It’s been a very tough few months for Harry Maguire.Putting the global pandemic aside which has affected everyone’s life, the Manchester United captain got into a spot of trouble this summer during his break in Mykonos, Greece.He was found guilty on three separate charges following an alleged fight whilst on holiday in August.He’s maintained his innocence throughout and has successfully applied for a re-trial next year.Maguire would have been hoping the resumption of Premier League football would help him overcome his troubles.But the troubles on the pitch soon started. In fact, they began as early as the opening weekend of the season with a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Things got even worse in their latest home game - a 6-1 hammering against Tottenham. As captain of the club, Maguire naturally had a lot of questions to answer.He couldn’t answer them immediately with the untimely international break coming to his rescue. But if Maguire was hoping to forget all of his trouble while representing his country, he was sadly mistaken.In England’s final Nations League clash against Denmark, Maguire looked all over the shop as he picked up two yellow cards inside half an hour during the Three Lions’ 1-0 loss.
He’s suffering a serious confidence crisis right now.
However, the United skipper has “no intention of asking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for a break”, according to the Daily Mail.
They report that Maguire will NOT ask his manager for a rest ahead of the trip to Newcastle this weekend. The £80 million defender will leave the decision in Solskjaer’s hands.
While Maguire clearly doesn’t want to be left out, legendary United defender Rio Ferdinand believes he would benefit from being taken out of the firing line.
"In these situations - that I've been in as well - you sometimes need to be taken out of the oven," said Ferdinand.
"[Manchester United manager] Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] has a big job on his hands and I think quite an important role to play in this.
Whether maybe it's time to give him a little rest, let him gather himself and build that confidence back up.
"I got brought off in one game, I think it was Middlesbrough away, the manager [Sir Alex Ferguson] spoke to me and said 'get yourself back to basics, train well and you'll come back in'.
"That's what happened and I was fine. It's just sometimes that bit of pressure being taken out that can actually help you.
"When you're going game-to-game every three or four days, it's very hard to see through the fog," added Ferdinand, who won six Premier League titles with United as well as the Champions League in the 2007-08 season.
But when you're taken out of the firing line, you get time to sit back and actually analyse yourself, your performance, your preparation, your recovery - all aspects of what goes around a football match or 90 minutes.
"It's then about rebuilding yourself and playing simple. Effectively trying to get through a game without being seen.
"It might sound silly but that's the way I used to look at it when I was lacking a little bit of confidence. Because at the moment you're being seen for all the wrong reasons."
It’ll be interesting to see the decision Solskjaer takes ahead of match against Newcastle on Saturday night.