[Jibbs]

How is it poor management by the squad? Ole thought Tuanzebe is good enough, majority of the caf does too. We started with Maguire, Lindelof, Bailly, Tuanzebe, Rojo, Jones. It is unlucky they are all injured at the same time, no one expects so many injuries at once.

Again, you are not getting this are you? Koulibaly would have cost £100m and his form has been off this season as well.

Was there any actual offers for DDG or Pogba over the summer? there is also rumours about the implications of selling Pogba and not replacing him with Addidas.

Tuanzebe is good, but he was definitely not ready yet to be part of the back 2, a loan where he could play week in week out would have done him world of good. Again you are not getting the point, Koulibaly or anyone, point is we do need a CB, if Maguire is out for several weeks.

PSG was serious about acquiring Pogba, had we shown willingness to sell I am sure more clubs would have come up with concrete offers.
The kind of contract we threw at deGea should only be reserved for proven goal scorers who can bang in 25 30 goals a season or to a marketable superstar like Pogba.

 

[romufc]

Tuanzebe is good, but he was definitely not ready yet to be part of the back 2, a loan where he could play week in week out would have done him world of good. Again you are not getting the point, Koulibaly or anyone, point is we do need a CB, if Maguire is out for several weeks.

PSG was serious about acquiring Pogba, had we shown willingness to sell I am sure more clubs would have come up with concrete offers.
The kind of contract we threw at deGea should only be reserved for proven goal scorers who can bang in 25 30 goals a season or to a marketable superstar like Pogba.

We don't know that, he might be ready to start in a back 2. We have seen players like Tomori who played regularly in the championship ready for PL football. Yes, and we have 6 CB's so why sign a backup player for £30m? Maguire might only miss the next game and be back for next week.

Willingness to sell? seriously? that would mean that they would bid £80m. Do you think Leicester showed a willingness to sell? No. If a club is serious about signing someone they would have submitted bids and there would be noise. There was nothing over the summer about PSG wanting Pogba.

So only strikers who score goals deserve money? A Keeper who has proved over the years he can save our season not deserve it? I think you are forgetting DDG has been player of the season 2 seasons running the the last 4.

 

[Jibbs]

We don't know that, he might be ready to start in a back 2. We have seen players like Tomori who played regularly in the championship ready for PL football. Yes, and we have 6 CB's so why sign a backup player for £30m? Maguire might only miss the next game and be back for next week.

Willingness to sell? seriously? that would mean that they would bid £80m. Do you think Leicester showed a willingness to sell? No. If a club is serious about signing someone they would have submitted bids and there would be noise. There was nothing over the summer about PSG wanting Pogba.

So only strikers who score goals deserve money? A Keeper who has proved over the years he can save our season not deserve it? I think you are forgetting DDG has been player of the season 2 seasons running the the last 4.

Among those 6 CBs, 3 are Bailly, Rojo and Jones. So we are practically left with only 3.
And yes, no keeper no matter how good he is deserves this kind of insane money, while he is easily replaceable. Romero has arguably been better than de Gea this year, we won our biggest trophy Europa Cup with him between the goalposts. de Gea was clearly showing signs of decline last year, was putting club at ransom, should have been moved out.

With Pogba, less the said the better, we can never improve until this guy is in the team, he has that toxic presence, he thinks of himself greater than the club, he clearly stated he wants to leave last year. The moment a player says that with condescending view towards the club, he needs to be shipped out.

 

[A-man]

How did you know that?

There was an interview with Smalling. Can’t find it now but if I remember it correctly, he said something like United bought Maguire and Ole chose to play Lindelof instead of him, which was ok. But then also Tuanzebe was placed before him in order, and Ole said to Smalling he would play 15-20 matches. Then he chose to go to Roma. Something like that.

 

[Irwin99]

Our club is too nice, as soon as a player wants to leave, he gets his wishes. Our interest should always trump his

Yeah, Pogba wanted to go and was kept so that excuse doesn’t wash I’m afraid. I can see what Ole was trying to do (Smalling is the least comfortable on the ball) but he’s the best defender we had before Maguire, has one of the better fitness records and probably would have been a better fit for Maguire. You can argue it was a mistake by Ole to prioritise the other defenders we have over him.

