APOCALYPSE MEOW
Surely it’s time for Ten Hag to let the Cat out
HE BECAME known as ‘The Cat’ in certain circles at Manchester United.
And not because of his agility, speed and sharpness.
The nickname had more to do with David De Gea appearing to have nine lives and always managing to land on his feet.
But it feels right now like the Spanish stopper has pushed his luck a bit too far following his howler to gift West Ham a precious 1-0 win on Sunday.
De Gea joined United in 2011 and has survived eight different managers.
But should he be al- lowed to continue in his role under current boss Erik ten Hag?
He might be United’s longestserving star, but there is no room for sentiment in toplevel sport and De Gea should be shown the door this summer.
He is one of the highest-paid keepers in world football on £375,000 a week but isn’t even the best in Manchester, let alone on the planet.
His contract is due to be renegotiated and it feels like a fitting time for United to make a strong decision and let him go.
De Gea might have beaten Peter Schmeichel’s all-time clean sheet record this season but so he should have done because he’s now played more than twice the number of games the great Dane did for the club.
He is still capable of brilliance on occasions but the glaring truth is the 32-year-old is now past his best and makes big mistakes on a consistent basis.
Like his shambolic display in Seville last month which saw United exit the Europa League.
Or his performance at Brentford earlier this season.
Or the countless errors he made in big games when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was boss.
In the wake of De Gea’s latest shocker, Ten Hag leapt to his defence, saying: “Mistakes are part of football and you have to deal with it and bounce back, because it is a team sport.” But
Ten Hag is wrong, because why should United’s defenders share the blame for something their colleague did?
And while he’ll never admit it, Ten Hag has kept faith with him this season because he doesn’t have any suitable back-up. The biggest issue De Gea has is his ability with his feet is not good enough for the highest level. He doesn’t come close to comparing to Manchester City’s Ederson or Liverpool
No.1 Alisson.
And if
Ten Hag wants to adopt a similar style of play in a bid to challenge for titles,
De Gea is no longer the answer.
There are alternative options in the shape of Inter Milan’s Andre Onana, Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak or even rising Brentford star David Raya.
Take your pick, Erik – the choice has to be yours.