Maguire | he stays!

Just sign Kim and tell Maguire he will be our 6th choice CB for next season.
 
A clear sign that the club needs to be more ruthless and move on deadwood. Only there is more to the rumour to Spurs and with Southgate basically threatening his position he would be stupid not to leave. Worst 80 mill we have ever spent. Leicester did us over on that one.
 
I mean there were points we had both our first choice CBs out, and he still didn't get a sniff, outside of some sub appearances in the last 10 minutes when we setup shop.

I mean the fact the manager would rather play Luke Shaw out of position ahead of a fit Maguire should tell him everything he needs to know about where he stands in the pecking order. Hopefully Southgate's recent comments about him at risk of losing his England place aren't a bluff, and it propels him to actually move for his career.

As unlikely as it is, I do hope we sign Kim Mim Jae before he leaves, then and maybe then any delusional hope he might have had of fighting for his place disappears, but sadly it seems we're unlikely to make the signing until Maguire fecks off.
I completely get that, but Southgate used that bluff before, and then Maguire was first choice at the world cup (he usually goes for tried and tested / loyalty).
Its up to United to be strict with Maguire if we want him gone, but if we arent, I could see why Maguire would want to stay.
 
I'd understand if the only offers were from relegation candidates and such, but if he's had offers from the likes of Tottenham, a fairly big club where cup trophies and CL qualification are very much within the realm of possibility, it says a lot about him. Maybe there's a correlation between his atrocious performances and his apparent preference for collecting his pay from a permanent place on the bench. If he actually wanted to play as much as possible and revive his career, a move to a club like Tottenham, or even Villa who seem to be on the rise, would make all kinds of sense.

Choosing to piss the rest of his career away on the bench, just to squeeze more money out of it for now, falls right in line with what he shows us on the rare occasion that he does play. And in the long term, will that even result in more money earned once he does retire? It's not as if we'll renew, and who would take him if he has sat on the bench for three more years? That's when the only offers will be from clubs at the bottom of the league, or even the Championship. There's every chance that he could move on now, with a moderate drop in pay, but actually play regularly and end up making more money in total by the time he retires, than if he sits on the bench until 2026 and then goes to Wigan or whoever will have a man who has languished for several years.

One thing that has to happen, and which may also help nudge him out of the door, is for ETH to revoke his captaincy and give it to someone more deserving. We can't have a captain who barely plays, and he doesn't deserve to play more than he has lately. Even when he does play, there are no apparent signs of leadership from him. We can safely assume that none of the other players think highly of his footballing credentials, given that he is de-facto one of the worst players at the club these days, so the only way in which it would make sense for him to remain captain (if we pretend that he actually did play with any kind of regularity) would be if he had a strong aura of leadership. There's no indication whatsoever that he does.
 
Last edited:
I'd understand if the only offers were from relegation candidates and such, but if he's had offers from the likes of Tottenham, a fairly big club where cup trophies and CL qualification are very much within the realm of possibility, it says a lot about him. Maybe there's a correlation between his atrocious performances and his apparent preference for collecting his pay from a permanent place on the bench. If he actually wanted to play as much as possible and revive his career, a move to a club like Tottenham, or even Villa who seem to be on the rise, would make all kinds of sense.

Choosing to piss the rest of his career away on the bench, just to squeeze more money out of it for now, falls right in line with what he shows us on the rare occasion that he does play. And in the long term, will that even result in more money earned once he does retire? It's not as if we'll renew, and who would take him if he has sat on the bench for three more years? That's when the only offers will be from clubs at the bottom of the league, or even the Championship. There's every chance that he could move on now, with a moderate drop in pay, but actually play regularly and end up making more money in total by the time he retires, than if he sits on the bench until 2026 and then goes to Wigan or whoever will have a man who has languished for several years.

