A video of Harry Maguire lining his United team up on the wrong side of the tunnel before Sunday’s Premier League opener has gone viral over the last few days.
David de Gea reminding Harry Maguire they’re standing on the wrong side of the tunnel at Old Trafford 🤣 pic.twitter.com/gD211Bg7u6
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) August 9, 2022
The video show’s David de Gea reminding Maguire the team should be lining up on the opposite side, resulting in Maguire, a little sheepishly, switching sides with Brighton team and captain Lewis Dunk.
As reported in The Daily Star, the apparent gaff wasn’t without good reason.
Erik ten Hag had ordered a switch of home and away dug outs in the summer, meaning the United team will now come out of the left hand side of the Old Trafford tunnel.
The home dugout is now closer to the Stretford End, moving the United staff closer to the famous stand for the duration of home games.
It also means the United subs will warm up down the touchline closer to the Stretford End, furthest from the away fans.
Although the mix up wasn’t anything to work up a fuss about, it has been used as another stick to beat Maguire with, especially across social media platforms.
The United captain has endured a below par twelve months and looks a shadow of the player the club spent 80 million pounds on, at present.
It feels like a case of things just piling up around Maguire, who didn’t enjoy the finest of starts to the new campaign as United got off to the worst possible start, losing to Brighton.
Maguire was preferred to World Cup winner Raphael Varane on Sunday and lined up alongside new arrival, Lisandro Martinez.
If Varane can prove his fitness, it would surely be negligent for Ten Hag to ignore the Frenchman in his first XI and Martinez hasn’t been bought to sit on the bench.
Maguire needs to rediscover form very quickly if he is to keep his place in the side and may find himself fighting for his United future, in what is a massive season for the England man.
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