 

[kouroux]

Yeah, Pogba wanted to go and was kept so that excuse doesn’t wash I’m afraid. I can see what Ole was trying to do (Smalling is the least comfortable on the ball) but he’s the best defender we had before Maguire, has one of the better fitness records and probably would have been a better fit for Maguire. You can argue it was a mistake by Ole to prioritise the other defenders we have over him.

Pogba is a special case, his value (in terms of money and football) is way much more important than Smalling. You cannot really compare the two so yeah our club was dumb to loan Smalling when Maguire wasn't much better, when Lindelof was definitely not better.

 

[tjb]

Tuanzebe is good, but he was definitely not ready yet to be part of the back 2, a loan where he could play week in week out would have done him world of good. Again you are not getting the point, Koulibaly or anyone, point is we do need a CB, if Maguire is out for several weeks.

PSG was serious about acquiring Pogba, had we shown willingness to sell I am sure more clubs would have come up with concrete offers.
The kind of contract we threw at deGea should only be reserved for proven goal scorers who can bang in 25 30 goals a season or to a marketable superstar like Pogba.

They were willing to buy, but at what price. Pogba's value despite the inflation we saw with Dembele and Couthinho still remains the same. Everybody knows about his weaknesses and the the things he brings with him. His impact on a team is clearly not enough to make him a must buy and the gymnastics teams would have to do to fit him in the team make him a difficult signing to make. United would be looking to sell at a similar price to what Dembele and Griezman were sold, as Pogba is a better player than both. Teams on the other hand see Pogba as a supplement that can prove to be a liability rather than a lead focus, its the reason why Ozil is still at Arsenal. Demand isn't high enough for the value we demand, as Pogba is not as effective as we thought he would be when we paid his price. Only a few clubs can afford him, and the clubs who have that money would still have to put a major dent in their finances ( players possibly too) to be able to get him from us. Real may as they start to prepare for the end of Kroos and Modric ( even though they would rather have Eriksen), Juventus may as he has played well there before but they are not as rich as Real and they already paid massively for Ronaldo and his wages. Pogba is on massive wages at utd, they may not be able to afford him in this way. Pogba's lack of discipline and balance may not be deemed suitable for Barcelona, but given the type of management team they have and the amount of money they have wasted over the last few years and if they can give us Dembele in return this may be one to look at. Finally, PSG has had massive difficulties dealing with their own headcase in Neymar. They both have agents that no club wants to deal with, and the payoff from signing Neymar has not proved as profitable footballwise as they would have hoped. They already have a superstar attraction in Mbappe. The only way I see this move being attractive to them would be if they sold Neymar, they may feel that they have to sign Pogba to keep Mbappe and stay competitive in the champions league. Outside of these teams, the others either do not have the finances to make this happen or rivals to us.

 

[TheReligion]

Seems like no issues with the injury then?

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

A few dodgy moments, worried about his concentration levels.

 

[mu4c_20le]

First time I've seen him get flustered today. Lunged at his opponent twice after getting beaten and got booked the second time.

 

[Bobski]

He is a problem when he is pulled wide and isolated, nothing surprising there.

 

[FootyGirl88]

I think hes fatigued, hes played nearly every game for us.

 

[acnumber9]

I don’t think I’ve seen him do anything great. Even his defensive headers are ones he just about wins and if they drop to a Utd player that’s just a bonus. Average defender, average passer, no threat from set pieces, disorganised defence, lets make him captain.

 

[Stadjer]

Van Dijk had that stat last year that nobody goes past him... Maguire gets passed by an attacker almost every game.

Pulled wide and outsprinted or not turning quick enough. I wish he was a bit more of an athlete. Just a little bit more agility.

 

[GDaly95]

His presence in the box on crosses is really valuable and its something we didn't have last season.

He does have faults but I think people are taking the above for granted.

 

[A-man]

I think hes fatigued, hes played nearly every game for us.

I agree, he must rest a match or two.

 

[LJJT]

Think he played really well today to and last few games he’s getting a bit of consistency now I think. He takes charge and is a leader.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Van Dijk had that stat last year that nobody goes past him... Maguire gets passed by an attacker almost every game.

Pulled wide and outsprinted or not turning quick enough. I wish he was a bit more of an athlete. Just a little bit more agility.

