Harry Maguire is the butt of every joke at this point on social media, and wherever it is that you look. In the last England game versus Germany where the English team was actually doing quite well particularly taking into account their previous outings it was again Maguire who seemed to be doing the opposition a favor contributing to multiple Germany goals.
The situation that we’re seeing today happen with Maguire has happened with many players across different leagues in the world. Usually it takes a couple of high profile mistakes to get yourself on the fans’ naughty list, and from there you’re going to be blamed for all of the team’s woes moving forward. Even if that’s fair or not in each particular instance. So we want to go over Harry Maguire’s play in the last England game to figure out if in fact he’s the one that’s holding the team back. If so, should Gareth Southgate leave him off the squad that heads to Qatar?
Is Maguire Really To Blame For England’s Defensive Woes?
As they say there are two parts to every story, and in this England/ Harry Maguire tale it’s no different. The first thing that stands out about the England versus Germany game where Maguire looked rather bad at times is the fact that he’s being asked to play on the right side in a 3-man back line. This is certainly not an excuse, but Southgate isn’t putting the man in a comfortable position to begin with. In that back 3 line since he’s playing to one side he’s asked to come out of his spot, and defend 1v1’s in the open field. That’s the last spot that you want this guy to be in. If Wreck it Ralph was a real person his running form would be identical to Maguire’s.
What happens when you run head on? You’re always out of position, and you never try to give the player one side. His bad positioning is one of the main reasons why he ends up committing the penalty kick. He can make some clearances to crosses that come into the box, which he did throughout the game. If you’re going to ask him to play 1v1 in the open space versus virtually anyone he’s done for. Southgate should share the blame here, because if he wanted to use Maguire in the back 3, have him in the middle where he can just clear what comes his way, and play as a last line of defense. Don’t force him to come out and defend players on the wing or in the open field.
What The Real Problem With Maguire Is
The real problem with Harry Maguire is that Manchester paid Leicester 78.3 million pounds for him, and Leicester had already paid anywhere around 12 to 17 million pounds for him! He looks, and plays like he’s 40 at 29, but he’s really just one of the worst cases of an English player being overhyped, and overpriced. He’s in many ways a very traditional English center back, stiff, tough, terrible with the ball at his feet, not really all that cerebral.
Maguire is what he is, a player that because of his physicality can play in the back he has some decent guidance, and they keep the ball away from him as much as possible. Don’t ask him to play from the back or go out and face a speedy wing player in a 1v1. When they keep asking him to do that he keeps getting exposed. If he’s asked to lead a defense and captain a team he’ll keep getting exposed because his own teammates don’t respect him in that role. Is he a terrible player? He’s pretty much the same guy you can see across multiple Premier League teams at every level of play. A very traditional British center back. The problem is he’s expected to play like Fabio Cannavaro, or even Sergio Ramos, and that’s just not what he is!
