[Idxomer]

I've jinxed another!

Great work me.

 

[hobbers]

To be fair even with that mistake he's still comfortably twice the player Maguire is.

 

[The Hilton]

Both him and Lindelöf actually missed a few of DCL’s runs in the first time and were bailed by Shaw & once by a few centimeters (although Wan-Bissaka played him onside at least two times and should get his fair shame of the blame). The defending for their first was simply criminal, he had an advantage and had managed to lose it completely and let DCL to get the ball unopposed — all in a space of a few meters (and it’s not Bale he had lost this run to). Him lying on the ground, waiting for a whistle that’ll never come while DCL ran straight towards our goal was also inexcusable. The third goal was poor from the entirety of our defense.

It was a horrible performance, there’s no two ways about it. He’s not alone, obviously — De Gea played a stinker, Lindelöf had managed to avoid most of the goalscoring episodes, which is never a good sign for a player, Wan-Bissaka was great in one on ones but positionally poor... Shaw was great, but that was it. But Maguire was extremely poor — which is a trend; he plays well most of the time, but when his bottom level (and those performances happen quite a few times per season) is simply horrendous.

You're being really harsh with that assessment in my book - the first goal was a great pass and DCL is just quicker than him, but it wasn't at all unopposed, which is why DCL was forced so wide. As for the lying on the floor moment, it was an obvious foul and VAR would have picked up on it. Calling being fouled "inexcusable" is just wild hyperbole. Maguire was no worse than any of our other defenders (bar Shaw, but only because he got an assist). The third goal he was the only player who reacted, the rest stood and watched DCL pick up the ball. I'm not saying it was a vintage performance or anything, but it's irrational to blame him for other players having howlers.

 

[Robbie Boy]

It was that world cup in 2018 where he scored those headers for England, and looked like a decent enough defender. His reputation skyrocketed after that.

Spot on.

 

[Schmeichel's Cartwheel]

Why the feck is he captain? Bruno is clearly the teams leader. What is this side man doing with the armband?

 

[Water Melon]

A slow, reactive defender and a decent header of the ball. Overpriced, not world class, Leicester were his top level. Never a captain, especially when you have a Bruno in your team. This one is on Ole.

 

[Knux]

I can’t stand him as a captain or starter for this club. It was a big big mistake. I hope the club react fast and do something in the summer but I am sure they won’t.

Sell Maguire and Lindelof and recoup some money before it’s too late. Give the captaincy to Bruno and go from there.

 

[lost7]

Maguire can be a good defender. He'll never be a Vidic, but he doesn't need to be. Do we really think Maguire is any worse than Stones? He's not, and yet City's defense has been incredible this year. Why is that? Because next to Stones they have a quality defender.

So, as long as we have a better centre back alongside Maguire, he can do the job for us. Sadly Lindelof is not any better, which is why our defense leaks goals left and right. In the summer it should be a priority to go for a world class defender

 

[Robbie Boy]

He was a mistake but far too many on here won't hear of it and vastly overrate him. He's massively overrated by the British media. I never wanted him and really wish we had of steered clear.

 

[Bwuk]

Maguire can be a good defender. He'll never be a Vidic, but he doesn't need to be. Do we really think Maguire is any worse than Stones? He's not, and yet City's defense has been incredible this year. Why is that? Because next to Stones they have a quality defender.

So, as long as we have a better centre back alongside Maguire, he can do the job for us. Sadly Lindelof is not any better, which is why our defense leaks goals left and right. In the summer it should be a priority to go for a world class defender

He’s the captain who we paid 80m for. He shouldn’t need to be carried.

If I’m a premier league striker, I’d fancy my chances against Maguire and Lindelof. That’s the issue. No-one is worried about playing against them.

 

[Leftback99]

He’s the captain who we paid 80m for. He shouldn’t need to be carried.

If I’m a premier league striker, I’d fancy my chances against Maguire and Lindelof. That’s the issue. No-one is worried about playing against them.

I don't rate Lindelof at all but which PL centre back combo would anyone worry about playing against?

