As admirable as it is he shouldn’t be playing in every single game in a row for 2 seasons. That’s Oles main shortcoming for me. He’s over reliant on certain players no matter how they look or are playing. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he brought Rashford on again last night to basically jog around. He’s his own worst enemy when it comes to this kind of thing because it basically becomes a vicious circle. Playing bad or tired- must still play- squad goes stale and looks very poor because they aren’t getting enough rotation minutes - so the same players must play in every game regardless of form and fitness.
Harry Maguire becomes first United outfield player to play every league minute for 25 years
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
It's cus outside our first 13 or so players, our squads a bit shit/untrustworthy.
Most squad players aren’t going to be able to take their chance in the very odd match when they are thrown into a much changed lineup without any match fitness to speak of. It’s preseason almost. No wonder they always look lost when they do get to play- 0 chemistry. When you have a player in front of you that starts every single game like a robot and the manager is never going to rotate or rest him I’d say that’s not sending a strong message to the squad players that you can get into this team if others drop off or even get tired. What happens if we make more signings? The squad players know they are even less likely to get any kind of a run then. Currently the only way they are getting any decent body of minutes is going to be through major injury. He needs to be much more organic with his rotation. Bruno was poor there for a few months. Start taking him off at 60 minutes or dropping him to the bench the odd game. Same with Rashford. Take a risk. The only thing Ole is doing is actually reinforcing that’s it’s ok if you are half fit or not playing well, your spot is still totally safe. It’s crazy to me. Yes the squad isn’t perfect but if I was the owners I’d be thinking twice about buying Ole “squad players” from now on because he simply doesn’t use them. Maybe he’s trying to send a message to the owners he wants better.
It's OFFSIDE!!!
It's just great to not be relying on CBs with a permanent sicknote.
What a load of rubbish, having a CB start every game makes it easier to rotate or sub others, if you go back to before Maguire all our defenders were injury prone. We can finally enjoy not having to worry about that position.
You bashing Ole for the sake of it I'm afraid. If you've seen any of our games you should see why each player starts, our squad players aren't great.
Telles and Williams proved that last night.
So you think he should never rotate despite having a few quite expensive and very well paid international players sitting on the bench at any one time? I’m not saying play all the squad players together Matthew. I’m saying rotate organically. Take Maguire Bruno AWB or Rashford out for one or two more games a season than he has been or substitute on the squad players a bit more to get fitness and chemistry. It’s not rocket science. Best of luck with promotion!
Last edited:
25 years? thats mental
Maguire drinks his milk.
I agree. I think Ole has become even more resistant to alternate players this season. There are several promising youngsters who hardly got any minutes at all.
It might do Maguire well to rest sometimes and can develop other players. We managed to win away against PSG without him so he’s not irreplaceable.
We could be on here this time next year saying Maguire played in 99.9% of the games across 3 seasons. Yes he’s a very important player but that’s martyr territory. That’s what a squad is for.
Some players are capable of it though. Lampard started 164 Premier League games in a row for Chelsea. Maguire is a loooong way from that.
Martyr terrority? Now its painted as a negative to have a reliable always fit centre back? I'm lost.
He's been playing for 25 years? No wonder his pace is gone
Throw-in..
No but surely the odd rest would boost performance even more. I’m only talking about a few games less a season.
In a normal season, spread out, like it used to be, a defender playing every league game really is doable. Its not a massive deal or a negative to me.
why wouldn't your first choice CB play every league game? It's not a position you rotate if you can help it
That voice
Will miss it when the fans come back
Because ideally you don’t want to bringing someone like Tuanzebe into a game like PSG with 0 minutes under his belt and very few since. Spreading the minutes around a little means fringe players are more prepared for their chance if anyone gets injured or suspended. It’s also the only way to grow the squad players value in a shop window scenario. If they aren’t ever going to play unless of injury and suspension I would imagine the better squad players not wanting to stick around for multiple seasons of that.
