In the summer, Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin tipped us off to Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, with Edwin Van der Sar not getting any younger and Ben Foster battling injury.
Ahead of our match against Akinfeev’s team, CSKA Moscow, Sir Alex Ferguson was asked whether he was interested in signing the keeper. Our manager predictably responded by claiming we already had Van der Sar’s replacement in our squad, although you do have to wonder if Ferguson really believes Foster has what it takes.
After the match, Akinfeev spoke fondly about our club and players, although promises us a tougher match when they come to Old Trafford.
“I see Vidic as a very strong player,” Akinfeev said. “I think he made the right choice by going to England. And next to Rio Ferdinand, he will certainly learn many lessons. Everyone knows that United are a great club, who have won countless titles. The players in the team are at the highest level. You can say that we didn’t deserve the defeat, but on the other hand, you can’t win when you spend almost the entire match defending. We have to create chances at their end. At Old Trafford it will certainly be even more difficult than in Moscow.”
Akinfeev wasn’t the only one to be complimentary after the game though, Sir Alex Ferguson had a few kind words for the goalkeeper.
“Akinfeev had an outstanding game,” said the manager. “We had to wait a long time for chances on the CSKA goal.”
Man Utd News 24/7
no shit united are a great club
`
I think for only 4 this keeper could be unreal
Thats right Achinfeet….you know it!!
Sign him up Fergie.. quality keeper!
He did himself no harm whatsoever last night if he was in the shop window. great keeper.
I think he is a really good keeper. And im not just saying this because he seems very fond of united
. He is certainly better than Foster, but if Fergie thinks Foster is worthy of being number1 then IN FERGIE WE TRUST!
United are a great club ? What an insight into the World of Football that is !
What next – FAT KIDS LOVE CAKE
@sketch
couldnt have put it better myself mate
@READ CAREFULLY WHAT I SAID lol mate:-).
Akinfeev is a class act and i think although a great keeper he is, if we move for him this will be disastrous for foster who i still think although calamitious at times this season, he’s been outstanding. he just needs to iron out a few imperfections to his game and i’ll tell you that he’ll be in the ingerlund squad for the world cup next summer. on form he is world class and he just needs to be given time and games hopefully this season to boost his confidence.:-)
I disagree. Foster is hit or miss (at the moment, it’s miss FAR more often), and we have two world class keepers we could pick up: Neuer or Akinfeev. I think we should get one or the other because in my honest opinion, Foster isn’t going to cut it with the amount of pressure being United’s custodian brings.
We should bring the new keeper in sooner rather than later while VDS is still fit, as he’d be able to mentor them a bit.
He was impressive yesterday, especially on a more difficult surface for keepers.
What’s 9 inches long and dangles in front of a cunt? Rafa’s tie.
This was the first time i saw him live and i was quite impressed.Especially when he saved Nani’s header from close range.Fergie has a tough decision to make in the next 6-8 months in this department.
@READ CAREFULLY!
Just put a tennor on a 9/1 bet that was been wrote on the board in ladbrooks
get this
liverpool 9/1 favourites to win the europa league
Regarding keepers.. there are a few out there I have been impressed with and honestly I wouldn’t mind any of them coming here.
The Lyon keeper looked good also, Lloris is it? or this Akinfeev (or Neuer, Asenjo or anyone!) Foster is not going to get his confidence back because he is not going to get the games here.. so we wait with baited breath as to whom the manager chooses to be the next United keeper…
He had a good game and has been gaining a fantastic reputation over the last few years. It will be interesting to see how he performs at Old Trafford, not that one performance is the be all and end all but some people freeze when they play at Old Trafford.
Good ‘keeper though, I wouldn’t be against a move if he costs £10m or less. Don’t want to pay silly money for a player that hasn’t played that often at the top level.
Would like to see him at the world cup, see how he performs.
Blatant undertones of an invite to make a bid.
Obviously under scrutiny after initial links with us, he impressed me. Particularly impressive was how he commanded his area, scuppering us on numerous occasions. He’s hard to fault.
