De Gea escapes as ‘hapless’ Maguire takes bullets for Man Utd’s ‘unstoppable juggernaut’

Editor F365
David de Gea and Harry Maguire react

No player emerged from another dreadful Man Utd defeat with credit, but David de Gea owes Harry Maguire for taking pretty much all of the subsequent flak.

 

Maguire practice
Not a soul could have watched Man Utd limp pathetically out of the Europa League and conclude that it was the result of just one man’s incompetence; there were plenty of candidates to share the burden of responsibility.

But Harry Maguire is in the crosshairs and the media can be relentless.

‘WINCE HARRY’ is the back-page headline from the Daily Star, with a big picture of a forlorn Maguire, accompanied by much smaller insets of Erik ten Hag and David de Gea as ‘Maguire and co.’ are laid into.

‘WHAT THE EL WAS THAT,’ shouts the Daily Express, whose huge image of Maguire completely overshadows the positively tiny De Gea.

The Daily Mirror slap a shot of Maguire looking dejected next to their headline of ‘EUROPA DOPES’, even though the sub-headline says ‘United were awful but De Gea was appalling as Ten Hag’s flags are Red and buried’.

Use a picture of the ‘awful’ De Gea then?

The Daily Mail sum the narrative up neatly:

‘HAPLESS HARRY’S HOWLER’ was at least as much to do with De Gea’s ineptitude, while the Spaniard made two further costly errors, yet almost the entire focus is on Maguire.

Perhaps that is to be expected as Man Utd captain – and he was dreadful against Sevilla. But when the keeper at least partially – if not entirely – at fault for all three goals receives far less censure for a player whose mistakes only led to one, it is a little weird to see the latter singled out.

 

Ask a simple question
Neil Custis continues that theme in The Sun, laying only into the £75m defender early in his match report before finally moving on in the seventh paragraph:

‘Maguire was not the only one at fault. David de Gea had a nightmare too.’

Well quite. But Custis also wants answers:

‘Why on earth do United persist with trying to play the ball out from the back?’

Name one elite side which doesn’t.

‘Their neighbours in the blue half of Manchester can do it with ease.’

And was that always the case? Or were there teething problems with a manager trying to instil his philosophy on a squad not yet built specifically for him in his first season?

READ MORE: Captain and keeper among five Man Utd careers which were ended by Sevilla surrender

Apropos of nothing, here is some bloke called Neil Custis discussing the goalkeeping situation at Manchester City in August 2016, when the newly-appointed Pep Guardiola was unceremoniously dropping Joe Hart for Claudio Bravo:

‘You cannot really blame Guardiola… He explained again that the best football is played from the back, starting with the goalkeeper. He believes the front men will get better quality service if a move starts with quality at the other end.’

Why on earth do United persist with trying to play the ball out from the back? That’s probably a decent basic explanation.

 

Performance art
Custis is not done:

‘This was a performance that reminded us of the bad old days from last season and the opening two games of this.

‘Listless and lacking ideas with their finger’s constantly hovering above the self destruct button.’

Where does the insipid defeat at Newcastle fit into those two ‘bad old days’ columns of last season and the opening two games of this? What about the 7-0 thrashing by Liverpool? Losing at Aston Villa? Being hammered 6-3 by Manchester City?

Let’s not pretend Man Utd have been a model of constant excellence under Ten Hag after a woeful first fortnight. This was just another inconsistent performance in an inconsistent season.

And yes, pretty much the only reason Mediawatch is being particularly picky here is to include that wince-inducing apostrophe. If we have to read it then you do too.

 

All for naut
‘It was yet another galvanising victory that increases the feeling of United becoming a juggernaut once more. Unstoppable’ – Daniel Murphy, Manchester Evening News, March 3.

‘Erik ten Hag has done a remarkable job in his first season at Old Trafford but it’s clear United are still lacking some elite-level quality to compete at the very top of the table with juggernauts Manchester City’ – Daniel Murphy, Manchester Evening News, April 21.

Yep, absolutely clear. Aside from when it wasn’t and Man Utd were ‘becoming a juggernaut once more. Unstoppable’ just a few weeks ago.

Ten Hag on Man Utd loss

 

Leg breaker
‘Manchester United’s Europa League campaign came to a humiliating end last night with a series of self-inflicted wounds.

‘Yet the reality is this quarter-final was lost at Old Trafford in the first leg, when United led 2-0, had chances to put the tie to bed, but conceded two late own goals to lose the initiative’ – David McDonnell, Daily Mirror.

Feels like this quarter-final was probably lost in the leg which Man Utd actually lost, as opposed to the one they drew.

And in absolutely no way was ‘the hapless’ Maguire ‘wholly culpable’ for the first goal.

 

Banned aid
But those Man Utd fans frustrated and angry at an awful display in another dispiriting defeat need not worry, for Alex Turk of the Daily Express website is here to deliver ‘a consolation boost after the 3-0 defeat at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium’.

Casemiro won’t be banned for the first European game of next season. Get in.

 

Bubble bursting
‘Declan Rice scores sublime solo goal – with a mazy run from inside his OWN HALF – in West Ham’s 4-1 win over Gent, as the Hammers reach the Europa Conference League semi-finals with an emphatic victory’ – MailOnline.

Not to overstep into anyone else’s domain, but that ‘mazy run’ featured a man essentially sprinting in a straight line.

 

To be Frank
‘It’s believed Lampard is eager to stay on as Blues for a second permanent spell after taking the reins from Graham Potter following his firing’ – Tom Sunderland, Daily Star website.

BREAKING: Unemployed man already fired from one job this year and given temporary role he is completely out of his depth in by a club in panic would quite like to stay on after losing his first four games. More as we get it.

Mediawatch David De Gea