[SirMonteyne]

He was very good last season, he had his confidence to move ball forward and usually he didn't fear to face any players. I think that extra holidays for Shaw and Maguire wasn't good idea. He hasn't monster mentality, I assume he is under tremendous pressure right now and can't recover from it.

 

[DickDastardly]

I hope he remains a third choice CB.

With the amount of ball Ralf want's us to have, and the way we've been playing in the last couple of games - majority of our possession is controlled by our CB's,
it's clear to see that Varane and Lindelof are far better at recycling possession then Maguire is.

He's too slow, his passing is often underhit, and it's quite clear that opposition coaches consider Harry a pressing trigger.

And that itself is a problem. If we are to control games from behind, we're not going to control them with Harry on the field.

Almost every team in the PL uses a high press - especially so when they smell blood. And Maguire is freaking fountain of blood with the ball at his feet.

 

[Lentwood]

Ehm, Bruno? Cavani? Sancho? Varane? Telles?
Maguire and Awb will not be "accepted" because they were awful transfers. Literally we wasted 130 mil on those two.
They are not bad players but they are not good enough for Man Utd (and for any side which want to play attacking football).

Maguire and AWB have borne the brunt of it because they cost large sums of cash and are English. Plus, as fans, we're constantly reminded of what these players cost and what they supposedly can't do. It's a feature of the media revelling in our failure and sensationalising every minor issue to create a 'crisis' because it gets 'engagements'. Nobody gives a rats arse about Telles or Cavani, they're not big stories. They will come for Sancho soon enough, you've already started seeing the rumblings.

I would argue that over the last three seasons, Maguire has probably been one of our best players, all things considered, and yet look at the pages and pages of nonsense that gets written about him.

AWB has featured 99% of the time in a side that has finished 3rd and then 2nd. Yet to read some of the comments on here, he is the worst player to have ever played in the Premier League.

It all boils down to who the media decide to criticise. Most people on here have worse than no clue, so will constantly be left just parroting what they hear on the television.

Case in point, Dalot yesterday. Average at best. Two bad mistakes leading to good chances for the opposition and nothing, absolutely nothing at all going forward in a game we had 70% of the ball. Funny though, that I didn't hear constant references to his supposed flaws. I didn't hear any criticism when he shanked that cross into the stands or when he gave the ball away in dangerous areas twice. Had that been AWB, they would have spent 10-minutes at HT slowing it down, freeze-framing it, telling you all what a terrible player he is. Yet instead, Keown decides, for some bizarre reason, seemingly again to make a point, to give Dalot man of the match.

I'll remind everybody again. Maguire is one of the first names on the team-sheet for a very good England side. Maguire has captained a side to 3rd and 2nd-placed finishes in the last two seasons, a side which has featured AWB the vast, vast majority of the time. If they were half as bad as this forum makes out, how on earth did we manage to achieve that?

 

[Glorio]

Been in a really bad place performance-wise for a minute. Hope he snaps out of it as I reckon we need a settled backline at least in order to be able to make a push for a top 4 spot.

 

[BusbyMalone]

Been in a really bad place performance-wise for a minute. Hope he snaps out of it as I reckon we need a settled backline at least in order to be able to make a push for a top 4 spot.

We can have a settled backline with Lindelof and Varane, though.

 

[crossy1686]

He didn't do anything defensively wrong yesterday when he came on but feck me he put us under some unnecessary pressure by playing long balls back to Brentford defence and ceding possession. It was fecking brainless, all we had to was keep the ball and he was trying to send players into the space when no one was running.

 

[Stacks]

He was brilliant. There were times when he was our best defender and best attacker, running forward and making incisive passes, dragging the whole team forward.

It’s probably true that these performances were the exception rather than the rule. His cumulative mistakes over a long period, mainly when struggling for full fitness (but at other times too) are what people remember and that’s fair enough - we can’t afford to have a cumbersome CB who costs us a lot of chances and goals against.

As for being one of the best CBs in the world, I’m not sure who said that, not me I don’t think. But he is highly rated internationally and gets into UEFA squad of the tournament etc.

He has done some shit things but he is not a shit player. Like I said, getting him back to form won’t be easy.

