Finding Van Der Sar's Successor Postponed Again

Edwin van der Sar looks set to sign a new contract at Manchester United, according to media sources. Which means that Sir Alex Ferguson has postponed the unenviable task of finding his successor for yet another season.

Because let's face it, once the great Dutchman retires, we will have to buy to replace him. Tomasz Kuszczak is an excellent number two while Ben Foster simply failed and there's little hope of another window of opportunity for the Englishman. It's been proven plenty of times this season that without a commanding, confident goalkeeper defending becomes very, very difficult indeed.

Ferdinand and Vidic, on the rare occasions they played together (four times in the league) were below their best as they sorely missed the influence of Van der Sar who is simply invaluable because of his presence and the way he radiates confidence. Our current run of form is partly down to his return, to the stability that he ensures at the back.

But once he's gone we've got to get that from somewhere because neither Kuszczak nor Foster seems able to provide it and uncertainty between the posts can seriously undermine the confidence of the entire team - we all remember Fabien Barthez, don't we?

I don't blame Fergie for postponing this thankless task, especially in the current financial circumstances and as Van der Sar is still comfortably top-class he will be able to hold his own for another season. But we cannot delay finding a replacement for much longer...

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.