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

Maguire can be a good defender. He'll never be a Vidic, but he doesn't need to be. Do we really think Maguire is any worse than Stones? He's not, and yet City's defense has been incredible this year. Why is that? Because next to Stones they have a quality defender.

So, as long as we have a better centre back alongside Maguire, he can do the job for us. Sadly Lindelof is not any better, which is why our defense leaks goals left and right. In the summer it should be a priority to go for a world class defender

I simply don’t think we should be burdening any new CB signing with the responsibility of having to babysit our captain.

Maguire is a better defender than Stones imo but whilst Stones is hardly the quickest CB, Maguire is so cumbersome in situations that it’s something teams can actively gameplan to attack.

He provides no stability, peak Rio couldn’t make up for ever slow turn or brain fart, like him dropping deep on the last minute free kick.

If we get a better CB he should be removed as captain so he can concentrate on his game; you can’t captain a side & make as many errors as he does - if I’m Lindelof, as poor as he can be, I couldn’t take leadership from Maguire.

 

[jeff gurr]

I can’t stand him as a captain or starter for this club. It was a big big mistake. I hope the club react fast and do something in the summer but I am sure they won’t.

Sell Maguire and Lindelof and recoup some money before it’s too late. Give the captaincy to Bruno and go from there.

The problem now is that he is on massive money that very few teams can afford & the teams that can afford him want a better player.

 

[Adnan]

The issue with him is that he's best suited to playing in a deeper defensive line where he's part of about 6 players who are defending in a unit. The down side to that is the attack will suffer with minimal pass options so we'll end up relying on individual ability to win games or we'll push the fullbacks up which will expose him in the channel.

The new CB will likely control his side of the zone which is probably gonna be on the right. But Maguire will need the assistance of one of the midfielders to occupy the channel when the fullback is caught up field on the left. And that tactical tweak will allow him to play in a team that wants to play a more expansive brand of football.

The issue we have currently is that both starting CBs have the same issues in the channel and we really can't afford to have both CBs being looked after by either the midfielders or the fullbacks if we want to play a more expansive game.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

When people asked me about Jonny Evans. I always say he‘s a good centre back and if the aim to fight for top 4 then he’s good enough but if the aim is to win the league, he’s not good enough. As soon as Rio & Vidic left, he couldn’t step in to fill the boots to be Man United centre back to lead the team to league title challenger. And it’s the same view I have now with Maguire.

Maguire is good if the aim is to fight for top 4 but not good enough to lead us winning major trophies. Just not proven winner, when you are not proven winner means he is not proven to experience it before what you need to do to win trophies. His level is Spurs level which the bottler and to fight for top 4 spot.

He might be one of the reason why we made improvement last season and achieved top 4 last season but at the same time the reason why we won’t win major trophies with him leading the defense because his talent and level is not beyond the top 4. FA Cup, EL, CL vs RB Leipzig and even yesterday against Everton, too many times.

 

[Wheato]

I think we all know what Maguires strengths and weaknesses are, and it's not like we haven't had similar issue's in the past. Vidic couldn't catch Torres, and Stam couldn't get close to Michael Owen. Vidic was counter balanced with the pace of Ferdinand. When Maguire and Lindelof play together against pace, they look really shaky. This is why Bailly makes such a difference. If Eric was playing last night, Everton's first an 3rd goal's wouldn't have happened. This is why he stuck Tuanzabe on, because he didn't want to get caught out in a running race again. Unfortunately, he made a rash challenge, but we should have defended that much better. DDG didn't even come out to block it with any conviction.

 

[Eternitiy]

Maguire can be a good defender. He'll never be a Vidic, but he doesn't need to be. Do we really think Maguire is any worse than Stones? He's not, and yet City's defense has been incredible this year. Why is that? Because next to Stones they have a quality defender.

