Speed in central defense is quite possibly one of the most over rated attributes a centre half can have. But all the "experts" around here act like it's the be all end all. Truth is, you're all just looking for an excuse to put down Maguire. I can count on one hand how many times Harry's "lack of pace" has cost us a goal. But I get it. It was your 85m spent on him and he's your scapegoat....sigh
Harry Maguire’s speed...
- Thread starter Rozay
- Start date
Nowhere near his biggest problem. He's just not very good at defending high up the pitch. He prefers to run backwards instead of defending forward like Lindelof or Ben White for example.
This is probably the best example of his lack of speed.
Turns like an oil tanker and has the reaction time of a stoner. Get rid.
We won't even get 40m for him if I'm honest. How someone thought it was wise to make him the most expensive defender of all time is ridiculous and should be sacked for it.
He’s probably fast enough as one can see when he drives forward with the ball. However, he is anything but quick. His acceleration is one of the worst I’ve seen. Mahrez is the opposite; quick burst and gets away from players, then is caught if on a longer run. Same with Sterling.
Maguire doesn’t compensate for his lack of acceleration at all, and thus it is exposed from time to time.
Quick centre backs have become much more important as fullbacks play more attacking, and defenders sit higher. Terry struggled massively when Villas Boas played a higher line. Ferguson adapted his play when Rio lost pace.
Maguire doesn’t compensate for his lack of acceleration at all, and thus it is exposed from time to time.
Quick centre backs have become much more important as fullbacks play more attacking, and defenders sit higher. Terry struggled massively when Villas Boas played a higher line. Ferguson adapted his play when Rio lost pace.
His issue is that his reaction time and turn speed is very slow. This has cost us many goals this season.
His speed of thought [or lack of] is his biggest issue.
Already been done mate.
Maguire is reliable enough, if he nodded a few more corners in he'd be left alone.
It's an issue if we do start playing a high line but not a massive one. AWB's poor positioning playing attackers onside makes it far worse though.
Just because his lack of speed hasn’t directly lead to a lot of goals doesn’t mean it’s not a disadvantage. The team has to compensate by playing deeper to make him and Lindelof less vulnerable, so it can still cause issues. Of course speed isn’t the be and and end all for any CB but it’s certainly helpful. If VVD lost his pace he’d obviously be a worse player for it.
Imagine Van Dijk swapped his pace with Maguire's.
VVD would not be considered the best centre half in the world over the last few years, not even close.
Jesus turned water into wine and the internet turned Harry Maguire into a pissing gazelle. Who’s the real miracle worker?
Attributes like like athleticism and coordination are more important than speed.
I don't think he is a lot slower than players like Thiago or Boateng but they are much more athletic than him.
I don't think he is a lot slower than players like Thiago or Boateng but they are much more athletic than him.
It could be that Rangnick wants his two CBs to stay in their zone.
There may be exceptions for corners and free kicks in the opposition quarter
There may be exceptions for corners and free kicks in the opposition quarter
If it wasn't for the first camera angle or the constant change of angles or if they replayed the 3 second goals instead of showing us the clapping fans for another 5 seconds - maybe that could've been a good video evidence.
Who gives such video editors a job?
And you've had to go back 4 years to find a clip when it mattered.
...or lack thereof
Is that what we have to do or is that what Mark Goldbridge told you we had to do? Sigh...
What are you on about?
I wasn’t even criticising him, why so sensitive?It's better than his MDMA.
We bought the wrong Leicester defender. Would swap him with Fofana in a heart beat.
Molly Maguire?
Pep Guardiola (4 Aug 2019) - “Maguire is an excellent, top-class player. We were interested but we could not afford him. United could afford him. He's strong in the air, good with the ball, he can drive with the ball and he's so fast"
Jose Mourinho - ""I was not an idiot when I was crying in the last pre-season for a central defender, first of all, he has physical qualities. If Maguire does not come, then today you have (Victor) Lindelof and (Axel) Tuanzebe, or Lindelof and Phil Jones. It's a big difference."
