Maguire | he stays!

IrishRedDevil

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I'd take £40m for the two to be honest, given Maguires age and wage and McTom's not-very-goodness.

Having said that I think Maguire would do well for West Ham. McTom I'm less sure about.
Both are solid international players. They will both be fine for West Ham.
 

Jacob

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This is the best transfer we could hope for. I'd take the sale or Maguire over a striker purchase any day of the week.
 

United Hobbit

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Please please go. It'll be a good move for both him and West ham. Bet he won't though and we will be stuck with him.
 

Revan

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He isn't '5th' choice. He's 2nd or 3rd at right CB behind the unreliable Varane, up against the average at best Lindelof. The idea that he's miles from a starting spot for us isn't exactly true.
But he actually is fifth choice. Varane, Lisandro, Lindelof and Shaw are all ahead of him.

If Varane or Lisandro are injured, then Lindelof replaces the injured one. If both are injured, then Lindelof and Shaw replace them. He will need Lisandro, Varane and Lindelof not being available for him to play.
 

andersj

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For all the hate they get, McTominay and Maguire played 2-3000 min for a team that finished 2nd two years ago. Not only that, most people who «hate» can also tell you that their coach at the time was awful. So I guess they must have potential to be even better.
 

Revan

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So what happens midway through the season when it's clear he still has no chance of breaking back into the team? Does he ask for a move in January? Or do we do the whole dance again next summer where he starts getting private training sessions with John Terry and insists he's going to fight for his place.

Are we going to be stuck in this purgatory until his contract expires?

Guess it all depends on whether Southgate keeps picking him for Ingerlund.
We need to incentivize him to leave. I think throwing him in U23 is a bit of a cnutish move, but stripping him from captaincy (which he should have never got in the first place) would be more than justifiable.
 

tomaldinho1

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The problem would be that if Maguire comes in for Varane we would not be able to play the same way. He’s not a viable backup option because of that alone.
But the alternative is spending more money which we don’t have. I think Onana would allow Maguire or Lindelof (who are the RCB cover) to look a lot better to be honest, they share a big weakness in pace/acceleration and have not been helped having a keeper who rarely strayed from his goal.

I’m not a fan, I called it when we were linked with him from Leicester, he’s an average player and only genuine fools look at international form as any kind of barometer of quality but unless WHUM actually offer decent money for him (he’s still an England international, a good age and we should be getting £35m+ for him easily) I think just keep him. Everyone says he’s a good lad, good attitude, professional etc. most of us dislike him because he was starting regardless of form but as a sub I don’t really have an issue with him.
 

AbusementPark

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Not the worst defender we ever had, the transfer fee we paid is the reason why it’s so painful we still have him. He didn’t decide the price, the person we should be mad at is Woodward for sanctioning the deal and flexing his big boy muscles. If we paid £40m for him we wouldn’t care about keeping him or selling him. Still a good defender in a different system. Still Englands first name on the team sheet for every game, worth £25m of anyone’s money, hopefully West Ham.
 

Leftback99

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But he actually is fifth choice. Varane, Lisandro, Lindelof and Shaw are all ahead of him.

If Varane or Lisandro are injured, then Lindelof replaces the injured one. If both are injured, then Lindelof and Shaw replace them. He will need Lisandro, Varane and Lindelof not being available for him to play.
If Varane and Lindelof are unavailable we wouldn't play Shaw and Martinez. And this is on the assumption that he's definitely behind Lindelof, which isn't clear cut. Lindelof was just in better form at the end of the season and deserved the spot.

Whatever ranking he is we need the numbers. The next CB we buy should be a replacement or at least genuine competition for Varane, probably next summer.
 

ThanksBoss26

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If Varane and Lindelof are unavailable we wouldn't play Shaw and Martinez. And this is on the assumption that he's definitely behind Lindelof, which isn't clear cut. Lindelof was just in better form at the end of the season and deserved the spot.

Whatever ranking he is we need the numbers. The next CB we buy should be a replacement or at least genuine competition for Varane, probably next summer.
Agree with this.
 

ShinjiNinja26

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Maguire and McTominay for a combined £70m would be excellent business for West Ham. They won’t find better reinforcements. Come on Moyes, we know you’ve got the cash now splash it!
 

Revan

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If Varane and Lindelof are unavailable we wouldn't play Shaw and Martinez. And this is on the assumption that he's definitely behind Lindelof, which isn't clear cut. Lindelof was just in better form at the end of the season and deserved the spot.

Whatever ranking he is we need the numbers. The next CB we buy should be a replacement or at least genuine competition for Varane, probably next summer.
Well, if you prefer it that way, he is 3rd choice as RCB and fourth choice as LCB. That is as low as someone can be in the picking order. Essentially, needs 2-3 players to be unavailable (or rested) so he can play.

