounding his future and is almost certain to mean United will now be linked with all the top goalkeepers around the world.

The news was first broken by goalkeeping coach Eric Steele who was speaking on BBC Red Wednesday yesterday early evening. After announcing that he would not carry on beyond the close of this season, Steele went on to praise Edwin:

“He has been a fantastic servant. I was very lucky. I worked alongside Peter Schmeichel at Villa and I worked with Edwin for two and a half years. That penalty save in Moscow has elevated Edwin alongside Peter.”

Steele first said back in October that this would be Edwin’s last year only for the player himself to strongly deny the claims that he had made up his mind yet. Before the Boxing Day game against Sunderland, Ferguson told the press, “We are planning for this being his last season. He is such a proud man and it’s going to be a big loss”. Despite saying that, there had been nothing official since then from the club or the player.

Edwin has today spoken for the first time about retiring. He released a statement via his management agency:

“It is now time to pay attention to my family. I cannot really identify a time when it happened, let’s just say that it was playing on my mind from the moment Annemarie had her stroke. She has fought back from it. We decided on another year in England and thus to stay at Manchester United. But, once engaged in the season, the thought of saying goodbye started to gnaw a bit more emphatically.”

“I thought about stopping, maybe a year ago. It is a difficult process. After a defeat, I thought differently than after playing a few good games in a row. My age played no role. I am 40 years old but I still feel fit. And then the decision came suddenly. Do not ask me how or why, but suddenly you know. That was sufficient. The time has come to devote greater attention to my family – although they have never complained. Everyone in the family has indeed always had to focus on me, but we have also had a lot in return.”

After releasing that statement, Edwin spoke to MUTV:

“You can’t play Superman into your 40s. It’s a mutual decision that this season was the last. When I first came here I was just happy to sign a two-year contract. I wanted to win the league before I retired. I was lucky to achieve a little bit more than that. I spoke with the manager about that last week, he admitted it also. I’ve enjoyed it here and it would have been nice to have a few years longer here. You can say, ‘you could stay a couple more years’. But that’s life – you don’t always get what you want at the right time. I am just happy that at least we got to come together and experience a good few years.”

“I’m not finished yet. I’ve still got a few months yet. I’m still aiming for something more. It’s been nice and a great experience, even at my age, to be at a club like United. It’s been a joy.”

Eric Steele hinted that the club are very likely to find Edwin’s replacement from outside the club:

“We’re naturally looking at potential suitors ready for the summer. Come the end of the season, the whole thing will be re-assessed by the management.”

Edwin has currently played 245 games for United and in his six seasons he’s so far won 9 trophies. It would be fitting if Edwin could sign off just as another great United goalkeeper did…

You can discuss Edwin’s retirement and who should replace him in the forum.

I have returned from a weekend getaway, which means Stretty Stories is back for another week. While Manchester United was busy getting a fantastic result against Liverpool over the weekend, there was still plenty of news surrounding Old Trafford. Today’s Stretty Stories will include today’s news plus some of the top stories from the weekend.

Rooney expected to face Spurs – Sky Sports

Wayne Rooney has missed the last two matches following an injury at West Brom, but Sir Alex Ferguson believes the striker will be fit in time for the away trip to Tottenham on Sunday. The gaffer confirmed that Rooney would have been available for the bench against Liverpool in the FA Cup, but he chose not to risk him. Captain Nemanja Vidic is also likely to return after missing the FA Cup clash due to injury.

Evans goes back to basics – Sky Sports

After a very disappointing first half of the season, Jonny Evans had a solid performance in Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Liverpool. Evans suffered a nightmare in United’s Carling Cup exit at the hands of West Ham, and in the wake of that loss the young centre back had to focus on the basics to rediscover his form. I thought Evans looked much improved on Sunday; a lot like the player we knew from the past two seasons. Evans has also made clear his desire to win the FA Cup this season.

United to make £15m bid for Adler – Telegraph

The past few matches have provided us with a sneak peak of life without Edwin van der Sar. Tomasz Kuszczak has deputized in the Dutchman’s absence, and has taken his chances well. Anders Lindegaard has officially been registered with the club now, but the future of goalkeepers at Manchester United remains unclear. The Telegraph is reporting that Rene Alder is on United’s radar to replace Van der Sar. The German goalkeeper is a United fan, and he has confirmed the existence of a special clause in his contract which will allow him to leave for Old Trafford. I’m not sure what the value of the clause is, but I have read it is in the area of £15m. Alder cites United great Peter Schmeichel as his hero growing up, and has expressed his desire to emulate him at Old Trafford. He was the German No.1 in the build up to the 2010 World Cup, but missed out due to injury. With his positive credentials and clear love for the club, I think Adler would be an exciting signing.

