Save Dave

I remember when David de Gea was first starting his career at Manchester United – the press were all over him, as the British press usually is – but United fans didn’t let that get them down. Yes, he made mistakes, but the fans’ trust in him was unwavering, and his performances over the last couple of seasons have both validated and repaid them.  So it brings us to the paradox of 2014/15 – with de Gea heavily linked to a move to Madrid, what should we as United fans expect of him?

The way I see it, there’re two ways to approach this. On the one hand, fans are justified in their anger that their years of faith are being treated like this – playing for United, offered ‘a lot of money’, pretty much guaranteed Champions’ League football and still waffling can get people’s goats. Yes, he’s been exceedingly coy about the whole thing, and even when he posts things on social media after games declaring that he’s ‘a red’, he seems to retract any true commitment to United the next day. But does he, because of such behaviour, deserve to see United fans turning against him and declaring that they’re ‘sick’ of what he’s doing? I don’t think so.

First off, we as fans and outside observers of the game are completely different from them as footballers. While all we have to consider are the interests of our favourite teams, not all footballers are lucky enough to be able to play for their favourite clubs, nor do they sometimes have the luxury of sticking with clubs regardless of salary and so on. He’s got to consider chances of trophies, who he’s playing with, and being closer to his family. And honestly, with a defence like United’s, I can’t blame him for questioning whether he wants to continue playing for a probable un-clean sheet. It’s probably not as simple as ‘I like this club, therefore I’ll stay for this club regardless of any other club who wants me’.

Which leads to my next point: hypocrisy. This isn’t just a de Gea situation, but a football situation in general: you cannot blame a football player for wanting to leave your club when you want other players to leave theirs for yours. Case in point: Mats Hummels. United fans are excited (almost desperate) for him to come, but no one’s particularly interested in Dortmund or blaming him for leaving a club he’s come to be so associated with and Captain of. ‘I feel bad for Dortmund but too bad’ seems to be the general consensus – but it’s exactly the same situation. Even bigger case in point: Robin van Persie. United fans were all over Arsenal ones, calling them ‘bitter’ and ‘sore’ for hating on van Persie, but isn’t this exactly what’s going on right now? I’ve seen some United fans get so ridiculously worked up over de Gea and turning on him, becoming exactly the people they used to deride. (Admittedly, the fact that Arsenal fans are still sore about it might factor into the description, but this is how it all started anyway.) If you were a player for another team, and your dream club came calling, would you think twice about your decision? I’m not saying that Madrid is de Gea’s dream club, but it’s a tempting offer, and if you don’t hate van Persie for doing what he did then you can’t hate de Gea for not even doing anything yet.

Fans shouldn’t be getting impatient with him when he hasn’t got all the variables he needs to make a decision. The fact that he’s taking so long and hasn’t said a word about it indicates that at least he’s giving it serious thought. In fact, fans shouldn’t be getting impatient when even we don’t have all the variables. Rumours are rumours, and although these are strong, we don’t know if it will actually translate into a bid anyway. Nothing is official until it comes from the clubs involved in the deals, and it is probably better for any fan’s mental health if they stayed away from rumours as far as possible. It’s absolutely none of our business, nor do we as fans have any control or bearing on the outcome (unless a player really loves the fans of a particular club an amazing amount, which is unlikely).

Finally, people might accuse de Gea of being selfish and disrespectful for toying around with their feelings so aimlessly, but consider this: he’s already repaid us. Last season the only reason United finished in seventh and not lower was because of his spectacular goalkeeping abilities. This season, he’s saved so many games on his own (Everton and Palace the ones that jump out immediately, but there’s definitely more), and took United into the Champions’ League. I’d say that’s a pretty good means of paying back. At the very least, he’s earned the right to do what he must without United fans getting on his back.

United 2-1 Everton

Because I have a 9am lecture tomorrow I haven’t mentally prepared myself for, I’ll keep this short and to the point. If you’re looking for general comments (if you’re looking at all) I was happy with the performance, even if it did mean I was close to biting my fingers off near the end.

1. Falcao Day

This game was probably one to watch for many different reasons. How is the team going to function as a team when Wayne Rooney isn’t around to scream at them? Is Mata going to be any good in the no. 10 role? Was Paddy McNair’s excellent debut a one-off? Will Louis van Gaal finally realise that playing Januzaj will not bring about the end of the world?