Not sure we even need the numbers. Without him, we have 7 senior defenders, same as City. We would do alright without replacing him in the first place. In an unlikely event of many injuries, we might be forced to play one of the youngsters, Williams, Casemiro or McTominay, but that would likely be a couple of times per season.
 
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Mickson

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If Varane and Lindelof are unavailable we wouldn't play Shaw and Martinez. And this is on the assumption that he's definitely behind Lindelof, which isn't clear cut. Lindelof was just in better form at the end of the season and deserved the spot.

Whatever ranking he is we need the numbers. The next CB we buy should be a replacement or at least genuine competition for Varane, probably next summer.
You're right, but I still feel that we need to get rid of him for several reasons. The best solution would be if Bennett, Kambwala, Fish or someone could step up.. however, I feel that they arent at the required level yet. A difficult situation IMO.
 

seasidedaz

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I think it may be best for him to move on and reset his career with the European championships’s next Year . Not playing regularly for United might see his England place in doubt.
 

seegoblu

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How come there hasn’t been more interest from Saudi league teams for the United captain? He seems to check all the boxes for them, big name, reduced recent performances, and a large salary. Martial, Fred, Telles, and Maguire all fit the profile..I bet you could get 100m for the lot of them. With that windfall you could pick the 9 you want most without FFP or cash flow issues.

I wonder if the lack of interest in our players from Saudi is related to the club’s potential takeover by Qatar?
 

Zoo

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Southgate needs to make it crystal clear that Maguire won’t be considered for England if the status quo continues. Maybe then he’ll get the message
 

Red_toad

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Bruno captain and Varane vice captain. then Mr Happy Harry can go seek playing time elsewhere and have a point to prove to everyone.
 

-Supreme-

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I don’t remember seeing Bruno giving his captains armband when Maguire came on as sub in second half of the season?
 

BobFromParva

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I see wheere you're coming from in principle. But let's be real, the circumstances you describe make life easier for any CB. Playing a low block might compensate for a few weaknesses Maguire has and other CBs valeud at roughly the same price don't have but that doesn't mean that they would still be better as they offer the same things and more. They might not be able to play out their pace or speed of thought to the same extent as in a more ambitious role as much but at least occasionally while not being worse at what Maguire does best.

Even without the whole meme thing he'd be overpriced at 40m but with that in mind, a potential buyer would not only pay above market value, he'd also pay above market value to make himself the laughing stock of the football world and a shitstorm from his own fans. Would be a different story at a moderate price but probably you just can't afford a book loss right now. Maybe a loan with an obligation to buy next year could solve the issue.
I’m only a guesser like most in here, so forgive me if this sounds daft, but please consider that if he wasn’t a much better defender in a more traditional system then how on earth did he become not just an expensive central defender but the most expensive central defender ever in the history of the game?
And ok, with the benefit of hindsight, it’s pretty damn obvious that Utd paid at least £20million too much for him but, remembering the clamour at the time, he’d have sold 10 times over if he’d had a £60million price tag at that point.

I remember reading threads on this very forum at that time and iirc the vast majority on here, all football fans who‘d watched plenty of him doing what he did in the way he did it, were enthusiastic for his acquisition if somewhat puzzled by the 8 being where a 6 should be in the sums being bandied about.

IMO the way the game has changed in the last few years has made Maguire obsolete at the top level, but doesn’t mean that he wasn’t very very good at what he did when his particular attributes were in high demand because they were a valued asset in games played as they were back in the day.

Football’s much more fluid nowadays, defenders in the expansive in-vogue systems of play need to be quick witted, fast, agile, technically excellent, cultured etc. All the things that big Harry is definitely not.
However, it’s worth noting for comparison that in systems of play in international football, that lag behind top flight league football because fluidity is difficult if not impossible to impose when squads have very little time training together, Maguire remained a staunch regular in a good England side and looked generally good doing it while at the same time looking like a lumbering ox pulling a cart load of turnips when playing in the Premier League.

I stand by my opinion that he was a very good football player at the time of his record transfer fee but that the game has moved on and his once positive attributes are a downside at this juncture.
I also think that he could still be a valuable player in a side playing deep defensive football at a lower level but that his whacky wages are pinching out any demand for him in the bud.
 
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Apokalips

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id be happy if my employer paid me 2-3x my actual value not to work as well
Pretty sure he said his family support United too when he joined. Plus being Manchester United captain will get him a fair few gigs in retirement. He rightly sees being United captain as an honour, although one he is not deserving of. He knows the only way is down so he doesn't want to leave but he really needs to be shifted. Hopefully West Ham give us a great fee and we shift McTominay for good money too - need to start finally getting rid of these guys as soon as they are surplus and replace them with better quality.