One thing that has to happen, and which may also help nudge him out of the door, is for ETH to revoke his captaincy and give it to someone more deserving. We can't have a captain who barely plays, and he doesn't deserve to play more than he has lately. Even when he does play, there are no apparent signs of leadership from him. We can safely assume that none of the other players think highly of his footballing credentials, given that he is de-facto one of the worst players at the club these days, so the only way in which it would make sense for him to remain captain (if we pretend that he actually did play with any kind of regularity) would be if he had a strong aura of leadership. There's no indication whatsoever that he does.
:D
 
Of course he doesn't want to leave. He'd surely have to take a pay cut and he knows he can sit on our bench and be our cheerleader without risking showing how bad he is every week.
 
May be a way of trying to get United to cover a portion of his wages as its clear no club is paying him what he's currently on.
 
If we bought a CB he would be 6th choice CB option, he should understand that. Licha, Varane, new CB, Lindelof, Luke Shaw then Maguire. That's where he is in the pecking order.
 
Of course he doesn't want to leave. He'd surely have to take a pay cut and he knows he can sit on our bench and be our cheerleader without risking showing how bad he is every week.

I have to wonder how much is to be gained from this, though. Let's say he sits on the bench twiddling his thumbs until his contract ends in 2026. He'll be 33 by then. Who will take him after he has collected splinters for three more years? He may have higher wages at United than he'd get elsewhere, but he could definitely get above-average wages at Tottenham if he goes this summer, and could have a decent 5-6 more years. If he languishes here until 2026, however, who will give him more than like £50k/week after he has barely laced his boots for three years?

And what about his place on the national team? Southgate has already hinted at his concerns in that regard. While I don't know how much a player earns for international duties, losing his place for England would cost him some money as well. Is it really that much more lucrative to effectively cash your career in for three more years of high wages, knowing that you'll probably earn little to nothing afterwards once those three years are over? And that's in addition to the fact that he doesn't get to actually play football with any sort of regularity.

Let's say he could make £100k/week for six more years, or £250k/week here for three years and then his career is basically over because he has sat on the bench for three years. He'd surely lose his England spot in the process, so take away whatever he earns there. If he has given up on football to such a degree as to prefer to stick with his no-show job, he should at the very least be stripped of the captaincy immediately.

Is it naïve working-class romanticism to imagine that a player should choose to actually play football for somewhat less (but still absurdly lucrative) pay, over showing his employer the middle finger and sitting out a contract that he doesn't deserve to have been given? Granted, it was the club's mistake to offer it, but at the end of the day, he is not delivering anything even slightly close to what he's paid for.
 
Last edited:
Oh look, another hanger on. This is what happens when you hand out ridiculous contracts to bang average players. You’re unable to shift them on as they’d rather sit on the bench and collect a fat wedge than go elsewhere and get regular minutes.
 
If Spurs offer £40m and £100k per week we could just pay him £10m to go and he has lost nothing.

£30m in the bank and Maguire gone… why don’t we do these simple things.

Honestly could not hate the Glazers and what they have done to this club any more than I do already.
I hope you're right mate. I'd love to see Maguire at Spurs
 
We can't have a club captain that can't even get a game. Need to take that armband of his asap.
 
I'd have said there's a long time until September, but we need the money now in order to get Kim Min-Jae. I've been reserved in my words about Maguire, I think he has been catching a little bit too much shit, even if I don't rate him. But if we miss out on Kim because of him... Murtough and Ten Hag should sit him down and explain to him he will be playing with the U-21s until the end of his contract, if at all. There's no place for him in the squad. There shouldn't be. And I'd rather not talk about the armband.

Just leave, mate.
 
I have to wonder how much is to be gained from this, though. Let's say he sits on the bench twiddling his thumbs until his contract ends in 2026. He'll be 33 by then. Who will take him after he has collected splinters for three more years? He may have higher wages at United than he'd get elsewhere, but he could definitely get above-average wages at Tottenham if he goes this summer, and could have a decent 5-6 more years. If he languishes here until 2026, however, who will give him more than like £50k/week after he has barely laced his boots for three years?

