After The league match between Manchester United and Arsenal ended, the fans had this feeling: "When Maguire was there he was a loophole, when Maguire was not there, there were loopholes everywhere. ”
Recently, the veteran Premier League player Paddy Kenny also talked about the performance of the Manchester United backline in this game in an interview with Football Insider, and he concluded: "The defense of Lindelof, Varane and Tres is a disaster level, and Manchester United fans really miss Maguire. "His reasoning was that Arsenal wouldn't have scored his first goal if Maguire had been on the pitch.
"He could have played well in the game and I know there are other reasons why he didn't play, but that's just the surface of how much the fans miss him when he's not there. Can he get better? Of course. Maguire would raise his hands and say he wasn't doing a good enough job, but who could do better? No one has performed well this season. Why can't the coach let him play like he did with the England national team? I mentioned before that the whole team at Manchester United is terrible, not just a one-man problem. ”
Arsenal's first goal came from a cross from the left, Varane at the front point did not kick, the Tres at the back point also kicked empty, the ball fell in front of Saka, Saka shot bounced off the upright, Tavares followed up with a shot to break the goal. A cross that pierced 2 defenders was indeed too unreliable. But will Maguire be able to avoid conceding a goal on the pitch? To be honest, this hypothetical topic doesn't make sense. If Maguire was on the pitch, could we assume that Varane would not have conceded a goal if he had been on the pitch?
But Paddy Kenny's other points are very reasonable, and United's current defensive ability is not a problem with one player, but with the entire defensive system. As a simple example, if there is a problem with a company's anti-theft system, it must be stolen here today and stolen there tomorrow. But if we put the blame on one security guard, rather than improving the system, no one can avoid the problem.
We can clearly see how high the performance of new signings such as Maguire, Wan-Bissaka and B Fee has just joined. Maguire is at the heart of the defence at Leicester City and the England national team, and although it does not cost a transfer fee of £80 million, it is certainly the best in the centre-back; Wan-Bissaka's defensive ability is also the top in the top of the top five leagues in Europe; and the B fee is the absolute thigh of Portuguese sports. The performance at the beginning of the 3-man franchise swept away the haze of low quality of previous reinforcements.
After Van der Beek and Tres, which is not the absolute main force of their respective teams? Sancho in last summer's window, the Bundesliga assist king, one of Dort's most threatening points in the frontcourt; not to mention Varane, a proper championship-level centre-back, is also in the year of playing. Why did these players get to Manchester United without exception in the doldrums? To put it bluntly, today's Manchester United is a "star black hole", and almost all the people who come in are down.
On the other hand, Manchester City and Liverpool, after their players joined, they almost completely increased the ball, and then their value increased. If United give these players to Guardiola or Klopp, they will definitely look new.
United's problems began with a transformation. Before this season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer mainly played defensive counterattacks, and his previous signings were also very suitable for this style of play. After bringing in Sancho, Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo this season, he began to make the transition to pass-control football, but the transformation failed. There are many reasons, the characteristics of the players are limited, the manager's personal tactical concept, on-the-spot command, etc. are insufficient, resulting in a decline in the record and eventual collapse.
Ronnick tried to advance another tactical approach after taking office, but was blocked for similar reasons. In the end, they compromised, constantly adjusted in tactics, and eventually became the four different things they are today. In the process, the mentality of Manchester United players has also been problematic, lack of self-confidence, impatience, resulting in technical deformation and wandering.
As a result, United are facing a complex system problem and there is no point in putting the blame on a single player. But United are right to look for Tenhag, who has a clear tactical style of play and team building experience, and in the next 3 weeks, he will have a video conversation with the players one by one. In the process, he will have a rough outline of the future lineup. Leave the right players for yourself, and then strengthen a few weak positions, and fight for 4 next season is still expected.