Its a useless stat because centre backs rarely get dribbled. This season Lindelof is the only CB in the Premier not to get dribbled, who cares? Maguire has been dribbled 0.2 times per game, so once every five games. Incidently the same amount of times as VVD, Toby, Ake, Mina and Tomkins . Tyrone Mings been dribbled 0.1 times a game.

 

[Bobski]

Its a useless stat because centre backs rarely get dribbled. This season Lindelof is the only CB in the Premier not to get dribbled, who cares? Maguire has been dribbled 0.2 times per game, so once every five games. Incidently the same amount of times as VVD, Toby and Ake. Tyrone Mings been dribbled 0.1 times a game.

Yes, one of the reasons why using metrics like tackles made is not that useful when measuring CB's. You don't want them making a lot of tackles, DM's and full backs yes, a more important attribute but reading of the play, interceptions/blocks, much more important at CB, don't commit unless it is last choice.

 

[Stadjer]

Its a useless stat because centre backs rarely get dribbled. This season Lindelof is the only CB in the Premier not to get dribbled, who cares? Maguire has been dribbled 0.2 times per game, so once every five games. Incidently the same amount of times as VVD, Toby, Ake, Mina and Tomkins . Tyrone Mings been dribbled 0.1 times a game.

I guess it is calculated a bit weird. Todays game he was passed by multiple Wolves players. Jiminez did it when Maguire got a yellow and Neto got passed him too.

It also doesnt help that Maguire looks so, for the lack of a better word,... "Phil Jones-y" at times? His running just doesnt look good at all.

 

[Amar__]

Its a useless stat because centre backs rarely get dribbled. This season Lindelof is the only CB in the Premier not to get dribbled, who cares? Maguire has been dribbled 0.2 times per game, so once every five games. Incidently the same amount of times as VVD, Toby, Ake, Mina and Tomkins . Tyrone Mings been dribbled 0.1 times a game.

Do they show how much behind the ball he stays once he is dribbled past, or even when he is not dribbled by, but just got past by an opposition player?

He literally stays like a tank in his position once the opponent outsmarts him whether by dribbling past him, or passing it to another player once he is near him, and after that Maguire is nowhere to be seen because his recovery pace is criminal, which is ridiculous for a modern team CB/modern CB in general. Even Lindelof is better in one on one situations and he is what you call slow and weak defender.

The likes of van Dijk(or even Smalling and Jones type defenders)even when outsmarted they get back to their position pretty quickly, but Maguire is terrible at it mostly because of his lack of pace, which he doesn't compensate with intelligent positioning either.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

I guess it is calculated a bit weird. Todays game he was passed by multiple Wolves players. Jiminez did it when Maguire got a yellow and Neto got passed him too.

It also doesnt help that Maguire looks so, for the lack of a better word,... "Phil Jones-y" at times? His running just doesnt look good at all.

It’s called confirmation bias, you have a preconceived idea that he gets dribbled a lot so when it does happen in a game you project as a general theme. How many times have you been in this thread previously complaining about him getting dribbled?

 

[Irwin99]

Apart from the yellow card challenge he did pretty well. I think Fred and Matic played decent games but Wolves have a lot of players that can run into that space and it was tricky for Maguire and Lindelof having to cope with that but they both coped well enough.

 

[Stadjer]

It’s called confirmation bias, you have a preconceived idea that he gets dribbled a lot so when it does happen in a game you project as a general theme. How many times have you been in this thread previously complaining about him getting dribbled?

No it is not. Jimenez got past him at the sideline. The only reason he didnt go totally past him is because Maguire totally mistimed a tackle, totally missed the ball and hit Jimenez who fell down after he got passed him. Maguire got a yellow card for that. I guess in the stats it wont count a "going past someone".

The moment in the box with Williams. I believe that was Maguire. Williams saved Maguire there.

Just before the goal it was well defended by Maguire with a good forward pass. It isnt like he cant defend or is a horrible player but he most certainly isnt a perfect centre back.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

I agree, he must rest a match or two.

That is why it is crazy he didn't get the rest against Norwich.
It made perfect sense given that it is the easiest fixture we got all year in the league. I guess we might get easier future Fa cup draws.