And what about his place on the national team? Southgate has already hinted at his concerns in that regard While I don't know how much a player earns for international duties, losing his place for England would cost him some money as well. Is it really that much more lucrative to effectively cash your career in for three more years of high wages, knowing that you'll probably earn little to nothing afterwards, once those three years are over? And that's in addition to the fact that he doesn't get to actually play football with any sort of regularity.
His contract ends in 2025 surely we aren't daft enough to take the option of year extension .
 
I highly doubt he's keen to trade in the rest of his career for the sake of what, being 25% MORE disgustingly rich by the end of it?

It'd be outrageously short sighted, and I can only hope with a head that big there'll be a brain in there capable of seeing this.

Take the move to any other PL club and enjoy the rest of your career, England and all.
 
His contract ends in 2025 surely we aren't daft enough to take the option of year extension .

Ah, I simply googled his contract end date and it said 2026. Still, it doesn't change the fact that it's kind of a miser's move to opt for two years of wanking on the bench just because it pays more. He's within his legal rights to do so, but it makes his career even more unimpressive.

I'd love for anyone to explain how this man somehow became the captain of both Manchester United and the England national team. Some fecking mystery, that. Has he ever even displayed any meaningful leadership qualities? I've always found him to be kind of a stick in the mud.
 
I'm going play devils advocate here. Why should Maguire take a step down just because it suits the club?

We gave him that contract. We made him club captain. Maybe he feels that he is a better player than he's shown recently and he feels he could fight to win his place back.

My personal view is that he wont manage to achieve that, but I also don't think he should get even more criticism for refusing to abandon a contract that we offered him.

Like any other player on the planet; it's for his best interests. If he sticks around due to his own accord, then he'll definitely see even less gametime next season and jeopardise his England spot.
 
I have to wonder how much is to be gained from this, though. Let's say he sits on the bench twiddling his thumbs until his contract ends in 2026. He'll be 33 by then. Who will take him after he has collected splinters for three more years? He may have higher wages at United than he'd get elsewhere, but he could definitely get above-average wages at Tottenham if he goes this summer, and could have a decent 5-6 more years. If he languishes here until 2026, however, who will give him more than like £50k/week after he has barely laced his boots for three years?

And what about his place on the national team? Southgate has already hinted at his concerns in that regard While I don't know how much a player earns for international duties, losing his place for England would cost him some money as well. Is it really that much more lucrative to effectively cash your career in for three more years of high wages, knowing that you'll probably earn little to nothing afterwards once those three years are over? And that's in addition to the fact that he doesn't get to actually play football with any sort of regularity.

It's actually 2025 with the club having a year option.

However from Maguire's point of view what do the club have to gain by keeping him on the bench for 2 years? They lose any transfer fee and end up paying £20m in wages. If I were his agent I'd be saying that if United are given the choice between subsiding his wages (either through a £10m reduced fee or £100k per week for 2 years) and selling him; or having him sit on the bench, they'll naturally do the former.

Therefore it's a safe bet if you're Maguire that you're happy to sit tight and wait for a 4 year contract where you're earning £30m (with the aforementioned subsidy), rather than a 4 year contract earning £20m.

Of course the club could strip him of his captaincy, declare him 6th choice and say he'll be training with the reserves next year; but that would only serve to increase the subsidy United will end up paying.

The root issue is that we more than doubled his salary when he came here when he had no other option on the table. If we'd have offered £130k per week he'd have gotten a 50% pay rise and would now be a viable transfer for the likes of West Ham, Forest, Spurs or Villa (even at £35-40m). This scenario is exactly as we've done with Martial, Antony, Sancho, VdB etc; meaning if they fall short of expectations we're either lumbered with them for years or we have to accept a tiny fee just to get rid.
 
Club has to be direct in telling players they are surplus.
 
He needs to be sold to free up funds, so I really think the club and Ten Hag should make their intentions clear that there's no place for him in the team and his playing time will be severely limited.
 
