DBasia.news – Red Devils fans still feel humiliated and helpless to seeing their favorite team become the subject of public scrutiny.
Rhe Red Devils failed to finish in the top four of the Premier League (Champions League zone), did not win the trophy five seasons in a row, and experienced a change of manager from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to Ralf Rangnick (interim).
The positive atmosphere is felt by fans looking back at Erik ten Hag’s era, but the shadows of the past still exist. This was seen in the Manchester United pre-season match against Crystal Palace at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Tuesday (19/07).
Man United won 3-1 over Palace from goals from Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, which was reduced by Joel Ward’s goal, and one Man United player Will Fish also received a red card in that match.
But the highlight was the moment when Man United captain Harry Maguire received the ball. When it happened the fans whistled at him and it was like breakfast for him as Maguire was also whistled at in the England national team.
Maguire’s colleague at Man United, Donny van de Beek, defended him. According to him against Palace Maguire played well and showed great character.
“I also heard it (fans whistled Maguire). I don’t really know what happened. But if I look at today’s game, I think Harry played well,” Van de Beek said on Standard Sports.
“He’s aggressive, gets a lot of balls, so that means he’s got big character. He’s got a lot of experience, so I think what he showed was positive, his performance today.”
The whistle was the aftermath of Man United’s poor form and especially the spotlight on the big Maguire, as the England international made frequent blunders or errors that sparked alarm in the club’s defence.
Ten Hag still trusted him as captain and it was Maguire himself who had to win back the hearts of the fans, showing the criticism and ridicule was wrong.
“I will support him wherever I can. In the end, he (Maguire) has to do it himself and he has the quality to do it,” Ten Hag told The Telegraph some time ago.
“He has shown it so many times in the past. I’ve always seen the captaincy as a problem that I dictated to. Team building for me is an important point and I always talk about a group of leaders. The captain is a very important one and I’m happy with him.”
“He has proved it in the past but he must also prove it in the present and in the future. Harry is really impressive and I expect a lot from him but there is also internal competition and that is what is needed for a club like Man United.”