So, as long as we have a better centre back alongside Maguire, he can do the job for us. Sadly Lindelof is not any better, which is why our defense leaks goals left and right. In the summer it should be a priority to go for a world class defender

He absolutely is. Stones has elite ability on the ball for a central defender. Maguire can look good playing against 10 men when there's no one closing him down, but he has zero pace and is clumsy on the ball when pressured.

I don't believe Maguire our biggest problem, I think he's adequate, but long term I don't think he and Lindelof together are the answer like you've said. It also doesn't help that our defence has zero confidence playing ahead of statistically one of the worst keepers in the league, whose communication and bravery is nonexistent.

 

[flappyjay]

Stones has elite ability on the ball for a central defender.

Don't overrate him, he's around the same level on ball as Maguire. Elite level on the ball is bonucci, David Luiz, Ramos

 

[Hammondo]

Maguire can be a good defender. He'll never be a Vidic, but he doesn't need to be. Do we really think Maguire is any worse than Stones? He's not, and yet City's defense has been incredible this year. Why is that? Because next to Stones they have a quality defender.

So, as long as we have a better centre back alongside Maguire, he can do the job for us. Sadly Lindelof is not any better, which is why our defense leaks goals left and right. In the summer it should be a priority to go for a world class defender

Stones is much better just by not being a fridge.

 

[simmee]

The main problem for me is that you can't have a captain that's the most nervous player on the pitch. He's supposed to be the leader but he constantly chokes under pressure.

Solution, imo, is to get a top class LCB in, make Bruno captain and let Maguire and Lindelof fight it out for RCB to start with. Hopefully we'll have a good young CB putting pressure on them, either if it ends up being Tuanzebe or someone else coming through the ranks/being brought in. Easier said than done of course, but the ones in charge should know what a sunk cost is in regard to Maguire...

 

[Kostov]

People being mad that Maguire isn't van Dijk just because someone at the club decided to pay 80m pounds is comedy gold and like clockwork in this thread. Maguire is one of the best CBs in the league, but he is no Rio or Vidic and we need to find that guy and bring him in if we want to challenge for the title. Maguire paired with Lindelof is a mediocre partnership and it will leak out goals in the 95 minute against Everton, nothing to be surprised imo.

 

[Hammondo]

People being mad that Maguire isn't van Dijk just because someone at the club decided to pay 80m pounds is comedy gold and like clockwork in this thread. Maguire is one of the best CBs in the league, but he is no Rio or Vidic and we need to find that guy and bring him in if we want to challenge for the title. Maguire paired with Lindelof is a mediocre partnership and it will leak out goals in the 95 minute against Everton, nothing to be surprised imo.

He's pretty average.

 

[harms]

I think we all know what Maguires strengths and weaknesses are, and it's not like we haven't had similar issue's in the past. Vidic couldn't catch Torres, and Stam couldn't get close to Michael Owen.

The fact that Vidić couldn't catch Torres (and this wasn't a case in every game, that's a bit of a myth) or that Stam couldn't catch Michael Owen (do you seriously suggest that Stam lacks pace?) doesn't mean that Maguire, who is probably the slowest player in the league can be compared to them. Also, both Vidić and Stam were brilliant defenders and Vidić compensated for his relative lack of pace with his positioning and aggressiveness. Same can be said for pretty much every other great slow-ish centre back like Blanc or Hierro. Maguire doesn't have that and a fast partner won't help him out with it.

 

[harms]

Do we really think Maguire is any worse than Stones? He's not, and yet City's defense has been incredible this year. Why is that? Because next to Stones they have a quality defender.

Stones' main issue was always his positioning and decision-making. Ruben Dias is a fantastic defensive organizer, he's very vocal and he constantly tells Stones what to do and where to go — hence why they work so well together (in fact, Pep even refuses to play his best individual CB there in order not to upset the balance). No partner would be able to make Maguire faster or more agile. Different problems, different solutions.

 

[kerryman]

People being mad that Maguire isn't van Dijk just because someone at the club decided to pay 80m pounds is comedy gold and like clockwork in this thread. Maguire is one of the best CBs in the league, but he is no Rio or Vidic and we need to find that guy and bring him in if we want to challenge for the title. Maguire paired with Lindelof is a mediocre partnership and it will leak out goals in the 95 minute against Everton, nothing to be surprised imo.

