The Sunday Times April 24, 2022 5under Greek law, that means he
remains presumed innocent and has
no criminal record.
But this kind of carry-on is scarcely
the sole preserve in football of Harry
Maguire, is it? It is true, too, that he
makes one or two mistakes — and
being a central defender in the
Premier League, that sometimes
occasions unfortunate consequences
for the team. But has he ever played
with a marked lack of commitment —
less than that shown by, say, Paul
‘The useless Eric
Bailly even tweeted
his support for a
bloke who wants the
defender dropped’Pogba? Or indeed many other of the
floundering superstars who cost a lot
of money and have provided United
with very little to write home about.
It is also true that as club captain
Maguire is expected, in the eyes of
the fans, to carry the can for a
succession of poor performances by
the whole team.
He has not helped his profile by
taking part in post-match interviews
where he proceeds, week after week,
to exculpate the team and
particularly himself from charges of
ineffectuality and hopelessness. But
that’s pretty much par for the course
in the modern game.
I can’t think of any other player
who has copped such sustained
loathing from his own fans. OK, at
Middlesbrough more than 40 years
ago my present colleague, Graeme
Souness, aroused a certain antipathygetting little in return. They could not
have managed the situation any
worse.
That failure encapsulates much
that has been wrong at United. They
refused to sell Pogba because they
thought they needed him for the next
game or the next season. All the
while he wanted to go. In the end he
stayed because, financially, that
worked for him. United got what they
deserved, if not what they paid for.
There was no plan, just a series of
reactions to the crisis du jour. After
going for homegrown decency in
Moyes, they went for international
pedigree in Louis van Gaal. That, too,
failed as Van Gaal’s team played his
way rather than United’s. The fans
were not impressed. Van Gaal’s
departure led, almost inevitably, to
the arrival of the one who could
never be dull, José Mourinho.
No one believed this relationship
had long-term prospects. Mourinho
did not accept the importance of the
club’s DNA, preferring to be the
outsider doing things his way. When
results deteriorated, so too did
relationships. José went and, in their
reactionary way, United turned to an
old favourite, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
With an emphasis on bringing
through young players and playing
with a high tempo and never-say-die
spirit, Solskjaer’s team flickered
brightly (second in last season’s
Premier League, Europa League
finalists) and all with the promise of
improvement. Then it went wrong.
The team needed two high-class
midfielders, especially one who
could protect the back four. Instead
they got a centre back in Raphaël
Varane, a winger in Jadon Sancho,
and Cristiano Ronaldo. Not able to
get what they needed, United
acquired Varane and Ronaldo
because they happened to be
available.
Ronaldo’s signing was a gift to the
fans and a message to Solskjaer that
while team-building is important, so
too is the commercial value of having
Ronaldo back at the club. Strangest ofErik Ten Hag will be the eighth
Manchester United manager/
caretaker/interim since Sir Alex
Ferguson retired in May 2013.David Moyes May 2013-Apr 2014
Ryan Giggs Apr 2014-June 2014
Louis van Gaal Jul 2014-May 2016
José Mourinho May 2016-
Dec 2018
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Dec 2018-
Nov 2021
Michael Carrick Nov 2021-
Dec 2021
Ralf Rangnick Dec 2021-May 2022TEN HAG JOINS LIST IN
FERGIE’S FOOTSTEPSall was the return of the 37-year-old,
grafted on to a young team because
commercially it was certain to work.
In terms of building a football team,
his return made no sense.
United had three key attackers:
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial
and Mason Greenwood. All were
quick forwards who preferred to
shoot rather than pass, to run at
opponents. Ronaldo’s return gave
United more of the same in attack,
another shooter who, out of
possession, wouldn’t do much for the
team. Rashford, Martial, Ronaldo and
Anthony Elanga are all reluctant
contributors to the pressing game.
Erik ten Hag will take the reins at
the end of the season. Top of his to-
do list is the Ronaldo question. Does
he keep him because he can score
goals or offload him because he is
unsuited to the pressing game that is
Ten Hag’s way? Ronaldo can’t run
any more than he does. He cannot be
converted into a Ten Hag player.
There will be others who are
unable to adapt and, like all his
recent predecessors, Ten Hag will
discover how difficult it is to move on
players who are on good contracts.
And as Van Gaal warns, Ten Hag will
find out whether he’s managing a
football club or a corporation.
Ferguson joined United in
November 1986 and won his first
Premier League title in his seventh
season. Ten Hag will need that kind
of time to get the team back to the top
but he will have to do outstandingly
well to get that kind of time. Anything
less and he will be another post-
Ferguson casualty.There was no plan,
just a series of
reactions to the
crisis du jour. When
results deteriorated,
so did relationshipsamong the crowd. But that was
because he wanted to leave — not
because he insisted upon staying.
