Former Manchester United defender Wes Brown has come to the defence of club captain Harry Maguire following a disappointing season for the England international.
The defender experienced tons of abuse for his performances last term. He was even booed by his home nation at Wembley mid-way through the campaign.
Following on from a strong Euro 2020 showing, where he was one of England's best players, Maguire dropped off when he returned to duty at United.
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He didn't get going at all, however, the same can be said for many of the players in United's ranks, with the majority of the squad having a poor season.
But, Maguire is the captain and should be held accountable for his lack of quality over the last year.
Brown, who won the Champions League with United in 2008, believes that criticism of his fellow countryman is harsh, and that if he's able to return to the level he was playing at before last season; he will be an asset to Erik ten Hag.
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“Some of the criticism thrown at Maguire was over the top, but this is how football works these days,” The former United defender said.
“People get on social media, they start wading into players and momentum builds behind that criticism and Harry has been a victim of that.
“He has been booed by England fans, written off by United supporters on Twitter and it all seems pretty harsh.
“I get it that fans are disappointed, we all were after what we saw last season. So it is inevitable that people will pick out certain players and blame them.
“Maguire has been at the top of that list and I get it. He’s the captain and he hasn’t been playing well, so he will get hammered.
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“When you are playing for Manchester United, the standards and expectations are on a different level to most other clubs and all of the players didn’t reach that last season.
“We know Harry is a good defender. At the Euros last summer, he was one of the best players in the tournament and that wasn’t long ago.
“There were times in my career when I was playing bad and there is nowhere to hide when you are at a club as big as United.
“Now it’s all about how Harry bounces back from the position he finds himself in and I’m sure Ten Hag will want him in his team if the Maguire of 12 months ago is revived.
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“I hope Maguire uses this summer to clear his head, come to pre-season with a new mentality and start again.”
Some reports suggest that the new Dutchman in charge could change the captaincy for next season, but it is likely that he will want to further assess his defensive options in pre-season too.
Topics: Manchester United, Harry Maguire, Champions League, Premier League, Euro 2021, England, Wembley Stadium, Football
Cain Smith