What if we get Maguire? (not so much if anymore)

[Massive Spanner]

I don't think he's remotely as good nor capable of being as good as some on here think he is/can be and therefore there will be massive disappointment when they realize he's a marginal upgrade on what we have, at best.

I also think I could be completely wrong, and hope I am.

 

[Sied]

This has to be the least excited I've been about a big money signing. I'm struggling to see him making a big difference, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

 

[marktan]

I think he could help.. a bit overrated defensively but you'd expect for £80m youd get an upgrade.

I'm more worried about the rest of the team - we've weakened in midfield with Herrera leaving and haven't added any actual quality to our front line.

 

[Skills]

Can't have any excuses then if we miss out on top 4.

 

[Bestietom]

I think Maguire will come in and tighten up the defence, but we still need a top DM to play in front of defence as Matic is too slow.

 

[Alemar]

I was wondering before, is he best we can get on this whole God damn planet for that money, i mean really?

The best was de Ligt, but he refused to join us. Several other players (such as Varane and Koulibaly) are more expensive. Ramos, Pique, Tiago Silva won’t join us and are old.

So, it is a very big question - who is better than Maguire, costs same or less and is available? If you know anyone please give us a name

 

[1988]

If we get Maguire I hope we'll see some outgoings soon. We'll end up having Maguire, Smalling, Jones, Lindelöf, Bailly, Rojo, Tuanzebe and Fosu-Mensah and that's just plain dumb and unhealthy for the development of Tuanzebe and perhaps even Fosu-Mensah.

 

[AgentP]

I think he'll become a fan favorite. He is already better than all our CBs and brings two important qualities that we currently lack in heading ability and passing the ball out of defense. He could also further improve as he is only 26 which is quite young for a CB.

 

[Andersons Dietician]

He’ll be adequate but I doubt he’s going to really have a transformative affect on us like how VVD had on Pool.

DDG
Bissaka Lindelof Maguire Shaw
​

Looks pretty solid, Lindelof Maguire might not be top top drawer but they’d be good enough to be a force in the prem.

 

[Okey]

Personally I think Maguire will be very good for us. May not be my first choice but Koulibaly ain't coming here. A beast in the air and unbelievably good on the ball for a big CB. That alone immediately changes the dynamic in our back line. Add a DM with a good engine (if wishes were horses eh) and a RW and we could actually have a first XI to rival anyone. Meanwhile, what's happening with the outgoings? Or are we aiming for an overbloated squad full of deadwood?

 

[simplyared]

Many posters already pairing him up with Lindelöf. Don't think Lindelöf is cut and dry the obvious choice tbh. He has still a lot to prove imo.

 

[He'sRaldo]

The fact that he's a LCB means his value for our team will be high, as we don't have any of those bar Rojo (who's not very good). This means we'll improve on two positions as we'll allow Lindelof to take up his best position as a RCB.

The question would be how is his actual defensive quality?

 

[Ekeke]

If we signed him we'd be slightly better because hes better going forward than Lindelof and about the same defensively. £70 million better? No chance

 

[romufc]

I hope he spends the best years of his footballing career at OT and eventually become a huge part of United's renaissance. Will he be a definite success? Nobody really knows. Only time will tell...

But, for the price that's currently doing the rounds, he most certainly will be a mission statement by Ole. A clear statement that the chuckle brothers and Young had their day in the sun and that we need to move on to better things by building a better and more stable defence.

Fuethermore, just imagine if Maguire & AWB are a success here and Ole manages to get the best out of Shaw, Rashford, McTominay and James too. We could become the primary destination for English talents once more. Which i suspect is a huge part of the plan under Ole (the British core thing).

Short term: A modern and well functioning partnership between him and Lindelof, one that will be able to start most games throughout the season, thus allowing us to have a stable defensive line and be less dependent on the likes of Rojo, Jones etc. for a huge bulk of the season.

Long term: A leader of a backline whose best footballing years are ahead of them and proof that United are once again a club where good/top players can enjoy their best years and fulfill their ambitions.

Finally, someone who agrees.

So much has been said about Maguire signing, although as an individual signing he may not be £80m but what it does to the team would be worth more than the fee.

We need a ready made CB, premier league experienced to compliment our young defence.

What can Maguire do? Pass very well, head the ball, defend. What do we need? Exactly that, we conceded so many goals in the air and balls into box, this guy will attack the ball. We have lindelof, shaw, AWB as pace and tackling ability.

It is clear Ole wants him, and if he wants him he sure as hell will believe in him and motivate him. What is one thing you want as a player? The manager to believe in you.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

I believe he will be. He has everything we're missing in our back line. Aerial dominance, someone to play our from the back and a leader.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

If we signed him we'd be slightly better because hes better going forward than Lindelof and about the same defensively. £70 million better? No chance

What defender is 70M better than Lindelof?