 

[A-man]

Its a useless stat because centre backs rarely get dribbled. This season Lindelof is the only CB in the Premier not to get dribbled, who cares? Maguire has been dribbled 0.2 times per game, so once every five games. Incidently the same amount of times as VVD, Toby, Ake, Mina and Tomkins . Tyrone Mings been dribbled 0.1 times a game.

I think the stat is a bit weird defined as well. You have to attempt a tackle to be able to be dribbled. But maybe I misunderstood it.

That is why it is crazy he didn't get the rest against Norwich.
It made perfect sense given that it is the easiest fixture we got all year in the league. I guess we might get easier future Fa cup draws.

I agree and it is very worrying that all CBs are either injured or not trusted by Ole to play PL matches.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

Decent performance. Think he should have done better in some situation and hoped for some better passing. Lindelöf the better player in that regard.
Not fully sure about his fitness now. Could rest him against Burnley I guess, but that game should suit him well with all the long balls they play.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

No it is not. Jimenez got past him at the sideline. The only reason he didnt go totally past him is because Maguire totally mistimed a tackle, totally missed the ball and hit Jimenez who fell down after he got passed him. Maguire got a yellow card for that. I guess in the stats it wont count a "going past someone".

The moment in the box with Williams. I believe that was Maguire. Williams saved Maguire there.

Just before the goal it was well defended by Maguire with a good forward pass. It isnt like he cant defend or is a horrible player but he most certainly isnt a perfect centre back.

Not sure what you’re on about. I said he got dribbled in this game. I used his stats in the PL this season because it’s a much larger sample to highlight that in general he gets dribbled very rarely, among the lowest in the PL, although centre backs rarely get dribbled anyway.

VVD‘s default move is to foul his man when they get a run on him, are you really saying that this is so shocking? Did you ever watch Vidic play?

 

[Port Vale Devil]

Van Dijk had that stat last year that nobody goes past him... Maguire gets passed by an attacker almost every game.

Pulled wide and outsprinted or not turning quick enough. I wish he was a bit more of an athlete. Just a little bit more agility.

Same position and price tag but that is where similarities end.

 

[Devil may care]

Oddly he's came back into form since the recent injury scare, and I thought he was huge for us tonight, commanded the defence and you could see he gave Williams great support.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Mixed bag from Maguire tonight. Made some nice tackles/interceptions, but equally made some questionable decisions off and on the ball, too.

 

[Oldham]

Liked his performance after the injury...

 

[Kostur]

Still waiting for that famous passing of his. With Lindelöf you can at least see he's got it when they play high defence against us, haven't seen any shit like this from Maguire.

 

[Cassidy]

Great on the ball they said... sigh

 

[Bobski]

Great on the ball they said... sigh

He is good running with the ball but his passing ability was always vastly overstated, obvious that he defers to Lindelof when it comes to line breaking passes.He is composed though and will hold the ball under pressure even if it ends up being only a short pass to the nearest man eventually.

 

[MikeKing]

He is really important to our defence, imo. Slow as a brick but I think he is really smart and proactive in his positioning, just that he takes forever to turn his body and adjust so It won't always work. Also hate his pondering on the ball but it hasn't been as bad the last couple of games, and I do think Williams is doing a great job making himself available to him in the build up which helps.

 

[The United]

Great on the ball they said... sigh

He is very decent on the ball. He brings the ball out pretty calmly and often.

His passing though. I don't see anything special.

 

[finneh]

I don’t think I’ve seen him do anything great. Even his defensive headers are ones he just about wins and if they drop to a Utd player that’s just a bonus. Average defender, average passer, no threat from set pieces, disorganised defence, lets make him captain.

Pretty much this. His passing is all over the place, he's constantly out of position (either too deep playing attackers onside, caught upfield or isolated out wide), he's not a particularly great tackler and habitually holds on too the ball far too long, giving the opposition ample time to get back into position.

I wasn't a huge fan of his at Leicester but I've been staggered at just how average he's been. I see nothing in him that you don't see in your garden variety upper mid table defender.

 

[NoPace]

He makes me nervous, which seems like a bad sign in the most expensive defender in history

 

[jackal&hyde]

He is good but i think he needs a bit of a break. To bad we have crap backups and Tuanzebe has been injured.