Harry Maguire

I think his biggest flaw is his lack of pace. He was really caught out when Khazri et. al made those rare runs in behind him.

Monster in the air though. Won everything in their box.

Yeah agree, absolute weapon in the air- really useful to have. Just worry about how slow he is from a standing start. He does turn like a ship and could get targeted by quid agile players running in behind.

Like him though.
 
Bit shaky but overall I thought he was good. Decent playing the ball out from the back and driving forward with the ball. Commanding in the air too.

Just as long as he shakes off the nerves in the games to come, he should continue to get better during the tournament.
 
I like his ability to play out from the back, he played some good balls through the midfield as well, good tackler and monster in the air. Is a bit lacking in pace though, think that's possibly why we are playing Walker as a CB alongside him.
Relatively inexperienced though so should improve
 
Good player and a relative bargain for what Leicester paid.

Obviously he isn't the quickest but his reading of the game, ability in the air and the fact he's very comfortable with the ball at his feet makes up for it in my opinion.
 
He was shaky at times but Southgate asked a lot of him yesterday. He was in positions that were vulnerable for any CB. We saw Hummels face the same problems the other day.

Call me crazy but he's what we're looking for in a CB. A leader, dominant in the air, great at bringing the ball out of defence and plays on the left side of the defence. Whether he's the man we need to sign is another matter but I wouldn't mind at all because he ticks all boxes for what we need.

His lack of pace can also be covered by Bailly or Smalling who are rapid. Terry never got exposed for pace because Carvahlo always had him covered.
 
Not a fan of his. I’d actually prefer Dier in the back 3 to replace him.
 
Yeah agree, absolute weapon in the air- really useful to have. Just worry about how slow he is from a standing start. He does turn like a ship and could get targeted by quid agile players running in behind.

Like him though.

Right there, you described Phil Jones, when he was marking Eden Hazard, when Hazard got the penalty in the FA Cup Final.
IMO, rather than having "oafs", I'd much rather we had agile, athletic defenders, in the mould of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Eric Baily, etc. Nimble, athletic attackers will tear the "oafs" apart, as we witnessed in the FA Cup final.

His lack of pace can also be covered by Bailly or Smalling who are rapid. Terry never got exposed for pace because Carvahlo always had him covered.

Wrong! We saw in the FA Cup final, that no other defender was able to cover for Phil Jones, when Hazard turned him. He had no choice but to go 1 v 1 with an athlete and he was beaten, hands down. It wasn't even close. That 1 error, cost us the match. The likes of Jones or McGuire would need to lose a lot of weight before they can compete against an athletic attacker and in 2018, most of the top attackers are athletic.

And as for John Terry - he was athletic. Not super fast, but to leave him for dead was not easy. It also helped that he had a terrific footballing brain (which hasn't yet been talked about).

Not a fan of his. I’d actually prefer Dier in the back 3 to replace him.

Dier gets my approval. From a physical stand point, he can compete against athletic attackers and won't be left for dead.
 
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Good player and a relative bargain for what Leicester paid.

Obviously he isn't the quickest but his reading of the game, ability in the air and the fact he's very comfortable with the ball at his feet makes up for it in my opinion.

Yh agreed. But are Centre Halves ever really that quick in relation to the fastest strikers and wingers, or do they rely on positioning? Just looking at the list of fastest pl players last year, the only Centre Halves in there are Zouma, Rudiger and bizarrely Koscielny? Wouldn't count Zouma or Rudiger in the leagues top defenders so is pace that relevant in this position? Thoughts?
 
Not a fan of his. I’d actually prefer Dier in the back 3 to replace him.

Me too- Dier is the player that will make us function with 3 at the back.
I believe that the transition from LVG to Jose should have been a 352, we have too many good strikers to merely use one, we have certain defenders that seem to play better with each other (smalling & blind) and worse when in a partnership like smalling & Jones. Midfield wise, having extra CB provides support to midfield and wingbacks.

The reason we never work out on 352 & the same reason it wont work out for england is that ball playing defenders shouldnt be at the heart of the back 3 - that is still too defensive; what is needed is someone like Eric Dier who has the combined ability to transition from a CB to a CDM; allowing the back 3 to transition between a back 2 and a back 3 when required. That will stop us being overly defensive.
 
I like him. I wouldn't look too much into him being shaky. He's played for not very competitive clubs and all of a sudden he's starting for England in the World Cup! Of course he'll be nervous.
 
Not a fan of his. I’d actually prefer Dier in the back 3 to replace him.

Dier should replace Walker, Maguire was fine although he had a few nervy moments.
 
Dier should replace Walker, Maguire was fine although he had a few nervy moments.

I was underwhelmed by Walker at RCB. A lot of his passes were very loose and inaccurate for someone so accustomed to playing higher up the pitch.

Also he's got recovery pace, but his positioning and awareness in and around the box are very suspect. Not be blamed really as he is an attacking RB mostly known for his forays up the pitch rather than his defending prowess.

It might work against a Tunisia team sitting back, but I fear this particular back 3 selection could suffer against a more potent attack. I still think Cahill or Dier in the middle with Maguire and Stones on either side will be more solid defensively.
 
All I can say is, if we bought him instead of Lindelof last summer, we wouldn't be looking for a CB this summer. Which is fecking annoying.
 
