De Gea Gaffe Triggers Glove Affair With Lindegaard

David De Gea has a lot to learn. And fast.

The £18.3m signing from Atletico Madrid has done little to justify that price tag since his arrival with many questioning why Sir Alex Ferguson bothered to sign him in the first place.

In short, the answer is because De Gea will be a world class goalkeeper for a very long time. But first he must embark on a steep learning curve before reaching that level.

Like every goalkeeper, De Gea has made errors but two high-profile mistakes in as many weeks have given reason for fans to call for Anders Lindegaard to be the man between the sticks as they seek confidence heading into an eight game run in which Manchester United face Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

The good news for De Gea was that neither mistake has proved too costly.

His late effort to save Edin Dzeko's 30 yard drive at Wembley was forgiven as his team-mates turned the game around to win 3-2 and at the Hawthorns on Sunday afternoon the trick was repeated as United snatched a victory when a draw appeared to be the most likely outcome. All of this following on from De Gea allowing Shane Long's effort to go underneath his desperate dive when the save should have been routine for a goalkeeper of his quality.

The big question now is whether or not De Gea can be trusted for such big games against the sides tipped to be there or thereabouts come the end of the season in May.

Early signs of the Premier League season, despite there only being one round of matches, suggest that dropping points will be punished even with the campaign only being in its infancy.

If De Gea continues in this vein then it seems inevitable that Sir Alex Ferguson will opt for Lindegaard in goal as the risk of dropping points is too great if the young Spaniard starts such games.

Having seen the 20 year-old in both the Community Shield against Manchester City and the opening game of the league season against West Brom, I am yet to be convinced by De Gea.

Although his distribution is excellent, De Gea is let down by his inability to command the area. This problem may come from the fact that his English is poor but the defence do not seem to have anywhere near as much confidence in him as they do in Lindegaard.

Whilst the Dane will feel sorry for his compatriot, the footballing world remains dog-eat-dog. As the Guardian's 'Secret Footballer' columnist said about being left on the bench on the opening day of the season in his piece last weekend, "I spent the entire game hoping that the player borrowing my shirt overhit every pass, lost every header and ballooned every shot. This is a basic, selfish, animal instinct." Lindegaard, you presume, will have felt the same way.

Lindegaard's career at United consists of two FA Cup appearances but after enjoying a positive pre-season in America, the 27 year-old seems determined to make the most of any opportunity that he may be presented with.

It may well be an opportunity that is provided by De Gea's inexperience and vulnerability.

It is now a well-known fact that he conceded the most goals from outside the box in La Liga last season and Dzeko's goal in the Community Shield did little to dispel the concerns over his capability in dealing with long-range efforts.

De Gea will, inevitably, be peppered with shots from distance by the opposition and, such is the unforgiving nature of the Premier League, if one of them does find a way past the Spaniard then question marks will again be raised over a so-called 'dodgy keeper'.

Sir Alex Ferguson is renowned for having faith in his young players but even he must be concerned by what he has seen of his most expensive Summer acquisition and he could be forgiven for dropping De Gea in a knee-jerk reaction.

Already low on confidence, being dropped would be a huge blow for the youngster but it is the way in which he reacts to such an occurrence upon which he would truly be judged; the truly great players bounce back stronger than ever whilst those who are not destined for greatness wilt away in the shadows.

De Gea's mental strength is being intensely tested early on in his Old Trafford career as well as his ability and we will find out sooner rather than later whether or not he is up to the challenge of filling the rather large gloves left by the retirement of Edwin Van Der Sar.

Bigmouth Strikes Again

Life is never dull for Joey Barton.

Made to train on his own and docked two weeks wages by Newcastle United, the saga surrounding the Scouser's situation has more chapters added to it by the day or, in this case, by the tweet.

Barton's Twitter account is at the root of the problems. Since he joined the social networking site earlier in the year, widespread attention has come from the media and fans alike; his follower count is well over 200,000.

