EDWIN VAN DER SAR will lose his status as Manchester
United's first-choice goalkeeper following his blunder which handed
the FA Cup to Chelsea. England keeper Ben Foster (below) is set to
replace Van der Sar as United's No.1 next season after Sir Alex
Ferguson's patience with the erratic Dutchman finally snapped at
Wembley.
It is understood United's players blamed Van der Sar for hesitating
in coming off his line to challenge Didier Drogba for the
extra-time goal which gave Chelsea victory. Fergie has had
misgivings about Van der Sar in recent weeks, following a series of
blunders which threatened to undermine United's Premiership
challenge and cast doubt on the veteran keeper's reliability.
And with Foster returning to Old Trafford, following a successful
loan spell with Watford which culminated in him earning an England
cap, Van der Sar's position is under serious threat for the first
time in two seasons. United's England players have raved about
Foster to Fergie and he is ready to give him the chance to replace
Van der Sar ahead of Tomasz Kuszczak, who will go out on loan next
season - probably to Roy Keane's Sunderland.
Fergie began to have doubts about Van der Sar last month, when the
36-year-old keeper made high-profile errors against Roma and
Portsmouth which saw United defeated in both matches. Although
defeat at Pompey did not cost United the title and they recovered
to beat Roma in the return leg of their Champions League
quarter-final, those gaffes marked the beginning of the end for the
former Fulham man.
Sources at United have claimed Van der Sar has not been the same
since breaking his nose in a clash with Tottenham's Robbie Keane
back in February, which ruled him out of action for three weeks.
When he did eventually return, those within the United camp felt
Van der Sar did not have the same commanding edge as before and was
more vulnerable as a result of the injury. The Dutchman was also
shaky in United's FA Cup semi-final win over Watford, and his
latest mistake at Wembley has convinced Fergie it is time Foster
was given his chance at United.
Since Peter Schmeichel retired following United's Treble triumph of
1999, Fergie has struggled to replace him. A number of keepers have
come and gone, including Fabien Barthez, but none has been able to
fill the void left by great Dane Schmeichel.
