Maguire must silence the boo boys with better Man Utd performances

Ralf Rangnick has been pretty straight when it comes to answering journalists’ questions in press conferences during his four months at Manchester United. 

But there was one question on Friday lunchtime, at the club’s Carrington training base, that the German manager did not have an explanation for. 

He, along with many others, could not understand why Harry Maguire was booed while playing for England over the international break. 

Three Lions' boss Gareth Southgate was strong in his condemnation of the fans' reaction and Maguire’s international team-mates have all come out to back the Man Utd captain. 

“I can’t get my head around what has happened at Wembley tonight,” Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson wrote on Instagram.

“Harry Maguire has been a colossus for England. Without him, the progress made at the last two tournaments would not have been possible. To be booed at his home stadium, for no reason? What have we become?

"What happened tonight was just wrong. As someone who wants to win with England, I feel fortunate to share a dressing room with him. We all feel the same!” 

The bemusement for most came because Maguire’s performances in an England shirt cannot really be faulted. He was named in the Euro 2020 team of the tournament and was a key figure in helping Southgate’s side reach the final.

He has played for England 14 times since October 2020, with 12 wins, no defeats, 10 clean sheets and has scored six goals. They have only conceded five goals in his last 19 appearances in an England shirt.

It was only nine months ago his name was being sung down Wembley Way as fans basked in the excitement of reaching the Euro final. 

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Yet here we were back at the same venue less than a year later and he was being booed. 

We don’t know why some of those inside Wembley decided to boo him during the game against Ivory Coast on Tuesday night.

Presumably it is because he has been in poor form for United recently and the fans felt like he didn’t deserve his place in Southgate’s latest squad.

Based on performances this season United fans do indeed have reason to be aggrieved with the centre-back’s displays but not England fans.

 The Old Trafford supporters are expected to show their support for the 29-year-old when they host Leicester at Old Trafford on Saturday evening. 

“I speak regularly with him since I came here and he knows my position towards him, he's been a very valuable player and the captain of the team and the club,” Rangnick said on Friday.

“I didn't understand what was going on at Wembley but I’m pretty sure it won't happen in our stadium with the Red Army behind the team and the club and the captain.

"He's a very important player and he’s been playing well for Manchester United and England in the last couple of years.” 

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Club supporters are fiercely loyal to their players and Maguire will discover that when he leads the team out on Saturday afternoon. But their loyalty isn’t blind and, while they are expected to vocally back the defender, there is an acceptance that performances do need to improve. 

The reverse fixture against Leicester was one of Maguire’s worst displays of the season. He was rushed back into the starting XI after injury and he looked slow, rusty and generally poor as he was jeered by the home supporters at the King Power Stadium.

His inclusion in that line-up also caused issues in the United dressing room and more questions were raised over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s management. 

Rangnick does not have the same loyalty to Maguire as Solskjaer did. He is not afraid to drop him and has left him out of the team on three occasions since he arrived in December.

Maguire has discovered that he is not undroppable despite the captain’s armband and the club privately acknowledge that there is room for improvement in his displays of late. 

For all the criticism thrown at the £80 million ($105m) man, a lot of which has been justified, there is the feeling that while his on-field displays can be critiqued his actions off it cannot. 

Online cynics suggest he has undertaken certain tasks as ‘good PR’ after some poor performances but his recent behaviour is in keeping with what he has done since he joined.

He has always retained a keen interest in helping the younger players at the club and asked if he could speak to the under-18s ahead of their FA Youth Cup semi-final at Old Trafford before cheering them on from the stands last month.

More recently he has met with the families of some of the U18s players when they signed their first professional contract. 

His help for Paul Woolston, the 23-year-old who was forced into early retirement due to injury, has also been commended. Maguire met with him for half an hour on the day he found out he had to hang up his boots to offer a range of opportunities that the goalkeeper is going to explore. 

That was a classy touch and not something to detract away from his own displays. But no number of nice gestures will distract from poor performances on the pitch. The only way to silence the boo boys and those doubting his ability is to up his level on the pitch.