[Adam-Utd]

We know we would have beaten Leicester if Bailly had played instead of Maguire.

You know what? this makes me even more angry.

Bailly has usually done pretty well against Vardy and Leicester. The fact that Ole couldn't put any trust in him just says everything.

He looked in great shape tonight. Whether people will argue or not he made a mistake for the 2nd goal I couldn't care less, that was a top class CB performance.

He bailed us out in prime Bailly fashion when Pogba gave it away for that 1 on 1 chance. He risked it all and saved a goal.

 

[Denis Irwinning]

If he could stay fit, would easily be one of out better CBs we've bought over the years.

No, he wouldn't.

 

[CloneMC16]

Ah, the good old Bailly boom and bust cycle

Plays a couple of matches like prime Beckenbauer then to only lose his head and defend like a conference player.

Kind of like our manager really.

Won't stop half of our supporters claiming that he should start every game now. All that in spite of them forgetting why he was benched in the first place.

Surely you play him until he plays shit again? When he does, just drop him. If someone plays well, they should be rewarded with more playing time. Especially with Maguire playing like he is.

 

[ivaldo]

You're making the Shaw mistake again though, Shaw is behind him because Maguire is. It's why Shaw is between the two of them, because Maguire's position makes it impossible for him to be in line. Maguire position is why the entire back line looks like a fecking zig-zag. If Maguire steps up, Shaw steps up, the line is level as a good line should be, and your man's offside.

Neither Shaw or Maguire reacts to Baillys sudden decision to step up because that simply isn't how offside is played. The decision to step up isn't made by a player who has zero information. It's made by players who can see the line. There could be another player making the same run in behind from deep, or we could have a player down injured for all Bailly knows. There could be so much happening behind him that he has no idea of. That's why the studio was critical of his decision. Equally, they were also critical of Maguire then trying to play the offside instead of attempting to cover Baillys mistake. Maguire's further failings doesn't justify Baillys decision making here. But then, this isn't new. We know Bailly takes needless risks.

 

[RepardReece]

No. Not by choice, not by design. The line was perfectly uniform until Bailly decides to step out on his own. Again, without having any other information whatever. Shaw and Maguire are significantly closer in line than Bailly is. Bailly is the odd one out here. Watch the post match analysis. Watch how the three ex pros point out how terrible it is from both Bailly and Maguire. It's laughable to defend it.

Like myself? Again, I'm agreeing with Rio and co in the studio while you're trying to pretend it's '100% on Maguire.' Have a word with yourself.

Re read my message. 100% MORE to blame. Do you understand the term more? It means Maguire takes MORE blame than Bailly on this one, not counting out Baillys mistake.

Also pointed out at the end Bailly could've done better sure.

You might need to go back to school and read some more.

I mean it is quite comedic you're pointing out Shaw when he didn't even keep the player onside, if he did and was alongside Maguire sure, but he stepped up more.

As Rio and co stated, Maguire seemed to think Varane was still on the pitch as a 3, and needs to close that massive gap down.
Maguire was a massive issue all game long, and Bailly was absolutely superb, potentially stopping 2+ goals.

Nevertheless, like I said, you are unable to be wrong.

Either way, a defensive line like that is shocking and Maguire, as captain, needs to keep that line, but fails to do so. Plus, if ole has instructed for the defenders to step up, then Bailly has done his job,and Maguire has failed to do so. But we don't know that information.

I'll say again, Bailly still makes an error. But if Konate, or Dias or, Christensen make that mistake their defensive partner would be over there stopping it all day every day

 

[Marwood]

Bailey was trying to do something at least. Harry is in no man's land.

I've no idea what Bailly was trying to do.

There's a ball being played over the top and he's square on to it. With his man running off behind him.

Every other defender is side on as they can see the ball is about to be played behind them. Bailly is shaped like he's expecting....well I don't know what.

 

[Foxbatt]

He hasn't played for some time. Today he was very good. He could be pure comedy the next game he plays.

 

[Ronaldo's ego]

Excellent today, this version of Bailly deserves to be partnering Varane. Staying fit and consistency are the issues with him. Swap Bailly for Lindelof tonight and we’d have witnessed a mauling.

 

[United in sin]

A Bailly-Varane partnership would be beastly. He was MOTM for me

 

[city-puma]

I've no idea what Bailly was trying to do.

There's a ball being played over the top and he's square on to it. With his man running off behind him.

Every other defender is side on as they can see the ball is about to be played behind them. Bailly is shaped like he's expecting....well I don't know what.

That’s his anticipation getting wrong I think. The guy is a beast and plays ball holding a lot. Bailly seemly wanted to intercept the pass but was shocked they played overhead to run behind.

 

[FerociousCorgis]

From what I was able to watch feel like city would try and target his over aggression on trying to rush out/ covering others and get him to be overly aggressive and take advantage of it. Could be a concern if he doesn't play within himself

 

[NoPace]

Ah, the good old Bailly boom and bust cycle

Plays a couple of matches like prime Beckenbauer then to only lose his head and defend like a conference player.

