Is Mainoo the real deal?

Is Kobbie Mainoo the real deal?


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Jeffthered

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At this stage of his career that would put him amongst the very best to ever play the game. That's a ridiculous expectation for a teenage midfielder to be honest.
Please read my post. I am neither suggesting, or expecting Mainoo to be a complete player now, I clearly stated, he needs time. I wish some people would read posts. I said I wanted to see him want to be that player.
 

SambaBoy

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He's a very talented youngster no doubt.

Some are overhyping him on here with the caveat he's 18 and has made less than 10 senior appearances. It doesn't mean his progress will be linear and he will be showing much more after 30 games than he is now, it can sometimes go the other way.

Even his talent from what he's shown so far has/will benefit United. He's our most press resistant midfielder, intelligent on the ball with a decent range of passing from what he's shown so far.

Depends what you define as the real deal - people talking about him being a generational talent after less than 5 games is a bit silly.
 

GS82

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OOOOHHHH look at me I'm gonna be edgy and be arrogant about a Utd player and talk down to the Utd fans!

It was a great performance in context, extremely mature and composed. He also played 60mn on a yellow card, never overcommitted, always extremely well positioned. The fact Liverpool didn't have much luck building through the middle was mainly due to his excellent positioning and closing passing channels.

In no universe was that an "average" performance.
I called him a good prospect.

He gave the ball away and lacked pace and was caught out of position quite a few times.

He had a good performance against Everton.

I don't see anything special about Mainoo at all. He's not fast or strong, he lacks defensive awareness.

He will obviously develop further and I hope he becomes a top player but am sorry I just don't buy in to the current hype.

I said similar things about Hojlund when he was being overhyped by utd fans.
 

Robbie Boy

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He was average at Anfield and thats being kind. If that's the level of performance you call good then Utd are worse than even I thought.

He's a good prospect nothing more. That Newcastle midfielder miley who's younger has far far more to his game and dominated Mainoo a few weeks back.

Stop overhyping Utd players
:lol: :lol:
 

GS82

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Quite an empty headed post.

Well done!

Just because I don't agree with your narrative.

Liverpool's midfield was awful and they were dominating.

Mainoo is a good prospect but he is being wildly overrated because Utd fans are desperately looking for a saviour. Mainoo isn't that guy, he hasn't got the physical qualities and it's doubtful at this stage he ever will.
 

TheReligion

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Just because I don't agree with your narrative.

Liverpool's midfield was awful and they were dominating.

Mainoo is a good prospect but he is being wildly overrated because Utd fans are desperately looking for a saviour. Mainoo isn't that guy, he hasn't got the physical qualities and it's doubtful at this stage he ever will.
It seems you know better than every pundit and coach in the world then.

Congrats!
 

Rooney in Paris

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I called him a good prospect.

He gave the ball away and lacked pace and was caught out of position quite a few times.

He had a good performance against Everton.

I don't see anything special about Mainoo at all. He's not fast or strong, he lacks defensive awareness.

He will obviously develop further and I hope he becomes a top player but am sorry I just don't buy in to the current hype.

I said similar things about Hojlund when he was being overhyped by utd fans.
You're wide besides the mark on both counts, congrats to you!
Just because I don't agree with your narrative.

Liverpool's midfield was awful and they were dominating.

Mainoo is a good prospect but he is being wildly overrated because Utd fans are desperately looking for a saviour. Mainoo isn't that guy, he hasn't got the physical qualities and it's doubtful at this stage he ever will.
So he's not going to develop? Make your mind up :)
 

bosnian_red

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I'm looking forward to seeing him next to Casemiro as the double pivot. Honestly to me looks a perfectly balanced double pivot, both in terms of what they can bring on the ball and their defensive work, and then with Mainoo especially being press resistant to help that build up. Easily the best balanced midfield on paper we'll have seen since Scholes and Carrick IMO. Hopefully Casemiro can find some form when he's back but I think Mainoo will help loads.
 

Remember the geese

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I think you're not giving Kante enough credit here. It was very difficult to take the ball off him and his passing was always on point.

Besides I haven't seen much creativity and vision from Mainoo either. He's also really good in possession and keeping things simple. He has potential to be more than that though I agree.
Safe to say that I wasn't the biggest fan of Kante. Far too limited in possession for my liking. Mainoo is a different level of talent on the ball. He is much more press resistant and is generally a lot more progressive in how he plays the game.
 

UDontMessWith24

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He was average at Anfield and thats being kind. If that's the level of performance you call good then Utd are worse than even I thought.

He's a good prospect nothing more. That Newcastle midfielder miley who's younger has far far more to his game and dominated Mainoo a few weeks back.

Stop overhyping Utd players
Wouldn't you rather watch a sport you understand? Darts is far less complex and you can play it drunk. I'd recommend giving that a try.
 

RedNome

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Gooner newbie looking for attention?

