I think it's fair to criticise any underperforming player who says they have nothing to prove.
Harry Maguire: I shouldn't really need to prove myself at this level. I've made over 50 caps, I'm England's top-scoring defender
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How can Maguire not need to prove himself? That’s an embarrassing comment from any footballer. Never mind a player who has performed below standard for years.
Ok mate, feel free to do a couple of blunders in our next game then, thanks.
I never said he was. What I said was that I liked how he tackled, what I believe to be, a difficult question. Tyson was the world champion of a violent sport. He relied heavily on his fear factor as well. Thus the temptation to double down on that by saying that he could have beaten Ali would have been high. Which, in my opinion, would have been a massive mistake.
A- Ali was a legend and possibly the biggest and most popular sports man of all time. Its the football equivalent of prime RVN saying that he was better then Van Basten or Kane saying that he's better then Keegan.
B- There's no way to confirm that in any way. Which means that it will all remain a matter of debate.
Instead Tyson flipped things around. He praised Ali, maybe in an OTT way which in turn lead to Ali praising him back.
Maguire is in a similar situation. No matter how good he thinks he is, its pretty evident that he's struggling to persuade the manager to give him regular football. Thus instead of coming out with a defensive argument that is factually wrong (he has alot to prove since he's sitting on the bench) then he should have flipped things around in a positive way. He should have said that he's working very hard in training so that's he's available to the manager if and when he needs him. Then he should have shifted the argument on the collective claiming that what is important is not himself as an individual player but the team. Football is a squad game and he (ie Maguire) is a team player. I assure you that fans, the manager and the any prospective buyer would applaud that
Sell him ASAP!
A walking walrus.
A walking walrus.
I really feel for Maguire. Everything he says or does is scrutinized. We really need to appreciate him for supporting the team whenever he is called upon. He is not a bad personality or bad player. He just does not fit into how we want to play.
But he doesn't have to prove that he can play at International Level - he's done that many times over.
Saying he has proved it doesn't mean that he doesn't have to keep proving it either. It might not be the perfect choice of words, but ultimately there's nothing wrong with backing yourself - especially if you receive the level of criticism that Maguire does.
Nothing wrong in being confident and to believe in your abilities. But when that goes in delusion (like it did with Cristiano) then it is a problem.
He reminds me on "that guy" from 5-a-side football who (i guess) we all had once in a team. Someone who is average at best but thinks that he is a futsal maestro. So he does the tricks, shoots from every position, asks for the ball all the time etc....in other words, playing in a way which is above his abilities.
That is Maguire. He would be much better (and useful) player if would accept his flaws and adapt his game to that.
Also, is it possible that he is not aware how many bad games he had?
He reminds me on "that guy" from 5-a-side football who (i guess) we all had once in a team. Someone who is average at best but thinks that he is a futsal maestro. So he does the tricks, shoots from every position, asks for the ball all the time etc....in other words, playing in a way which is above his abilities.
That is Maguire. He would be much better (and useful) player if would accept his flaws and adapt his game to that.
Also, is it possible that he is not aware how many bad games he had?
He is right though. He is a good/very good CB, who isnt quite world class, but was scapegoated by many last season who wanted someone to lash out at.
The stick he gets from United fans is quite shameful really. Im fine with us hammering players who have disrespected the club and/or who haven't put the effort in but I dont believe Maguire has ever been anything less than 100% committed to United
The stick he gets from United fans is quite shameful really. Im fine with us hammering players who have disrespected the club and/or who haven't put the effort in but I dont believe Maguire has ever been anything less than 100% committed to United
That is just wrong way of thinking. He is a football player. It is perfectly normal to criticize/praise/analyze players performances.
They are not small chidren ffs. If player plays badly then he deserves criticism (not abuse of course).
From a psychology perspective, this is denialism/avoidance of the issues which exist which he's employing as a coping strategy. Not unusual, most do the same.
Surprised he isn't receiving better psychological consultation though. If he is, then this mentality proves he'll never be an elite level defender which means he can't be a starting member of our team based on our ambitions.
Surprised he isn't receiving better psychological consultation though. If he is, then this mentality proves he'll never be an elite level defender which means he can't be a starting member of our team based on our ambitions.
Englands biggest measured head in the past 50 years by 2cm.
Seriously though what he said isn’t that bad he’s just defending himself, he’s still a good defender.
Seriously though what he said isn’t that bad he’s just defending himself, he’s still a good defender.
He could show a little humility and say the usual stuff most athletes say, "I don't know, I just work as hard as I can every day to try and improve and to bring what I can to the team blah blah". It's vacuous and tells you feck all but it's better than him telling us how good he must be because he plays for Man Utd (during there most trophy barren spell in forever, and he's benched now anyway).
"I have nothing to prove" - what has he proved? He's won nothing.
He doesn't help himself by doing those statements. I can empathize with him though, huge money move, captain of the club, england international starting XI, he probably thinks he's better than he is. Fact is he's not going to be a starter here Varane and Lisandro are way above him.
