Harry Maguire

[JadeWolf]

I remember we played Sheff Utd at Bramhall Lane in League 1 and he got absolutely bullied by Leon Clarke. Come a long way since then! Thought he had a dodgy first 20 minutes last night but then never put a foot wrong. I also really like Stones, you don’t really notice him but he’s so calm and composed.

 

[wolvesultra]

If Coady steps up in the Prem he has to be in the running for an England call up.

True would suit that system too.

In all fairness my post was a bit of a wind up I thought Maguire was excellent last night. Man of the match.

 

[Ponty]

Remember when we all said Batth was better then him. Good old gold tinted glasses

Speak for yourself! Maguire has always been good on the ball which is one of DBs biggest weaknesses.

 

[Tring Wolf]

Got caught under the ball for Colombia’s goal but played well apart from that. All the back three are having good tournaments so far.

 

[Axle]

I remember during the 1990 world cup Mark Wright played in a similar system and emerged as one of the best defenders of the tournament. It might be true to say that we don't have many world class players, but they can emerge in tournaments like this and I think Maguire may be one of those, although in all honesty, both him and Trippier and to a lesser extent Stones (who has always been a good player, if prone to mistakes) have had good tournaments.

Last night was a real test of the mettle of those players and they came through it I actually thought that was our best defensive performance and Colombia didn't create much not solely because they were poor, but because our midfield (including Henderson!) didn't let them.

This is not a team of good players, but it is a good team of players.

 

[NewarkWolf]

Speak for yourself! Maguire has always been good on the ball which is one of DBs biggest weaknesses.

If I’m honest I always feel nervous when maguire has the ball when we’re playing it out from the back. He’s brilliant in the air though

 

[WonderWolf]

I wouldn't say everyone was against the purchase of Maguire, said to be a ball player at the time he was certainly one that interested a few on here.

Also why is it Jackett gets credit when we have a dept headed by Kevin Thelwell that specifically has to be looking out for suited talent to buy in?? Very likely were keeping tabs on him and he was in there with others like Callum Wilson in the dossier file box.

Alfie Mawson is another I believe we were looking at a while ago too.

 

[steve vena]

Only a couple of beers Mr Wolf. Not enough to impair my judgement on Harry McGuire. I did see him driving forward and I was thinking who the hell is defending. I saw plenty of guts, courage and determination from him but he was a bit lacking in quality on the deck IMO which put us under pressure at times. I'm not singling him out for critisism but this thread is about him. This England squad probably is probably the lowest quality England squad I have ever seen but the things they do have that recent England squads have lacked and thats more guts, team spirit and a little bit of luck.

I thought he was like boly . Sorry Sam I have to disagree .

 

[Direwolf]

Not quite sure how people can say Trippier MOTM??? He was on the line at the corner to stop the ball going in at the far post and what did he do??? Made up for it a little with his penalty but still quite disappointed in him.

 

[Sammy Chungs Tracksuit]

Thought Maguire was excellent. MOM for me. England have finally woken up to the fact (like Wolves) that you need ball playing centre halves to dictate the game, to keep possession, and not lump balls into channels, or in the path of flying wingers and instantly give the ball away. Control the game. What we need to do better is to control the game without the ball. But Maguire is definitely not a hoof merchant. The exact opposite.

I made a couple of posts on McGuire last night basically saying he is not comfortable on the ball. Several posters thought otherwise. But I'll just explain a bit more where I'm coming from. What I mean by not comfortable on the ball is that he does not have the kind of composure of say Boly or Lescott who can/could both keep the ball and play themselves out of trouble even when being pressed in defensive possession.

I agree that McGuire doesnt lump it long into the channels when he is pressed. I also agree that he is happy to drive forward providing he is not being actively closed down. My comparison with Danny Batth is that when McGuire was being pressed in defensive posession he was far too happy to choose the easy option of passing back to Pickford. I'd estimate this happened around 5 or 6 times last night and every single time it happened Pickford just booted it up the pitch and Colombia gained possession. So while McGuire himself wasnt booting it into the channels and directly losing posession himself, his lack of ability on the ball meant he was taking the easy back pass to Pickford option which then resulted in us losing the ball when Pickford was obliged to hoof it. For me McGuire is never going to be a top class defender but more of an honest pro who is limited but gives his all for the cause.

 

[Sammy Chungs Tracksuit]

I thought he was like boly . Sorry Sam I have to disagree .

Fair enough SV. We all have different opinions. I just hope we get another 3 world cup 2018 games for me to reassess my opinion!

 

[Fast Eddie]

MOTM = Pickford. Made a mockery of his many critics from his last game. What a save for the penalty.

Honourable mensions:
Maguire - a driving force from the back.
Stones - those 2 goals have given him the confidence to look like the £50 squillion player that City originally signed.
Trippier - The quality of his crosses are first class and he didn't dissapoint yet again.

