The team has to improve defensively. It really is an uninformed stance to blame it on one player, especially when qualified managers keep playing that person, manager after manager. It isn't popular to say that most of a team's performance is in the collective, I'm not sure why, maybe it feels more actionable or fuels more conversation.
5
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 31
- Clean sheets
- 17
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 9
- Status
Haven't you heard? Murtough and Fletcher are pulling the strings making him play because they spent £80m on him. It was a clause in the contract for Ten Hag that he has to keep Maguire captain and give him 45 mins of pre season games to up his fitness.
Forgetting the fact that they just let a £90m signing go on free because he didnt fit into Ten Hag's plans.
No one forgot that fact, because it doesn't exist. Pogba fecking off was mutual.
Right, yeah Manutd wanted a £90m player to go for free.. yeah mutual. That fact didnt exist but the fact that Maguir is forced on managers is true?. If it makes you sleep better at night then so be it.
Also, do those who think that this is true also think that the FA have told Southgate that he has to start Maguire or he is sacked too?
Someone better get into Ten Hag and inform him of his oversight.
Imagine all of his tactical experience in the game and he has missed this. He is lucky to have great analysts on the forums doing his job for free.
There are actually people who think Maguire is the best CB at the club 
The reality is it's between him & Tuanzebe about who's the worst one.
I don't know why we should handicap ourselves with players who have clear weaknesses, are one dimentional and don't suit the system we want to play. Maguire fits all of these. He is slow as feck, his 1 vs1 defending is abysmal, isn't good with the ball, can't play in a high line etc. The only thing he's good at is heading the ball away. He's basically a glorified Dan Burn who'd suit to playing lower table teams. Maybe that explains why he spent most of his career in League One, Championship & lower PL teams.
There's also a strange myth that he was only bad last season and was good in the previous 2 seasons before the last season which is complete BS. There were too many games where he either easily got past like he's not there (19/20 tottenham away, Norwich away, chelsea away in the league cup etc) or marked his own players (20/21 Tottenham at home, 19/20 southampton at home etc) or was made look like an amateur where the opposition attacker turned him inside out or nutmeg him (20/21 PSG at home by neymar, 19/20 bournemouth at home by stanislas, arsenal away by lacazette, wolves away, partizan away etc) or he just didn't react quickly & allowed opponent to score (19/20 city away, brighton at home, sevilla + 20/21 leipzig away, başakşehir, etc.)
He had some shockingly bad games in those 2 seasons and I'm sure there are others too. He's been directly responsible for so many goals we conceded in the last 3 seasons. There's no other CB at the highest level that made as much clear & leading to goal mistakes and the myth about him being good in 19/20 & 20/21 also needs to die.
He was brought to be a ball playing defender in the highline by our clueless manager at the time and it was apparent from day 1 that he wasn't suited to that. I hope ten Hag isn't stupid enough to make the same mistake otherwise it'll be his undoing. Maguire was a silly and costly mistake that shouldn't have happened in the first place like Ole was and we have to move on ASAP.
He isn't getting any younger either; will be 30 in next March and we should ship him out to Newcastle while they still can't go for the very best and before he loses even more value in the market.
The reality is it's between him & Tuanzebe about who's the worst one.I don't know why we should handicap ourselves with players who have clear weaknesses, are one dimentional and don't suit the system we want to play. Maguire fits all of these. He is slow as feck, his 1 vs1 defending is abysmal, isn't good with the ball, can't play in a high line etc. The only thing he's good at is heading the ball away. He's basically a glorified Dan Burn who'd suit to playing lower table teams. Maybe that explains why he spent most of his career in League One, Championship & lower PL teams.
There's also a strange myth that he was only bad last season and was good in the previous 2 seasons before the last season which is complete BS. There were too many games where he either easily got past like he's not there (19/20 tottenham away, Norwich away, chelsea away in the league cup etc) or marked his own players (20/21 Tottenham at home, 19/20 southampton at home etc) or was made look like an amateur where the opposition attacker turned him inside out or nutmeg him (20/21 PSG at home by neymar, 19/20 bournemouth at home by stanislas, arsenal away by lacazette, wolves away, partizan away etc) or he just didn't react quickly & allowed opponent to score (19/20 city away, brighton at home, sevilla + 20/21 leipzig away, başakşehir, etc.)
He had some shockingly bad games in those 2 seasons and I'm sure there are others too. He's been directly responsible for so many goals we conceded in the last 3 seasons. There's no other CB at the highest level that made as much clear & leading to goal mistakes and the myth about him being good in 19/20 & 20/21 also needs to die.
He was brought to be a ball playing defender in the highline by our clueless manager at the time and it was apparent from day 1 that he wasn't suited to that. I hope ten Hag isn't stupid enough to make the same mistake otherwise it'll be his undoing. Maguire was a silly and costly mistake that shouldn't have happened in the first place like Ole was and we have to move on ASAP.