Source - https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/clubs/players/250075007--harry-maguire/statistics/
Jose Mourinho - ""I was not an idiot when I was crying in the last pre-season for a central defender, first of all, he has physical qualities. If Maguire does not come, then today you have (Victor) Lindelof and (Axel) Tuanzebe, or Lindelof and Phil Jones. It's a big difference."
| Name | Minutes | Top Speed km/h | Avg. Speed km/h |
| Virgil van Dijk | 270 | 35.80 | 34.80 |
| Harry Maguire | 360 | 35.21 | 30.37 |
| Andreas Christensen | 435 | 32.80 | 31.57 |
| John Stones | 270 | 31.80 | 31.14 |
| Ruben Dias | 364 | 31.70 | 28.24 |
| Gerard Pique | 393 | 31.70 | 31.24 |
| Presnel Kimpembe | 450 | 31.60 | 30.70 |
| Victor Lindelof | 360 | 31.50 | 31.00 |
| Thiago Silva | 367 | 31.20 | 30.47 |
| Mats Hummels | 358 | 30.60 | 29.77 |
| David Alaba | 515 | 30.50 | 30.10 |
| Joel Matip | 450 | 30.30 | 29.74 |
Source - https://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/clubs/players/250075007--harry-maguire/statistics/
Great post, I've never found Maguire a slow runner, my issue is his ability to turn but in general he's been in poor form for a while, on top of his game he can be a very good CB, I also feel he is much more suited to playing against worse opposition so he can push forward and play his pass or come up for a header and be an extra man, when he has to solely focus on defending and being the last man I think he makes mistakes.
Speed is useful for a defender who doesn't read the game well, and if you read the game well you don't need to be quick. If you get somebody who has both you're laughing. Maguire used to be very good without being great in both areas but he's shown neither for coming on 12 months and its gotten worse in the last 6. Right now he misses things and lacks the pace to recover them. That's not making him a scapegoat.
Ronald Koeman was not quick either.
VVD fantastic Max speed and average speed so close to max. Impressive.
Look at the difference between average and top. Shows how slow he can be.
Think you are clutching somewhat. Top speed is second-best and the average speed is certainly there or thereabouts, as compared to the defenders from some of the best sides in Europe.
I have said time and time again, speed is an overrated attribute in defenders. Few if any of the top defenders come even close to being as quick as the top attackers. The key is not to be isolated or exposed.
If your top speed is that high, and your average is that much slower, it suggests your very slow to get to that top speed.
You are either in an extreme in your lower end of speed, or very very rarely getting to that top speed or close.
I'm not worried about his pace. It's a very overly dramatised feature of his play, I can remember very few goals we've conceded that were directly related to speed.
There are probably a few but what CB hasn't been done by pace occasionally? I'm sure even v.Dijk has been done at some point in his career. Less than most of course but nobody is claiming Maguire is ever going to be v.Dijk so it's not really the point. He simply has to be the top class defender we thought we were buying and work within our unit within his own attributes.
In football you try and protect CBs from attackers. The reason one is in attack earning the mega salaries and the other is a centre half is because of ability and physical attributes so if they're in these situations often enough you are going to get made a fool of. We expose all of our defenders.
What I'm worried about is some of his positioning, some of his individual mistakes that make me question where his head is and his confidence level. That's concerning because we're never going to add yards of pace to his game but he can sort these things. Chances are they are more significant too.
There are probably a few but what CB hasn't been done by pace occasionally? I'm sure even v.Dijk has been done at some point in his career. Less than most of course but nobody is claiming Maguire is ever going to be v.Dijk so it's not really the point. He simply has to be the top class defender we thought we were buying and work within our unit within his own attributes.
In football you try and protect CBs from attackers. The reason one is in attack earning the mega salaries and the other is a centre half is because of ability and physical attributes so if they're in these situations often enough you are going to get made a fool of. We expose all of our defenders.
What I'm worried about is some of his positioning, some of his individual mistakes that make me question where his head is and his confidence level. That's concerning because we're never going to add yards of pace to his game but he can sort these things. Chances are they are more significant too.
He's not quick, stop pretending.
You don’t need to be very quick as a CB though, his pace isn’t his issue, but his slow acceleration does at times exacerbate his other failings.
You don’t need to be very quick as a CB though, his pace isn’t his issue, but his slow acceleration does at times exacerbate his other failings.
There's always an explanation for everything if you have already made up your mind....
The one I remember was just after lockdown last year during Project Restart. I think it was Bergwijn who had the ball and Maguire was flat footed and he got left for dead. It was somewhat an unfortunate play and possibly just match rustiness but it was not a good look for him.
It's just how these statistics work.
What are you on about?
You know exactly what I'm on about. Ever come up with a thought of your own or do you always just repeat whatever Goldbridge tells you
He had a poor run after being rushed back too soon from injury. The same thing happened last year. He's still our best defender (until Varrane proves otherwise, but he has to be healthy to do so). And all this "doesn't read the game well" is a bunch of crap. He leads our defenders in interceptions. People are just looking for a scapegoat and nothing more...
Are you on drugs? I’ve never watched Mark Goldbrige in my life you complete weirdo, I’m perfectly capable of forming my own opinion. Get a grip, going on like I insulted your mum.
Good or Bad thing about the break from games is people on caf going back to "It's not that bad. People are overreacting" arguments on almost all player threads that have been attracting criticism in last few months.