See what happened Liverpool against city when the midfield were off ā¦
I didnāt LOL but I definitely cracked a smile 
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seeing as how you mentioned interceptionsā¦
here is a comparison of their defensive stats. Maguire comes out on top in most, as he has to defend more than Van Dijk. A consequence of that is more goals conceded, and since Maguire is Uniteds only real defender, it looks bad on him.
Van Dijk also has the advantage of being 6ā6ā and being build like a brick shithouse
Van Dijk is the best around at the moment. Not even an argument.
Maguire isnāt as far off him as some would have you believe. Heās a top class defender.
The pair of them together would be a lovely pairing ā Liverpool need another centre half ā Lovren done. Jury still out on Gomez, who has had a lot of mistakes this season and Matip cant stay fit.
That video shows how one footed a player he is and even then his good foot isnāt exactly hectic. There were a good few examples from the last WC as well where he would try and carry the ball out of defence as the left centre back of the back three and the whole thing would breakdown or the build up would be slow to a crawl as Maguire would have to take a couple of extra touches and maneuver himself onto his right foot and the angle for the quick forward pass would be gone.
Maguire is decent but Iād rather Johnny Evans than him. Couldnāt mention in the same breadth as vidic or Rio.
Maguire is every bit as good as Vidic ā a real bombscare of a defender.
i would have him on a similar level to Evans. Both good players on their day but neither are elite players. Evans more composed on the ball but Maguire is the more rugged defender of the two.
Iād much prefer Evans to Maguire. The decision to sell him was bizarre. A much better defender than smalling, Rojo, jones and Bailey whoāve been the centre backs at the club for the last 6 or 7 years.
Those stats donāt show that a lot of opposition attacks deliberately target Van Djikās partner.
Vidic and Rio played in dominant teams.
Maguire gets exposed frequently by having no screen in front of him, thatās probably the laziest midfield in the top 10. His full backs arenāt great, he has no real partner alongside him and the goalie behind him has turned into a cabbage. He has a lot to deal with
i was never a huge fan of him as a younger player but he has matured into a solid player.
they also donāt show that Maguire has to do the job of about 3 defenders and a holding midfielder because of whats around him
Christ when you look back at some of the decisions by Van Gaal. Totally mismanaged Depay, Di Maria and zaha. Sold solid fellas like welbeck, Evans and Michael Keane and signed dross like Rojo, Falcao and Bastian S. He ruined Rafael too.
The Moyes appointment was a huge mistake but Van Gaal probably did more harm.
Liverpool defence was in more of a heap when Van Djik arrived than Utds when Maguire arrived at Utd.
Rashford was basically an unknown until Van Gaal gave him a chance. Martial was very good under him also
Van Gaal gave rashford his chance by default. There was literally no strikers left when he started him in a europa league game. He scored that night and kept his spot.
Martial was hot and cold. Always has been. Just some of his decisions were criminal.
United finished 6th last season before Maguire joined conceding 54 goals. Theyāre in 5th now with 35 goals conceded. Big improvement at the back there youād have to say. As I said, Unitedās problems donāt rest solely on Maguire. There is a lot going on there.
The season Van Dijk signed (december) Liverpool finished 4th conceding 38 goals. The season before theyād finished 4th conceding 42.