 

[andersj]

If we signed him we'd be slightly better because hes better going forward than Lindelof and about the same defensively. £70 million better? No chance

Probably not £70 mill better than Lindelof, but very close to £70 mill better than Smalling if OGS are looking at playing proactive football, dominating games and play out from the back. If you wanna play football like Burnley or Palace, there might not be that much of a difference between Maguire and Smalling.

OGS will use Maguire and Lindelof. And I would not be surprised if Tuanzebe is our first sub. He can, unlike Smalling, play out from the back.

 

[Offsideagain]

Harry the Head is no more a £70m player than I am. Adequate, yes but not a top top CB. As long as Rojo the red card doesn’t play we may get away with playing Tuanzebe and, short term, Alderweireld. If we can then get back in the CL then we can attract top quality again. I’m fed up of chasing players the media think we should sign. I want players that want to play for United not money grabbers.

 

[broccoli]

As a neutral i always thought Maguire to United was a most obvious transfer. But strangely it didnt happen yet.

 

[Lentwood]

I think the steady decline in standards has led many to forget what a 'good' player looks like.

Case in point - we sign AWB and many of our fans have been blown away with how much better he is at RB than two ageing converted wingers (shock)

I believe we would see similar with Maguire. Fans who have been used to watching Smalling, Jones, Bailly, Rojo and to a certain extent, Lindelof, would be blown away by just how much better he is than anything we have

Sad really, because peak Maguire or peak AWB wouldn't have gotten into our very best 90s or 00s sides but it might be a case we need to go from 3rd tier to 2nd tier, as opposed to straight to 1st tier again

 

[Pughnichi]

A back 4 of AWB, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw

Compared to

Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw

Makes us straight away much more difficult to beat. I suspect those two signings will help not only our defensive inadequacies but also a few of midfield ones as well.

Suspect us to have a far better season

 

[Van Piorsing]

He'll minimise risks with steady ball control, close the air traffic and protect De Gea against high crossing, he can also provide way better communication between GK and defenders due to his leadership skills.

From time to time he can bang goals, but if attackers won't do their job we can already forget top 4. He'll be there to organise things at the back.

 

[SoCross]

Wait, when did we sign him?

Edit; noticed the “if”

 

[romufc]

A back 4 of AWB, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw

Compared to

Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw

Makes us straight away much more difficult to beat. I suspect those two signings will help not only our defensive inadequacies but also a few of midfield ones as well.

Suspect us to have a far better season

Fans don't realise the value of a solid backline. Once that is sorted, the whole team performs better because the plays up top are more confident that if they lose the ball trying something, the ball is coming back to them soon.

Get the deal done, and see how much better our defence looks.

 

[Pav1878]

I think the steady decline in standards has led many to forget what a 'good' player looks like.

Case in point - we sign AWB and many of our fans have been blown away with how much better he is at RB than two ageing converted wingers (shock)

I believe we would see similar with Maguire. Fans who have been used to watching Smalling, Jones, Bailly, Rojo and to a certain extent, Lindelof, would be blown away by just how much better he is than anything we have

Sad really, because peak Maguire or peak AWB wouldn't have gotten into our very best 90s or 00s sides but it might be a case we need to go from 3rd tier to 2nd tier, as opposed to straight to 1st tier again

This is very true. These sorts of signings will definitely help us make our way back up gradually and are far more realistic at this stage of our rebuild.

 

[finneh]

I think his impact would be apparent but very unspectacular for the quoted fee.

Next season he'd have less of an impact than other more experienced short term options such as Godin or Alderweireld in my view.

He'd probably be worth maybe 3-4 points over a Smalling-Lindelof partnership.

 

[Kag]

I think his impact would be apparent but very unspectacular for the quoted fee.

Next season he'd have less of an impact than other more experienced short term options such as Godin or Alderweireld in my view.

He'd probably be worth maybe 3-4 points over a Smalling-Lindelof partnership.

This is all very abstract and inherently intangible, isn’t it?

I mean, if ball playing centre halves were to somewhat radicalise how we play football next season (this is speculation, not expectation, by the way) then the impact this has on results could be extreme, surely?

Then there’s the expectation that Wan-Bissaka and Maguire absolutely do improve our goals conceded column, which I’d bank on them doing.

 

[kirk buttercup]

I think the steady decline in standards has led many to forget what a 'good' player looks like.