Kuszczak wants No.1 spot – Sky Sports

While talk continues of who will replace Edwin van der Sar, Tomasz Kuszczak has stated his desire to be the Dutchman’s heir. Kuszczak has been in goal the past few games during Van der Sar’s absence, and I believe he’s showing signs of improvement. It is important tht he continues taking his chances, and he remains determined to be No.1 despite being mostly overlooked by the press. While Kuszczak has looked good in recent games, I’m not convinced he can be first choice. If he’s looking to play regularly I’m afraid he may need to leave Old Trafford this summer.

FA Youth Cup… Manchester United defeated Portsmouth 3-2 in their opening FA Youth Cup fixture. The club’s last success in the FA Youth Cup was 2003. While on the topic of youngsters, another notable result yesterday was the Aston Villa reserves 10-1 win over the Arsenal reserves. For a club that prides themselves on developing youth, this is hardly an impressive result…

Beyond the Stretford-End… While we pride ourselves on the content of Stretford-End, we also like to share the quality work of our fellow Manchester United bloggers. I would like to recommend A Week in Football: What’s the frequency Kenneth? by John Young. A weekly feature on the new United blog 7 Cantonas, John mixes the week’s football news with a clever brand of satire.

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Follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC

Stretty Stories is featured daily on False10.com

I am pleased to announce we will be hosting a Stretford-End XI for a bit of fun during the holiday season. Each day we will have a poll to determine who you believe the best Manchester United player is for each position, and at the end we will list the Stretford-End XI picked by you the readers. Today we’ll be starting with goalkeepers. Each of our three candidates is highly qualified, all having won a European title with United. Of course those three are Alex Stepney, Peter Schmeichel, and Edwin van der Sar.

Alex Stepney

Alex Stepney was the man in goal when Manchester United lifted their first European Cup in 1968. When Stepney moved to United from Chelsea in 1966 it was for a then-record £55,000. Stepney remained with United until 1978. During his tenure at the club, Stepney’s experiences ranged from European glory in 1968 to relegation in 1974. His last major accomplishment with the club came in 1977 when United won the FA Cup. During his career he amassed 539 appearances, which is the sixth most of any player in the club’s history.

Peter Schmeichel

The Great Dane. Few would argue that Peter Schmeichel was one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. To this day he still holds the Premier League record for clean sheets-to-games ratio at 42 percent. Schmeichel was an integral part to United’s rise in the 1990s under Sir Alex Ferguson. During his time at Old Trafford from 1991-1999, Schmeichel earned five Premier League titles, three FA Cup titles, and a Champions League title. Schmeichel was of course the man in goal when United won the Treble in 1999, which was his final season with the club.

Edwin van der Sar

The final candidate is none other than our current goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar. The Dutchman joined United from Fulham in 2005 and has been a mainstay in goal ever since. After three seasons without a Premier League title, Van der Sar played a key role in United’s resurgence to claim the title in 2006-07. Van der Sar will most likely be best remembered by United fans for his penalty save to win the 2008 Champions League. During the 2008-09 season, Van der Sar broke the world record for most minutes without conceding a goal. That season he had 21 clean sheets as United claimed their record-tying 18th title. There is still much uncertainty over Van der Sar’s future, though many believe this will be his final season. One thing is certain though, Van der Sar will be missed the day he hangs up his gloves.

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Follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC

The big news today is Javier Hernandez’s impending debut in Houston tonight. Also, David Gill continues to insists funds are available, Blackpool is set to miss out on Cleverly, and Sir Alex has his sights set on the “new Schmeichel.”

I know for some people, such as myself, the match tonight is on at a fairly reasonable time. However, those of you in Europe and other parts of the world where kickoff is at an unreasonable time, I want to see how many will stay up to see United’s newest player.

Javier Hernandez set for lift-off in Houston – The Guardian

Our newest signing, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will make his debut tonight against the MLS All-Stars in Houston. There is a large Mexican population in the Houston area, which has made Chicharito’s debut tonight big news. I’m certainly excited for Chicharito’s debut. From the glimpses we got of him at the World Cup I think he has lethal pace and a great eye for goal. I don’t think a debut goal would be out of the question for him tonight.

Gill: funds available for signings – The Daily Telegraph

It’s not like we haven’t heard this one before. Once again, David Gill is assuring fans that the club does have the financial resources to make a big-name signing should they see the need to. Sir Alex has already said he was happy with the current squad and hinted that he wouldn’t be making any signings this summer, so I don’t understand why Gill feels the need keep forcing this issue. If the club has the funds, then when they have a player in mind, they can prove it by signing him. Until then there is really no reason to discuss this.

