Tuanzebe is not ready to be the in the starting team every week , a rotation between him Maguire Lindelof and one of Jones Or Smalling would be about right Imo over all the Europa , Cups , and League . Ease him in over the year and maybe the following year partner Maguire in the starting 11
What if we get Maguire? (not so much if anymore)
- Thread starter simplyared
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
I think we have a large Maguire shaped hole in our defence.
Since all our cb's apart from Rojo prefers playing on the right side, we need a player that is comfortable playing on the left.
We need a cb that can play 10 games in a row without picking up injuries or red cards, to get some continuity and stabilty going. Can't remember when we last had that?
We need a cb that is strong in the air.
We need a cb that can handle the ball under a bit of pressure without panicking.
We need a cb with some experience and at least a hint of leadership qualities.
Maguire turns like an oil tanker and that is a concern but i doubt we can find another cb that ticks so many boxes.
Since all our cb's apart from Rojo prefers playing on the right side, we need a player that is comfortable playing on the left.
We need a cb that can play 10 games in a row without picking up injuries or red cards, to get some continuity and stabilty going. Can't remember when we last had that?
We need a cb that is strong in the air.
We need a cb that can handle the ball under a bit of pressure without panicking.
We need a cb with some experience and at least a hint of leadership qualities.
Maguire turns like an oil tanker and that is a concern but i doubt we can find another cb that ticks so many boxes.
Could be a very good signing. I've been skeptical but if he's as dominant in the air and good on the ball as people say, then may just be a big hit.
Not saying he wasn't, but nobody was throwing around the word "world class" until this year with Liverpool. In fact, there were a lot of people laughing at how much they paid for him...
????Oh, I didn't realise we were signing VVD, that's great then!
I believe then top 4 is probably guaranteed.
Fair enough I 100% was just highlighting that he could put in a class performance before he went to Liverpool. That game where he shone against Barca was one of the few I saw of him before he went to Liverpool and I can't speak for anybody else's view whether they thought he was World Class or not prior yo transferring to the Scousers. I can relate to your point in bold completely, although not laughing about it I though they had massively over paid on a transfer which now seems like a bargain
I like him but at the over-priced fee Leicester have placed on his head because quite rightly they want to keep him, no. He would be excellent in some ways, he's a leader, he will give his all, he plays for England, etc, but I question his mobility.
I think he is too vulnerable to certain types of attacking plays although he is great at heading and can attack. Take him out of his comfort zone, however, and he lacks mobility.
Surely United can come up with a better, cheaper target - we should be looking at Europe where some clubs not part of the big names have great defenders who are also quick and have experience in European Cup/Europa League games.
McGuire is worth about 50 million max. We could get a fairly experienced European club defender under 30 for less than 35 million pounds.
I think he is too vulnerable to certain types of attacking plays although he is great at heading and can attack. Take him out of his comfort zone, however, and he lacks mobility.
Surely United can come up with a better, cheaper target - we should be looking at Europe where some clubs not part of the big names have great defenders who are also quick and have experience in European Cup/Europa League games.
McGuire is worth about 50 million max. We could get a fairly experienced European club defender under 30 for less than 35 million pounds.
I don't think he's the next Rio, but he's better than what we've and if he's the only one the club thinks they can sign then go for it. People are worried about the money, but that's up for the board to decide, if he's our only option and he might make the difference between stopping a couple of goals which would slide us out of the top 4 then he's worth every penny I'm sure. If the alternative is we keep the money but we look as hopeless defensively as some parts of last season then I think it's a no brainer.
I think having him and AWB is simply making us more solid at the back, I think defensively they could change us completely even if Maguire isn't the best in the league, as a whole I'm sure he's going to improve us even if its not a full on revolution.
If we want to play attacking football you need to know your guys at the back aren't going to act like the chuckle brothers when they're broke against.
I think having him and AWB is simply making us more solid at the back, I think defensively they could change us completely even if Maguire isn't the best in the league, as a whole I'm sure he's going to improve us even if its not a full on revolution.
If we want to play attacking football you need to know your guys at the back aren't going to act like the chuckle brothers when they're broke against.
