Joined
·
11,207 Posts
United to end £20m roller-coaster ride
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sports-news/United-to-end-20m-rollercoaster.4587997.jp
Published Date: 14 October 2008
Manchester United went on a six-year £20m roller-coaster ride with 10 different goalkeepers in a monumental effort to replace the great Dane Peter Schmeichel.
Now new keeper coach Eric Steele has taken on the challenge of attempting to avoid another similar saga as the Reds plan for the post-Edwin van der Sar era.
Between Schmeichel's Old Trafford retirement in 1999 to Van der Sar's £2m arrival from Fulham in 2005, United's efforts to come up with a solution to filling the vacancy left by the world's best lurched from sensational to slapstick.
Steele viewed the tough changeover process from afar as he built up a CV as a goalkeeper coach with Derby County, Aston Villa and City as well as being part of the FA's goalkeeping development team.
Then, after leaving the Eastlands set-up in the wake of Mark Hughes' arrival and moving briefly to Blackburn under Paul Ince, Steele was identified as the coach to replace Tony Coton at Old Trafford.
The popular Coton was forced to retire last January because of knee problems but had left a formidable structure in place at Carrington for his successor.
Steele's late appointment on the eve of the campaign, and injuries in the goalkeeping department have meant it is only now that he is getting his teeth into the job.
And, while putting his stamp on the keeper unit from nine-year-olds upwards, the mission to eventually replace van der Sar, is top priority.
"Edwin has gone public with the message that this is his last year, but with a view to looking at it and reviewing the position at Christmas.
So we have to be prepared for if and when that happens," Steele said.
"My ambitions are to maintain the standards of goalkeeper there has been at this football club. We have to maintain the great tradition set in the modern era by the great Peter Schmeichel.
"His success has finally been followed on to a great degree by Edwin.
My job is to ensure the next incumbent maintains that high level.
"I also have to ensure that we have that consistently over a sustained period and that we don't have the drop that happened between Schmeichel and Van der Sar.
"One or two will talk about Fabien Barthez and his contribution here but mainly people talk about Schmeichel and Van der Sar as being the best and in-between was a difficult time.
"Edwin is a very, very experienced goalkeeper. He has been one of the finest in the world in terms of the sweeper-keeper role that this club needs.
"When he came in he solved a dilemma about who can the replace the great man Peter Schmeichel. I worked with Peter at Villa and he is rightly most people's No 1choice as the best.
"After he left United there have been a lot of goalkeepers who have played first-team football for United. It was a tough ask getting someone in immediately to fill Schmeichel's boots
"Edwin's boots are going to be big to fill. He will now be remembered for the famous save in the shoot-out in the Champions League final but I think it had been noted by the purists in the game that he was one of the finest in terms of playing out from the back.
"His distribution skills are tremendous and ideally what you look for now. He has been, and still is, one of the best. It is a joy having viewed him from a distance to now work with him. He has raised the bar.
"It is a good challenge for me to have to start preparing for when he retires. It's not just about warming Edwin up before a game on the pitch! It is no good coming to Manchester United just to do that!
"When the time comes that Sir Alex Ferguson says `who is going to replace Edwin?' I have to have an answer and reasons for the answer.
"My job is to give the manager as many options as I can. That is what we are trying to do. We have to get all the goalkeepers fit and competing and throw the gauntlet down to Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster and say who is going to take over the mantle of the No 1 we have now.
"This is the time for Tomasz and Ben. This is what they were brought here for. They are both back from injury. Both are fully fit now to accept the challenge and Edwin knows it is there."
And, almost three months into his appointment, Steele believes it is now finally `Game On'
"I have been here 10 weeks but I missed the nucleus of what I believe is the mainstay of your season and that is the pre-season," he added.
"Edwin came back late because of his involvement in Euro 2008. Ben was injured in South Africa. All of a sudden you are looking at players who have missed the conditioning work. We have been playing catch-up and have used the international breaks to get them up to speed.
"We have sat down with Tony Strudwick, who is head of sports science at United, and his team and set about doing sessions to bring them up to speed.
"The keepers needed that. We have caught up and it is only in the last two or three weeks they are at the level I would have wanted them at in August.