The 28 year-old is well-known for tweeting inspirational quotations from the likes of George Orwell, as if to suggest that he is the man to deliver honesty and justice in the midst of Mike Ashley's deceitful reign as owner.

Lyrics from one of his favourite bands, The Smiths, often appear on Barton's timeline. Indeed, his 'About Me' section quotes the 1984 hit 'Still Ill': "I decree today that life is simply taking and not giving. England is mine and it owes me a living".

The quotations are something which have surprised many. Barton is still seen as a common thug despite claims that he has cleaned up his act, yet his ability to quote Orwell, Aristotle and Morrissey elevates him above the mindless neanderthals of the world and shows that, beneath the surface, a human being is lurking.

The use of Twitter has been good for Barton in some respects but misguided in others. The account has been used to clear up issues from the past that have blighted Barton's career and left many with a negative opinion of a quality footballer. He admits to being a "complete bellend" in years gone by but claims to have grown and changed considerably as a man since the occurrence of such incidents.

He has taken exception to "shoddy journalism" from certain tabloid newspapers who deem regurgitating Barton's tweets in the next day's newspaper to be an acceptable form of journalism. Said journalists have been unaffectionately labelled as "helmets".

More recently, Twitter has been used as a platform upon which Barton has suggested that there is widespread discontent within the dressing room with regards to the way the football club is being run and that a relegation battle is a realistic possibility.

He has also said that comments from full-back José Enrique about the club would merely be "the tip of the iceberg" if the players were allowed to speak their minds.

This claim has been rebuffed with accusations made against Barton, hinting that he is a disruptive dressing-room influence having ranted at the team and management following the 3-2 friendly defeat at Leeds last weekend, accusing manager Alan Pardew of being a puppet of the Ashley regime. He is, therefore, seen as a major part of the problem and not the solution.

However, Barton may have a point: Kevin Nolan, the top scorer from last season, has already left for a paltry fee of £3m and Barton is set to be the next one out of the door after being told he can leave on a free transfer. Enrique could also leave the Magpies with Liverpool a possible destination.

Only a small amount of the £35m received from the sale of Andy Carroll to Liverpool has been reinvested into the squad with Yohan Cabaye (£4.3m) the lone player to arrive for a fee since Carroll left. Demba Ba and Sylvain Marveaux (both free) are the only other additions during the current transfer window.

A large section of the Newcastle fans have sided with Barton, citing that a lack of ambition is painstakingly obvious for all to see and that the best thing for the club at the moment would be for the owner, Mike Ashley, to leave.

Following the latest public display of petulance from Barton, he has been fined two weeks wages by Ashley; a punishment he fully intends to appeal as revealed, you guessed it, on Twitter.

As refreshing as Barton's honesty is, his actions over the last few days are doing his chances of a move away from St James' Park more harm than good.

Whilst his quality on the field remains undeniable - he's been called every profanity under the sun during his career but never a bad footballer - his daily sermon of online revelations will give managers plenty of food for thought before deciding whether or not the risk of signing him is one worth taking.

Based on ability, at least half of the clubs in the Premier League should offer Barton a deal - there are reports that a top four club heads the list of those who have shown an interest since he was transfer listed - but his off-field actions will always be held against him.

Perhaps a sabbatical from Twitter would do Barton the world of good. It would provide a chance to stay out of the spotlight and focus upon his career but, then again, a man with an opinion will always have his voice heard one way or another.

Argentina 1-1 Uruguay (4-5 pens)

Argentine-born goalkeeper Fernando Muslera was the hero for Uruguay as they beat host nation Argentina 5-4 on penalties in an eventful match to progress to the semi-finals of the Copa América.

The World-Cup semi-finalists will now face Peru on Tuesday night in La Plata after la rojiblanca beat Colombia 2-0 after extra time in their Quarter Final earlier in the day.

It looked like Uruguay would do well to make it to extra time with Diego Pérez going from hero to villain in the first half at Santa Fe.

He opened the scoring against the run of play in the 6^th minute, sliding home after Sergio Romero could only parry Martín Caceres’ header into his path to gift the 31 year old his first international goal on his 68^th appearance for his country.

