Gareth Southgate has slammed the “ridiculous” treatment of Harry Maguire by fans and the media in a passionate defence rant.
The Manchester United and England international is no stranger to having been in the firing lines of criticism from both home and rival fans, as well as countless pundits and media outlets, since his rise to fame and earning a starring role in the heart of defences for both club and country, largely due to his several high-profile controversies and mistakes in recent years.
And that criticism was as evident as ever last night, as when Maguire was brought on at half-time for England’s 3-1 win over Scotland after Marc Guehi sustained an injury, he was subjected to ironic cheers from the Scottish fans with every pass he made.
This was, as you’d expect, made even worse by the fact the 30-year-old unfortunately scored an own-goal despite England clinching the win.
It was a similar situation for the 30-year-old during United’s Premier League clash with Arsenal a couple of weekends back too, where the Gunners fans took aim at the centre half as soon as he entered the pitch.
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But now, it sounds like his national team manager has just had enough of it all – in fact, he’s “livid”.
Southgate may have praised England fans’ response to Maguire’s wrongdoings during last night’s victory, but when taking a look at the bigger picture, he’s just not happy about the level of criticism the defender receives overall.
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Gareth Southgate brands treatment of Harry Maguire ‘a joke’ in fiery defence rant / Credit: Eddie Keogh (via The FA)
Launching a passionate defence of Maguire while speaking directly to the media during his post-match press conference last night, Southgate said: “He’s just come out and spoken to the media, which I think shows the resilience and the character of him.
“[But] we’re now in a situation where, because of people in our own country, the opposition think they can have fun with him.
“What’s that about?
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“He’s been an incredible player for England in one of the most successful teams we’ve had, critical for what we’ve been doing [and] we allow him to be open to that?
"It's a joke, an absolute joke. It makes me livid"
“It’s a joke, an absolute joke – it makes me livid.
“Thankfully, he’s got the support of the dressing room and the people behind him. I thought the England fans in the stadium tonight were absolutely brilliant [and] I’ve no problem with the Scotland fans – they’re having fun.
“But what stirs that up is people in our own country. Other players will think: ‘Is that what awaits us?’
Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.
Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.
Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).
According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.
He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”
There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.
Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.
Had it not been for that injury I know he would’ve been class for City for a long time, and let’s not forget that goal v Newcastle pic.twitter.com/inGxi5UjPM
The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.
Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.
Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.
Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Emily Sergeant -
13th September 2023 