"It is about preparation. They You have to monitor where, when and how much work to give them."
http://www.blackpoolgazette.co.uk/sports-news/United-to-end-20m-rollercoaster.4587997.jp
Published Date: 14 October 2008
Manchester United went on a six-year £20m roller-coaster ride with 10 different goalkeepers in a monumental effort to replace the great Dane Peter Schmeichel.
Now new keeper coach Eric Steele has taken on the challenge of attempting to avoid another similar saga as the Reds plan for the post-Edwin van der Sar era.
Between Schmeichel's Old Trafford retirement in 1999 to Van der Sar's £2m arrival from Fulham in 2005, United's efforts to come up with a solution to filling the vacancy left by the world's best lurched from sensational to slapstick.
Steele viewed the tough changeover process from afar as he built up a CV as a goalkeeper coach with Derby County, Aston Villa and City as well as being part of the FA's goalkeeping development team.
Then, after leaving the Eastlands set-up in the wake of Mark Hughes' arrival and moving briefly to Blackburn under Paul Ince, Steele was identified as the coach to replace Tony Coton at Old Trafford.
The popular Coton was forced to retire last January because of knee problems but had left a formidable structure in place at Carrington for his successor.
Steele's late appointment on the eve of the campaign, and injuries in the goalkeeping department have meant it is only now that he is getting his teeth into the job.
And, while putting his stamp on the keeper unit from nine-year-olds upwards, the mission to eventually replace van der Sar, is top priority.
"Edwin has gone public with the message that this is his last year, but with a view to looking at it and reviewing the position at Christmas.
So we have to be prepared for if and when that happens," Steele said.
"My ambitions are to maintain the standards of goalkeeper there has been at this football club. We have to maintain the great tradition set in the modern era by the great Peter Schmeichel.
"His success has finally been followed on to a great degree by Edwin.
My job is to ensure the next incumbent maintains that high level.
"I also have to ensure that we have that consistently over a sustained period and that we don't have the drop that happened between Schmeichel and Van der Sar.
"One or two will talk about Fabien Barthez and his contribution here but mainly people talk about Schmeichel and Van der Sar as being the best and in-between was a difficult time.
"Edwin is a very, very experienced goalkeeper. He has been one of the finest in the world in terms of the sweeper-keeper role that this club needs.
"When he came in he solved a dilemma about who can the replace the great man Peter Schmeichel. I worked with Peter at Villa and he is rightly most people's No 1choice as the best.
"After he left United there have been a lot of goalkeepers who have played first-team football for United. It was a tough ask getting someone in immediately to fill Schmeichel's boots
"Edwin's boots are going to be big to fill. He will now be remembered for the famous save in the shoot-out in the Champions League final but I think it had been noted by the purists in the game that he was one of the finest in terms of playing out from the back.
"His distribution skills are tremendous and ideally what you look for now. He has been, and still is, one of the best. It is a joy having viewed him from a distance to now work with him. He has raised the bar.
"It is a good challenge for me to have to start preparing for when he retires. It's not just about warming Edwin up before a game on the pitch! It is no good coming to Manchester United just to do that!
"When the time comes that Sir Alex Ferguson says `who is going to replace Edwin?' I have to have an answer and reasons for the answer.
"My job is to give the manager as many options as I can. That is what we are trying to do. We have to get all the goalkeepers fit and competing and throw the gauntlet down to Tomasz Kuszczak and Ben Foster and say who is going to take over the mantle of the No 1 we have now.
"This is the time for Tomasz and Ben. This is what they were brought here for. They are both back from injury. Both are fully fit now to accept the challenge and Edwin knows it is there."
And, almost three months into his appointment, Steele believes it is now finally `Game On'
"I have been here 10 weeks but I missed the nucleus of what I believe is the mainstay of your season and that is the pre-season," he added.
"Edwin came back late because of his involvement in Euro 2008. Ben was injured in South Africa. All of a sudden you are looking at players who have missed the conditioning work. We have been playing catch-up and have used the international breaks to get them up to speed.
"We have sat down with Tony Strudwick, who is head of sports science at United, and his team and set about doing sessions to bring them up to speed.
"The keepers needed that. We have caught up and it is only in the last two or three weeks they are at the level I would have wanted them at in August.
"It is about preparation. They You have to monitor where, when and how much work to give them."
