Which of the three is the worst signing ?

davidmichael

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No long post and a simple question so who is the worst signing of the three between Sancho, Maguire and VdB ? For the money spent, the impact (or lack of) on the pitch, wages etc.

I don’t know how to add a poll so if that can be added or shown how that’d be great.
 
Sancho on value at least Maguire had 1 decent season

VdB for impact since he's done absolutely feck all
 
Rood said:
Sancho on value at least Maguire had 1 decent season

VdB for impact since he's done absolutely feck all
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Correct answer

bigger bomb Sancho or Pogba? Looks like Sancho as Pogba at least gave us more than a couple of games
 
Sancho by far. Huge fee, huge wages, and contributed nothing. Literally zero contribution.

Maguire had 1-2 good seasons, Pogba was inconsistent and not the right fit but still contributed plenty. VDB did nothing but his fee was cheaper and he probably isn't on insane wages.
 
Red Star One said:
Correct answer

bigger bomb Sancho or Pogba? Looks like Sancho as Pogba at least gave us more than a couple of games
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Easily Sancho. Pogba was inconsistent as feck but the games he was good he looked unstoppable. Sancho has never reached those heights with us.
 
davidmichael said:
No long post and a simple question so who is the worst signing of the three between Sancho, Maguire and VdB ? For the money spent, the impact (or lack of) on the pitch, wages etc.

I don’t know how to add a poll so if that can be added or shown how that’d be great.
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On the individual level, Maguire was easily the best. He at least had 18 months of decent form then half a season of great form before he shit the bed. You could argue that him being made captain and his lack of leadership and later dramatic loss of form was then a bigger negative than the other two ever became, but I think the first two seasons has him clear.

Sancho has been better than VDB, but not by enough to warrant the extra money spent on him (both in transfer and in wages). So Sancho has been the worst.
 
Sancho. We needed a top quality right winger for a decade. We bought him.
 
Sancho hasn't performed but his worst is more definitive of a lack of effort it's mentality that is the issue. Maguire's worst is his capabilities as a player. Maguire and Weghorst are the worst signings the club has made post SAF for me personally. Sancho I would have closely behind but his performances haven't been as stagnant as Maguire's. When Maguire is on the entire defence recedes catastrophically.
 
davidmichael said:
No long post and a simple question so who is the worst signing of the three between Sancho, Maguire and VdB ? For the money spent, the impact (or lack of) on the pitch, wages etc.

I don’t know how to add a poll so if that can be added or shown how that’d be great.
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Sancho. At least with Maguire we got 1 maybe 2 decent seasons. Sancho hasn’t even given us one month of good form.
 
It depends on how much money you can get for them. You got nothing back for Pogba and the others are still in the squad. Performance wise of course Sancho but I think you can still sell him for a decent free.
 
Sancho is probably the answer, but the extent of Maguire's damage has another dimension. His failures on the field are obvious, but I feel like he did a lot of intangible damage to Manchester United the brand and the institution. The fact that this mediocrity was made captain of Manchester United was bad enough, but the way that he would continually invoke his captaincy in the media and wear it as an signifier of his value and importance and to brush off criticism was cringeworthy to see. He was leveraging the status of the club to big up himself in a way that felt almost extractive.

It almost felt like a very public culmination of a long downward slide that was undeniably laid bare for the whole world to see with each blunder on the field, because he would never shut up about being the captain. It became a recurring symbol of mockery and banter for rival fans. It also probably disrupted locker room dynamics when other players of stature were asked to fall in line under his "leadership".

I mean, look at the list of recent multi-year tenured Manchester United captains: Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce, Eric Cantona, Roy Keane, Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney...and Harry Maguire. He sticks out like a sore thumb!
 
Redstain said:
Sancho hasn't performed but his worst is more definitive of a lack of effort it's mentality that is the issue. Maguire's worst is his capabilities as a player. Maguire and Weghorst are the worst signings the club has made post SAF for me personally. Sancho I would have closely behind but his performances haven't been as stagnant as Maguire's. When Maguire is on the entire defence recedes catastrophically.
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In recent seasons yes, but the second half of the 2020-21 season saw Maguire reaching levels Sancho has come nowhere near to reaching (at United.)
 
