HARRY MAGUIRE

Zlatan in the US

Our Captain Harry Maguire

by Alan Abela Wadge

Harry Maguire has “everything a captain should have” and is a natural leader for Manchester United, according to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised the impact Maguire has had on the squad since he was appointed permanent captain in January, following Ashley Young’s departure, and put him in the same bracket as great captains he played under such as the great Roy Keane.

United valued Maguire’s leadership skills and his potential to be a future captain when they decided to pay Leicester City £80million for him in the summer. Young’s decision to move to Inter Milan has accelerated that process but Solskjaer is delighted with the way the 26-year-old has settled into the role. “I didn’t expect him to be captain this quickly but he’s been in the dressing room and with the coaches, he’s vocal, he’s got the experience, he’s got everything a captain should have, I think it’s natural for him to take that role, his performances have helped. I’m delighted with the boy, that was one of the attributes we were looking at when we signed him,” Solskjaer said.

“We’ve had different captains, Gary, Roy, Eric, Giggsy, they’ve all been different personalities. Harry’s his own man, but Man United is, if not the biggest, one of the two or three biggest clubs in the world and he’s now the front man for it. You have to be thick skinned, you can’t sulk or feel sorry for yourself, you have to get on with things and be proactive. He’s got to lead men, we’ve got a few men and some boys as well, he’s got to go in front as an example for everyone,” the boss added.

What Harry Maguire brings to Man United is some shades different from what we’ve seen from the more recent captains United had. Somehow I feel that the choice of Man United captains after Wayne Rooney, namely Carrick, Valencia and Young weren’t done by merit but mainly due to a lack of choice. Carrick, although an exceptional player and a very decent coach as we’ve seen lately, is not an inspiring figure. Valencia, with all due respect to him, is a player that gave a lot to this club, but he doesn’t scream the word captain either. On the other hand, Young was always one of the more quiet members of the great United squads, he only became captain as he was the oldest fella in the dressing room so the role kind of fell into his lap.

Now the mantle of captain has been passed on to Harry Maguire. One of the quickest ever players to become captain of a Premier League side, has also been warned by a former United Captain, Gary Neville that s*** will come thick and fast. If that’s not a strong and direct warning to our new captain I don’t know what is!

Having said that, both Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney praised Harry Maguire’s mental strength in more recent interviews. They both confirmed that Maguire is the natural choice for Man United to be captain.

Standing tall and as imposing as a brick wall, Harry Maguire instills the courage in his young teammates and also the fear in his opponents. This is all happening at the very same time when his defensive partner hasn’t been chosen 100% yet. Lately we’ve seen two adaptations of defenses for Man United. Sometimes paying with 4 and sometimes playing with 3 at the back. Whenever United plays with 4 at the back Maguire is partnering either Lindelof or else Eric Bailly and when United plays with 3 there were times when both Lindelof and Bailly teamed with Maguire and other times, being positively surprised, Luke Shaw was utilized as a left centre defensive partner to Maguire and one of the other two. No matter what type of defense the Boss decides to use, one thing is always for certain: Harry Maguire is the first name on that team sheet.

The next few months should be very interesting for Harry Maguire. In the 2 nd half of this season he will need to make the role his own and help United challenge for a top 4 spot and also to achieve the latter stages of the Europa League and immediately afterwards, Harry will be joining the English National team to challenge for the newly revamped Euro 2020 with a potential mouthwatering final at Wembley. These next few months are very important for Maguire as he will have the opportunity to build himself up, settle in the role and make it his own and set the pace towards becoming a United legend in his own right. Magurie’s first target will definitely be to ensure that United wins as many points as possible to have a fighting chance of finishing in the top 4 of the league. If he manages to do that, then it would be a guarantee that next year Maguire will captain United in the Champions League, and who doesn’t want to do that?

Harry Maguire, the £80 million defender that United just bought from Leicester has already been installed as our captain. He has the opportunity to carve himself a legacy that shows that through hard work you can achieve greatness and if his first few months at Manchester United are anything of a guarantee of his future performances, then we’re all in for a real treat!

Best of luck Harry, the boss trusts you and if he does, then we will chant your name and support you through thick and thin!

Good luck to our captain!

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