No he isn't! He may be the best paid CB but nowhere near the best CB in terms of footballing ability. He's too limited to be an elite CB. We got rinsed, I didn't want Utd to buy him even if the price was half of what we paid.
Hull paid 2.5 million for him in 2014 and Leicester paid somewhere between 12 and 17 million in 2017...two years later we paid 80 million!! What did he do to warrant that increase in price?

 

[A-man]

I'm a big fan of Maguire and think he is one of the best CBs in the PL. The way he dominates the air stops so many attacks before they even started. But it is a bit worrying he is so weak when he ends up 1v1 with a speedy forward. That is his huge weakness and unlike some think, it is nothing you can fully compensate with another CB. The other CB would basically need to be close to him all the time, and that CB could never cover for an offensive full back. We can minimise the risk that he gets exposed with a good DM who gets that as an extra task (double pivot also has this advantage and is probably one reason why we use that), but there will always be 1v1 situations unless we want to sit really, really deep.

 

[DanNistelrooy]

People being mad that Maguire isn't van Dijk just because someone at the club decided to pay 80m pounds is comedy gold and like clockwork in this thread. Maguire is one of the best CBs in the league, but he is no Rio or Vidic and we need to find that guy and bring him in if we want to challenge for the title. Maguire paired with Lindelof is a mediocre partnership and it will leak out goals in the 95 minute against Everton, nothing to be surprised imo.

Have avoided the Caf since Saturday because I knew there would be kneejerk nonsense in most threads but I'm glad to see some now talking sense anyway. He's one of the best in the league (despite his obvious weaknesses) and since the Spurs debacle has been solid for most of the season. There's a reason why the top managers in the league (Pep, Jose etc) wanted him when at Leicester.

 

[Anustart89]

People being mad that Maguire isn't van Dijk just because someone at the club decided to pay 80m pounds is comedy gold and like clockwork in this thread. Maguire is one of the best CBs in the league, but he is no Rio or Vidic and we need to find that guy and bring him in if we want to challenge for the title. Maguire paired with Lindelof is a mediocre partnership and it will leak out goals in the 95 minute against Everton, nothing to be surprised imo.

What exactly is Maguire good at when it comes to defending? Disregard the quality of all other CBs in the league (none of which are £80m defenders either) and just tell me what he's good at.

I'll give you that he's good at driving with the ball to get it into midfield quickly and he's good at heading the ball in an unspecified direction, ie defensive headers. That's about it for me. He's slow as an oil tanker, and regularly goes up to put pressure in the back of a man before getting turned. He regularly goes walkabout to the left wing to 'cover for Shaw' and forces his entire defence to shift to compensate for his expeditions (or be blamed for it if they don't, see the Fulham goal). He's not a great organiser of the defence, he sulks when we concede important goals instead of leading by example and encouraging his team-mates. I don't see him instructing them in any meaningful way. He often tries to play an offside trap to avoid getting into a footrace that he'd inevitably lose, but keeps forgetting that he has a right back that can't hold a line, which often leads to chances for the opposition. But that's fine, because nobody will criticise him for doing it, it'll be AWB's fault and everyone will forget who keeps playing the offside trap. I've just noticed it myself to be honest, after being busy slating AWB. Does a captain not try to compensate for the failings of the players he's supposed to lead? Or does he just do his thing and let everyone else take the blame for it?

But he appealed for the penalty against Brighton once! My captain!

Now, his transfer fee is not his fault, but it's a joke that he's considered a great defender and gets no slack from the media just because he's English and he can win a header against a striker. There's no value in the market for English players, and we've been absolutely fleeced for Maguire. To pretend that he's a good/excellent defender on a consistent basis with the amount of flaws and mistakes he has in him is a joke.

