Gareth Southgate ready to help endangered Harry Maguire
By Daily Tab24. Updated: Sep 14, 2023.
Harry Maguire will forever be indebted to Gareth Southgate, the England senior team coach has demonstrated sympathy for the Manchester United centre back who has been permanently kept on the sharp blades of critics – who have found it as a normal practice to poke fun at Maguire and criticize every of his mistake on the pitch without constraint or pity.
Criticisms have not helped Maguire who has found himself at crossroads. Unable to make a move to another Premier League club during the summer transfer, and stocked at Manchester United without sufficient playing time, Gareth Southgate still starts him. He has become an undisputed starter under the England national coach’s reign, something Maguire’s critics have often frowned at.
Maguire is blamed for every of the Manchester United’s error, both the errors coming off him and the collective error of the team. Signed from Leicester City Football Club at a British record transfer for a defender, Maguire showed glimpse of greatness which ultimately earned him the captaincy of the club, but due to change of coaches and declining form of the team, Maguire’s form was affected and hate soon festered to the point he got booed by his own fans sometimes.
Known for own goals to the point in African country’s parliament (withheld) he was used for example of a bad or self-inflicted decline of the country’s economy. Maguire has been isolated for loathe, like he is the first defender to have conceded own goal. On the list of defenders with most career own goals, Maguire is still far below on the list.
The abnormal criticism of Maguire has not helped the Manchester United man it has rather affected his confidence and made him an endangered species. Manchester United newly signed goalkeeper, Onana was captured seething at the defender after an attacking player was left by the team to attempt a shot. Andre Onana was later criticized for picking out Maguire, instead of the entire team. It was said he attacked Maguire because he was the soft spot for criticisms.
In England national team, Maguire has found grace and his national team coach is bothered by the rate of criticism he receives from pundits in England. Maguire’s recent own goal in the match against Scotland raised issues and even made Scotland fans to boo him. After the match, the press focused on the defender’s showing, but his coach came to his aide.
“I have never seen a player treated the way he is” Southgate said when asked about his player.
“He’s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second most successful England team for decades – he’s been an absolute key part of that” the coach added.
“I have talked about the importance of our senior players, he’s been crucial among that” he added and continued “Every time he goes on the field, the resilience he shows is absolutely incredible. He’s a top player and we are all with him and our fans were brilliant with him”
“From a Scotland fans’ point of view, I get it. I have absolutely no complaints with what they did. But it’s a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time” the coach said about the continued and unrelenting criticisms of his player by pundits in the country.
“It’s a joke. Not by the Scottish fans but by our own commentators, pundits or whatever it is. They have created something that is beyond anything I have ever seen”
“I think our fans recognized, ‘Ok, there might be a bit of heat from our own supporters but we are not going to have others getting into him” Southgate extended in defense of his player.
Critics have mounted pressure on Maguire and have not helped to return him to the very best that pushed Manchester United to sign him for a record fee.