Above all, however, the most pertinent question remained the shock signing of the summer. From his very first game United fans have been chanting Falcao’s name, the legitimately indecipherable song following him from the bench to warm-up to the pitch. Again and again it seemed like he was finally going to – in the words of a football cliche I’m not fond of at all – open his United account. Realistically we could have been at least 2- or 3-0 by the time the first goal was actually scored, and most of these opportunities came from our divine Colombian. He certainly cut a frustrated figure by the end of the first half.

Finally the goal that the world was waiting for, and while some people will cry ‘offside’, there wouldn’t be any football without sullen fans crying ‘offside’. The stumble at the end takes some shine off his great run for the goal, but I’m glad that he managed to grab it nevertheless – it’s always easier to start the scoring aplenty once you’ve got the first one.

2. As a Mata of fact

I just read an article which said that a lot of United fans have been on Juan Mata’s back, which confused me a little, because every United fan I know desperately wants him to play. For someone who came from one of the Big Four rivals he’s wormed his way into the hearts of the fans alarmingly easily, which I think tells you something about the quality he possesses. He tore into his job eagerly, hounded Everton’s players, grabbed yet another assist and created three chances.

Maybe his defensive work isn’t as good as Rooney’s, but all the same I don’t see why he should be dropped in favour of the Captain. In fact, I – and a lot of fans – would rather see Rooney and Falcao up front, with Mata behind and van Persie dropped. Van Persie looked quite ineffectual today, in the sense that I didn’t register he was playing at all. He’s been looking like this for quite a few games, and I don’t think he deserves a spot. Speaking of which…

3. The Curious Case of Adnan Januzaj

What is up with Louis van Gaal? Is he not a fan of Nando’s? Because everyone else is and no one can seem to come up with an explanation as to why Januzaj isn’t playing. The youngster is on blistering form with the u21s, and I’m sure he’s played enough of those games to regain any confidence he might have lacked. He would have been a much better sight than Valencia, who I only remember for making a couple of fouls. Can you imagine Di Maria tearing down one wing and Januzaj down the other? It would be fantastic.

I can’t think of a single reason why van Gaal would be so keen on benching him unless it’s because he doesn’t want Januzaj to burn out the way he did last season. Even then, that’s no excuse for not playing him whatsoever. Hopefully the manager will come to his senses soon and see what a talent we’re allowing to rot. The worst thing would be if Januzaj felt that he wasn’t needed and went somewhere else in January. This after being given the number 11 Shirt of Loyalty, too.

3a. Kids! Kids! 

As a side note to youth talent and all that, Paddy McNair was excellent. I’m looking forward to watching him grow into his role; it’s hard to remember that this is only his second game when he looks so confident on the ball.

4. David De Gea Isn’t Real

WHAT IS DAVID DE GEA. Is he a robot? Is he an alien from the outer space planet of Ridiculously Good Goalkeepers? Is he a football god?

The only reason United won today was because of the man in black. In fact, the only reason we were seventh last year was because of the same man (albeit in an assortment of colours). I can’t believe we’re so lucky as to have de Gea play for us. The penalty save was already unreal, let alone the fantastic saves at the end of the game. Again and again he hauled asses out of the fire, and rightfully swept up 40000 votes for the United twitter’s customary man of the match. I’m so glad to see how well he’s developed and how far he’s come from the scrawny kid everyone wrote off. He’s just absolutely world class.

5. Nostalgia, AKA a ton of feels 

I didn’t know that Park Ji-Sung (to give him his proper name; as an Asian I am always miffed by the way it’s written) was going to be introduced so that was a pleasant surprise for me. To be honest I really started following the club only after Park left, so I don’t have a very great impression of him, except for the whole Asian pride thing. It’s always nice to see people returning to the club, though!

You can imagine my squealing when I saw Sir Alex Ferguson standing in the tunnel. He didn’t say very much, just functioned as a sort of introduction, but all the same you could hear the gratitude and undying affection that the fans have for him. It makes me wish that I’d been around to see him.

What really made me happy, though, was this:

Sometimes I just spend my time thinking about the Class of ’92 and I realise that they’ve known each other for at least twenty two years. And the relationship they’ve built up with each other for the last two decades is just amazing even to think about. The fact that they’re still friends is what makes me really happy, because often once people retire they go their separate ways; not these few, though.

This was what made the match for me. At the end, Scholes was talking about United and he referred to them as ‘we’. The BT guy says, knowingly, “and still Manchester United remain ‘we’, rather than ‘them’, for Paul Scholes.”

Manchester United isn’t about statistics, or goals scored, or games won. It’s about people. It’s about the men who treasure wearing that crest on their shirts, the fans who smile every time anything remotely related is so much as mentioned, the reds who go marching on, on, on.