He would definitely improve us, not a 80m player but better than anyone we have, Maguire, Shaw, Lindelof and AWB should be up there as one of the best defensive units in the league.
He would dramatically improve us.
He would instantly be the best centre back in our squad both defensively and offensively. He seems to have a very good personality off the pitch too, I think our fans would instantly take to him.
He's still young and we would effectively secure us a top premier league CB for the next 5 years. Something we've been looking for for about 5-6 years....
Enough of this Jones, Rojo, Blind, Smalling, Darmian, Young, Valencia, Bailey sh!te where we basically play whoever is fit. We could actually have a solid back 4 that play 40+ games together next season.
This in turn will benefit De Gea who looks likely to remain with us another 5+ years.
He would instantly be the best centre back in our squad both defensively and offensively. He seems to have a very good personality off the pitch too, I think our fans would instantly take to him.
He's still young and we would effectively secure us a top premier league CB for the next 5 years. Something we've been looking for for about 5-6 years....
Enough of this Jones, Rojo, Blind, Smalling, Darmian, Young, Valencia, Bailey sh!te where we basically play whoever is fit. We could actually have a solid back 4 that play 40+ games together next season.
This in turn will benefit De Gea who looks likely to remain with us another 5+ years.
If we get him I'd pair him up with Smalling as our no.1 CB duo. Best by a mile!
Unless people were living in caves, everyone knew how good VVD was before joining Liverpool. His transfer fee was a record for a CB though, but everyone knew it was worth it imo, I don't recall that many people laughing at the fee.Fair enough I 100% was just highlighting that he could put in a class performance before he went to Liverpool. That game where he shone against Barca was one of the few I saw of him before he went to Liverpool and I can't speak for anybody else's view whether they thought he was World Class or not prior yo transferring to the Scousers. I can relate to your point in bold completely, although not laughing about it I though they had massively over paid on a transfer which now seems like a bargain
If we sign Maguire - can we finally sell Jones/Smalling & Rojo!?
I didn't hear about anybody laughing either. I think anybody who watched that Barca game could see he had the potential to be top class. Can't think why we never went for him at Celtic after Stam gave such a high appraisal of him? I would think that a player who is held so high here's opinion would have been taken into account especially when he is talking about a player who played in his position.
I don't know if it was just media garbage, but I saw his name being linked to us several times before he went to Liverpool. Maybe it was Ed thinking he knows better (as usual) and decided VVD isn't worth the money..
Summed it up perfectly
I think Maguire is solid, not great, and hate the trope of United being forced to overpay by everyone (or underpaid by others when we sell) that fills most media reports, but recently I've come to the view that costs no longer really matter. Since it's all money that ultimately enables the Glazers to turn a profit, better to spend it where it matters or see it siphoned off to 'service the dept' or payout annual profit to the owners. It's an indictment of the sport but it's where we are right now. I imagine Maguire improves us a bit in a key area so unless someone has another option now (Toby as a short term?) then might as well bite the bullet and let the Glazers worry about the costs. Be it $70m or $90m, the fee is not what's most important anymore, it's the end result in the team's performance that matters.
I was unaware of our potential links before he went to Liverpool. Thanks for sharing this information. I totally agree with the part in bold as that is what I have been saying for quite a while. It's think's it time Woody listened to people who know more about football than him.
Yes VVD and Alison have improved Liverpool a lot but I think the whole team improving is not up to them ,Liverpool improved as a whole ,there work rate and style improved dramatically many people forget all the scares Liverpool bluffed there way out towards the second half of the season.
I think Maguire and AWB with DDG signing a new contract will improve us massively but it's up to the team to do there bit aswell like actually score.
DDG
AWB LINDELOF MAGUIRE SHAW
a very good defence don't you guys think?
I think Maguire and AWB with DDG signing a new contract will improve us massively but it's up to the team to do there bit aswell like actually score.
DDG
AWB LINDELOF MAGUIRE SHAW
a very good defence don't you guys think?