Pogba didnt fulfill his potential but he was miles better than the likes of Sancho. Maguire was never worth the fee but was decent in his first two seasons. Vdb has done absolutely nothing, its incredible he came just six months after Bruno. Considering everything (fee, hype, performance) Sancho has been the most disappointing. Its the absolute lack of effort that gets to me, he doesn't bother to do much, doesn't bother to be involved. Its just the odd nutmeg, or goal or assist every now and then. No coherent body of performance. Not even within a single game.
 
It depends on whether we will be able to recuperate some of the money we paid for Sancho. If we can, it will sweeten the pill a bit.

I guess very few people will vote for VdB. Not that they are wrong, but it is indicative of the apathy we feel nowadays when United throw 40 million Euros down the drain. A sad state of affairs.

I would say Maguire, but for reasons that haven't got to do with him directly. He was the marquee signing and, soon after, he became the face of a concerted attempt to spend three years building a team based on nostalgia and catchy slogans instead of modernizing the club from top to bottom. And the whole situation with Maguire now is a disgrace. And i don't care how much of this is Maguire's fault. The fact that a United player, more so one that has led the team onto the pitch, has become an object of ridicule worldwide is a clear sign of our decay. More than a disastrous signing, one that also serves as an example of how we get (almost) everything wrong for a decade.
 
Red Star One said:
Correct answer

bigger bomb Sancho or Pogba? Looks like Sancho as Pogba at least gave us more than a couple of games
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Pogba was deployed in a double pivot and still led United in all attacking stats. Prior to Bruno he carried this team plenty of times. He's so disrespected here, it's ridiculous.
 
Maguire had some decent periods of form in his first couple of seasons. Sancho had a few decent moments here and there but never even two consecutive games when he performed well for 90 minutes. VDB doesn't have either of those things, he's the most nothing player we've signed since Morgan Schneiderlin.

For the cost and expectations, Sancho is the worst.
 
A few years ago there was this big thing made of our recruitment refresh and how we're sounding out players through people who knew them, basically to understand their attitude, behaviour etc...wtf happened when we signed Sancho and that twat Maguire!
 
At least Sancho scored a winner against the old enemy.
VDB has done nothing.
Maguire for me is the worst, as he cost the most, and has reduced the club to a banter club.
 
DvB - he's had virtually no impact at all, he looks out of his depth in the PL

Sancho has scored a few goals but little more, he seems to be physcially and mentally weak

Maguire isn't anywhere near as bad as is made out, he's just not suited to the way we want to play
 
Sancho, then VdB, then Maguire. Maguire had a good season or 2 which rules him out of this. He declined is the biggest problem, given that physically he was so slow that when he lost that extra step, it killed all his defensive instincts at this level.

Sancho had massive hype and fee, and basically has been irrelevant. Donny has been irrelevant but as a squad player hype and half the cost.
 
Skills said:
Harry Maguire is the most expensive defender of all time.
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The true cost of a player is the purchase price, all fees & taxes + the players salary - the value of the return the player gives in terms of performance and reputation gain.

I don’t like Maguire, those lame excuses he came out with following his pissed up brawling in Greece were laughable, but as far as I’m aware he works hard in training, shows respect to your club and his manager and he functioned quite well until you started playing out from the back and he didn’t have the ability. I think he’d be good under a different / more traditional system and I know he’s not moving because he’s glued to his big wages but that’s fair enough because it’s the deal both parties signed up for.
He’s still playing for England because clunky international footie is where he shows off his best side.

Pogba had attitude problems aplenty but I think he trained ok and he did, of course, pull some occasional truly sublime performances out of his hat and, what with all the showmanship he had, he might have been costly and somewhat unreliable but I doubt that damaged your clubs marketability one iota.