Ferguson plans to swoop for new Schmeichel – Manchester Evening News

I suppose with Anders Lindegaard being from Denmark the comparisons to the former Manchester United great were inevitable. The Manchester Evening News is linking Sir Alex with a move for Lindegaard as a long-term replacement for Edwin van der Sar. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of “the new” or “the next” titles. That’s a lot of expectation to put on the 26-year-old shot stopper. I doubt a move will be done this summer as we already have three goalkeepers, but I suppose it’s possible in the future.

Blackpool aren’t Clever enough – The Sun

We already knew Sir Alex was looking to send Tom Cleverly out on loan to a Premier League club, but it seems new-boys Blackpool don’t meet the gaffer’s standards. The Sun believes Sunderland and Newcastle are both interested in the young midfielder and are a more likely destination than Blackpool.

Raul joins Schalke after leaving Real Madrid – The Daily Mail

This isn’t really a United story, although we were apparently linked with making a move for him. Honestly, what player aren’t we linked with nowadays? I think the biggest shock is that Real Madrid told a living legend he was now surplus. I honestly can’t imagine United ever telling Giggs, Neville, or Scholes that they were no longer wanted.

Social Networking: In today’s technology-driven world, we are no long limited to newspapers, television, and websites for getting the news. Social networks such as Twitter have aided the spread of news and rumors. Yesterday there was a whirlwind of rumors about Mesut Ozil possibly transferring to United. However, James Ducker of The Times, who is with United on the tour, posted this on Twitter last night: “To those asking, senior sources at #MUFC saying the club DO NOT want to sign mesut ozil”

Special Announcement: You can now join us on Facebook! We just launched our Facebook page today, however, it is still under a bit of construction. It should be fully up and running in a day or two. If you’re on Facebook I encourage you to join our new page.

Discuss all today’s news and rumors in the forum.

You can follow Kyle on Twitter at KDill_MUFC.

A couple of weeks ago, United goalkeeper coach Eric Steele stated that United are in a much better position now than they we were ten years ago after the release of Peter Schmeichel to Sporting Lisbon; but reflecting on this – how bad was our Goalkeeping crisis?

The memories of our greatest goalkeeper cartwheeling like a jubilant school child on the Nou Camp turf nine and a half years ago still lives long in the memory – it is hard to even believe it took five goalkeepers to find the eventual replacement in Edwin Van Der Sar.  Mark Bosnich tried and failed, the “entertaining” Massimo Taibi, the nervous Tim Howard and the keeper that just wasn’t quite good enough in Roy Carroll.

The exclusion from the list is Fabian Barthez, the eccentric World Cup winning French goalkeeper who will forever be remembered for those errors against Arsenal, Deportivo and ultimately Real Madrid.  However, Barthez was actually a fantastic goalkeeper, who although wasn’t Peter Schmeichel in terms of stature and size, was an exceptional shot stopper and had great first season as a Red.

However people often remember the negatives about a player, like with Taibi who is unfairly remember for the Southampton error and usually tops the worst player ever for United, and the goalkeeping blunders against Arsenal in the league and Deportivo in the Champions League but in his first full season at United (2000/01) he showed why he was the goalkeeper of the World Champions France.  United conceded only 31 goals in 38 games in the Premiership that season and won the league by ten points (also losing the lasts three games of the season to close the gap slightly).  United had found a replacement for Schmeichel and brought much needed confidence to the backline who previously had Bosnich and Taibi to deal with.

Bosnich was a fat overrated keeper who never could cut the mustard at United and I was glad to see the back of him.  Taibi, who was voted MOTM against Liverpool on his debut, made some high profile errors and was ultimately shown the door (he was also in goal for the 5-0 drumming at the hands of Chelsea – which more embarrassingly included a Chris Sutton goal).  Tim Howard did show in some games his potential and proved to be a very good shot stopper – however a number of errors led the gaffer to replacement the Amercian with our reserve keeper, Roy Carroll.  Carroll had balls, however he didn’t quite have the talent to match his gutsy exterior and played a part in United’s 1-0 defeat to Milan at Old Trafford.

Barthez was a good keeper for United and for that part I disagree with what Steele said.  United got it wrong about Bosnich but it is difficult to replacement such a character at a football club.  Van Der Sar will not be around too much longer and i’m very confident that plans are afoot to replace the Dutchman.  Will United put faith in Ben Foster, the English goalkeeper who has shown great promise in his games that he has played for United and the loan spell at Watford or will Fergie opt to bring in a new face like he did in 1999?  We’ll have to wait and see, however I am confident that it didn’t take us six years to replace Schmeichel.