There were doubts as to whether or not Pérez should have been on the pitch after he was booked in the 3rd minute for a horror challenge on Argentina’s captain, Javier Mascherano.

However, he would last only half an hour longer as he picked up a second yellow card shortly before half time for a bodycheck on Gonzalo Higuaín to leave his side with a mountain to climb.

Sergio Aguero, the tournament’s leading goalscorer, tried to find Higuaín as Argentina looked for an equaliser but his slaloming run was brought to an end by a crowd of bodies.

It would be Higuaín who levelled the match, ghosting between the centre backs to head home Lionel Messi’s delightful lob over the top of the Uruguay defence to grab his second goal of the tournament.

In a game littered with fouls, Argentina’s Pablo Zabaleta also found himself in the referee’s notebook along with Caceres and Alvaro Gonzalez.

The sides traded goals which were both cancelled out: Higuaín denied a second goal by the linesman’s flag after he headed home a Messi free-kick and Caceres’ effort was also ruled out by the referee’s assistant.

Uruguay remained a threat from set-pieces and Diego Lugano’s header from 16 yards out hit the crossbar with Romero grasping at thin air, giving Argentina a timely reminder that there was life yet in La Celeste, despite their handicap.

As expected, Argentina made most of the running in the second half with Angel Di Maria shooting over from distance early on but they never took full advantage.

Looking for penetration, Argentina’s manager Sergio Batista brought on Javier Pastore and Carlos Tevez for Di Maria and Aguero.

The desired impact never materialised and the Albiceleste were reduced to shots from range; Lionel Messi tried to grab the game by the scruff of the neck but his shot was comfortably saved by Muslera.

The Lazio goalkeeper was man of the match having made a string of great saves from Higuaín; one of the more impressive efforts coming after the Argentine had spun away from his marker.

In keeping out substitute Tevez’s deflected free-kick and the rebound from Higuaín, the goalkeeper was performing minor miracles as the game moved into injury time.

Mascherano received his marching orders for a needless foul on Luis Suarez by the halfway line to even up proceedings and Uruguay almost capitalised on the equal numbers with Romero saving well when Forlan was played in with seconds left on the clock.

Lugano went close to upsetting the host nation but his header went fractionally over and Forlan put another headed chance wide as the game moved into extra time with everything still to play for.

Fernando Gago picked up the first yellow card of extra time with a trip on Forlan before his participation in the game was ended as an injury saw him replaced by Lucas Biglia.

With even numbers, Uruguay started to commit more men forward and they were almost rewarded as Alvaro Pereira shot narrowly over before Tevez and Pastore repeated the not-so-honourable feat.

Higuaín, a constant thorn in Uruguay’s side, came closest to a goal in the first half of extra time with a quickly-taken effort that caught Muslera out but bounced back off the post.

Forlan put Uruguay’s best chance of extra time wide of Romero’s goal seconds into the second period with Muslera denying Messi minutes later.

A double substitution from Uruguay saw Alvaro Pereira and Egidio Arévalo Ríos hauled off with Walter Gargano and Sebastián Eguren their replacements as time ticked away for both sides.

The nemesis of Argentina and particularly Higuaín, Muslera, denied him again, this time saving from a tight angle. The highly-coveted Pastore stung his palms from the resulting corner as Argentina desperately searched for a winner.

It seemed that a winning goal was inevitable once Messi danced through the defence with a mere four minutes left but he shot straight at the goalkeeper.

The deadlock was not broken so a hard-fought tie and a fantastic football match was to be decided via the cruel lottery that is penalties.

It was Tevez, the player of the people, who would be the fall-guy in the shoot-out, missing Argentina’s third penalty which gave Uruguay an opportunity to progress to their fifth straight semi-final. It was an opportunity that was ruthlessly taken as all five penalty takers scored to set up the semi-final with Peru, leaving many a Uruguayan dreaming of making the final in a week’s time.