I agree with much of this. I feel at international level England play a lot with a 3 with the pacey Walker next to him and 2 holding midfielders in front so lots of protection. It works for them.

 

[Ixion]

It's slightly unfair as he only had 20 minutes but his pass completion rate was 38% when he came on, now obviously it would normally be much higher than that but it does suggest we/he were hitting a lot of long balls once he came on.

 

[OrcaFat]

I agree with much of this. I feel at international level England play a lot with a 3 with the pacey Walker next to him and 2 holding midfielders in front so lots of protection. It works for them.

Yeah good point.

Even when he was in form for us, we said he needed someone with pace beside him.

 

[Glorio]

We can have a settled backline with Lindelof and Varane, though.

True... Still 3 performing CBs are better than 2

 

[Foxbatt]

Carlton Palmer played for England too. He certainly now is not a top class defender.

 

[Giggsy13]

Maguire in my view is our 4th choice CB behind Jones now as well. Look you don’t have to be winning the league every season to be a strong United captain, look at Robson who showed up in cup competitions and wore the armband with honour. He won the league title once, but Sir Alex calls him his greatest captain. He didn’t crumble under pressure like Maguire has. It’s pretty clear what we need to do but some of you can’t accept the club has made a massive error in judgment paying a record fee for a very average defender. Packaging Maguire and AWB to the Saudis is the wise move. Recoup some of the fees, eat the loss and go reinvest in another CB. Kounde still fits the bill imo. He’s young, you can live with his mistakes as long as you see long term potential. I see none with Maguire.

 

[OrcaFat]

Maguire in my view is our 4th choice CB behind Jones now as well. Look you don’t have to be winning the league every season to be a strong United captain, look at Robson who showed up in cup competitions and wore the armband with honour. He won the league title once, but Sir Alex calls him his greatest captain. He didn’t crumble under pressure like Maguire has. It’s pretty clear what we need to do but some of you can’t accept the club has made a massive error in judgment paying a record fee for a very average defender. Packaging Maguire and AWB to the Saudis is the wise move. Recoup some of the fees, eat the loss and go reinvest in another CB. Kounde still fits the bill imo. He’s young, you can live with his mistakes as long as you see long term potential. I see none with Maguire.

You’re right, some of us can’t accept all that. Maguire and AWB are not perfect and both have made mistakes and yet are still much better than you think they are. I won’t say no to upgrades of course but CM is the real problem.

 

[charlenefan]

Maguire in my view is our 4th choice CB behind Jones now as well. Look you don’t have to be winning the league every season to be a strong United captain, look at Robson who showed up in cup competitions and wore the armband with honour. He won the league title once, but Sir Alex calls him his greatest captain. He didn’t crumble under pressure like Maguire has. It’s pretty clear what we need to do but some of you can’t accept the club has made a massive error in judgment paying a record fee for a very average defender. Packaging Maguire and AWB to the Saudis is the wise move. Recoup some of the fees, eat the loss and go reinvest in another CB. Kounde still fits the bill imo. He’s young, you can live with his mistakes as long as you see long term potential. I see none with Maguire.

Oh for crying out loud, Jones plays one game in literally 2 years and now he's ahead of Maguire

Fecking hell some of the posts actually hurt my head

 

[Giggsy13]

Oh for crying out loud, Jones plays one game in literally 2 years and now he's ahead of Maguire

Fecking hell some of the posts actually hurt my head

£85 million hurts mine too.

 

[charlenefan]

£85 million hurts mine too.

Was it your money? As that would be the only reason why it should matter to you

 

[Giggsy13]

You’re right, some of us can’t accept all that. Maguire and AWB are not perfect and both have made mistakes and yet are still much better than you think they are. I won’t say no to upgrades of course but CM is the real problem.

Im pretty certain we’ve seen what they are: players who can’t handle the pressure of playing at United. Overpriced English hyped by the English because they’re English. They were the product of a one year transfer policy to buy domestic PL proven players, which abruptly stopped when we were priced out for Maddison and instead went for Bruno. They could’ve done us a favour and went for Bruno and Dias in 2019, we’d be farther ahead.

