That appears to have been the fate of Tim Howard after his rick at Bolton and his fumble in Lyon came close to costing Manchester United two damaging defeats.
Now, we are told, Howard is finished at United, on his way out, unwanted, and about to be replaced by Carlo Cudicini or Robert Green as soon as the transfer window opens.
What utter nonsense!
Sir Alex Ferguson has taken the best course of action with Howard, taking him out of the firing line.
But to suggest Howard is already yesterday's man, just four months after he was voted best goalkeeper in the Premiership, is crazy.
Goalkeeping errors tend to lead to goals - but Howard was no more or less culpable for the shambolic first half in Lyon than half a dozen others. Mikael Silvestre has probably had a worse start to the season than Howard yet he retained his place and emerged the hero of Monday's Liverpool win.
His confidence restored by the return of old oppo Rio Ferdinand, the French defender again looks the part - and Howard can take comfort from that.
Indeed, it is a shame that he was left out just as Ferdinand's calming influence was coming back.
The whole back four, and Roy Carroll, benefited from Ferdinand's physical presence and verbal reassurance against Liverpool.
Last season showed what Howard is capable of, and at 25, he is still young in goalkeeping terms. When you consider that last season was his first in top-flight football after a gentle introduction via Major League Soccer in the USA, he is still a rookie.
It was the right decision to drop Howard, not least because Carroll could not be denied.
Those two are neck-and-neck in the chase to be United's top keeper, and if Carroll does not get a chance when Howard is dropping clangers, when does he?
The problem for all keepers at Old Trafford in the last five years - and there have been ten of them - is that Peter Schmeichel casts a long shadow.
But only those with selective memories believe that the great Dane never made mistakes.
A little exercise of the memory cells can soon recall him flapping at a cross in Munich that allowed Bayern to deny the Reds a famous Champions League victory in 1998.
And a few months earlier, his horrendous, sliced clearance cost United a goal against Barnsley in the FA Cup - leading to their exit in the replay.
Howard should take comfort from the fact that even the best of the best foul up from time to time.
Things went swimmingly for him last season until his mistake against Porto cost United a place in the Champions League quarter-final.
Howard was dropped then, and Carroll came in for six matches, and even then the talk was of his time at United being over.
Exactly a month after being left out for the home game against Spurs, Howard returned to complete the season - and conceded just three goals in six games.
Fergie is sensible enough to put Howard's dip in form down to "second season syndrome."
It may well be that United have tabled a '2.5million offer for Chelsea outcast Carlo Cudicini.
If they can get him for that, it would be an excellent investment, as he is a top goalkeeper.
But Cudicini would be sure to face a three-way fight for a senior place. Tweet
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Great article! I agree with every point made. Tim Howard will return, and he will be stronger mentally.
wish timmy be back soon. miz him so much.
I agree! T-Ho is a fantastic goalkeeper. He is one of the best in the EPL. He'll be back. I still think people would not question his ability if the squad that is playing today was playing at the beginning of the season. He would still be United's #1 keeper. I'm not worried, SAF knows he has a gem in Howard. He'll be back!
Absolutely correct -- I remember one season when Schmeichel was given a holiday in teh middle of the season and evereyone was saying that he was past his prime etc. Howard will continue to make mistakes for teh rest of his career, just like most goalies will. But the upside is that he will more likely make a lot more saves than mistakes --certainly more likely to pull out the extraordinary ones than will Carroll.
Whats wrong with Ricardo anyway? Has anyone seen play yet to justify his 3rd choice position?
Tim Howard is a fantastic keeper - Fergie was right to give him a mental break and he will come back better than ever.
Cudicini is also a great keeper - personally I NEVER understood why Chelsea dropped him. If we could get him at 2 million it would be good business.
Sound like a tabloid story to me though.
Lazy Journalist says:
"Eh, Chelsea have a class keeper who has lost his place - United's class keeper has had a few bad games. Hmmmm - how can I sell more papers?"
Roy Carroll is decent but I think a class below these two. Ricardo - who knows? -- he is a bit of a mystery, isn't he?
I hope Tim comes back. There are no questions about his athletic skills, but psychologically he needs to harden. (He needs to get better on dead-ball situations as well.) I wished he showed better communication skills with the defenders, especially when they made mistakes. Schmeichel would have given Silvestre a good talking to for some of his mistakes.
Also, I think he should stop being too candid with the media. I'm not saying he should be dishonest, but some of his statements come out sounding like he's stating a weakness in himself.
Howard was dropped and for a very good reason but will be a great keeper,no doubt.
What about the rest of the squad that was in front of him like MS,PS,RK,EJJ and DB (Rubbish) and they continue to get games with the first team.
These players should have been dropped.