Question marks:

Sterling - actually played ok, good movement, involved a lot, and caused the Columbian defenders a few headaches but snatched and fluffed at his one clear cut chance and looks desperately short on end product confidence. Needs a goal to get is finishing mojo back but is running out of time for me. Vardy should be given his chance to show whether he can be a goal threat or not at this tournament.

Alli - Has shown his class in the past but not for over a year for club and country. Went missing again last night. Our problem is a lack of creative midfielders putting him under pressure. Needs a kick up the ****, i.e dropped.

Lingard - was anonamous last night but same problem as Alli, who do we replace him with? Did well in the group stage so gets another chance. Needs to turn up against Sweden though.

And Kane. Didn't do much in the game but stuck both his penalties away yet again. Invaluable to England.

 

[Himleywolf]

Watching England is like watching the Wolves.
Suddenly everyone is a supporter!!!!!

 

[Deleted member 3573J]

Looks like a skoda, plays like a rolls royce, from his build you'd think he was a traditional head it and hoof it England defender but he glides down the pitch, deceptively quick. He's not afraid to get stuck in either, a vital bit of defending in extra time when he put Falcao off what would have been a clear chance after Stones lost him, got across and eased him out the way.

He wouldn't look out of place at a top club, Barca or Real Madrid for example.

 

[reanswolf]

I thought Maguire was superb, solid in the challenge, always calm in distribution, a constant threat from set pieces, and great at moving forward with the ball.

Quality all round in a very difficult and volatile environment.

 

[Bankswolf The Third]

I put Magiure as my MOTM. Typified everything you want from a player at this level. Big, strong, not nervous about the big occasion and kept Falcao quiet. I am still on the fence about Walker as CB as he has a mistake or two in him but Maguire and Trippier have been different class this tournament.
Kane is just a beast. You set off fireworks next to him and the guy wouldn't even flinch. A terrific appointment making him captain as if i was a young player I would only have to look at how he handles the situation to give me an instant confidence boost unlike other overrated scouse captains I can think of from recent memory. Defenders are terrified of him as well which helps hence why we keep winning penalty's.

 

[OoohRobbieRobbie]

Not quite sure how people can say Trippier MOTM??? He was on the line at the corner to stop the ball going in at the far post and what did he do??? Made up for it a little with his penalty but still quite disappointed in him.

If you can't see that he couldn't do anything about that then I'm afraid you don't know what you're talking about mate.

It was a downward header which came up diagonally towards him (getting higher as it got to him), so all he could do was jump on the spot and try to get something on it. Which he did. But it was too high. It went in off the bar for **** sake.

Go Go Gadget Neck? My God.

And sorry... you were quite disappointed in him, for what, not defying the laws of physics on the goal line, or are you talking about his overall performance? If it's the latter, I'd watch the cricket next time if I were you.

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

If you can't see that he couldn't do anything about that then I'm afraid you don't know what you're talking about mate.

It was a downward header which came up diagonally towards him (getting higher as it got to him), so all he could do was jump on the spot and try to get something on it. Which he did. But it was too high. It went in off the bar for **** sake.

Go Go Gadget Neck? My God.

And sorry... you were quite disappointed in him, for what, not defying the laws of physics on the goal line, or are you talking about his overall performance? If it's the latter, I'd watch the cricket next time if I were you.

Trippier actually said after the game that he got his feet in the wrong position, as he thought the guy was going for a direct header not into the ground,i agree though i doubt he would have stopped it anyway
As far as he goes generally,i would say up there with Kane as our player of the tournament,looked a bit tired late on but then many of them did,hope they can recover for Saturday and the heat of mid afternoon

 

[Stafford]

it's a real shame Kenny never got backed properly instead of having his team destroyed

 

[OoohRobbieRobbie]

Trippier actually said after the game that he got his feet in the wrong position, as he thought the guy was going for a direct header not into the ground,i agree though i doubt he would have stopped it anyway
As far as he goes generally,i would say up there with Kane as our player of the tournament,looked a bit tired late on but then many of them did,hope they can recover for Saturday and the heat of mid afternoon

Yeh that's it, he was always going to shape his feet ready for a direct header, so when it bounced awkwardly and at pace off the ground he never stood a chance.

He's certainly been our best player alongside Kane, so glad he's started in that wing back role, he's light years ahead of Walker offensively and with delivery.

 

[nicko69]

Stones prone to lapses of concentration - Guardiola not afraid to bench him last season, preferring Otamendi.

