Harry Maguire was booked during the early stages of Manchester United’s pre-season friendly against Crystal Palace on Tuesday in Melbourne.
Manchester United won the match 3-1 before moving on to Perth for their next pre-season match against Aston Villa.
It goes without saying that Harry Maguire has done nothing worthy of being booed by his own supporters, even if England fans think otherwise, while his dip in form over the past 12 months was only evident at club level.
Maguire was also playing in a side where the vast majority of players underperformed. He has become a scapegoat and I think Tuesday’s boos show how easily led people can be by social media. It’s frightening to say the least.
According to the Telegraph, club sources described the scenes as some sort of “weird pantomime” and they were aware that there was a concentration of supporters who took it upon themselves to go the other way, singing Maguire’s name and applauding the defender.
He led from the back superbly and I can see why Erik ten Hag is likely to view him as a first-choice player next season.
Ten Hag has given every player a clean slate in a bid to get the best out of them.
As a fan, I think it’s ridiculous not to support that when football isn’t simplistic like FIFA or Football Manager where you can sign a new squad of players every year.
The former Ajax boss knew when he took the job that he would have to work with a lot of the players that were at Old Trafford last season.
Ten Hag confirmed recently that Maguire will remain club captain, despite speculation that he would be stripped of the armband.
