Harry Maguire captaincy decision is a Manchester United blessing

It's a decision that was long overdue but has finally been made. Harry Maguire is no longer the captain of Manchester United.

It had grown to feel more than inevitable, like something that needed to happen for all involved and when Erik ten Hag was asked last week if the players would vote on their leader he made his intentions clear. "No, I don't let the dressing room vote," the United manager grinned. "It is up to me."

That wasn't just writing on the wall but a 100ft flashing neon sign and four days later the first half of his decision has been made clear. Maguire took to Twitter on Sunday to announce the news in an honest yet classy fashion. Ironically enough, he responded like the best possible captain, willing to sacrifice his own well-being for the betterment of the whole.

If Maguire's time with the armband is remembered for nothing else positive, then at least allow it to be for the elegant way he brought it to an end. The painful reality is there aren't many more highlights to speak of.

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Maguire's position as captain had become completely untenable - you simply can't be the leader of a squad if you hardly ever play in it just as a commander who sits safely behind the front line will never inspire devotion. Only in rare circumstances when a club legend is coming to the end of his career - such as Mark Noble - can it work and that wasn't the case at Old Trafford.

The centre-back's time in the first team was plagued by costly mistakes and mishaps and it took Ten Hag just two matches to drop him from the starting XI. By the end of the campaign Maguire had dropped behind left-back Luke Shaw in the centre-back pecking order and he ended the season with just 16 starts and only