Kind of like our manager really.

Won't stop half of our supporters claiming that he should start every game now. All that in spite of them forgetting why he was benched in the first place.

Bailly's true gift is that when it comes to last ditch tackling or beating a pressing/chasing striker he looks world class, but then as you, say like a conference player in the same 5 minute span.

I do think playing on the right in a 3 at the back suits him because there's more to do and his positional/mental mistakes can be covered up.

 

[ti vu]

Bailly's true gift is that when it comes to last ditch tackling or beating a pressing/chasing striker he looks world class, but then as you, say like a conference player in the same 5 minute span.

I do think playing on the right in a 3 at the back suits him because there's more to do and his positional/mental mistakes can be covered up.

Playing 3 at the back well is demanding for the CB. 3 at the back would mean that freeing up the wingbacks to stretch the pitch, providing width is uttermost important. It requires good understanding, situational awareness, good positioning and concentration level from the CB. It's not easy to do it well overnight, unless we're talking about box defending, and just putting bodies behind the ball.

Bailly was awful in back 3 against PSG in that game in Paris. Before switching to back 4 today, beside that heroic block, he was not involved, as we didn't play the system well. Too many time, we had extra bodies in no man land, that have no impact in the sequence of play, while there were not enough marking in other areas.

Small sample, but questionable coaching ability makes it very difficult to believe 3 at the back formation would solve any of our issues.

 

[Ixion]

Very good game. I made a post a couple of weeks ago saying we should use the whole squad more and pointed out Bailly should be playing if Maguire is half fit and some said it was a laughable post. We have some decent players not getting minutes.

 

[IhabX7]

It wasn't just a very good game, he single handedly kept us in it. One of the finest CB performances we've seen at united in a long time. Probably since his own last one.

 

[Adam-Utd]

That’s his anticipation getting wrong I think. The guy is a beast and plays ball holding a lot. Bailly seemly wanted to intercept the pass but was shocked they played overhead to run behind.

Think that's a good read of it.

All night long they were playing balls along the floor into Zapatas feet. Bailly was reading those and cutting out most of them, but this time they switched it up.

If Maguire was covering like he should have been instead of trying to fool the linesman, and de Gea wasn't rooted to the goal line - it wouldn't have been an issue.

Across the whole 90 minutes though he was fantastic. I can't even remember the last time he started a match.

Honestly, he's too good to be sitting on the bench all year and getting an appearence only when one of Ole's favourites is injured.

 

[JoaquinJoaquin]

Fantastic performance, and buzzing for him.

I always think Bailly is best when he has to be reactionary. When he has time to overthink is when he can get exposed.

Has to start over Maguire on Saturday.

 

[Godfather]

Ah, the good old Bailly boom and bust cycle

Plays a couple of matches like prime Beckenbauer then to only lose his head and defend like a conference player.

Kind of like our manager really.

Won't stop half of our supporters claiming that he should start every game now. All that in spite of them forgetting why he was benched in the first place.

Thing is he cant be worse than what Maguire is serving up week in week out right now so I do think he deserves another shot.

 

[AneRu]

Very good game. I made a post a couple of weeks ago saying we should use the whole squad more and pointed out Bailly should be playing if Maguire is half fit and some said it was a laughable post. We have some decent players not getting minutes.

He has had a torrid few years due to injuries and all but I think we forget that Bailly has played in some big games and done well. Even the manager forgets this too and doesn't seem to trust him to come in and play for a few games whilst Maguire returns to fitness.

 

[Red00012]

Fantastic performance, and buzzing for him.

I always think Bailly is best when he has to be reactionary. When he has time to overthink is when he can get exposed.

Has to start over Maguire on Saturday.

At the moment we’ve 2 centre backs so looks like he will be starting

 

[JoaquinJoaquin]

At the moment we’ve 2 centre backs so looks like he will be starting

Lindelof should be back, no?

 

[Tom Cato]

Fantastic game by Bailly tonight.

Its helpful to remember that Bailly does not always play fantastic games, in fact he's had some real shockers.

He's certainly deserved to start against City however.

 

[Solius]

I will never figure this man out.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Great performance yesterday. It was great to see. There were a couple of instances of him chasing down through balls, where he looked absolutely rapid.

We all know his performances can be up and down, but for now I would definitely be more comfortable playing him vs. City than Lindelof.

 

[Litch]

Beast mode. Hopefully he can stay fit......

 

[ArjenIsM3]

I will never figure this man out.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

He’s just so chaotic. Maguire’s getting deserved stick for his crappy positioning but I just don’t see us having a functional offside trap with Bailly in the mix.

When it comes to reactive defending, though, he can be amazing. That block after the Pogba SNAFU was world class.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Shaw is playing him off too, it's a massive Maguire feck up this one. Could DDG do better, no doubt, could Bailly have done different, sure. Could Maguire stop the goal by simply paying attention and doing his one simple job? feck yeah.

There's no reason for Maguire to be 2 yards behind Bailly there, not when he's looking all the way across the line, it's terrible, he's sleeping.