Akinfeev deserves a chance in a top league. We’d be silly to think that we can afford to go passing up such an opportunity.
One keeper we should sign is the denmark national team keeper. Probably no one has heard of him, but he is fucking quality. Called Stefan Andersen.
We should not miss him like we missed Cech, he is class and if anyone is comparing him to Foster, he has performed very well under pressure, both for CSKA and Russia, pity that Foster couldnt grab his oppurtunity with open hands
It’s Foster’s own fault lads. What more of an opportunity did he need? VDS out, Kuzvhackkkkk (still can’t spell his name) is basically rubbish, and no one else in line. Foster fucked up, time to part ways, who cares about having the Ingerland keeper? We don’t want to pass up on another keeper that ends up being like Howard or Given. If not for Given, citeh wouldn’t have won nearly as many games and people would realize they really are shit.
@fze 123 mate the last time i heard of a danish kepper was one thomas sorensen !!! I really hope this andersen is better than him coz if its not i will also reccomend kenyan anorld origi besides he’s quality!!
@ GHTT ONLY 9/1!?!?!?! They’ll be knocked out in the 1/4 Finals mate!
Waste of a tenner in my book!
rio merks
i only put the bet on as i had to show it to my mates when i watch the room
nd a couch in my sitting a pint amatch from a blanket
but thanks to Rom im watching it with my Eric mask
@ Sam the kenyan red, I watched the portugal vs denmark game, which was a month ago I think, portugal desperately needed a win and were firing on all cylinders, they had about 30 shots in the whole match though only one somehow went in in the last minutes, no joke, ronaldo also was playing. And the danish keeper Stephan Andersen (spelt his name wrong previously) kept pulling terrific save after another terrific save, under so much pressure too, and the danish defence wasn’t helping so there was a double burden on him but he was still brilliant. Wish we could have him, and I wish fergie was watching this match.
I haven’t heard of Anorld origi though, how good is he?
Akinfeev will come to utd in a few years time, I am sure of it. Fergie won’t sign him yet, he’s still young and needs to be monitered, although he was impressive last night.
As much as I would love for it to happen, in my opinion the chance that Owen will score at anfield tomorow is slim and almost fanatical. I don’t believe any of us thought, before the bitters game, that Owen will come of the bench and score the 4th and winning goal. Yet now all of us are hoping the same will happen, which is why I/we shouldn’t be fancied the chance as it would have happened magically, and probably won’t now. Maybe I am talking rubbish, hope I am not right on sunday..
Part of me hopes that Rooney won’t be fit so Owen starts with berba, the other part hopes Rooney will be fit because he will be needed massively. And so Owen can come of the bench and put another in the dippers net.
Guys i think that if foster does’nt get games i think that kusczak should feature he is an excellent shot stopper although his kicking lets him down at times. his saves against wolves and wolfsburg were great. he was outstanding. i disagree 20legend99 foster is great it’s just the fact of him being english and lots is expected of him from united fans and the media. foster is one for the future in about two seasons from now. tell me this can akinfeev pull a world class save that ben produced against derby county in the 07-08 season at pride park? i know it’s way back but we should give foster a chance. fergie is right in saying that ben is the best english keeper. what will happen if things don’t go well with akinfeev i suppose lots of people will jump on his back. foster is english so that is why most of the time he has to get piss take. tell me this why is that when the big dutchman makes mistakes in some games it goes unmentioned. foster is only 26 and will get experience as the season passes and the next probably. the lad is talented i have to say.
Personally I prefer the look of Neuer. Very similar to the great Dane or VDS. A huge figure and commanding looking. For me at 6ft 1 Akinfeev is a bit small . To be fair I haven’t seen a right lot of either but from what I have seen I do like the look of the German.
Gotta hate – How funny is that? Dippers favourite for Europa league. Is that true?
@GHTT and King Eric:
Who says they will pip Debrecen to third place in their group?
