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Manchester United captain Harry Maguire is blasting critics for how the teams being assessed so far this season.
The club’s been the subject of much criticism from the start and a mixture of results hasn’t silenced journalists so far.
What’s the problem?
When you play for a club like Man United the expectations are sky-high.
“We are the most talked about club in the world,” says Maguire.
“Why? Because we are the biggest club in the world. People don’t want us to do well. Why? Probably because of the success we’ve had in the past.”
Mixed Bag
If you examine the team’s performance throughout all competitions this season there’s a variety of issues we see.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men performed well at times, with impressive wins over PSG and RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Then they got outclassed by a team they should beat on paper Istanbul Basaksehir in a 2-1 defeat.
This is not the only time this season the Reds struggled against smaller clubs.
They fell 3-1 to Crystal Palace on opening day and barely beat lowly Brighton 3-2.
The other obvious struggle is at the back end.
United’s conceded 14 times in Premier League action in seven matches.
High Expectations
When you’ve won more trophies than any other club in English football, the expectations are high.
The Red Devils have 20 league titles, 12 FA Cups, five league cups, three Champions League trophies, and a Europa League crown among other things.
That kind of success definitely increases the expectation for more, from critics, fans, and the organization.
Under Sir Alex Ferguson the team finished no lower than third in the league standings, averaging 87 points a season.
Heading into this season United’s only finished in the top three twice since Ferguson’s retirement (last season and in 2017/18).
They’ve not won a trophy since the Europa League title in 2016/17.
Maguire believes the expectation for the team at times isn’t always just.
“We have to live up to that, we have to react to it and not let the negatives get into our bubble. Sometimes it is difficult,” says Maguire.
Reacting Well
Maguire notes that every time the teams had an off-game they respond well.
“We reacted well to two poor results (defeats against Arsenal and Istanbul).
“We knew Everton was an important game… We reacted well, but it is only a start.”
After losing 6-1 to Tottenham, they beat Newcastle 4-1 the following week. (JSL)