I don't see how he's not moved in the summer. He thinks he deserves to be a starter and he's not going to do it here.
I don't see how he's not moved in the summer. He thinks he deserves to be a starter and he's not going to do it here.
Seen him come out with this a few times, how he doesn't need to prove himself and like he's achieved plenty already. I mean, sure I'm the respect that when your career is done you will be happy with yourself. But no from the perspective of he's an active footballer who has been below par for a while and if he wants to remain at United he needs to do better.
Nah, I don't buy that in this particular case.
You could just say that it all comes down to how good he is at the end of the day - and that would be partly correct. If he had been a genuinely world class player, he would've shut up his critics by playing football, no problem.
But it would be slightly disingenuous to just say that, wouldn't it?
As United fans, we know very well what Maguire is: nowhere near a world record fee defender in terms of his actual ability. A player with obvious flaws and limitations who was never worth that kind of money.
That is not his fault, though. And the reason he has ended up as a meme has much more to do with his transfer fee, and following that: a relentless eagerness from a segment of fans to find fault with him, than his actual performances, which have been as expected (I would say).
He's a decent player in the right system. There's no reason whatsoever why he should be regarded as an utter clown. And it's obvious that he's aware of how he's perceived, and that this has negatively impacted him. It's very easy to say that he should rise above that as "the captain of one of the biggest sporting institutions in the world" but there are obvious mitigating factors there:
A) He's a decent player at the top level, nothing special and clearly not worth a record fee (that he never asked for).
B) It was Ole's stupidity to make him captain. That never should've happened and only added to the pressure on him.
I’d argue the only thing he has proven to date is that he’s not good enough to play for a top club.
His agent/advisors are not very good
I wouldn't be surprised if they're yes men and sycophants
I would say that his agent is a goddamn genius!
Guess we'll find out in the summer
Overall hes looked really good for England. I guess international football is easier until you come up against a France/Argentina.
I think the price tag thing is bullshit though, there have been plenty of flops that clubs have overpaid for. He ended up a meme because he's had now an entire 20 minute montage worth of embarrassing moments as a defender, all of them for United as captain, and they've become frequent enough that he's a full on meme player now. People think that he's the only player that gets criticism (he isn't), or that it's unfair (it's not), and the "abuse" is very overstated in that this isn't something where he's dealing with people harassing him and his family everywhere like Bale had to deal with in Madrid at a time.
This weird sympathizing with him I've never understood, as there have been so many other players over the years that have played for us that have done way more for the club yet been ruthlessly criticized by the fan base as well. His position isn't unique, and if he wasn't English it probably wouldn't still be as much of a story as it is.
Little wonder Maguire enjoys playing for England where players are picked not on form or ability but on whether the manager fancies them or not.
There's only like 10 countries worth playing against at International Level. Same level of competitive intensity as League One.
But David May has won loads.
I agree. He is really good. Worth at least 50M or more in given market. He should work with other clubs to get that money for him.
That quote shows everything that is wrong with him. The best athletes know that they need to prove themselves every time they step on the pitch, ring, you name it.
He was doing ok for us considering his style of play doesn't suit ETH philosophy.
I just feel like criticism on him is way overboard. We have games where we lost 7-0 and 4-0 and etc where our first CB pairing played.
He is a very good squad player and maintain his professionalism in trying time.
To be fair, Harry Maguire deserves more respect. He’s the toughest opponent De Gea has ever faced. Selling Maguire should be the main goal in the next Mission Impossible movie 
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The interview is actually ok, i think its the age old issue here of a few comments being taken out of context and used to bash the lad. I heard about the interview first from Goldbridge's Youtube rant yesterday. I usually find Goldy a bit of fun but he was out of order on this one for me and it just felt like a bash Maguire clickbait thing. I think too many hop on this bandwagon of having a go at Harry without really listening to the interview in full.
So this is the excuse now... right
If you’re constantly having to remind people how “good” you are there’s a problem in that itself.
It's alright when you play the likes of finland, luxembourg those teams but against the likes of France & Brazil it's a different ball game
He was awful against Italy in particular. His brain dead defending literally let them back in the game - pass selling the receiver short, stepped up to try and rectify his mistake, committed himself, stood on the player for which he was booked and left an acre of space behind him from which they scored. He also gives the left back umpteen passes where they literally have nowhere to go or an attacker breathing down their neck.
Maguire sucks any tempo out of the play which suits Southgate’s football with the handbrake on.
Maguire sucks any tempo out of the play which suits Southgate’s football with the handbrake on.
It’s basic maths to understand when you’re being interviewed that your answers will be scrutinized. He makes an ass of himself in interviews, when interviewers are ostensibly giving him the chance to rehabilitate his image.
I can't see us getting any offers for him, and expect him to be in the squad next year.
Southgate will keep picking him even if hes benched most of the time, so I don't think he will complain. Which, ironically, makes him a decent squad player.
Southgate will keep picking him even if hes benched most of the time, so I don't think he will complain. Which, ironically, makes him a decent squad player.
Has he really?