 

[Redlyn]

Was it your money? As that would be the only reason why it should matter to you

This point is valid if our budget is unlimited.

 

[OrcaFat]

Im pretty certain we’ve seen what they are: players who can’t handle the pressure of playing at United. Overpriced English hyped by the English because they’re English. They were the product of a one year transfer policy to buy domestic PL proven players, which abruptly stopped when we were priced out for Maddison and instead went for Bruno. They could’ve done us a favour and went for Bruno and Dias in 2019, we’d be farther ahead.

Neither is having a good time of it just now but the whole team has been a shambles since September.

I can tell you’ve made up your mind about them but you might as well extend the same amount of hope to them as to anyone else in the team.

It looks like the dust is going to take a while to settle but I’d be surprised if Maguire is not a regular next year. I agree with those who think we need another right back but I still see AWB as being a long term squad player getting plenty of games.

Apologies if that’s depressing!

 

[Giggsy13]

Hoping Newcastle take advantage of the situation and put a cheeky 80m bid in for him. Happy days

Would be incredible.

 

[Giggsy13]

This point is valid if our budget is unlimited.

Bingo.

 

[Acole9]

I'd be quite happy if he's now third choice, probably wishful thinking though.

 

[Giggsy13]

I'd be quite happy if he's now third choice, probably wishful thinking though.

Ralf seems to be favouring a Lindelof and Varane pairing, so I think he’s at least third choice.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

He was brilliant. There were times when he was our best defender and best attacker, running forward and making incisive passes, dragging the whole team forward.

It’s probably true that these performances were the exception rather than the rule. His cumulative mistakes over a long period, mainly when struggling for full fitness (but at other times too) are what people remember and that’s fair enough - we can’t afford to have a cumbersome CB who costs us a lot of chances and goals against.

As for being one of the best CBs in the world, I’m not sure who said that, not me I don’t think. But he is highly rated internationally and gets into UEFA squad of the tournament etc.

He has done some shit things but he is not a shit player. Like I said, getting him back to form won’t be easy.

I never saw these performances you're referring to, and I haven't missed a game.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Oh for crying out loud, Jones plays one game in literally 2 years and now he's ahead of Maguire

Fecking hell some of the posts actually hurt my head

If you can throw in the caveat "if fit", Jones is a much better defender than Maguire, or at least the Jones who used to play for us is better than anything Maguire has shown anywhere. The unknown now is Jones' fitness and ability to stay injury-free. If you could have a fully fit Jones or a fully fit Maguire, you pick Jones.

 

[A-man]

It's slightly unfair as he only had 20 minutes but his pass completion rate was 38% when he came on, now obviously it would normally be much higher than that but it does suggest we/he were hitting a lot of long balls once he came on.

He made 8 passes. 3 succesful and 5 failed. Of the failed 3 were short passes and 2 long balls.
It’s a too small sample to conclude anything.I guess in his situation it’sa combo of being a bit nervous and feeling he has to show something to claim his spot in the starting xi.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

Why would he though? Pisses me off when subs come on and then piss about collecting the armband. It's embarrassing.

Usually, when senior player who's been a club captain for a long time, think Maldini, Zanetti, or Keano, when such player subs in, the player with the armband will hand it over as a sign of respect for a player of that stature, Maguire, who's a club captain as of now, doesn't command such respect, probably will never.

 

[OrcaFat]

I never saw these performances you're referring to, and I haven't missed a game.

If you haven’t missed a game, you did see them! Ah, but you didn’t interpret those games the way I did, I can understand that.

A lot of people just think he’s shit. Not me, I think he’ll turn the corner and form a good partnership with Varane. Time will tell.

 

[Maniron]

I think we need another captain, someone who is a regular starter. It may help relieve a bit of pressure, as he is out of form and looks low on confidence. He should be made to wait until injury or poor performance from others gives him an opportunity to start and reclaim his place on merit.

 

[OrcaFat]

He made 8 passes. 3 succesful and 5 failed. Of the failed 3 were short passes and 2 long balls.
It’s a too small sample to conclude anything.I guess in his situation it’sa combo of being a bit nervous and feeling he has to show something to claim his spot in the starting xi.