It's always the "but he's not the worst in the league" argument that comes out, just like it was "66 points is great because 16 teams didn't get that many" or "10 goals for a striker is fine because no other striker got more than 13". I couldn't give you the names of five centre halves in the PL that I would consider great defenders, so why is "not the worst of an average bunch" equal to "good enough for a team that aspires to win titles"?

 

[passing-wind]

For weeks I've been questioning the deluded loyalty fans have been using to support this player. He's an average Joe, defensively worse then smalling for me, one thing about Chris he hardly ever was exposed just extremely poor in possession. Maguire cannot play in a highline defence so when other areas of our team begin to strengthen his weaknesses will shine like the glare from the sun. There's two outcomes regarding Maguires development either we sign a defender who's so astute that they cover Maguires weaknesses while being competent in their own responsibilities or when this squad hits its ceiling (in terms of players signed in other positions) he will eventually be replaced. Too many defensive frailties and mistakes in his craft.

 

[Kostov]

No he isn't! He may be the best paid CB but nowhere near the best CB in terms of footballing ability. He's too limited to be an elite CB. We got rinsed, I didn't want Utd to buy him even if the price was half of what we paid.
Hull paid 2.5 million for him in 2014 and Leicester paid somewhere between 12 and 17 million in 2017...two years later we paid 80 million!! What did he do to warrant that increase in price?

He really is, when you cool out a bit, maybe you will talk sense and see beyond that 95th minute equalizer that Maguire as captain and leader failed to stop. Why we paid 80m for him is a question for the morons that make the decisions I agree it was absolute madness, but Maguire has nothing to do with that.

 

[padzilla]

Would Maguire get a game for other top European clubs - it's debatable and that's being generous. Things might improve if we get a proper defensive leader beside him but I don't see us ever eradicating the constant errors when he is seen as the main man at the back.

 

[kerryman]

He really is, when you cool out a bit, maybe you will talk sense and see beyond that 95th minute equalizer that Maguire as captain and leader failed to stop. Why we paid 80m for him is a question for the morons that make the decisions I agree it was absolute madness, but Maguire has nothing to do with that.

No he's really not! I'm not just judging him on yesterday's game either. If he was on the market now what top PL club or European club would want him for their team? None I'm guessing. Our defence isn't any better after forking out 80 million for him and 50 million for AWB. We've conceded 30 goals in 23 games, worst in the top half of the table!

 

[Hawks2008]

People being mad that Maguire isn't van Dijk just because someone at the club decided to pay 80m pounds is comedy gold and like clockwork in this thread. Maguire is one of the best CBs in the league, but he is no Rio or Vidic and we need to find that guy and bring him in if we want to challenge for the title. Maguire paired with Lindelof is a mediocre partnership and it will leak out goals in the 95 minute against Everton, nothing to be surprised imo.

If he's one of the best CBs in the league like you say then shouldn't we hold him to that standard? He's the £80m Manchester United captain, expectations are going to be high.

That we need to bring another CB just babysit the £80m Manchester United captain who is 'one of the best in the league' speaks volumes about his actual level.

 

[Kostov]

What exactly is Maguire good at when it comes to defending? Disregard the quality of all other CBs in the league (none of which are £80m defenders either) and just tell me what he's good at.

He is one of the best CBs in the air, he is very good and aggressive ball winner on the ground, good tackler and reader of the game.

I'll give you that he's good at driving with the ball to get it into midfield quickly and he's good at heading the ball in an unspecified direction, ie defensive headers. That's about it for me. He's slow as an oil tanker, and regularly goes up to put pressure in the back of a man before getting turned. He regularly goes walkabout to the left wing to 'cover for Shaw' and forces his entire defence to shift to compensate for his expeditions (or be blamed for it if they don't, see the Fulham goal). He's not a great organiser of the defence, he sulks when we concede important goals instead of leading by example and encouraging his team-mates. I don't see him instructing them in any meaningful way. He often tries to play an offside trap to avoid getting into a footrace that he'd inevitably lose, but keeps forgetting that he has a right back that can't hold a line, which often leads to chances for the opposition. But that's fine, because nobody will criticise him for doing it, it'll be AWB's fault and everyone will forget who keeps playing the offside trap. I've just noticed it myself to be honest, after being busy slating AWB. Does a captain not try to compensate for the failings of the players he's supposed to lead? Or does he just do his thing and let everyone else take the blame for it?