Just sign Kim and tell Maguire he will be our 6th choice CB for next season.

I would go even further and give Kim Maguires squad number.

Make it abundantly clear that he won't be in the squad next season. With Euro 2024 coming up Maguire needs to move to keep his England place. Villa and Spurs are actually really good offers, much better than what I thought he'd get.

I feel like a loan move to one of these clubs could work?

Get them to cover his wages and then hope he has a good season and try and sell him next summer.
 
For all we know the club have told him to feck off and this is a negotiating stance to get a payoff. Or the journo is talking shite.

I'd happily bet that he'll be gone by the end of the summer window.
 
I would go even further and give Kim Maguires squad number.

Make it abundantly clear that he won't be in the squad next season. With Euro 2024 coming up Maguire needs to move to keep his England place. Villa and Spurs are actually really good offers, much better than what I thought he'd get.

I feel like a loan move to one of these clubs could work?

Get them to cover his wages and then hope he has a good season and try and sell him next summer.
If that’s not insulting enough, we could also change his squad number into 69 or something.

But I think we really should look for direct sale as he is not at a good age for loan move.
 
Like any other player on the planet; it's for his best interests. If he sticks around due to his own accord, then he'll definitely see even less gametime next season and jeopardise his England spot.

I agree. I think that's quite likely to happen, but it's also his decision. What I think is harsh is people expecting to just ship himself out to any interested club just because it suits us
 
Feel this is just clickbait story telling to scared United fans.
 
Maguire is just continuing the circus that is United. The rule of play, even if you not wanted, is hang in there and you will get more money.
 
Just tell him he's fifth choice CB at best and then he won't be in the Euro 2024 squad for England either.
 
He probably is getting very little real interest. None of the rumors have ever seemed concrete and United’s mooted price has always been highly unrealistic.

Once you start thinking about Maguire vs other options that clubs are linked to having, its very hard to find a situation where he makes sense if United wants >20m in a transfer fee, let alone the 30m or 40m prices sometimes thrown around.

West Ham could buy Maguire to be their 3rd/4th CB, as he isn't displacing Aguerd or Zouma at this point. Or they could bring back Agbonna for virtually nothing and spend that money on other badly needed positions. Or they could buy another player they are linked to like Jonathan Tah who is 27, has an 18m euro release clause, and will get wages a third of what Maguire makes.

Same with Spurs. Why would they want Harry Maguire? Postecoglou plays exactly the kind of football where Maguire's deficiencies have been most exposed and the alternative seems to be a player like Laporte, who is a year younger, no more expensive, and actually is suited to playing that kind of high line football.

Aston Villa. They could buy Maguire. Or they could buy Pau Torres, who once wages are taken into account won't be much more expensive but is four years younger, arguably better, and has worked extensively with Emery before.
 
Last edited:
If today's reports are true, it's time for Ten Hag to name a new captain and be very clear that he's 5th choice CB pending an incoming transfer. Problem is Maguire could be 9th choice and that cnut Southgate could still pick him so Maguire doesn't have as much incentive to find a new club.
 
I hope we don't give him an inkling that he can stay and fight for his place.

Maguire surely must know that he's surplus to requirements and not just a player who's fallen out of favour temporarily.
 
I’d be very surprised if he winston Bogardes us. Highly doubt he’s here in September
 
What would you do? Pull his finger nails out until he accepts a transfer?

Get recruitment right so it happens less. Become less well known in boardrooms for saying yes to everything, like pulling out of the Rabiot negotiations last summer, only doing it for years where we are being treated like the mugs we currently are…That being said with Maguire we’ve played it well. He gets plenty of games, he plays well enough to attract teams to enquire I’m sure, we don’t treat him like he’s not good enough re the captaincy, anyone that buys him can say they have bought the United captain. He’ll be a stalwart for any club outside the top 4.
 
I swear if this slabhead feck costs us Kim Min-jae because he's too proud to admit he's behind Martinez, Varane, Lindelof AND Shaw I'll flip.