Case in point - we sign AWB and many of our fans have been blown away with how much better he is at RB than two ageing converted wingers (shock)

I believe we would see similar with Maguire. Fans who have been used to watching Smalling, Jones, Bailly, Rojo and to a certain extent, Lindelof, would be blown away by just how much better he is than anything we have

Sad really, because peak Maguire or peak AWB wouldn't have gotten into our very best 90s or 00s sides but it might be a case we need to go from 3rd tier to 2nd tier, as opposed to straight to 1st tier again

With the exception and it is debatable De gea might none of our players would get into the 90s or 00s team imo. But Maguire is still a good player and would improve what we have now

 

[finneh]

This is all very abstract and inherently intangible, isn’t it?

I mean, if ball playing centre halves were to somewhat radicalise how we play football next season (this is speculation, not expectation, by the way) then the impact this has on results could be extreme, surely?

Then there’s the expectation that Wan-Bissaka and Maguire absolutely do improve our goals conceded column, which I’d bank on them doing.

It is absolutely intangible and unprovable. However I don't believe Maguire's ability to play out from the back is anything that could or would revolutionise the way we play; unless we purchase a top class and mobile defensive midfielder at the same time.

I think he may contribute to a few extra goals scored with his passing and ability to carry the ball out of defence. Likewise he'll probably reduce the amount of goals conceded by giving the ball away less and ergo putting less pressure on the back four. However I can also see his lack of pace and being caught out of position costing us a few goals also.

I think Wan Bassaka will make a much bigger difference replacing Young, than Maguire would replacing Smalling. Which given the cost and difference in experience shouldn't be the case.

 

[RedCurry]

He's a forward looking defender who is far better than the 'slabhead', 'turns-like-a-truck' labels he's getting. If we end up conceding a few goals due to his eagerness on the ball, so what? It might even be a little embarrassing to watch as a fan, but so what? If our general play improves, we stop conceding goals from simple ball over the top and start actually looking assured on set-pieces, we might actually be able to build a team. Side-effect could be that Pogba can finally start receiving a ball all along the ground in the final third instead of having to be the guy to play that ball every time. Let's stop worrying about those couple of hypothetical embarrassing goals and look at what he brings to the team instead.

 

[SadlerMUFC]

So they're saying he's a top 10 CB in the Premier League which emphasizes my point. He's not a top tier CB. Top tier = World Class and he's clearly not World Class which is what we should be getting for paying that amount of money. *shrugs*

Either was VVD when Liverpool signed him. Amazing how opinions change when surounded by better players...

 

[trevor newnham]

I think Lindelof is pretty decent going forward. he has had a couple of great forward runs on Tour - yes, I know you cant judge on Tour games - but he has done so convincingly. He certainly looked better than the much touted CB's of Inter (whom our kids ripped apart). I think Maguire (if he joins, Lindelof, Wont-Getpast and Shaw, with axel in reserve is a decent looking back line. Jones has got to be better than Rojo - in fact so is Smalling. Dalot covers RB. mcTominay should be DM - he's a lot quicker and better with the ball than Matic.

 

[Cheesy]

I think he'll be solidly dependable at worst, and a very reliable first team figure at best: don't ever see him being at the level of Rio or Vidic, for example, but not every defender necessarily needs to be and he could be very useful for us all the same.

 

[Darlington Padgett]

Watching Tuanzebe play I'm not convinced we need Maguire.

 

[The Irish Connection]

He's better on the ball than lindelof and better than smalling in the air and a leader.
I couldn't give a shit at this stage what he costs, we should be spending big every year we don't win the league and especially when we finish 6th. the less money the glazers pocket or waste on interest the better.

 

[Infra-red]

He's solid and reliable, a decent (rather than top class) CB.

I expect the gap between 4th place and 7th place to be narrower this year and he'd probably contribute to keeping us nearer to 4th than to 7th. He might negatively affect our ability to play a high pressing game, though - his lack of pace means we'd likely play a fairly deep defensive line with him in the side.

We're absolutely miles behind the top two, of course, with or without Maguire.

 

[Lynty]

Chris Smalling and Daley Blind have been the best centre backs at this club since 2012. Let that sink in.

Maguire will hands down be the best Centre Back to pull on a United shirt for almost a decade, regardless of how high his actual ceiling is. Everyone knows he's not worth £80m, but we're paying the price for 10 years of poor scouting and recruitment.

 

[RedSky]

Either was VVD when Liverpool signed him. Amazing how opinions change when surounded by better players...

Oh, I didn't realise we were signing VVD, that's great then!

 

[Yagami]

As probably one of his biggest fans on here, I don't think he will transform us/the defence alone, but he'd still be a great buy and a step in the right direction in terms of signing defenders who can not only defend, but use the ball at his feet at a very high level, too.

Alongside him, I still believe we'd need another CB who's more of a leader, but him alongside one of our current CBs should be good enough for now.

 

[Eric's Seagull]

Either was VVD when Liverpool signed him. Amazing how opinions change when surounded by better players...

.

VVVD was phenomenal for Celtic vs Barcelona