Erik ten Hag’s goalkeeper loves shouting at his defenders – it was one reason why he was brought to Old Trafford
, playing to the gallery, showily distancing himself from the chief object of enmity.
Be kind! Don’t blame individuals! To make this point even more powerfully I will now explicitly blame Onana, who seemed to be doing OK at his new club, but now stands accused of chronic unprofessionalism and sabotaging a senior teammate. But I do still think he is wrong about Onana. First, because this is just the way Onana plays. He likes to shout at and cajole his defenders. He did it all the time at Internazionale. It is presumably part of the reason United signed him and thus something his manager explicitly wants him to do.
Why single out Onana? Why assume a Cameroonian, two weeks into his United career, understands the Maguire dynamic to such a high level of detail the issue right at the front of his mind in his second game isn’t organising his defence but making Dave from Bury like him?