De Gea running contract down and walking in to long term 200k euro a week at Real…are keepers worth it ?
Keepers are just like strikers, they have good spells but ultimately settle down at a level where they often suffer due to the team they play for. A busy keeper is often the sign of a dodgy defence so he may not be as active at Madrid as he is at ManU.
A quality keeper is as good as a quality striker imo. Best example is shay given, reckon he was worth 20 points a season to Newcastle, he left in the january iirc and they went down. Mignolet replacing Reina had as much to do with Liverpool finishing 2nd as Suarez did. Reina used to cost them so many points. Sir Alex was ruthless with keepers after Schmeichel as he knew they win you titles and lose them.
Thousands of people dont pay £40 to watch a suregeon do his thing for 90 minutes though. Even though what they do is far more important. Football is the entertainment business. Players wages will be dictated by how much football is worth.
I know Mignolet had a good first season at Liverpool but to put him in the same bracket as Suarez for the effect he had is ludicrous.
This is the point a lot are making - people undervalue keepers - Mignolet made the saves that got Liverpool second as much as Suarez scored the goals. If a striker scores you a goal in a game - but you are already in the lead when he scores, how is he more important than a keeper who makes a worldy save when you're winning 1-0 in the last minute? Keeper is more important in that situation without a doubt
A reliable keeper is worth a lot of money as it's one position on the park crossed off the worry list. The problem for them is they can have a blinder and one mistake costs a goal. A striker can miss a sitter and then go on to score, while the keeper never gets his goal back.
I agree except for the bit about Mignolet. Liverpool's defensive record last year was shocking and Mignolet was at fault on several occasions - not replacing Reina with someone better cost them first place. If they had De Gea they would have walked the league, and for that reason the answer to OPs question is a definite yes for me.
We've had a couple of seasons where the keeper has been voted player of the season. Considering where we've finished in those seasons, we'd have been down without them. Keepers are absolute key at the bottom and the top - not that we'll be paying 200k to anyone.
It's a 53million pound deal. The problem is the Bosman ruling cutting the club who's losing the player out of a lot of money which isn't right. The ruling is a joke and is the real problem here. 53 million for one of the worlds best keepers on a 5 year contract is fine. It all going to the player is disgusting. Bout time a club took this to the courts the same way Jean-Marc Bosman did and try to make this a fairer system.
Can't remember the exact quote but I do recall when Brian Clough was asked who would win the league one season he said "Us because we've got the best keeper. Keepers win you titles". It was along those lines anyway. A great keeper can't make a defence great but a dodgy keeper can make a defence dodgy by failing to command them properly. I agree with the Shay Given comment and would add that Harper was a local lad who was a very good keeper, any other position on the pitch and efforts would be made to accommodate him for a number of games a season but GK is the one position which you don't mess with if you have it sorted - no room for sentiment.