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.

It’s (Not) A Sign

With the exception of just about every rival supporter, Manchester United’s 2013/2014 season was certainly one to forget. More so than David Moyes’s stuttering mannerisms, god-awful press conferences or even the losses week after week, the worst was the woeful performance of the squad as a whole. When your best players are an eighteen-year-old in his debut season and a transfer from a rival club, you know that something is terribly wrong. Indeed, buying more players was touted time and again as the solution to United’s woes.

Fast forward to the 2014/15 pre-season. It’s been touted as a fresh start for United by players, newspapers and pundits all over the world. Instead of the “lol” dismissively tossed out, our season already a joke that did not need to be said, rival fans have reverted to raiding their limited vocabulary of swear words – a sure sign that once more United is instilling fear in their hearts. Nothing can sum up the remarkable turnaround of Van Gaal’s reign more than the Curious Case of Ashley Young, who has scored more goals in the six friendlies (as a wing-back) than his last two seasons combined.

Van Gaal is definitely a magnificent prospect. He strikes me as a bona fide Pirate Captain, complete with the confident swagger and the ability to strike fear and respect into his men. Gone are the days of aspiring to be like City; with van Gaal it is clear that nothing but the best will be enough to satisfy him. His 6 wins of 6 matches more than eclipses Moyes’s record of three defeats and two draws in seven games. Mourinho has already begun the mind games, signalling that United is increasingly being seen as a title contender. The occasional gust of wind that you can feel is the collective sigh of relief of United fans.

And yet.

While the squad is looking better, it is still essentially the same squad. Our club has made the least number of signings for any Premier League club – and this is a Premier League including teams like West Ham (sorry, West Ham, but you were the first club I thought of). Compared to fierce rivals Liverpool, who have been snapping up players like Billy Joel in For The Longest Time, United’s transfer window has been dreary. Even City, who’ve admitted to ‘spending less’, have still been a lot busier.

It wasn’t always such a gloomy prospect. Woodward has fans abuzz (by abuzz I mean not mocking him for once) when he managed to grab not one, but two excellent players. Herrera has been absolutely stellar, Shaw as well (and the side will definitely be hurt by his four weeks’ out). 

Unfortunately, besides those two, no one else has come to Old Trafford. Hummels, my personal dream signing, is decidedly staying put at BVB. Vidal has waffled so much no one is sure anymore what’s going on. Vermaelen has gone. Kroos (another dream) has gone. Blind and Ajax are ready, but apparently United is not. Woodward told fans to ‘watch this space’; months later we’re still watching as the next signing turns into the proverbial Godot.

Shaw’s injury and the subsequent scramble for defenders demonstrates the need for signings – the squad simply isn’t strong enough. Van Gaal might start Blackett tonight, which speaks less for the club’s history of blooding players and more for the lack of options. Paul Scholes wrote in the Independent that the reason United won’t win this year is because they aren’t signing enough people. If one of the club legends, part of such a self-assured team full of belief, doesn’t think we can win, then he’s probably got a point.

The Premier League is brutal, and many clubs can’t go an entire season without suffering some sort of injury crisis. My worry is what will happen when United have theirs, and find out that sometimes being irreplaceable is not a good thing.