I really think we should go for the bolton keeper who is experienced and knows the premiership. I think its rear a young keeper at 23 can really go in and be no 1 like petr cech has done
costa
ill get my 10 back
i just wanted proof of that fact
I too excited about this coming weekend btw. Everyday seems so slow…..
If anybody is interested I have a few tickets spare for the Liverpool FC end of season party?…………………………………….It starts at about tea time this Sunday!
Akinfeev didnt impress me in the game, ok he had a few great saves (like the header from Nani).. but he looked to shaky, his kicks were bad and i thought he should have done better when we scored. He didnt make him self big like Van der sar or Forster would have done..
It is not the same being a goalkeeper for a russian side and being between the posts for Man Utd. The pressure is constant, ask Forster which btw is an excellent shot stopper but his problem is in his head.
I hope Russia will make it to the World Cup, than we will be able to rate Akinfeev when hes under that much pressure.
but i reckon we need a stable, great keeper.. we have enough cash! how about Buffon? he has a few years left and he would surely be good for us
But we will see, Akinfeev is only 23 with a lot of experience for that age
in Fergie I trust
I rate this keeper, and have been following him for a couple of seasons. I think he’s good, but Kucszak and Foster deserves a bit more time.
Sir Alex probably referred to JOS when he meant we already have a replacement for VDS lol. >_>
i like jussi jaskaleinen of bolton myself. hes always impressed me…
sometimes it’s painfull to see the long list of great players we have missed before………
1-ronaldinho
2-torres
3-essien
4-cech
5-robben
6-ballack
i know it’s not that united must sign everyone but some we missed who could have been great to us…….who could be on your list?????
hi sam,
ronaldinho=yes
torres=yes
essien=yes
cech=yes
robben=no
ballack=no
robben will be another sha for teh doctors to handle while ballack will kill the team spirit with his ego.
by the way, you made it look liek we have under-performed since we missed out on these players.
we might look at it that maybe we should have gotten them, but i will also tell you that those players will also be feeling like having another opportunity where united will bid for them.
in fergie i trust
What the fuck is wrong with you guys? I agree that Foster has fucked-up on a few occasions this season( the Derby and Sunderland games come to mind) but what about the crucial saves ( Benitez v/s Birmingham ; Jenas v/s Spurs; and at wigan )
Two seasons ago , he was instrumental in us winning the league with his performance at Derby, as well as the League cup Final in March 2009.
Also, he hasn’t been helped by the shaky defence in front of him. Vida and Rio especially, have not been performing like they can this season, but like they say, form is temporary, class is permanent.
If the Wizard has faith in Foster , then who the fuck are we?
@zunaid ally
spot on mate…
foster still young…believe people…BELIEVE…
even VDS make mistake that cost us Fa Cup against Chelshit…people make mistake and they learn form their mistake…so come on…
I am not convinced he would be the right replacement for EVdS or that he is better than Foster or Kuscak. If we have to buy a keeper, sure there must somone better out there.
http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,16989_5645812,00.html
Fuck it….
Long John O’Shea – Morning mate, personally I think its bollocks. I am convinced both Fletch and Rooney WILL start.
Sam the Kenyan Red – Hi mate. What is the point in wondering who we could have bought but missed out on? We ain’t done too bad without them.
Zunaid Ally – Spot on pal.
In all honesty – Foster is a pretty decent keeper – makes great saves at times – but has a severe problem with nerves. he is not a first choice united keeper. Procure the Russian
Someone better than Akinfeev? Eh? Pease find me enough flaws in the young Russian’s game to warrant such a statement. He’s the best goalkeeper in the world for his age, developing at a much faster rate than ‘keepers typically do. If he was English, a top club would have picked him up well before now and introduced him into the first team.
As for Foster, he does deserve another chance, but having a contingency plan in place can’t hurt. I’m not suggesting we lodge a bid for Igor immediately – at least not when Edwin has time left with the club – but it would be extremely naive if we ruled out a further addition altogether out of blind loyalty for Ben – born out of Fletcher having silenced his multitude of critics.
