“Hate” is not my thing but I have serious doubts about Maguire. Maybe the right CB partner could make things right but Harry has major vulnerabilities and it doesn’t take a genius opposition manager to exploit them.
I take your point about Pogba and if he gets Sancho signed up then I agree it’s positive.
I also know that there are no guarantees about Henderson but with keepers, once they start to slide, you have to get rid. They never come back. Harsh on such a club legend but unavoidable if we want to be the best.
Oh, totally with you on DDG. Couple of seasons ago, I compared him with Casillas in terms of how I expected the slide to go and sadly, I was not too far off in saying he'd decline earlier than most keepers, just like San Iker did, since he relies on reflexes and phenomenal shot-stopping to overcome other shortcomings. Such keepers, more than others like Big Pete and VDS, tend to decline at ages seen more with outfield and forward players who also rely on pace and reflexes. That said, he's not yet gone off the cliff, isn't as old as Iker was when he did go into terminal decline and is on insane wages (nobody will buy him).
As such, if we feel Henderson won't be a dramatic upgrade and - more importantly - feel Kovar may be the better long-term (2 years, for example) option, I can easily see Ole paying DDG back by retaining faith in him for another season at least. For the record, I don't buy into the whole "He stood by us when we were crap, so we owe it to him to just keep him" spiel. I am also (I know it well) in the minority that do feel that DDG's errors this season are a large part of our being outside the Top 4 as things stand. I'd however like us to nail the replacement. Should not go half-cock and find ourselves worse off. If we are in the least bit concerned about whether Henderson would be an improvement and / or whether he is ready yet to handle the role and all that comes with it, I'd rather stick with the known devil and hope he can pull out his best for one more season.
On Maguire - I'd argue that each CB has vulnerabilities. Even Rio and Vidic had them and so does Koulibaly. None is perfect. So the key is to find the right partnership in which the two cover for each other's deficiencies. Between Maguire and Lindelof, I would pick Maguire every day of the week. That leaves us to cover his inadequacies which are primarily around speed and pace of recovery (turning) when possession is turned over. That's why I said I'd rather get a partner for Maguire than bin Maguire. Lindelof isn't "great" or even "among the best" at any single aspect of being a CB. Harry is.
PS: In terms of keepers that came back after being completely written off, well, there is van der Sar!
