During Lonnick's four months at the helm of Manchester United, the team's record seemed to be good, with only fewer points than Manchester City and Liverpool in the same period. But fans who have watched the game know that the Red Devils have not performed well in many games, and many times they have won or remained unbeaten. In the team, captain Maguire was widely criticized, and his performance continued to be sluggish, and he was finally put on the bench by Lonnick in the last round.
In United's match against Watford, Maguire sat on the cold bench, with Varane and Lindelof starting. The British "Times" revealed that Lonnick accepted the opinions of Manchester United players, and many teammates believed that the performance of the 80 million pound iron guard this season was not worthy of the status of the starting field.
After helping England reach the final of the European Championship last year, Maguire was devastated. United team-mates first called for Maguire to be removed as captain, with Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandez more suitable for wearing armbands. But Lonnick strongly objected, insisting that Maguire was still the dressing room leader.
Now, a number of United players are privately questioning that Maguire's performance is not up to the high standards that United should have, that Lonnick should not repeat Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's mistakes, and that he has started in the field. Critics of Maguire by other United players were first seen in the squad meeting after the 2-4 defeat to Leicester City on October last year.
At the time, the players blamed each other, one of whom pointed out that It was the wrong choice for United to make him captain six months after Maguire joined. Maguire's agent has denied the incident, while his friend insists he attaches great importance to the position of Captain of Manchester United. But after Ronaldo joined, the 28-year-old Maguire worried that his influence in the dressing room had been weakened, and many teammates no longer respected him.
According to the British "Daily Mail", Manchester United clubs are also worried about Maguire's situation and are ready to buy another "world-class centre-back" in the next transfer window, with Borussia Dortmund's Arcangi, Chelsea's Rudiger and Barca Arroyo all on the rumours list. Other fans asked Ronnick in person whether he was considering bringing in Jules Conde of Sevilla.
Manchester United star Leo Ferdinand pointed out that if the team is to play high, then Maguire's turning speed will become a burden. "I think there's room for improvement in United's defence, Lindelof is a good player, a reliable player, but can he get you to win the league? I do not know. Can Maguire get you to win the league, that's also a question. Ralph (Lonnick) and other top teams now want to press high. So, you need defenders who can defend in midfield, win the ball early and attack higher."
Ferdinand added: "Liverpool are doing a very good job at this point, Manchester City is also very, very good, and so is Bayern, which are the three best teams in the world. Everyone was playing in that direction, and so was Ronnick's style of football. But can Maguire do it, can you use Maguire to play this tactic? This is my question, and it's the question of many people."
With United set to play at the Etihad Stadium against leaders Manchester City this Sunday, Lonnick will need to choose whether to recall Maguire back to the starting line-up. Both Lindelev and Varane have outperformed Marquerong this season, and of course the abandonment of the club captain would be a big decision. Against Watford, Ronnick hid Maguire's official reason because he played the Champions League knockout match against Atletico Madrid three days ago, but in the Manchester derby, rotation can no longer be an excuse.
Manchester United have played a series of vicious matches in March, successively against Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico, and the good news is that the original away to Liverpool's double red club has been postponed due to Klopp's side's promotion in the FA Cup. The game was scheduled for 20 March, but now Liverpool will play the sixth round of the FA Cup that weekend, while United can rest early. This is all good news for Cristiano Ronaldo, Fernandez, Diorgu Dalo and Lindlev, who play for Portugal and Sweden, all facing a life-and-death battle in the European zone play-offs at the end of the month.