He isn't getting any younger either; will be 30 in next March and we should ship him out to Newcastle while they still can't go for the very best and before he loses even more value in the market.
So long as that option is off the bench, it's all good.
I don't hold any of those views with regards to Maguire.
You're contradicting yourself. I'd imagine it's hard to keep track when you're doing a WUM routine.
You implied the club let Pogba go because "he didn't fit into ETH's plans" (your words)
By saying him leaving was mutual (my words) it means he wanted to leave. This is quite obvious when he signed a significantly reduced contract at Juve, (a club he was successful at) compared to what he would be on here.
You've literally said in one post the club wanted him out, then in the next, you said the club didn't want to let him go
He will. Ten Hag has already shown me with his captaincy position that it will again be Maguire plus one, probably regardless of what happens on the pitch.
I’m not sure that with ETH ‘my captain shall always play’. I think he’s perhaps being clever in terms of not rocking the boat and making bold moves straight away. Get his feet under the table and the squad on side first and make changes on performance.
I’m sorry to nitpick but Vidić would’ve wiped the floor with Maguire in any kind of a physical encounter despite being a bit smaller. Otherwise you’re spot on.
Maguire’s good at heading and the occasional long clearance but that’s really it. He’s going to be hard to shift until he becomes a free agent.
If he's that good, surely the top clubs would be in for him? They'd be able to meet his wage demands as one of the elite earners too......assuming he's that good as some people would have you believe.
He's a team 11-20 level defender, 1-6 Championship at best.
It was from a goal kick - we were set so it should absolutely not be happening. I’ve found a clip - I agree with most of the comments - Elanga is mostly to blame but I still think Lindelof should be dropping not pushing up.
Stam and Bruce played when football was very physical. They were basically human tanks which was necessary because strikers back then were fearless and were lethal in front of goal if given half a chance. I once saw Van Basten play in a testimonial game. The Dutch had retired from football as a wreck, he can't move his ankle the way a normal person can, he can't sustain more then 15 minutes football and by that time he hasn't played professional football for the past 2 decades. Yet it took him few minutes to score a spectacular goal from a flying header. That was the type of forwards that played back then and often the only way to stop them from scoring was to root them off the pitch like Gentile did with Maradona during the WC final.
That physical frame came with a price ie lack of pace. WC defenders of the era often had to have a great football awareness and positioning as there was little room for a mistake. When overrun the situation would get embarrassing like when Dolly and Daisy got overrun by Barca's strikers
Vidic came later. By that time regulations to protect forwards started to kick in and defenders couldn't get away with murder. The typical forwards Vidic faced were different to the ones Stam faced. They were less physical and lethal in front of goal but compensated to that with better overall skill. Vidic still had a strong physical frame but he wasn't and he couldn't have Stam or Bruce physical frame else he risked being overrun. Most of his physicality came from his attitude, a bit like Keane was. You didn't mess with Vidic not because he was the strongest guy on the pitch but because he wouldn't allow you to.
Maguire's frame is similar to the typical 80s-90s EPL CB. That is kind of redundant considering that such physicality is quite frankly unsuited if not a hindrance in the modern game. The reality is that he was built to suit mid-low EPL clubs. They tend to defend in numbers and in a deep line which means that someone like Maguire fits them like a glove. To make matter worse he lacks that football brain and positioning top CBs like Stam had. All of that was highlighted not only by my good self but by the Italian pundits who were commenting the Euro final and who saw Maguire as the weak link in England's defence.
So did ETH put Maguire at RCB to prepare him for the the new partnership with Martinez
I mean Martinez is obviously going to play LCB.
It’ll be between Varane & Maguire for the RCB and the only thing Maguire has on Varane is availability sadly.
The convential wisdom that big, strong people are slow is wrong.
That’s what I believe. Why else would he put both Maguire and Lindelof in their weaker positions?
Why would RCB be Maguire's weaker position? He's right footed, he should massively prefer the right side.
He plays LCB a lot in his career because he's more comfortable there than most other right footed centre backs. And there's a dearth of left footed centre backs.
He came here with a reputation as a ball playing CB and I've not really seen any evidence of it. Often he looks uncomfortable playing out from the back and I suspect he'll be a lot better on his strong foot when we switch him over to the right.
He’s better than Varane on the ball, too, which will factor in him starting over Varane.
Thanks for putting up the goal that everyone is talking about.
I have to say it's a great move by Melbourne. One and two touch all the way up the pitch. I'd say United were caught out by how good they were.
The only thing I'll say is that it's a lesson for all four defenders involved. They all need to be sharper.
Elanga to get tighter. Shaw too. Lindelof to maybe sit 3 yards deeper because he's the last line of defense and Maguire too.
I would add that Bailly and Varane and Tuanzebe are just more suited to this type of defending because they can recover from any initial error. Lisandro is gonna have to be bang at it to implement this system in the PL.