Is it Maguire's fault that a pro RB can't seem to grasp how an offside trap is to be made? And all you mentioned is him not being good enough captain or leader, which is absolutely fine, since he doesn't seem to be any sort of leader, and him being slow, not the biggest crime in the world is it? He doesn't organize and control his defense and that's the biggest problem with him.

But he appealed for the penalty against Brighton once! My captain!

Now, his transfer fee is not his fault, but it's a joke that he's considered a great defender and gets no slack from the media just because he's English and he can win a header against a striker. There's no value in the market for English players, and we've been absolutely fleeced for Maguire. To pretend that he's a good/excellent defender on a consistent basis with the amount of flaws and mistakes he has in him is a joke.

Now he really shouldn't be captain and it's best to be freed from that burden, but that last paragraph is bollocks. Just because he can win a header against a striker? Watch us play and maybe give a bit or retrospective view of where our defense was without him, and compare him to other CB options across the league. The guy is clearly a very very good CB, that is yes ENGLISH and paid 80m, the english media will obviously have bias towards their own players but the guys is getting crucified for every fecking goal we concede.

 

[red4ever 79]

If he's one of the best CBs in the league like you say then shouldn't we hold him to that standard? He's the £80m Manchester United captain, expectations are going to be high.

That we need to bring another CB just babysit the £80m Manchester United captain who is 'one of the best in the league' speaks volumes about his actual level.

Mings from Villa is better which says it all. Maguire wouldnt even get in a top 10 of Man Utd CB's and considering he cost 80m is crazy

 

[bsCallout]

I can’t stand him as a captain or starter for this club. It was a big big mistake. I hope the club react fast and do something in the summer but I am sure they won’t.

Sell Maguire and Lindelof and recoup some money before it’s too late. Give the captaincy to Bruno and go from there.

You not seen how hard it is to get one good CB? Let alone two at once. That would set us back 3 years.

 

[bsCallout]

Mings from Villa is better which says it all. Maguire wouldnt even get in a top 10 of Man Utd CB's and considering he cost 80m is crazy

Mings is not better than Maguire and it's not even close.

 

[bsCallout]

If he's one of the best CBs in the league like you say then shouldn't we hold him to that standard? He's the £80m Manchester United captain, expectations are going to be high.

That we need to bring another CB just babysit the £80m Manchester United captain who is 'one of the best in the league' speaks volumes about his actual level.

Vidic and Rio needed each other to be dominant. All CBs need a good partner. Maguire and Lindelof just isn't strong enough.

Why do so many of you keep talking about the price as if we can just claim a refund and use that 80m again?

Maguire was overpriced, doesn't mean he shouldn't still be here.

 

[Chabon]

When people asked me about Jonny Evans. I always say he‘s a good centre back and if the aim to fight for top 4 then he’s good enough but if the aim is to win the league, he’s not good enough. As soon as Rio & Vidic left, he couldn’t step in to fill the boots to be Man United centre back to lead the team to league title challenger. And it’s the same view I have now with Maguire.

We got 89 points in successive seasons with Jonny Evans as effectively first choice CB (albeit only because Vidic's knee exploded). Maguire's some distance short of that level, which was already a downgrade on what we'd been used to in preceding seasons. In fact, I feel quite comfortable in saying that if you teleported Harry Maguire (current United captain) into our last title-winning team he'd be fifth choice (maybe even sixth, factoring in SAF's love affair with Phil Jones). Which is the problem, really, isn't it? We've spent hundreds of millions on CBs since Vidic and Ferdinand retired and we still don't have defenders any better than that pair's deputies.

 

[red4ever 79]

Mings is not better than Maguire and it's not even close.

Sorry I meant Tyrone from Corrie is better.