My suspicion is that Maguire is
simply a convenient conduit for the
dashed hopes and aspirations of
United supporters who are beside
themselves with fury that their side
are sixth in the Premier League
rather than top. Ooh, the shame etc.
And here I have to make a
confession. I cannot abide United
supporters. I realise that this is a
sweeping condemnation and that
there must be one or two who are not
stupid cry-babies with the IQ of a
shrubbery and who live their lives
vicariously through the exploits of 11
men on a football pitch and then turn
really nasty when things don’t go
their way.
I’m sure that is true. But just to say,
I’ve never met one.albeit neither Ademola Lookman nor
Patson Daka playing up front
registered a first-half chance worthy
of the name.
Right on half-time, James
Maddison almost gave the opening
period the goal it craved, his bending
free kick whistling inches wide of
Emiliano Martínez’s post from 25
yards. Watkins should have done
better with a header from a corner
just before the interval.
The second half began with more
promise. On 54 minutes Bailey
collected in midfield and finally had a
chance to run through the heart of
Leicester. After a mazy dribble he fed
Watkins overlapping on the right, but
a fierce near-post strike by the striker
was beaten away well by Schmeichel.
Leicester supporters were buoyed
by the sight of Vardy warming up, and
how their team needed him. His
emergence from the bench after 70
minutes offered hope, if not a
noticeable change in his team’s
fortunes. Leicester’s blunted
pressure was almost their undoing
when Nampalys Mendy lost out to
Philippe Coutinho deep in his own
half and set Villa away on the counter,
a fine run from Jacob Ramsey yielding
only a corner.
Leicester finished with yet more
pressure on Villa’s back four, but the
result was as it had been for the 85
labourious minutes that had gone
before. They move on to Roma. Villa
look to be going nowhere.Star man Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa).
Leicester City (4-2-3-1) K Schmeichel 6 – J Justin
7, W Fofana 7, C Soyuncu 7, T Castagne 6 –
N Mendy 6, Y Tielemans 7 (A Pérez 86min) –
J Maddison 7, K Dewsbury-Hall 7, A Lookman 6
(H Barnes 80) – P Daka 6 (J Vardy 71). Booked
Mendy, Dewsbury-Hall, Madsdison.
Aston Villa (4-3-1-2) E Martínez 7 – M Cash 7,
E Konsa 7, T Mings 8, A Young 5 – J McGinn 7,
Douglas Luiz 7 (T Iroegbunam 76), P Coutinho 7
(E Buendía 80) – J Ramsey 6 (M Nakamba 90+4) –
L Bailey 6, O Watkins 6. Booked Luiz, Bailey.
Referee A Madley.Vardy’s return could
provide missing spark
Leicester City at least had the excuse
of an approaching European semi-
final on their minds as they played
out a stalemate with Aston Villa. The
home supporters were treated to
the first sight of Jamie Vardy since
early March when he came on as
a late substitute, but Leicester’s
well of ideas ran dry at the King
Power Stadium.
Villa had excuses of their own,
principally that their season has long
been drifting towards a forgettable
conclusion. A clutch of half-chances
fell to Ollie Watkins without seriously
troubling Kasper Schmeichel in
Leicester’s goal, as their four-game
losing run was finally ended.
For Leicester and Brendan
Rodgers, they were left hoping that
Vardy will be fit to lead their faltering
line against Roma in the last four of
the Conference League on Thursday.
“Jamie brings an extra dimension
to the game,” Rodgers said. “He
hasn’t trained a great deal. It was
good to get him on the field. We’ll see
if he’s ready to start. We’ve just got to
be careful with him. We don’t want to
rush it if we don’t need to.”
Villa had begun with the greater
energy and had the first chance when
Watkins burst past Wesley Fofana
down the left and crossed for Leon
Bailey who leaned back and fired
over with a clear sight of goal.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has been a
bright spark in Leicester’s
inconsistent campaign, and he
provided his team’s first moment of
promise, bamboozling two Villa
defenders near the touchline and
whipping in a wicked cross that
the galloping James Justin just failed
to reach.
For all its lack of bite in front of
goal, the game ebbed and flowed.
Both sides passed the ball well
through midfield, with Justin on
Leicester’s right industrious in
starting moves from full back and
providing an overlapping option,Robert O’ConnorLEICESTER CITY
0
ASTON VILLA
020
All 20 Premier
League teams
have now had
an away draw
after Villa
completed the
set yesterdayVardy tussles with Mings during a 20-minute appearance from the bench