Presumably Maguire is supposed to be setting the line? As he steps in and out the rest of the back line is supposed to follow. It looks like maybe stepped forward a fraction too late (zapata is extremely close to being caught offside) but Bailly is the United defender in that image most obviously out of position. As well as failing to track the run from the player he is marking. There’s a few errors contributing to that goal but Bailly and De Gea make the biggest individual contributions.

 

[Drizzle]

He’s just so chaotic. Maguire’s getting deserved stick for his crappy positioning but I just don’t see us having a functional offside trap with Bailly in the mix.

When it comes to reactive defending, though, he can be amazing. That block after the Pogba SNAFU was world class.

Exactly. He's way too unreliable and chaotic to base a defence around. Not to mention he's made of crisps.

He's brilliant at eye-catching last ditch stuff though, which has its moments like last night. But he lacks composure, calmness and football intelligence. If only Lindelof had Bailly's pace and strength...

 

[TsuWave]

Carried that bum Maguire

 

[Adam-Utd]

He’s just so chaotic. Maguire’s getting deserved stick for his crappy positioning but I just don’t see us having a functional offside trap with Bailly in the mix.

When it comes to reactive defending, though, he can be amazing. That block after the Pogba SNAFU was world class.

Sorry but this is just not right.

Bailly keeps being labelled as chaotic but it's very rare these days. You can pretty much tell which version of him is going to play within 5 minutes, he's either a bit of a clown or a majestic rolls royce.

If you asked any non footballer watcher to watch that game last night and tell me who's the defensive record signing, you'd have Maguire down in last place.

If anything i'd label Maguire the chaotic one. It seems he's bringing panic and disorder to the back line by running on 1 leg.

I have no idea what's up with him, i'd imagine he's injured but old school Ole is making him/pressuring him into playing like Rashford. I know he's immobile but last night was a shock.

 

[Godfather]

Presumably Maguire is supposed to be setting the line? As he steps in and out the rest of the back line is supposed to follow. It looks like maybe stepped forward a fraction too late (zapata is extremely close to being caught offside) but Bailly is the United defender in that image most obviously out of position. As well as failing to track the run from the player he is marking. There’s a few errors contributing to that goal but Bailly and De Gea make the biggest individual contributions.

How so? All Maguire had to do there was keep the line of Shaw and Bailly and Zapata would have been off. Bailly wasn't perfect there but the biggest error came clearly from Maguire. Once more. The amount of times he's been responsible for goals conceded this season is crazy. He must be on track for some negative record.

Time to bench him and give the armband to someone else.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

How so? All Maguire had to do there was keep the line of Shaw and Bailly and Zapata would have been off. Bailly wasn't perfect there but the biggest error came clearly from Maguire. Once more. The amount of times he's been responsible for goals conceded this season is crazy. He must be on track for some negative record.

Time to bench him and give the armband to someone else.

In my (limited) experience as a player an offside line is usually set by everyone keeping in line with one player who sets that line. I don’t know which United player has that responsibility but Maguire would be the most obvious candidate. Especially with Varane off the pitch.

I’m not defending Maguire’s overall performance. He’s been shite. I just don’t think he’s the player most obviously at fault in this particular sequence of events.

 

[stevoc]

Brilliant tonight.

For all his erratic performances/moments he has never played as badly as Maguire has at points for us.

Eric's been worse at times, let's be honest. When Eric's bad he's laughably bad.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Presumably Maguire is supposed to be setting the line? As he steps in and out the rest of the back line is supposed to follow. It looks like maybe stepped forward a fraction too late (zapata is extremely close to being caught offside) but Bailly is the United defender in that image most obviously out of position. As well as failing to track the run from the player he is marking. There’s a few errors contributing to that goal but Bailly and De Gea make the biggest individual contributions.

From my training, "setting the line" isn't a one person job, certainly not in that situation, the line should move together. But yes, Maguire in that particular situation is responsible for making it a line and not a zig zag and he is looking right across the line and can see both Bailly and AWB ahead of him, he should therefore be stepping up to get in line with Bailly, anything else is inviting exactly what happened. You step up, or you make sure you are further over to cover, Maguire did neither.

If Bailly goes with the runner, there's no guarantee the danger is over, a half yard ahead for the forward there and Bailly's in all sorts of trouble. If Maguire simply steps up, the danger is over, even the striker and Maguire thought he was off.

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

Eric's been worse at times, let's be honest. When Eric's bad he's laughably bad.

He really hasn’t though. All our defenders have had shockers, but neither Lindelof nor Bailly have been afforded time to be as bad, for as long as Maguire.

 

[CH23]

Man of the match for me against Atalanta. He was a one man defence when Varane went off. Too bad he is kind of unpredictable. He can play 90 minutes very good and then do something stupid in injury time and ofcourse staying fit is another problem.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

I get criticism for the second goal, but I just watched the first goal back - how can anyone think he was at fault there?!

 

[Tomuś]

One of very few players you can't classify as shite, mediocre or great.

 

[chb23]

I love Bailly.

He reminds me of Anderson a bit Just a character ahha