 

[Mr Wolf]

Player of the tournament for me so far. Defended better than anyone & a threat going forward. You all loved that big donkey from Colombia the other night because he’s foreign & plays for Barca. Maguire's been absolute quality & he was 28/1 first scorer £5 on boom

 

[Big Saft Kid]

There's always a surprise package. In 1966 it was Alan Ball, who people had hardly heard of up till then, but whose boundless energy transformed us. Maguire this time has been the revelation.

 

[Dr Wolfenstein]

There's always a surprise package. In 1966 it was Alan Ball, who people had hardly heard of up till then, but whose boundless energy transformed us.

A Blackpool player at the time of the World Cup, like Jimmy Armfield, which was fairly unfashionable. His great club career was still ahead of him. Previously rejected as a schoolboy by both Wolves & Bolton (oops!).

 

[nicko69]

Trippier is England's best player for me - without him England would be struggling for goals.
And some of those passes with his chest.

 

[The Bear]

Kane and Trippier have been our best players by far, followed by Stones and Maguire for their threat at set-pieces.

 

[Oldgold Wolfcub]

A Blackpool player at the time of the World Cup, like Jimmy Armfield, which was fairly unfashionable. His great club career was still ahead of him. Previously rejected as a schoolboy by both Wolves & Bolton (oops!).

Another big mistake by Thelwell.

 

[Stoichkov]

Kane and Trippier have been our best players by far, followed by Stones and Maguire for their threat at set-pieces.

Trippier, Maguire, Pickford, Henderson, Stones and possibly Lingard for me. Also I've been pleasantly surprised by Young - never used to like him but he's won me over at LWB

Something about Alli winds me up - even in his interviews it's like he's too laidback. He should be head and shoulders our best player, living off the season before last I think

I also love 70% of Sterling's game - that bit when he plays on instinct (eg the run to meet Henderson's ball over the top)... It's when he starts thinking about stuff when he fluffs his lines

Need Alli and Kane to step up on Wednesday. This is Kane's moment, never mind hat-tricks against pub teams

 

[astraltrader]

I thought Maguire was superb, solid in the challenge, always calm in distribution, a constant threat from set pieces, and great at moving forward with the ball.

Quality all round in a very difficult and volatile environment.

At last an opinion I agree with!!
Along with Pickford Maguire was my MOTM against Sweden.
I was one of those who really wished we had pushed the boat out and signed him when available around four years ago.

 

[Edgmond Wolf]

My MOTM

 

[Himleywolf]

Was quite embarrassed to see how l had spelt his name but it was quite late and after a few beers.
Sorry Harry McGuire

 

[Deleted member 4152]

Looks like a skoda, plays like a rolls royce, from his build you'd think he was a traditional head it and hoof it England defender but he glides down the pitch, deceptively quick. He's not afraid to get stuck in either, a vital bit of defending in extra time when he put Falcao off what would have been a clear chance after Stones lost him, got across and eased him out the way.

He wouldn't look out of place at a top club, Barca or Real Madrid for example.

A Skoda is basically an Audi these days Jim.

 

[Houston Lobo]

... followed by Stones...

I'd break the bank to get him down The Molineux.

 

[JuliusCaesar]

Firstly, credit to Southgate for ditching that old England manager mentality of ignoring form players at smaller/medium sized clubs in favour of more established players from bigger outfits. I actually like Cahill, but picking Maguire was absolutely the right call. Not hindsight either. Maguire earned his place on merit and that will give other English players, no matter who they play for, hope that if they perform for their clubs then they have a chance. Glad to see the days are gone where an England manager would evaluate lots of players during friendlies/qualifiers and no matter what form those players were in, would then revert back to the tried and tested (failed) bigger names.

And secondly. How well did everyone do on the original Maguire thread back when we were linked?

Harry Maguire

Who's got a future as a top level scout and who's more suited to nominating Walker's next 'flavour of the month'?

I think most did well here. Four years ago too, so nice to see some validation for those who could see he was a good player.

 

[wolfgar]

Firstly, credit to Southgate for ditching that old England manager mentality of ignoring form players at smaller/medium sized clubs in favour of more established players from bigger outfits. I actually like Cahill, but picking Maguire was absolutely the right call. Not hindsight either. Maguire earned his place on merit and that will give other English players, no matter who they play for, hope that if they perform for their clubs then they have a chance. Glad to see the days are gone where an England manager would evaluate lots of players during friendlies/qualifiers and no matter what form those players were in, would then revert back to the tried and tested (failed) bigger names.

And secondly. How well did everyone do on the original Maguire thread back when we were linked?

Harry Maguire

Who's got a future as a top level scout and who's more suited to nominating Walker's next 'flavour of the month'?

I think most did well here. Four years ago too, so nice to see some validation for those who could see he was a good player.

In an alternate universe somewhere, maybe Danny Batth is currently stepping out on the grand stage and his long term replacement Maguire is struggling to get into our first team.