I am no Manchester United supporter, but I am willing to give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a bit of advice that may just transform his season: Stop being stubborn and swap your goalkeepers.

David de Gea is the current man in possession of the first team gloves. But, I suspect, that is a decision based less on merit and more on loyalty.

Because the simple fact is that while de Gea is, for the most part at least, a very good goalkeeper, in Dean Henderson Manchester United have even better one.

While de Gea has been busy building a collection of unforced errors and memorable mishaps over the past few seasons, Henderson has been rapidly turning into a truly great goalkeeper on loan at Bramall Lane.

Now he has returned to Old Trafford the finished product: strong, confident, agile, commanding and brimming with self-belief. Exactly the sort of player you want in a team that is still searching for a fresh identity.

I have watched Henderson week-in, week-out, for the best part of 100 games, and he has grown from a promising and talented youngster into a truly brilliant last line of defence.

To put his ability in perspective, Sheffield United have brought in Aaron Ramsdale as a replacement: a keeper who was Bournemouth’s player of the season, is in the England frame, and cost upwards of £20 million.

But after just a few games it has become glaringly obvious that going from Henderson in the net to Ramsdale is a bit like swapping Peter Shilton for me. Amusing but not effective.

And that is the sort of talent Manchester United have sitting on the bench, chomping at the bit. Dean himself said he was returning to Old Trafford to challenge for the number- one slot, not to be a reserve, and I don’t think he will be close to happy with the occasional League Cup outing.

Solskjaer needs to bite the bullet and give Henderson a proper run in the first team. Yes, it may feel like a bit of a gamble, and it probably is. But the odds are stacked so far in favour of it being successful that it’s got to be worth the wager. If it works as well as I think it would, it could even be a career-defining decision for the Norwegian.

He has returned to Old Trafford the finished product: strong, confident, agile, commanding and brimming with self-belief

Again, I am not saying de Gea’s time has completely gone. But the Spaniard himself may benefit from the realisation that he is not an automatic choice no matter how many times he throws the ball into his own net. And, fair or not, de Gea has become a little bit synonymous with Manchester United’s recent mediocrity.

In a way it’s a great position for Solskjaer to be in. Having two top class keepers to choose from. He just needs to make the right choice now and go with the one who is rising to the top rather than the one who has, at best, plateaued.

Henderson exudes a natural hunger that de Gea no longer has. United and Solskjaer would be nuts not to feed off that hunger because it will filter through the whole team. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen.

Bale’s instant boost

I know I said the arrival of Gareth Bale would make a big difference to Tottenham Hotspur but I didn’t expect that to happen so quickly and without him even kicking a ball.

Within hours of Bale re-signing for Spurs they put in a substantially improved performance, beating Southampton 5-2 and laying to rest some of the demons from their opening day defeat to Everton.

Of course, that could be down to team changes, clever management or even just pure coincidence.

But it could also be – and this is my suspicion – that Bale joining the squad boosted morale while simultaneously giving the players a mental kick up the backside.

Nothing helps focus a player’s mind quite like knowing a world-class player is going to be needing someone’s matchday shirt in a couple of weeks’ time.

Maybe José Mourinho should start a rumour that Lionel Messi is on his way to the club…

Ticket to nowhere

I was reading last week that Premier League clubs are looking at ways of allowing season-ticket holders to access matches on television now that the return of physical fans has been put on hold.

Now I’m not really interested in getting into the specifics of that TV debate, but the subject did raise one thought in my head – who the heck buys a football season ticket in the middle of a pandemic?

Even if they were made available at a reduced price, it is a purchase that could only have been made by a person with unhealthy levels of optimism running through his veins.

“Yes, I know there is a deadly virus around, everyone is struggling to make ends meet and we could be living like this for another six months. But I still think it would be a good idea to spend a thousand pounds on tickets for football games I probably won’t be allowed to go in to watch.”

I think that might be the point at which you may want to admit you love your club a tiny bit too much…

Nervous moments for quarantined Moyes

West Ham United lose their first two league games of the season. Then David Moyes tests positive for coronavirus, goes into isolation and they beat Hull City 5-1 in the Carabao Cup.

Like the Gareth Bale story above, this could just be nothing more than a mere quirk of fate. After all, it was only Hull, not a 5-1 victory over Manchester City. And maybe the Hammers would have won the game 10-1 with Moyes pulling the strings.

But even so, if they follow up the midweek success with another victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers this afternoon with Moyes still watching from his sofa, it will be squeaky bum time for the Scot.

West Ham’s owners haven’t been making a lot of sensible decisions in recent months and it won’t take much for them to decide that is a pattern worth exploring…

email: james@findit.com.mt
Twitter: @maltablade