Got to give a special mention to Harry Maguire. He received dog’s abuse a couple of seasons ago. Sure, he has his imperfections, such as speed. But, most players are far from perfect. I always felt it was so harsh, because he was often left hopelessly exposed by the players in front of him giving the ball away carelessly in terrible positions, and carrying several of those players who didn’t work hard. Lost his captaincy as the Club were happy to let him go. He stayed. Not once did he ever moan, he didn’t get his agent to publish any spin, he didn’t give us sob stories as to his sacrifices and how he is entitled to better treatment. He stayed quiet publicly, kept working hard, and has always given his all when he puts the shirt on. I can forgive players for technical weaknesses if they give it their all. He is an absolute true professional.
In last nights game, and the last tie, he has shown his experience. He can be a rock at the back, yet he can go up front and will not shy away from playing an Alan Shearer role. He can even turn into CR7 on the right wing . Casemiro as well, he may not be rapid. But, if all 11 players do their work, he doesn’t need to have great pace because he shouldn’t be left exposed.
For me, Utd have a really good set of centre backs. Lindelof is the only one that worries me. But Maguire, De Ligt, Martinez and Yoro, I really like all of them. And Heaven looked fantastic what little I saw of him.
The biggest problem for me is the attacking players are lacking. Perhaps it is a quality issue, but it is more likely an experience issue. Lots of learner drivers, confidence gets low quickly, too many bad decisions are made. It would be sad to see some of them leave, but they need one or two more experienced players to helps them. At the moment, it is really only Bruno who is that experienced player. He may frustrate, but he is fantastic in that he never shies away. He will always look for the ball and try and make something happen. But, Utd really need 2 or 3 players up there that have that aura about them. That make opponents worry, and lift their team mates just by being on the same side. Then the younger guys can grow and learn from them. I always wonder how things might have been different if Utd dared to try and sign Kane, and he accepted. Just to have another top class player up top alongside Bruno, and give opponents another major concern. Hopefully this summer, Utd can start to make sensible signings, rather than trying to spend extortionate fees on 18 year old players nobody has heard of, but have youtube videos of them doing stepovers in the Estonian league.