Nah, do one.
 

dutchred

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We have been reallyt lucky (at least Sir Alex had great vision) with midfielders over the years.
Brian Robson ( before Sir Alex)
Paul Ince
Roy Keane
Michael Carrick

Now I'm convinced Mainoo will follow in their footsteps and he is home grown (none of the above were)
I have been following United since the fifties and I can't think of a better home grown midfielder as good and Kobie
 

black country red

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We have been reallyt lucky (at least Sir Alex had great vision) with midfielders over the years.
Brian Robson ( before Sir Alex)
Paul Ince
Roy Keane
Michael Carrick

Now I'm convinced Mainoo will follow in their footsteps and he is home grown (none of the above were)
I have been following United since the fifties and I can't think of a better home grown midfielder as good and Kobie
I don’t know if this is a wind up but I think united have had quite a few very good home grown midfielders since the fifties starting with Charlton and continuing to Scholes
 

dutchred

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I don’t know if this is a wind up but I think united have had quite a few very good home grown midfielders since the fifties starting with Charlton and continuing to Scholes
Both Charlton and Scoles were attacking midfileders. Both started their carrers as forwards, Charlton as a left winger and Scholes as Centre Forward. Neither could tackle to save their lives
 

Shakesy

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He's a very talented youngster no doubt.

Some are overhyping him on here with the caveat he's 18 and has made less than 10 senior appearances. It doesn't mean his progress will be linear and he will be showing much more after 30 games than he is now, it can sometimes go the other way.

Even his talent from what he's shown so far has/will benefit United. He's our most press resistant midfielder, intelligent on the ball with a decent range of passing from what he's shown so far.

Depends what you define as the real deal - people talking about him being a generational talent after less than 5 games is a bit silly.
Linear? Don't be silly. It'll be exponential
 

Stack

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I don’t know if this is a wind up but I think united have had quite a few very good home grown midfielders since the fifties starting with Charlton and continuing to Scholes
Neither Charlton or Schols started out as midfielders, sounds like you are the wind up merchant
 

el3mel

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He's a very talented youngster no doubt.

Some are overhyping him on here with the caveat he's 18 and has made less than 10 senior appearances. It doesn't mean his progress will be linear and he will be showing much more after 30 games than he is now, it can sometimes go the other way.

Even his talent from what he's shown so far has/will benefit United. He's our most press resistant midfielder, intelligent on the ball with a decent range of passing from what he's shown so far.

Depends what you define as the real deal - people talking about him being a generational talent after less than 5 games is a bit silly.
Same people will turn on him massively once he inevitably hits a patch of poor form or inconsistency which is to be expected from any youngster. Our fans don't know
how to deal with youngsters. They overhype them to death then crash them back to ground. No inbetween.

He's a good player with good potential but let's wait and see how he's gonna develop.
 

MaT23

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I have no problem with the minutes he has been getting after he came back, just find it a little strange that we seems to choose the hardest matches for him to be starting if we are bedding him in.
He solves it brilliantly himself every time so no issue there, but he should get some, on paper at least, easier games to start.
We don't have easier games anymore.
 

Borninthe80ts

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Just because I don't agree with your narrative.

Liverpool's midfield was awful and they were dominating.

Mainoo is a good prospect but he is being wildly overrated because Utd fans are desperately looking for a saviour. Mainoo isn't that guy, he hasn't got the physical qualities and it's doubtful at this stage he ever will.
Not to take sides but I don’t think the opposition always has to be poor for a player to play well or to see their qualities. In regards to over rating players, this guys quality isn’t in doubt it just whether he fulfils it.

For me he more than has the physical capacity to do well currently both for his age and also obviously to get stronger. He tends to move the ball before it becomes a problem anyway and good positioning means he anticipates a lot.

Let him play a bit and see where we are in 2 months.
 

Adnan

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I mean he was injured just after featuring prominently in pre-season. You don't start him against Liverpool if you want to hold him back. I hate Ten Hags favorism towards some players but I think he really rates Mainoo.
Agree with this.

Post Fergie, there's only two managers who would've brought Mainoo into the first team with a view to developing him in midfield, and both managers are Dutch imo. And the reason for that is quite simply down to both LVG and ten Hag wanting to play from the back and through the midfield. Mainoo would've gone on loan with Moyes, Mourinho and Solskjaer at the helm imo. Even Frenkie de Jong wasn't a regular at Ajax until ten Hag arrived, and de Jong was 20 at the time.

For anyone to say ten Hag is holding him back is surely on the wum. I've been saying since the beginning of the season about ten Hag being sold on the ability of Mainoo and it being evident during the preseason tour that he had decided to develop Mainoo as a playmaking midfielder. And if it wasn't for injury earlier in the season, he would've had numerous starts in midfield by now imo.

Giving Mainoo his first three starts against Everton, Newcastle and Liverpool away from home, is the work of a Dutch coach who believes in his principles in the deeper phase of the pitch.
 
