“Manchester United gave Harry Maguire the captain’s armband too early.”
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a mistake in giving Harry Maguire the captain’s armband, according to Paul Parker.
Parker played for Man United between 1991 and 1996 and helped Alex Ferguson’s side win three Premier League titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup. The former England full-back featured alongside Red Devils skippers such as Bryan Robson, Steve Bruce and Eric Cantona, and future United captains Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs.
Parker believes that Maguire is not captain material and feels he was promoted to the position too soon in his Old Trafford career. The 57-year-old also questioned the transfer fee Man United paid for the central defender.
Paul Parker: Harry Maguire is not a good fit to be Man United captain.
“Manchester United gave Harry Maguire the captain’s armband too early. It surprised a lot of people; it didn’t make any sense and it hasn’t been a good fit from day one,” Parker told BonusCodeBets.
The former Man United full-back said that Maguire is not currently the “right player” to hold the captain’s armband and that there are faults in his game that need “rectifying.” Parker argued that Maguire is currently one of several issues in the Red Devil’s defence and midfield. He also identified the performances of Luke Shaw as a concern.
“Against Atalanta, Maguire was more content with sticking his arm up in the air every time they got in behind, rather than defending first and then asking the question,” Parker said about United’s 2-2 draw in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Paul Scholes: "Harry Maguire… I don’t know if he is injured or has a hangover from the Euros, it just does not look right. He is all over the place." #mulive [bt]
— utdreport (@utdreport) November 2, 2021
“I’m not sure what it is about Manchester United right now, but it seems as though they’d prefer to throw their arms up rather than do their jobs properly! That is a huge concern. For me, when that second goal was scored, I turned around straight away and said it wasn’t offside. I could see clearly; I have no idea why it took so long for them to check.
“How many times was their striker caught offside? That should have been the hint for the defenders to either hold a good line or argue with an assistant on the touchline and someone in VAR. They should have said ‘I’m going to get up against this fella [the Atalanta striker] rather than hope for an offside unless it’s blatantly obvious.
“They just didn’t do that until they went 2-1 down, and it could have been more, to be honest.”
Parker: Maguire cost Man United too much money.
Parker also stated that the transfer fee Man United paid Leicester City for Maguire in 2019 was “far too much.” The 28-year-old cost United £80m, a record fee for a defender, and he has struggled to justify the outlay in his time at Old Trafford so far.
After a steady season last year, and some impressive displays for England at Euro 2020, Maguire’s form has dipped during this campaign. He has also been hampered by a calf injury and returned to action arguably too quickly when he played in a 4-2 loss against his former team at the King Power Stadium last month.
Parker, however, does not appear to rate the central defender highly.
“He did okay during the Euros, but you have to remember the quality of players he was up against in the Euros, it was far less compared to the Premier League,” the ex-England defender said.
“People say he had a great summer for England but his only real test was in the final against Italy, and he was found wanting against them positionally. He was caught out a few times then, as he is in the Premier League, as he was against Leicester.
“He’s one of those players that, as that Leicester fixture showed, has to be 100% physically, otherwise he isn’t right in the head. That’s why he was so bad in that game.”
Parker is one of several former Man United players to criticise Maguire in recent weeks, with Keane and Paul Scholes also questioning his recent performances.