Last edited:
Like Bailly, Rojo and Lindelof? We've already tried cheaper (more mobile) options from the continent and even though I think Lindelof is a solid centre back now it took him 12 months to settle down - how about we do what Liverpool did and finally sort out our defensive problems properly instead of gambling on lesser known quantities? Maguire ticks pretty much all the boxes other and I feel his lack of pace is being a bit overblown (plus with Shaw, Lindelof and AWB we should have plenty of pace around him). We need a leader in defense and he is one - look at the captaincy thread, it's difficult to find a proper candidate whereas I can see Maguire making a great one. We need someone who can help play from the back and remain calm. We need someone to make us less vulnerable from crosses (the likes of Koulibaly won't) + we have the added bonus of actually threatening from corners (assuming Rashford et al aren't hitting the first man). He's used to playing a high-line and he is in his prime so personally I don't care how much it costs, I want us to fully back Ole.
A agree with your post but big pet peeve of mine is people that get central defensive sides wrong. Maguire would play on the left.
Impact will be minimal when our midfield and attack is disjointed, doesn't move properly, struggles to pass and can't finish.
He'll contribute to a better system if we improve more positions.
He'll contribute to a better system if we improve more positions.
Last edited:
My Bad I get defensive sides wrong and I also drive on wrong side of the road sometimes.
So many think that Maguire will solve our issues from playing from the back but, just don't buy that. Yes, Maguire is good with the ball at his feet but, our ability of playing out the back does not stem from deficiencies of our center backs. So much of it is due to the overall team and how good we are with moving the ball when under pressure, the movement of the forward players and midfielders. Even DDG play from the back is not that stellar, which is something any team that needs when they hope to play out from the back.
Maguire is not going to be the magic bullet to us playing out the back - that will only happen if OGS actually spends countless hours having everyone work towards it. Right now though it seems like his goal is to be a more pressing team and be more direct once we win it, and not necessarily build out the back.
Not saying his ability on the ball won't help, it will but, not to the degree where it will be transformative.
Maguire is not going to be the magic bullet to us playing out the back - that will only happen if OGS actually spends countless hours having everyone work towards it. Right now though it seems like his goal is to be a more pressing team and be more direct once we win it, and not necessarily build out the back.
Not saying his ability on the ball won't help, it will but, not to the degree where it will be transformative.
I believe that the problem is not the defense. Our midfield in the last few years have hardly helped them. We need to make sure that we can pressurise from midfield. mac can hep in this but Matic is too slow and passive. We need someone more dynamic here. Garner may be the long term solution but notr for a couple of years. Maybe that's why we are after Longstaff
Pressing and building from the back are not mutually exclusive and there are different approaches to it. Liverpool like to press and play direct and part of that is having VVD and Matip stepping into midfield with the ball, passing between the lines or spraying the ball wide to the full backs. We don't get the ball forward quickly when we have Smalling running 10 yards towards the centre circle only to pass it 10 yards to his left to Lindelof. We've already looked better at it since Ole took over and in pre-season especially.
Feels like people are apprehensive to sign Maguire because he won't fix all our problems at once. He's not going to be the last piece of the puzzle like VVD was but we may as well fix our defense and go from there, if we have a decent season and make top 4 perhaps we get Sancho and others and become a team that begins to compete again over the next few years but we can't expect it to happen over a summer
If I recollect correctly, Pally was described as the most expensive donkey we ever bought. Then, he had a few fantastic games on the belt and forged an immense partnership with Brucey and became one of the most highly thought of defebders in the footballing game. As with most players, they are not the greatest players on earth, until they grab the opportunities in front of them wih both hands and then improve themselves. I think Maguire could become one of the best central defenders in the country if he comes to us and plays the more experienced, european counterparts more regularly and improves.
It's become a 'thing' now. An albatross on our back. We have to sign him before we can move on. If you'd have told me 3 months ago that we were testing our hopes on Maguire coming and pogba staying I'd have pissed myself. But we are where we are. We need to get rid of a few CBs as well. I'd be happy to get Maguire and trust greenwood and mctominay to replace Herrera and fellaini.
Looks like we've landed the big fish after all. Yeeeees!
Him and Smalling formidable partnership.
Him and Smalling formidable partnership.
Last edited:
This is exactly what will happen. No more new players this season. It would not help much as to me the midfield is as much if not a bigger issue than our current defence. Behind a good midfield our current defenders would also do a lot better.
Hammer head shark to be precise.