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MassVolto

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I like what I've seen from the young lad so far, good on the ball, composure, passing and anticipation. That pass to Garnacho was simply brilliant, what a pass.
 

JediSith

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My honest assessment. It’s not a criticism and is actually a praise for his age. From the matches I’ve seen him play nothing amazing stands out in regards to raw skill, amazing passing, dribbling, shooting, defending etc but he’s always put in a 7/10 performance for a cm. When you consider his age and the teams his played against that’s remarkable and a similarity shared with many CM’s who we consider greats, both past and present.

Also it’s what you want from at least 2 of you 3 CM’s to do midfielder things consistently and seamlessly. In a way he’s performances so far are like the cm version of Varane. Quietly and effortlessly efficient.
 

GS82

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It seems you know better than every pundit and coach in the world then.

Congrats!

No one was praising him post match mate. Endo who's average was better than him so lets start hyping Endo ....
Gooner newbie looking for attention?

Nah, do one.

Another who doesn't like having a discussion unless it suits his narrative.

Is Mainoo fast? No

Is he strong ? No

Is he positional sense good? No

His main attribute is he's quite good on the ball.

He's done ok but Utd fans are building him uo to be something he's not.

Anyone would think he's Keane and Scholes built into one the way some Utd fans are going on!

Good luck to him.
 

GS82

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Not to take sides but I don’t think the opposition always has to be poor for a player to play well or to see their qualities. In regards to over rating players, this guys quality isn’t in doubt it just whether he fulfils it.

For me he more than has the physical capacity to do well currently both for his age and also obviously to get stronger. He tends to move the ball before it becomes a problem anyway and good positioning means he anticipates a lot.

Let him play a bit and see where we are in 2 months.

Yes let him grow and then we can revisit this topic.

Utd fans are linking him with Madrid, and are moaning at me, for saying they're overrating him.

I hope he develops in to a great player and plays for England.
 

UDontMessWith24

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No one was praising him post match mate. Endo who's average was better than him so lets start hyping Endo ....



Another who doesn't like having a discussion unless it suits his narrative.

Is Mainoo fast? No

Is he strong ? No

Is he positional sense good? No

His main attribute is he's quite good on the ball.

He's done ok but Utd fans are building him uo to be something he's not.

Anyone would think he's Keane and Scholes built into one the way some Utd fans are going on!

Good luck to him.
Were Scholes and Keane fast?
 

Melville Red

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From what I’ve seen he is the real deal and will only get better when he is fully physically mature.
I like his attitude and I like his style of play, keep up the good work and we will have our own Bellingham.
 

thegregster

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No one was praising him post match mate. Endo who's average was better than him so lets start hyping Endo ....



Another who doesn't like having a discussion unless it suits his narrative.

Is Mainoo fast? No

Is he strong ? No

Is he positional sense good? No

His main attribute is he's quite good on the ball.

He's done ok but Utd fans are building him uo to be something he's not.

Anyone would think he's Keane and Scholes built into one the way some Utd fans are going on!

Good luck to him.
Endo is 31 years old ffs. An experienced profession playing at home in a well functioning team.
When Arsenal lose 4 or 5 nil on Saturday at Anfield what excuses will you have for your £200m+ trio in midfield?
 

Zed 101

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Just because I don't agree with your narrative.

Liverpool's midfield was awful and they were dominating.

Mainoo is a good prospect but he is being wildly overrated because Utd fans are desperately looking for a saviour. Mainoo isn't that guy, he hasn't got the physical qualities and it's doubtful at this stage he ever will.
Scholesy, David Silva, Messi and Juninho send their regards
 

Lash

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Agree with this.

Post Fergie, there's only two managers who would've brought Mainoo into the first team with a view to developing him in midfield, and both managers are Dutch imo. And the reason for that is quite simply down to both LVG and ten Hag wanting to play from the back and through the midfield. Mainoo would've gone on loan with Moyes, Mourinho and Solskjaer at the helm imo. Even Frenkie de Jong wasn't a regular at Ajax until ten Hag arrived, and de Jong was 20 at the time.

For anyone to say ten Hag is holding him back is surely on the wum. I've been saying since the beginning of the season about ten Hag being sold on the ability of Mainoo and it being evident during the preseason tour that he had decided to develop Mainoo as a playmaking midfielder. And if it wasn't for injury earlier in the season, he would've had numerous starts in midfield by now imo.

Giving Mainoo his first three starts against Everton, Newcastle and Liverpool away from home, is the work of a Dutch coach who believes in his principles in the deeper phase of the pitch.
There was a bit on this in the talk of the Devils podcast and also because they both played that position and value it highly. When you actually look at good managers they do actually tend to be 6's - Pep, Rijkaard, Van Gaal, Deschamps, Conte, Simeone (although that wasn't where he really made his name). So they put a lot of emphasis on these kinds of players.

Even the current crop of manager out there, seem to be a lot of ex 6's Ten Hag, Arteta, Alonso. I'm sure there are tonnes more.