In his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, former Aston Villa and Liverpool striker Stan Collymore breaks down some of football’s biggest talking points, including England’s troubles with Harry Maguire and Trent Alexander-Arnold, as well as which teams they will emerge victorious after this weekend’s North London and Manchester Derbies.
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Big wins on the cards for Arsenal and Manchester City…
I think you have to favor the two local teams: Arsenal and Manchester City.
The form of both teams has been excellent during the opening stages of this season. I don’t want to take too much away from Tottenham Hotspur because they are also playing very well and are more than capable of going to the Emirates and taking all three points, but I think Arsenal will beat them.
Manchester City and Manchester United in a derby is also a tasty match and, to be fair, the old cliche of ‘form disappears in derbies’ really does hold true, particularly in this case. Form guidance definitely has no place in a match of this magnitude, but having said that, I still think Pep Guardiola’s men will emerge victorious.
Derbies these days tend to be very technical, distant and cautious fixtures and I don’t expect it to be any different this weekend.
One thing that I think will be good news for fans is instructions from the referee to allow games to flow where possible. For example, if Jack Grealish plays for the Citizens, you’ll likely see United players fly to him early on and maybe get away with it. The same will likely apply to the likes of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka for Arsenal, so these two fixtures will almost certainly have a good bite to them.
However, unfortunately for both visiting teams, I can see nothing but wins from City and Arsenal.
Virgil Van Dijk’s move to Liverpool didn’t help Harry Maguire, and here’s why…
Harry Maguire moved from Hull City to Leicester City and he did very well, but anyone who has watched football for any significant period of time will know that he is not Franco Baresi or Rio Ferdinand. He is a traditional defender, on the feet, who will head, kick and organize those around him, so from that perspective he is a solid British defender that any club in the last 60 years would have acquired.
However, the biggest problem both Maguire and Manchester United have had is that at the time he arrived from Leicester City, the Red Devils were going through an incredibly turbulent period. They needed to reinforce the backbone of their team. But also, they had a specific need for a dominant defender and that has been shown by players like Eric Bailly, for whom it unfortunately didn’t work out, thus the importance of Maguire, who will always be compared to Nemanja. Vidic and Jaap Stam, has been further expanded.
Liverpool’s signing of Virgil Van Dijk for around £75m didn’t help Maguire either. Especially considering the amount of transfer success he has had, but at the time Liverpool set the bar very high and allowed Leicester City to stand firm and ask for the same kind of fee for Maguire.
Had Van Dijk not moved to Anfield, Maguire would probably have left Leicester City for close to £40m and the pressure on him would be much less and his price tag, over which he had no control, became the stick on which the media and some the fans used to hit him with.
Criticism has gone too far…
Players understand that there is always going to be a lot of focus on those of them that cost the most, but what they don’t expect to happen is that the criticism will range from performances to almost personal attacks, which is what I’m afraid is happening. with Maguire.
Everybody knows that Manchester United were an enigma a couple of years ago and that’s because they had a top team but they weren’t set on the pitch, and in Maguire’s case, he seems to be a scapegoat no matter what. what happens
For example, I recently saw a broadcaster and a website criticize him because he had previously been relegated to Hull City, came to United, who then missed out on Champions League football, and more recently was relegated to the Nations League. . Division B with England, and I really don’t think that’s fair. In fact, it is very unfair.
There is no constructive criticism in that expert, that is basically saying “look at all these declines, what is the common denominator? – Maguire. It must be his fault! – Well, why doesn’t the same logic apply to Liverpool’s Andy Robertson? – He was also relegated with Hull City and has barely made Scotland into international contenders. We need to be consistent in our approaches, and in Maguire’s case, it’s really one-sided.
It’s true that Maguire hasn’t played well for 18 months, but I don’t think he was the main cause of England and United’s problems. I think it would be fair to say that he has been a part of this. It’s a team game, so any contribution a player makes, good or bad, is one out of 11, and we have to remember that.
Time is running out at Old Trafford but there will be many interested clubs…
I can’t see him going back to Erik ten Hag’s starting 11. The only way I think that would be possible is if ten Hag decided to go five back, and again, I don’t see that happening.
He has chances to come in during domestic cup games, and ten Hag may even include him with the under-23s to keep him going, and while I hope Maguire is a good enough professional to put his head down and do regardless of what asked, I think his time at Old Trafford is finally coming to an end.
Maguire’s agent is Paul Stretford, who was also my agent when I was a professional player, so I know Stretford won’t want his star client to sit there without doing much. He will know that he has a real big asset on his hands, so he will want him to play.
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The World Cup is only a few weeks away so for Maguire if he has a really good campaign he will very likely return to Manchester with a number of English and European clubs interested so I think if he has a good run in the Cup World Cup, he will be a wanted man and will be looking to leave United during the next transfer window.
I know some people would say ‘But Stan, would Man United really sell their captain in the middle of the season? – I think so, yes.
Let’s be totally honest here: Maguire isn’t really United’s captain anymore. He only has that title on paper because ten Hag didn’t want to stick the knife in anymore.
The reality is that between Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, it is unlikely that Maguire will return to that team, so when it comes to a possible exit, whether it be in January or next summer, for the club and the fans, they are not will matter. It won’t matter if a player, captain or not, is sold, as long as the team moves in the right direction.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is too good for England to ignore…
When you get called up to your national team, it’s still the peak. I know some people would say that the Champions League is the most prestigious competition, but given the fact that they only take place once every four years, the World Cups, for me, remain the pinnacle.
However, one player who has come close but failed to progress internationally has been Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Throughout my career I played Gareth Southgate twice, once in Crystal Palace’s youth setup and once at Aston Villa where he was my skipper, and I can say with certainty that he likes round players for round holes. .
When it comes to full-backs, Southgate’s first priority is to defend then attack and unfortunately for Alexander-Arnold, as we all know, his game is anything but.
Alexander-Arnold is going to give his manager a host of attacking and creative options, but the biggest concern with him is his ability to drop back into his own goal, and that has been the case playing for a very good Liverpool side. team, so maybe you can understand Southgate’s caution.
I think in Southgate’s mind, he’s worried that players like John Stones and Maguire, who aren’t exactly in the shape of their lives, would come under more defensive pressure if Alexander-Arnold was on the right side of the baseline.
However, my advice to Alexander-Arnold would be to keep going. Keep showing up every time you’re called and wait for your chance, because it will come.
Yes, it is very unlikely that he will play in the World Cup in Qatar this winter, but he cannot throw in the towel. He is only 23 years old, so even after this year’s tournament, he will still have at least two more World Cups. Cups ahead.
Whether it’s Southgate who gives him that opportunity or another manager, he’ll get it and when he does, I hope he grabs it with both hands because he’s too good to ignore.
