Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that the #1 spot at Manchester United is up for grabs as both David De Gea and Anders Lindegaard continue to battle for the position.
It was thought De Gea had cemented the position after a strong showing in the latter half of his debut season. He started this campaign as #1 but after an error in the 3-2 win against Fulham he was axed in favour of his Danish rival Lindegaard.
Lindegaard has now played the last two games in a row and it appears that Sir Alex is happy to rotate between the two as they both gain valuable experience in the Premier League.
Speaking in his pre Galatasaray presser, Sir Alex said:
“The most important thing I am trying to achieve is to give them both experience of the English game.
“They are both young, they do not have the experience of a [Edwin] Van der Sar or a [Peter] Schmeichel, so I am happy alternating them. That’s the policy I am adopting and I am happy with that situation.”
Whilst De Gea made an error against Fulham, Lindegaard hasn’t been faultless but either keeper’s job will be made infinitely easier with a settled defence in front of them and Sir Alex is hoping that he can get one after suffering rotten luck with injuries in the past few seasons, especially when it comes to defenders:
“We have had a real rough ride with defenders being injured in the last two or three years.
“At the moment [Chris] Smalling and [Phil] Jones are long term [absentees] and I am down to three centre backs in Vidic, [Rio] Ferdinand and [Jonny] Evans and if I was guaranteed two of those being fit for the rest of the season I would take that now.
“But it has not been the case over the last few years.”
I don’t understand how it will work. It seems to be a way of just not confirming anything right now. Maybe the best way to get good performances, but I do feel goalkeepers need to know they have the shirt. It creates a problem of goalkeepers being worried that one mistake means they are dropped.
Dea Gea is a great shot stopper and makes some great saves. There is a problem with his size and ability to command his area. I thought however he was growing and getting better. I was surprised to see that he lost his place against Southampton. Lindergaard was nervous in that match, but he was solid against Wigan.
I believe to win the title and the CL you need to have a solid and trustworthy number 2 goalkeeper.
Sorry meant to say solid number 1 goalkeeper.