Howard is at Old Trafford for long haul
The American is at Old Trafford for the long haul.
Howard emerged the hero from Sunday’s Charity Shield triumph over Arsenal in Cardiff, his shoot-out saves from Giovanni van Bronkhorst and Robert Pires seeing United lift the season-opening trophy for the first time since 1997.
It was enough to send the Red Devils supporters into raptures and confirm United’s belief that the £2.3 million paid for the 23-year-old to lure him from Major League Soccer will be more than justified.
However, Howard is not interested in playing well once, or even for one season. He wants to go down in history for the performances he produces over a far longer period.
“It was a boost to be selected for such a big match, but I have never been one to be over-confident. I know I have the ability, but I also still have a lot to learn. “Anything can happen in a penalty shoot-out and I would have preferred the game not to end that way. But fortunately I got lucky and it helped me win my first medal at the club. Hopefully, there will be many more to come.”
Sir Alex Ferguson has compared Howard to legendary keeper Peter Schmeichel for his presence in the penalty area and, if his overall display at the Millennium Stadium is anything to go by, the Old Trafford boss might have found someone to fill the great Dane’s boots.
In the four seasons since Schmeichel retired, Mark Bosnich, Massimo Taibi and Fabien Barthez have all tried and failed to fill the role. Barthez looked most likely to achieve the aim, but fell out of favour towards the end of last season when Ferguson blamed him for the Champions League defeat by Real Madrid.
While the decision to name Howard in his starting line-up for Sunday’s game seems an obvious pointer towards the opening-day Premiership encounter with Bolton on August 16, the exit door in Barthez’s case, the £2.3 million arrival from Major League Soccer is refusing to take anything for granted.
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