Yeah. What he needs to do is get fecking fit. I hope he’s concentrating on that. I don’t know if the long balls might have been an RR instruction as he seems a bit fixated on keeping the ball away from our goal / defensive end of the pitch.

 

[charlenefan]

If you can throw in the caveat "if fit", Jones is a much better defender than Maguire, or at least the Jones who used to play for us is better than anything Maguire has shown anywhere. The unknown now is Jones' fitness and ability to stay injury-free. If you could have a fully fit Jones or a fully fit Maguire, you pick Jones.

he's really not but then I guess the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder is true

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

If you haven’t missed a game, you did see them! Ah, but you didn’t interpret those games the way I did, I can understand that.

A lot of people just think he’s shit. Not me, I think he’ll turn the corner and form a good partnership with Varane. Time will tell.

No, there's a huge chasm between "shit" and "brilliant". I've seen Maguire have some good games. I don't think he's shit. I have never seen him do anything I would call brilliant, but I have seen him do quite a few things that fall under the designation shit. Maguire is a premier league CB, probably somewhere in the middle of the pack. I don't think he's top 10 in the league, and I don't think he's in the bottom 10 either.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

he's really not but then I guess the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder is true

I can't help you, then.

 

[Foxbatt]

he's really not but then I guess the saying absence makes the heart grow fonder is true

The fit Jones who played for SAF was a better player than Maguire has been so far.

 

[Greck]

If you can throw in the caveat "if fit", Jones is a much better defender than Maguire, or at least the Jones who used to play for us is better than anything Maguire has shown anywhere. The unknown now is Jones' fitness and ability to stay injury-free. If you could have a fully fit Jones or a fully fit Maguire, you pick Jones.

True, if Maguire is better than Jones it's not by much. If people don't remember Jones wasn't good enough for us because of the brainfarts but when he wasn't getting his wired crossed he was a very very good defender, just as good.. maybe better than Maguire who by the way is just as prone to calamity, so it's definitely not like whatever he has over Jones in that section is that significant.

One of the most bizarre things I ever saw supporting this the club was how for 1 whole year Maguire's mistakes were blamed on Lindelof because he didn't complement or even hide some very criminal weaknesses. This is a CB who has to take so many tactical fouls because he turns like an oil tanker. The attacker could be barely past him and he'd have to foul. He was just always given a pass for mistakes that were within his control. With accountability always getting shifted to his partner it's no wonder people operate in a warped reality where he's better than he really is.

 

[roonster09]

One of the most bizarre things I ever saw supporting this the club was how for 1 whole year Maguire's mistakes were blamed on Lindelof because he didn't compliment his weaknesses.

'Never happened, I made it up' category.

There will always be few extreme takes at both sides, Lindelof was criticized as he wasn't aggressive and was weak at heading the ball. Maguire was criticized for his own mistakes.

 

[Greck]

'Never happened, I made it up' category.

There will always be few extreme takes at both sides, Lindelof was criticized as he wasn't aggressive and was weak at heading the ball. Maguire was criticized for his own mistakes.

Really? made up? hmm, So conversations about Maguire's lack of pace and intelligence to compensate it were never retorted by just needing a better centerback partner to complement him? Sorry, sounds eerily similar to the same warped sense of reality that has him some juggernaut of a CB. Just thank God Jones is still at the club to make a side by side comparison. I know some would have jumped anyone trying to compare them otherwise.

 

[Doracle]

Hopefully fit again now. We need to see Maguire-Varane consistently playing together and developing an understanding. Once they do that (especially if we can also get Shaw and AWB back consistently as well) then we might actually start to see some defensive solidity.

 

[pratyush_utd]

Hopefully fit again now. We need to see Maguire-Varane consistently playing together and developing an understanding. Once they do that (especially if we can also get Shaw and AWB back consistently as well) then we might actually start to see some defensive solidity.

Have you not been watching this season? Maguire doesn’t deserve to play as first choice whether he is fit or not.

 

[JeffFromHK]

Maguire will never in million years fit a team playing on highline. We need to get rid of him while he is still relatively young and worth something like 30M to 40M.
players like Oshea and wes brown (without injury) were better CB than him, yet the formers were only our rotational players. It says a lot on how much we have degraded.