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.