Guys, what are you talking about? If Foster is young at 26, how is Akinfeev at 23 or Neuer at 22? Get real, by the time he was 26 VDS has already won the CL, Schmeichel was already a vital part in our team.. hell, Cech is 26 and you say he is young? Back to Foster… me thinks he’s one the best shot-stoppers in the league, but the crosses are his weakness, he’s like a headles chicken when he sees a cross… Have you lot watched the whole match against CSKA? Akenfeev cleared about 90% of crosses which came into his box.. he was confident despite playing the best team in the world, and the moment of the goal, he had a shot from 4-6 yards out… some of you compared this to Fosters howler against Arsenal..sure poor old Foster conceded a shot from 25 yards, while Akinfeev made a howler conceding from 6 yards..
@fooart9
How could VDS be at fault wheng DOGba was played into 1-1 postion?
@the scottish wonder
“He didnt make him self big like Van der sar or Forster would have done..”
VDS yes, Foster well errrr… no.. anyone that 3 goal we conceded from shitty.. Ferdinand was slagged off for his mistake, yet Foster “made himself big”- and fell at Bellamy feet leaving an open goal.. so people, this crap about talent doesn’t cut it…Dos Santos has talent, Gascoigne had talent but they didn’t cut it… Neville didn’t have talent, so did Carrick but hell these guys sure can do their job…. if SAF sticks with Foster, so will I… but bloody hell, the last time we stuck via error pron GK’s we got burn really bad…. Barthez on his day was like Foster, could save 30 shots on target, yet his mistakes cost us a lot… Taibi-no comment, Caroll- the man should’ve been sacked after 2 months not 2 years… Howard- the only keeper which looked solid back then… stange that Caroll always got the nod ahead of him…
ArmaDino
no schmeicheal did not arrive at united until he was 29 that you got wrong. foster is just not go enough for united, his decision making is poor and lacks th commanding precence of united keepers.
@theres only one Keano
Peter Bolesław Schmeichel (born 18 November 1963)- he was 27, only a year older, yet still… I don’ t remember him having confidence issue’s, well at least the type witch Foster has.. he was never unsure, if he made a mistake, he made it to the end, he never thought 2 about it…bring Akinfeev man, doen’t have great danes reflexes, yet his command and ability to claim crosses is phenomenal… I’ve been following him since he was 18, and trust me, back then whene there was no VDS I though, why in the world don’t United bid for this guy? At 18 he was already Russia’s number 1 and CSKA’ number 1. Trust me, this guy is made for EPL, if we’re gonna wait as we did with Cech, Ustari some other team might snap him…
P.S. He has a really good character and a manageble ego… always humble, prasing opponents, never critices his team mates…. to make a long story short, he is United material.
P.P.S. SAF himself said he was extremly impressed with Akinfeev’s performance… in SAF I trust..
This guy is the real deal. WE MUST SIGN HIM.
Boys, the only cure for lack of confidence is the little blue pill.lol.hahahah.
John Ferry, ahahahaha Foster better be snorting that shit then.
He’s garbage. Nobody can deny that he’s lost his spot as future #1
I’ve said all along that he’s no longer a ‘young’ keeper. You talk about young then you can look at Casillas who has been keeping for Madrid since 19. Staying at Madrid for more than a year is a big deal let alone playing there as long as he has.
Foster isn’t good. It’s simple. He’s a pussy too(reference the K Jones goal for proof) He won’t get into a challenge. He seems to have an attitude to.
Look at our defence with VDS back. Completely different!!! They have poise, composure, confidence. With Foster they didn’t know whether to shit or go blind if he was going for the ball
Fergie, sign him up! Fergie, Fergie, sign him up!
People on this site questioning Akinfeev over Valencia’s goal are clearly retarded. The only way he saves that shot is if the ball hits him. Not even half a foot the other side everyone would have said what a great save.
plzzz sing him hes a wicked goal keeper i wish i could by him hes wicked so wat bout 3-3 he still made it hard for us though