Sunday, May 01, 2005
Howard sits again
Manchester United beat Charlton today 4-0 to keep the pressure on Arsenal. The London club maintains a tenuous grip on second place in the Premiership and the precious automatic qualification for next year's Champions League going into their match against WBA tomorrow night.
Intriguingly, Roy Carroll got the nod ahead of Tim Howard in goal at the Valley. Howard had been the first choice keeper since Carroll's blunder against Milan in the Champions League, but the American's failure to exude confidence on the pitch and his miscue against Newcastle has again seen him relegated to the bench.
Moreover, according to Sky Sports, it looks likely that Howard will not get a chance to play in the upcoming FA Cup final against Arsenal, the make-or-break moment for United's season:
Nevertheless, Timmy should take some solace in the fact that Ferguson isn't giving up on him. With Man U tipped to enter the transfer market this summer for a net minder, it's been unclear where the United manager felt Howard fit into future plans at Old Trafford, if at all. Today's comments suggest that he does indeed see a place for him.
My best guess right now is that United will still move for a keeper in the offseason, but someone older, and more experienced, with about two seasons left of top flight football (Cudicini?). The Red Devils won't try to bring in someone young like Kameni or Frey, and instead opt for a short term solution. This will let Howard gain some experience and mature without the pressure of being in-and-out of the first team. I could even see Ferguson farming Howard out on loan, presuming Carroll re-signs or they get a decent backup so that Timmy isn't needed to ride the pine.
Intriguingly, Roy Carroll got the nod ahead of Tim Howard in goal at the Valley. Howard had been the first choice keeper since Carroll's blunder against Milan in the Champions League, but the American's failure to exude confidence on the pitch and his miscue against Newcastle has again seen him relegated to the bench.
Moreover, according to Sky Sports, it looks likely that Howard will not get a chance to play in the upcoming FA Cup final against Arsenal, the make-or-break moment for United's season:
Carroll is now expected to retain the keeper's spot for the FA Cup final although Ferguson refused to confirm that the Northern Ireland international will definitely make up for the disappointment of not starting last year's final win over Millwall.A couple of comments. For one, Ferguson needs to stop jerking his keepers around. He showed a lot of confidence in Howard even after his screwups last year, but this season he has not been nearly as forgiving. To his credit, Sir Alex rarely offers critical comments about his keepers in the press, but his fickleness is more manifest where it counts most: squad selection.
With Howard's poor clearance contributing to Newcastle United's goal last weekend, through Darren Ambrose, the United manager has suggested that the American still needs to learn to keep his concentration during long periods of inactivity in games.
[...]
"For Tim, it's really about experience. He plays in games for us every week and sometimes only has one save in a game to make, and that's the difficult part of being a keeper at our club.
"So, therefore, Roy's experience today comes on top of Tim's lack of experience. He needs more and more games, more to do, more action, to bring him on that step because Tim is a tremendously technically gifted keeper.
"He is lightning quick, his distribution is terrific and there are lots of good parts to Tim that will come on in the years ahead."
Nevertheless, Timmy should take some solace in the fact that Ferguson isn't giving up on him. With Man U tipped to enter the transfer market this summer for a net minder, it's been unclear where the United manager felt Howard fit into future plans at Old Trafford, if at all. Today's comments suggest that he does indeed see a place for him.
My best guess right now is that United will still move for a keeper in the offseason, but someone older, and more experienced, with about two seasons left of top flight football (Cudicini?). The Red Devils won't try to bring in someone young like Kameni or Frey, and instead opt for a short term solution. This will let Howard gain some experience and mature without the pressure of being in-and-out of the first team. I could even see Ferguson farming Howard out on loan, presuming Carroll re-signs or they get a decent backup so that Timmy isn't needed to ride the pine.
