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Harry Maguire’s string of substandard exhibits goes back longer than anyone would like and while his 21-month suspended prison sentence for a summer vacation incident in Mykonos overshadowed everything he’s done for the club and the country, the depth of its fall in the field can no longer be hidden.
England manager Gareth Southgate rallied behind his beleaguered defender after Wednesday’s 1-0 Wembley loss to Denmark, just as Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had before him and, Although he remains to the credit of both coaches due to the pedigree of past performances, Maguire will test both men’s patience the longer he continues his nadir.
Maguire entered this international break as part of a United four-back humiliated in a 6-1 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur, while just days earlier Southgate insisted it was a no-brainer to remember Maguire, who was forced to leave him after the news of his guilty verdict.
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Maguire appeals to that conviction, but has no reason to do the same here after a sent-off that cost his team any real chance of getting a result against Denmark.
The form of this firing exemplifies the problems Maguire is having. Defender United was convinced to pay £ 80 million for which he would never have thrown himself as recklessly as Maguire did in the fifth minute at Wembley, trying to win the ball with premature desperation as Yussuf Poulsen sought to spin near the touchline. from the near side.
And 26 minutes later, Declan Rice played a simple pass back to Maguire just inside the Denmark half, but the center-back controlled it poorly, allowing Kasper Dolberg to jump and in his panic to stop a counterattack, knocked down his man. to receive your marching orders.
Interestingly, Southgate suggested that Maguire had received criticism in the form of “all kinds of things, some from people who should know better,” and when asked for more details, the 50-year-old said: “I don’t think it’s necessary. through a difficult period and in these periods you learn a lot about yourself, you learn a lot about other people and you learn who is there for you in those difficult times.
“He will get over it, he will be a better player and a stronger man for that. He knows there will be criticism after this. You have to accept that. Going down to 10 men is costly for the team. But we stand behind him and we fully support him. He has been and he is a first level player for us. “
Maguire surely needs a longer break than was secured here. England were largely uninspiring during the final 59 minutes of this 10-man match, conceding a stiff penalty when Kyle Walker was judged to have fouled Thomas Delaney, allowing Christian Eriksen to score his 100th match with him. winning goal.
In the same way that Maguire was probably never worth £ 80 million, he is of course not as bad of a defender as he seems today. Under severe scrutiny and with an ongoing struggle to clear his name on the court, his game exhibits a lack of self-confidence.
He occupies a pivotal role for United and England, a state that will give him more time than most, as does his price, but neither team is defending with enough stamina to suggest that he shouldn’t be considered irreplaceable if this loss of form. . keep going.
The match list offers a little respite. United will face a difficult trip to Newcastle on Saturday night in the face of a disappointing streak of opponents: Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, RB Leipzig, Arsenal, Basaksehir and Everton in the Champions and Premier League.
With New Zealand pulling out of a proposed friendly, England’s next outing will be against Belgium, licking their wounds from an ill-fated defeat at Wembley and knowing that the Southgate side must win to have a chance of reaching the Nations League semi-finals.
When asked if he would consider resting Maguire, Southgate said: “I think knowing Harry as I do, he will want to play soccer. The best place for him is on the field. He has to deal with everyone having an opinion on what he should be. be doing, what you should not be doing, what you are doing.
“This is life as an elite player. If nobody is interested in you, then life is very simple. If you are captain of Manchester United and a top player with England, then everyone has an opinion, everyone. world has an opinion and you have to go with it. that one. “
Southgate has previously noted how England’s history underscores how moments of indiscipline have cost them dearly in tournaments (think Wayne Rooney in 2006, David Beckham in 1998) and while the price was modest by comparison, Maguire’s firing cost them the first place in the League of Nations. Group A2.
Reece James ruined a hugely promising first start by being sent off for dissent when tempers flared after the final whistle. Thus, it became the first time England have sent off two players in one game, continuing an unwanted narrative for Southgate that, combined with coronavirus breaches involving Mason Greenwood, Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho, Ben Chilwell and Tammy Abraham, there are signs of a discipline problem.
“Since I accepted the U21 position, we talked all the time about discipline because we knew that in the history of the tournament, it had not only cost us, but other teams,” Southgate explained. “We only had one red card with the U21s, we hadn’t had any before the last few weeks with the majors. That’s something we have to learn from because the [1-0 win] in Iceland last month it was much more difficult to go down to 10, tonight the same.
“Of course, there have been things off the field that have not been good. We have addressed them. This week has been very positive for the group. The older players have led very well. The camp has had a very good feeling about that.
“They know they came out of there having given everything and deserved more from that spell [with 10 men] and as a group internally, that is very useful to us. Of course, externally there will be great opinions on everything. “
Not least with Maguire.
