So, Harry Maguire came in for a lot of criticism for what happened to him for the first goal on Saturday.
Is it unfair? No, I don’t think so. He was bought for £80m and with that comes £80m expectation. I’m not saying judge him by his price tag and it’s fair to say that he’s not always had a settled back line to play in but he was brought in as a star player and should be treated as such.
I remember watching him play for Hull and saying to my lad Taelor that he was impressive. When he played against United for Leicester I thought to myself, that’s a United player. He brought the ball out and looked so assured with his crisp passing. But lately there have been some issues – he has struggled in some 1v1s and getting exposed on the turn. People say we should get a defender in for him – but why are we talking about signing another player to compensate for another’s weakness? That’s a red flag. Look, if United sign a quicker defender to play next to him, I’m sure he will improve. Lindelof is OK, but he’s not elite and Bailly is a ticking time bomb… on his day he’s good but on a kamikaze day? Then it’s anyone’s guess.
We had enough on Saturday to come back and I think that’s because we have some leaders growing in the side. And as a leader for me Bruno should be captain next season. His personality and aura is exceptional – and just to give Rashford a boost he makes him take the penalty. He’s a special player, kind of what we wanted Pogba to do. He didn’t, but even he is thriving with Bruno’s infectious attitude.
Maguire wasn’t the only one getting stick. David De Gea did too. That’s a tough situation. We know he’s decent with shot stopping but he’s frustrating… it’s a bit like I was back in the day, he needs a rocket up his arse like I did. He seems so laid back and it shows sometimes when he’s called upon, he never shows any emotion whether he makes a mistake or does a good save. So he’s hard to read but lately there are a few more mistakes and they’re looking glaring… for me, being perfectly honest, he doesn’t command his area either. Maybe he’s too timid. I know his regular coach has gone but that shouldn’t be a problem.
The question is if you replace him what do you do? Everyone is saying Dean Henderson. I wouldn’t bring Henderson in, I’d want to maybe buy another goalie who can also play with his feet as at the moment De Gea and Maguire just don’t look comfortable playing from the back. Then again, he’s no pressure on him… he’s undroppable, maybe why his form in crucial saves has cost him. He has no edge.
Shaw has done OK but I still say his crossing is abysmal and looks to have no care taken when he does it. I think it’s just a technical thing – some players have this ability to whip and ping the ball, and Shaw doesn’t. Yes, defence wise he has looked better, but he really does need to improve attacking. Brandon Williams is just fearless and has done well when asked upon. I don’t see him cementing a place at left back but he’s an honest lad and will never let you down. I see a loan move for him eventually, although he is a very good kid. Let’s see.
It was a bit of a surprise to see Nemanja Matic get a 3 year deal. For me he definitely deserved a new deal, and maybe two. At least it will hopefully stop speculation about Declan Rice who I think is way over priced and has been hyped up by the English media.
That said, we do need another midfielder. Thomas Partey, Saul or Wilfried Ndidi are options I like, but there is a French kid who reminds me of Desailly from Chelsea. A defender who looks like he can play holding midfield as well. He’s a unit of a boy. Dayot Upamecano.
I still think we need Jadon Sancho and another top striker – anything less and United don’t challenge next season.
Fans are getting excited because the team is on a bit of a run, but I’m not getting carried away because there’s not a lot of pressure on them at present. There are no fans and the big cup games aren’t here yet, and 2 or 3 key injuries and the team is what it was the last few years, exposing our lack of depth.
Some are saying we don’t need this and that now because we’re playing well. That’s naive. We need three, four or five players who can come straight in and be ready made starters if we want to genuinely be challenging.
Greenwood and Martial are on fire – because of that some say we don’t need a forward or right winger. Nonsense. Wait till the pressure is back on, we’ll see how we do and we can assess how good they are – yes, of course, the team is looking more confident and looking a threat at last, and maybe not set up to think about the other team for a change, but it’s still early days. We need a strong coach to believe in his philosophy and go all out and attack from the off and not negative with two holders in midfield or five at the back. I think Ole knows this, or at least the last 10 games he has seemed to. Maybe it is just the Bruno effect, like people are saying it is similar to the Cantona effect. Probably a bit of both.
The test, like I said, is when the cup games start and we’ll have a true sight of where this squad is up to.
Ole has to be forthcoming with his request for players. I’ve actually heard he’s ruthless as hell behind the scenes – he once saw a kid not celebrating a goal in the youth set up and questioned the coach, the coach was ordered to take him off! And in the Bournemouth game we saw a stare and words towards Maguire after that goal. Maybe the baby face assassin is an absolute tyrant behind the scenes – I like the thought of that!