Remains to be see imo, all open still
He has played basically all of his United career to the left and when hes been tried on the right, he has always looked more awkward will the ball and less good in defence. When he was signed, Lindelof was moved from LCB to RCB.
If I’m speculating it looks like ETH wants Martinez and Lindelof competing for the spot to the left and Harry/Varane to the right and Bailly might also be thrown in there. At least playing Maguire to the right indicates that he wants him to compete for that spot with Varane as Varane will not play to the left. .Then we all know from experience that injuries will decide our CB pair.
I wouldn’t say it is the only thing. Maguire is a different player, more aggressive and better at winning the ball early. But then he has always had Lindelof covering behind him. Now it looks like both CBs will push high. We saw the goal against Melbourne how Maguire now ended up in a “new” situation that I think will happen quite often for our CBs.
You’re seriously lumping Stam in with Bruce? Stam in his prime could easily play today. He had everything that’s required to play at centre half in any era.
I am referring to their physicality. Nothing more
And I thought RR was given a swift kick in the nuts by the players so we'll never know what could of been and I think Maguire isn't going to be fine because TH will expect his CBs to be comfortable on the ball to keep possession and that is another big flaw to his game. Give him time and space and out come the youtube compilations. Put him under pressure and he folds more than an origami convention.
So Van Dijk isn’t a physical specimen?
Stam and Bruce are simply not comparable. Stam is one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen, Bruce was a massive character but had many flaws as a player.
McGrath, Des Walker, Sol Campbell, Pally and numerous other defenders don’t fall into what you’re trying to make out all 80’s and 90’s defenders were all about. In their prime they could all play top flight football today, They we’re certainly not all big lumps who kicked the shite out of strikers.
There was too much to dissect on that thread.
Lumping Pallister and Bruce in together when Pallister was actually quick.
Suggesting Vidic and Stam faced totally different types of forwards in a span of a decade!
Suggesting Vidic couldn't have a Stam type build as the game had changed, ignoring that Stam was actually quick as well as built.
It was a post which happens when people try and generalise massively.
I see people suggesting today's game is so different that heading the ball isn't important for a central defender these days. Ignoring that you can face 20 set pieces a game, and will quickly be found out if you have no aerial ability as a centre back. Hell, we've had 3 or 4 years whinging about Lindelof for one thing!
Maguire does seem to go over quite easily when challenged, looking for a free kick, which for a defender I think is shocking.
Lindelof should have intercepted the pass but someone like Varane or Bailly might have bailed us out using their recovery pace. Maguire just doesn’t have any pace and it will always be a liability.
Having said that, i do feel sorry for him that his mistakes are taken out of proportion these days. It would require some serious turn in performance to reduce that scrutiny
it’s more a turn of results…as rashford was saying this week it’s easier to make mistakes in a winning team. Maguire isn’t good enough to be a nailed on starter for me. Not for anyone with serious ambitions. If we are buying a left sided CB and Varane stays fit…I’m not sure the plan for Maguire in there? Is it 3 at the back?
I know going hard on him is very popular around here especially about his pace, but watching the goal again, not many CBs in the world would have stood a chance there once it turned into a foot race, and the pass across was bang on the money. Needed Wan-Bissaka and Kyle Walker's levels of recovery pace from Maguire - which is not very common among CBs - to even stand a chance of getting close there, talk of cutting off what was a perfect pass into the stride of the runner.
The errors there look like they came in the build up to me. Shaw was no where to be seen, Lindelof went way too far across and proceeded to make it ridiculously easy for the winger, Maguire ended up being caught in two minds, and that is just for the defenders. Look at the distance between Maguire and the ball when the pass went past him. Being a few km/hr faster would have made little difference. Credit to Victory for taking full advantage of an opening.
The errors there look like they came in the build up to me. Shaw was no where to be seen, Lindelof went way too far across and proceeded to make it ridiculously easy for the winger, Maguire ended up being caught in two minds, and that is just for the defenders. Look at the distance between Maguire and the ball when the pass went past him. Being a few km/hr faster would have made little difference. Credit to Victory for taking full advantage of an opening.
Disagree on the last bit. You need enough aerial ability on your team for the set pieces, but there's no reason why it has to be from the CBs. Set pieces weren't a particular problem for Ajax, yet they had 2 midget CBs.
Also height doesn't equal aerial ability. Ake for example is not much taller than Timber but his timing and leap are impeccable and in contrast to Maguire he's capable of directing his headers.
Timing is important, but when the ball is in the air up to Chris Wood or someone, I'd prefer Maguire to be dealing with him than a 5ft 9 guy.
Debatable imo. He's just so ponderous and slow, I question whether he can play at pace through the lines.
Ten hag seems to like him which is fair enough as he has several attributes which endears him to his style I suppose, I just hope he doesn't persist with him the way Ole did when he perhaps inevitably hits a rough patch.
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If Maguire was at another club does anyone think Ten Hag would be interested in signing him?
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