Yh agreed. But are Centre Halves ever really that quick in relation to the fastest strikers and wingers, or do they rely on positioning? Just looking at the list of fastest pl players last year, the only Centre Halves in there are Zouma, Rudiger and bizarrely Koscielny? Wouldn't count Zouma or Rudiger in the leagues top defenders so is pace that relevant in this position? Thoughts?

I agree it's not that important however I do think it depends who you pair him up with.

I think Maguire would be great alongside Bailly for instance as they would compliment each other very well.

What do you think?
 
Right there, you described Phil Jones, when he was marking Eden Hazard, when Hazard got the penalty in the FA Cup Final.
IMO, rather than having "oafs", I'd much rather we had agile, athletic defenders, in the mould of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Eric Baily, etc. Nimble, athletic attackers will tear the "oafs" apart, as we witnessed in the FA Cup final.



Wrong! We saw in the FA Cup final, that no other defender was able to cover for Phil Jones, when Hazard turned him. He had no choice but to go 1 v 1 with an athlete and he was beaten, hands down. It wasn't even close. That 1 error, cost us the match. The likes of Jones or McGuire would need to lose a lot of weight before they can compete against an athletic attacker and in 2018, most of the top attackers are athletic.

And as for John Terry - he was athletic. Not super fast, but to leave him for dead was not easy. It also helped that he had a terrific footballing brain (which hasn't yet been talked about).



Dier gets my approval. From a physical stand point, he can compete against athletic attackers and won't be left for dead.

Jones is nowhere near as big as Maguire. Terrible post
 
English Hummels, good overall defender and with the ball at his feet but lacking a bit in pace
 
Liked him when he played for Hull. Outstanding qualities for a defender going forward. Clever player, quick thinker and gets the ball out of defence by playing good forward passes. He is just what Smalling lacks. A modern CB!
 
Bit shaky but overall I thought he was good. Decent playing the ball out from the back and driving forward with the ball. Commanding in the air too.

Just as long as he shakes off the nerves in the games to come, he should continue to get better during the tournament.


My exact thoughts. The only one who was able / wanted to bring the ball forward from the back. Good with his feet. Did a real dangerous cross field pass which was cut off, but other than that he won aerial duels in both ends and was the best of the back bunch.

He may lack pace, but his def partners need to take care of that and help him out.
 
having watched him play with Wes Morgan all season I can tell you his supposed lack of pace has never been an issue, people get too hung up on pace all the time
 
These posts fill me with joy, I hope the scouts of every other club agree with you all

He’s a very good CB, when him and Robertson were at Hull I thought both of them could go on to be amongst the best in their position in the PL. The big clubs missed a trick not signing him last summer.
 
Think he's better than Smalling and Jones, we should have gotten him before he got to Leicester
He is much better than both of them. I think he would compliment Bailly very well if we bought him and vice versa. I like how he reads the game and his aerial ability is very good.
 
He’s a very good CB, when him and Robertson were at Hull I thought both of them could go on to be amongst the best in their position in the PL. The big clubs missed a trick not signing him last summer.
you're relegation practically guarantees he stays though, Mawson will be clubs first choice
 
My exact thoughts. The only one who was able / wanted to bring the ball forward from the back. Good with his feet. Did a real dangerous cross field pass which was cut off, but other than that he won aerial duels in both ends and was the best of the back bunch.

He may lack pace, but his def partners need to take care of that and help him out.

Yup he definitely does lack pace and does not seem very mobile, however, that downside can be reduced as long as his positional sense is good and has the help of the other defenders who are significantly more quicker than him, especially Walker (even though he seems to be a bit of a liability so far).
 
Right there, you described Phil Jones, when he was marking Eden Hazard, when Hazard got the penalty in the FA Cup Final.
IMO, rather than having "oafs", I'd much rather we had agile, athletic defenders, in the mould of Rio Ferdinand, John Terry, Eric Baily, etc. Nimble, athletic attackers will tear the "oafs" apart, as we witnessed in the FA Cup final.

1. Maguire is much better than Phil Jones both defensively and offensively.
2. I think everyone would much rather have Rio Ferdinand / John Terry 'types'.. slight problem is that they are once in a generation defenders!!
 
I agree it's not that important however I do think it depends who you pair him up with.

I think Maguire would be great alongside Bailly for instance as they would compliment each other very well.

What do you think?
It's basically a poor man version of Boateng & Hummels :p

On serious note, I think people are overrating Maguire. Comparing to Terry by saying Terry also lack speed is lazy. Terry had different role in the pair. He was to mark compete for every long ball toward his own goal with his faster partner to sweep when the defense push up. Maguire is very good in the air but to be able to dominate (get to, position to get involved in majority of aerial ball) I yet to see. It's a quality on its own. Very few possessed this quality. Someone who can dominate aerially in their box like Sol Campbell, Stam weren't exactly on the same level aerially when it comes to sniff out aerial ball further away from goal.

Terry is a cnut and he had the know how to get on somebody nerve. It's a dark art that can be used. A tough and very good tackler too. His box defending is as good as you can ask, having a knack for last ditch challenge while most of the time position himself at the right place and right time.
 
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Maguire isn't a sweeper, he is a CB that happens to be able to do more than lump the ball forward