England fans might have done Harry Maguire a favour at Manchester United

It seems old habits die hard. Manchester United were the dominant force in the country when their players used to be booed by England fans in the 1990s, but those ABU (Anyone But United) tendencies were only ever dormant and in the treatment of Harry Maguire at Wembley this week they exploded back to the surface.

Maguire was jeered by England's idiots when his name read out before kick-off against Ivory Coast and when he took his first touch. Ask them to explain why they did it and it's doubtful they could come up with a suitable reason, other than they don't like United.

That, of course, put them into a pretty moronic group of booing a player for performing poorly for a club they don't like, but the same fans entertain themselves by throwing paper aeroplanes during the match so it's entirely plausible.

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For those United regulars who pay no attention to the national team this was a reminder of why they hold that stance. It was also proof that, for all their struggles over the previous nine years, the rest of the country still doesn't like them.

If it was just about Maguire's poor form then Tyrone Mings, who has had a difficult season at Aston Villa, or Jordan Pickford, making mistakes in a poor Everton team, might be getting the same treatment, but they're not.

Mings and Pickford have played well for England but neither have represented their country with the distinction of Maguire, which is why he remains in Gareth Southgate's strongest XI despite having one poor season.

It was encouraging to see Southgate round on the treatment of Maguire by England's fans on Tuesday night.

"I thought the reception was a joke, an absolute joke,” Southgate said