Sancho? . . he’s done hardly a jot for you on the pitch, your club has bent over backwards to help him in every possible way and, it seems apparent that he courts bad publicity, has no respect for his manager and simply doesn’t give a shit about your club.
The poo between his ears that passes for brains has made him unsellable on even half his current earnings, he’s a dead weight, a sea anchor to progress.

IMO both Maguire and Pogba delivered some return on your outlay whereas Sancho is taking home £1million every 3 weeks and thinks he’s bigger than Utd.
From where I’m standing it looks like Sancho takes the biscuit and it’s not even close.


PS. My takeaway from this current situation is that TH is a serious manager who won’t be deterred from sorting the wheat from the chaff.
 
Depressing to consider. Also included Pogba as he was a massive signing but let's see:

  • DvB- I can't honestly think of a single game DvB had where i thought he was great and i don't think that's entirely his fault as i don't recall him ever having a string of games where he started- began life at the club on the bench most of the time and hardly featured IIRC. 1 out of 10 if we're doing a scale.
  • Sancho had goals against City and Liverpool but i really can't think of a sustained period of really good form from him. Such a poor signing all things considered, and at least Antony runs and works hard despite putting in an equally poor return of goals and assists. For the money and the expectations you'd have say it's something like a 2 out of 10 signing
  • Pogba was outshone by Herrera in his first season I thought, but did well enough although looked like he was struggling with the price tag; a disappointing second season/fall out with Jose but then had his best performance in a United shirt against City :drool:. Third season was by far the best; effectively got Ole the job and was included in the PFA team of the year. Next few seasons were some decent performances here and there but struggled for consistency due to injury and never knowing where to fit him into the team. 5 out of 10
  • Maguire good start to his career but the last two years have been painful for everyone concerned. Not his fault the club gave him the captaincy straight away. 3 out of 10.
The worst for actual performances has been DvB by a mile. For expectations probably Sancho. Maguire and Pogba can at least point to some periods of sustained good form.

About 280 million spent on these four I believe :(
 
Pogba was used totally wrong, if he had powerhouses like Case & Amrabat behind him, he would have become a true legend at Utd.

Beek didn't get a proper chance, once he got one he got injured. And he had the bad luck of having Bruno on his position.

Maguire is a decent defender, but his howlers and some unbelievable positioning cost him badly. Of course we paid too much for him. But we pay too much for any player.

So it's Sancho by far. Never showed his talents and the will to succeed. Only bad behavior and pointing the finger to others instead of himself.
 
VdB was cheap and doesn’t come close to the other two, he is just a meme because Ole used to bring him on with a couple of mins to go almost as a running gag.
Maguire at least had a couple of decent seasons but Sancho has been toilet since day 1.
 
I'd say VDB as he has literally offered nothing, and that is clearly the way it will always be, then Maguire, the limitations he has are massive for the fee we paid, but he was ok for a season, and can do a job in the right circumstances, then Sancho, only because it's obvious that he is far more talented than the other two, and there is still an outside chance that he can come good for us.
 
@davidmichael This has turned into a far more interesting thread than I imagined! For me it is 100 per cent Maguire as building from what @TheRedDevil'sAdvocate alludes to, he represents the farce the club has become over the past decade
 
VdB has done literally nothing.

Sancho at least made the entire Liverpool defence look like utter amateurs that one time.

Maguire was fine until Greece.
 
fps said:
Sancho. We needed a top quality right winger for a decade. We bought him.
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Bought him to then play him left wing. I remember he had a good spell on the right, think it might have been under Rangnick.
 
DJ_21 said:
His most remembered moment for us :D
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I can only remember a goal away vs Leicester and thats it besides that. I have no recollection of him scoring vs City for some reason.

*edit* yeah he scored in a 4-1 defeat no wonder I had it blurred out of memory.
 
VDB - done jack shit

Maguire - was largely fine until the COVID break with the Greece incident then it just fell apart for him from that point on.

Sancho - Caused (and continues to cause!) way more trouble for us than he's been worth in the couple good games out of many mediocre to bad ones.

Torn between Maguire and Sancho for me. For how little VDB contributes, he at least crosses the minimum threshold of staying out of embarrassing controversies.
 
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