Harry Maguire’s mum has come out in passionate defence of her son following the ongoing torrent of abuse her son has received of late and, indeed, over the past couple of seasons, sharing an emotional statement on social media.
Proud mum Zoe Maguire took to Instagram following the latest raft of online abuse, chants by fans inside Hampden Park and treatment by sections of the media following his performance against Scotland earlier this week.
England might have won the game 3-1 in the end and never looked in much danger of letting the victory slip through their fingers but, in the one real moment they did, it came at the expense of the Manchester United centre-back who sadly scored an own goal within twenty minutes of coming on to the pitch.
Maguire was subbed on after half-time and was immediately subjected to sarcastic, anticipant chants of ‘ooooh’ from the home fans every time he received the ball, as well as ironic cheers after every pass — treatment that clearly resulted in the nervous reaction intended. Now, having been once again mocked in the days since, his mother finally decided she’d had enough.
Harry Maguire’s mum issues emotional statement to her son’s upsetting reception (Credit: Zoe Maguire via Instagram)
Sharing a lengthy post on Instagram, the mum of four wrote: “As a mum seeing the level of negative and abusive comments in which my son is receiving from some fans, pundits and the media is disgraceful and totally unacceptable to any walk of life never mind someone who works his socks off for club and country.
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“I was there in the stand as usual, it’s not acceptable what’s been created, over nothing. I understand that in the football world there are ups and downs, positives and negatives but what Harry receives has gone far beyond “football”. For me seeing him go through what he’s going through is not ok.
“I would hate to have to see any other parents or players go through this in the future, especially the young boys and girls breaking through the ranks today. Harry has a massive heart, and it’s a good job he’s mentally strong and can handle it as others may not be able to. I wish this sort of abuse on nobody!”
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She isn’t the only one who came to defence and urged fans to stand down either, as manager Gareth Southgate gave an equally passionate response defending his off-relied-upon centre-half.
The England manager's had enough and says he's absolutely "livid" about it all.https://t.co/ftw0eGjZ57
It’s no secret that the out-of-favour defender has had a rough go of it over the past couple of seasons and after his holiday drama over in Greece, numerous high-profile mistakes made at club level and now a fair few shakey showings for his country, he simply hasn’t looked the same layer for a while now.
Having been stripped of the Man United captaincy earlier this year and dropped from the starting lineup (at least up until the club suffered multiple injuries along their backline), it hasn’t been a great start to the 2023/24 season either.
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That being said, the growing feeling is that the 30-year-old’s treatment even by his own fans — with England supporters joking “he scored because you’re sh*t” following his own goal on Tuesday — is becoming ridiculous and over the top. Maguire himself shrugged it off after the game, saying the disproportionate focus just “takes the pressure off” his teammates.
Even before his most recent gaffes and links with finally leaving Old Trafford after a torrid past couple of years, United fullback Luke Shaw said this last year that he believes Maguire has suffered “more abuse than he’s ever seen in football”. Do you agree?
Featured Image — Zoe Maguire/Harry Maguire (via Instagram)
Sport
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
Manchester City plotting spending spree ‘before’ Club World Cup
Danny Jones
Manchester City are set to embark on somewhat of a spending spree this summer transfer window as the club’s higher-ups are looking to get business done before the 2025 Club World Cup.
With FIFA’s intercontinental club competition set to get underway in mid-June, the Blues don’t have too long to welcome in new players, but Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has reiterated their urgency regarding recruitment.
Despite having brought in four new acquisitions in a very short space of time last season, the 50-year-old argued that he wasn’t completely happy with the extent and speed of their business.
Giving a lengthy interview this week, CFG‘s founding chairman has imposed an internal deadline ahead of the lucrative knockout competition.
Speaking with club media, Khaldoon recognised that while there were incomings in January of this year, he believes they “should have been more aggressive in some of the changes we needed to do, adding that he believes it “cost [them].”
“I can tell you today, we have clearly identified who exactly [the targets are], in what positions, and we have our clear number one option, our clear number two option”, he continues.
More importantly, he goes on to add: “We’ll go about our business, and it will be very clear, very swift. Our objective is to try to be ready with the new squad for the Club World Cup.”
He also suggested the flurry of activity this past January was not just atypical of the administration, but felt the squad fell into a crisis state with the number of injuries, insisting they “had to act.”
City have already been linked with a hugely talented and highly-rated European target in the wake of Kevin De Bruyne‘s departure and a lack of strength in depth in midfield.
An initial bid is said to have been received already and will likely be the first of many City summer signings.
He also insisted that the players who joined last season weren’t scattershot, emergency transfers (perhaps barring the resigning of İlkay Gündoğan) but were the start of the rebuild and “gives [fans] an idea of what’s coming this summer.”
Another player linked with a move to the Etihad Stadium is Lyon star Rayan Cherki, who scored in big moments during their Europa League run this year, registering 32 goal contributions across all competitions throughout the 24/25 campaign.
Who would you like to see added to Pep Guardiola’s side this summer, then, Man City fans?
You can watch Khaldoon Al Mubarak’s interview in full down below:
Danny Jones -
14th September 2023 