Doesn't seem to have effected him, only seems to get better to me.
Whenever Tuanzebe did play, outside of that one game, he was a total disaster. Of course rotation is good but sometimes it just isn't possible. Ole's main job is to get results and if he feels that playing Bruno and Maguire in the majority of games is required, so be it.
Yeah sure it's because Maguire's played every game that Tuanzebe hasn't had any minutes, not like CB isn't a multi person position or anything is it
Yeah sure it's because Maguire's played every game that Tuanzebe hasn't had any minutes, not like CB isn't a multi person position or anything is it
I would say one player playing in every single game would affect rotation, yes?
How often does VVD get rested? Go back in the past, how about John Terry? Rio? Vidic? To my memory, they weren't, maybe I'm totally wrong, but not in the league, very rarely, perhaps the very odd game. You don't rest your prime and best CB.
Sshh Maguire's the reason why Tuanzebe can't get a game
Wont someone think of the damn kids
he might not be good enough but if we’d 11 Maguire's for arguments sake how will we ever judge the fringe players? What incentive is there for them to kick on when the position is 100% locked down barring major injury. It’s supposed to be a squad game. It’s no coincidence that 3 of the top 5 players for minutes played in the PL are Maguire Bruno and AWB and we’ve looked leggy and short of ideas in too many games.Sshh Maguire's the reason why Tuanzebe can't get a game
Wont someone think of the damn kids
Well if we had 11 Maguires we would probably do the quadruple so I would be fine with not worrying about the fringe players.
I guess my point about CB being a multi player position has been completely missed by you hasn't it
I misread this and thought Harry had played for 25 years! Sometimes his "pace" makes it look that way
Funny it's been painted like a negative thing. For a start he can handle it cause he's been better and better and is hardly ever injured. After all those problems with cb injuries last few years it's great to have such a reliable cb.
Maguire playing all the time doesn't ruin young players and Ole isn't rotating any worse or better than other managers. If he's so bad at it maybe there's a star to back it up?
Maguire playing all the time doesn't ruin young players and Ole isn't rotating any worse or better than other managers. If he's so bad at it maybe there's a star to back it up?
You're right, but it's Ole so people are understandably more defensive.
I imagine if it was Mourinho overplaying first team players like this, the sentiment would be different.
Last edited:
Players are all built differently, he happens to be the type that doesn't have problems with muscle injuries, probably partly due to the fact he isn't the most dynmanic of players but is very solid.
Some players need to play more than others and can handle/prefer the extra games.
Some players need to play more than others and can handle/prefer the extra games.
Exactly. CB is not the position where you rotate, this is something we complained for years, that we don't have reliable CB pairing. For the first time in years we have 2 fit CBs, so they will play all league games.
I didn’t think so? You’re saying there are other spots beyond Maguires for players to come into and I got that. I was saying what if we had 11 Maguires who were never ever dropped and very rarely got injured but their energy levels and performances peaked and dropped like any other player in the meantime. We should have our squad players believing they are important and always pretty close to getting a game here, keeping them on their toes and by the same token the first team shouldn’t ever feel undroppable. Never playing breeds complacency and I would imagine always playing would have a similar effect. I’m not against Maguire at all I appreciate his role in our improvement but the squad needs more opportunities.
So your argument is completely fictional then, at least you're honest
But do you not see that it’s an unusual situation to have 0 rotation in several particular positions. That’s what I’m saying. Multiply it by 11 and it’s actually a major problem and not a blessing. Yes you don’t rotate your centre backs all that much but a few games here and there wouldn’t hurt at all. It’s more than Maguire just being fit for every game, it’s a quirk with the managerSo your argument is completely fictional then, at least you're honest
You genuinely can't have any discussion on here right now without posters relentlessly getting defensive and being a bit dickish.
Things like using your squad is just general discussion elsewhere but now it's a challenge to Ole