[WeePat]

People like the idea of starting kids, but the trade-off is that kids will inevitably make mistakes. All part of the learning curve.

True, it’s the same fight I have with Chelsea fans often, and it’s not as if senior players are free of mistakes. Last year some Chelsea fans were saying Lewis Hall wasn’t ready because he got beat a few times defensively, but then the alternative was Cucurella and we know he definitely makes mistakes, so would rather watch an academy player make his mistake and potentially learn from them than a senior player we paid big money for.

Mainoo actually had a pretty good game despite the error. He’s by far the most composed player in your midfield, and as an oppo he’s by far your most interesting player to watch.

 

[V.O.]

Gutted for him with the mistake, but lapses of concentration like that are going to happen when a young player is acclimatising to the intensity of the senior game.

He had a solid enough game otherwise, and I hope he doesn't beat himself up too much and takes it as a learning experience.

 

[Bobski]

Not a good thing for him, but probably not a bad thing for the fanbase to slow the hype a little bit. He has a lot, but he also has a lot to learn and needs development.

I really like how he deals with bobbling passes, or chesting the ball down, and turning away from trouble, very smooth, could do with moving the ball a little quicker. Teams will target his defensive running , made a couple of errors, Galatasary away and for Bowen today when switching on to runners.

Should be starting the rest of the season.

 

[TrailMonkey]

A neat and tidy player for his age, but he has absolutely zero pace. Looks even less mobile than Carrick.

 

[redom]

All part of his development, as long as he works on his weaknesses and doesn't stagnate he's going to be a very good player.

 

[The Irish Connection]

If I’m being critical, he tends to look too casual at times, particularly when tracking runners.
Seems to lack a bit of intensity at the moment.
Still very young of course.

 

[Scandi Red]

Big mistake, but I doubt he has many more of those in him.

It was a 1 on 2 after that, so it shouldn't have ended up in the back of the net either. Annoyingly harsh punishment.

 

[Jeppers7]

He’s quality though….his positioning for his age is superb.

 

[gaffs]

Bad mistake, but was still our best player. Even at 1-0, we were never going to score.

 

[RedIan]

Had a decent game, shame about the mistake, he will learn from it.

 

[Carl]

Agree. He looked wrecked by the time he made the mistake too. Putting him with Bruno and McT is surely some kind of sadist act though. Bad call from the manager

We've seen it all season. He hasn't got a clue.

 

[siw2007]

It was a mistake from him, he is going to have to own that mistake, that’s the standard of playing at the highest level, you get punished for errors in scenarios like that. However, I thought he was our best player this afternoon. He needs to brush it off and go again next time he plays, which I’m sure he will.

 

[lost7]

He was knackered in the second half, clearly doesn't have the fitness to play 90 minutes at this level. Especially as the only CDM with such an unbalanced midfield.

 

[red woppit]

Agree. He looked wrecked by the time he made the mistake too. Putting him with Bruno and McT is surely some kind of sadist act though. Bad call from the manager

I think Amrabat would be a better partner for him, he would naturally cover back, McTominay and Bruno generally wouldn't.

 

[RedRonaldo]

He has made a bad mistake but other than that I thought he was good.

 

[Ali Dia]

I think Amrabat would be a better partner for him, he would naturally cover back, McTominay and Bruno generally wouldn't.

This is what Fred used to have to play with. Bruno and McT are not midfielders

 

[FerociousCorgis]

He has made a bad mistake but other than that I thought he was good.

Exactly. Was a horrendous mistake but somehow that made his whole performance a nightmare according to some. Was the lone DM all game and played pretty well

 

[Litch]

This is what Fred used to have to play with. Bruno and McT are not midfielders

Spot on. How often was he left alone holding the midfield on his own.

 

[RuudtheRed]

He was a large part of why we were able to control possession for large periods of the game. As the holding midfielder it isn't his job to get the goals but he progressed play well and seemed to generally make the right decisions. Unfortunate with the Gerrard-esque error at the end...

 

[NinjaZombie]

Funny thing, just before he made that mistake, I was thinking why is he the only midfielder who seems to know what he's doing?

I still think he was our best player on the field. Kept it simple when he should have, whilst still occasionally trying the harder-to-make progressive passes.

 

[MadDogg]

This is what Fred used to have to play with. Bruno and McT are not midfielders

McTominay used to at least play a bit more like a midfielder. Fred was obviously doing by far the most and was having to do the majority of the passing, the majority of the creativity, the majority of the ball-winning and the majority of the running, but somehow we've unbalanced it even further this season and are expecting Mainoo/Amrabat/Casemiro to perform miracles.

 

[JoaquinJoaquin]

Made a bad mistake, but still the best out of the 3 cm’s by a comfortable margin

 

[MadDogg]

Mainoo was starting to look tired about 10 minutes before that mistake. It happens, he'll hopefully learn from it. Playing in midfield by himself certainly isn't helping.

The more worrying thing for me was his lack of pace. Others had bought it up in previous games and I hadn't really noticed it too much, but there were two times today he looked very slow and quite lazy at making up that ground. Perhaps it was just because he was already struggling for fitness, but one of them was in the first half so you wouldn't think so. Although there were pre-game rumours that he'd miss the match with illness, so if he was ill earlier in the week that might still have been impacting him.

 

[Blood Mage]

A teenage midfielder is going to make those mistakes. The problem is that we're relying on a teenage midfielder rather than slowly bedding him in.

 

[Bobski]

McTominay used to at least play a bit more like a midfielder. Fred was obviously doing by far the most and was having to do the majority of the passing, the majority of the creativity, the majority of the ball-winning and the majority of the running, but somehow we've unbalanced it even further this season and are expecting Mainoo/Amrabat/Casemiro to perform miracles.

It is beyond inane from Ten Hag. Rag on McT all you like but we have seen him play very different roles in the past, this crappy David Platt thing he is doing is a new one.

 

[El Jefe]

Talented kid with potential for some really good on ball skills but he is a fecking tractor run back towards goal.

I thought h Pogba was bad with chasing runners who get past him but Mainoo looks like he’s running with a bag of bricks. He doesn’t even get close enough to be able to give away a cynical foul that’s how slow he is.

 

[Bobski]

Talented kid with potential for some really good on ball skills but he is a fecking tractor run back towards goal.

I thought h Pogba was bad with chasing runners who get past him but Mainoo looks like he’s running with a bag of bricks. He doesn’t even get close enough to be able to give away a cynical foul that’s how slow he is.

Yes, bit of a concern that, might still have some growing and filling out to do, which could give him a bit more dynamism and running power. Cas, Amrabat and Mainoo is a fairly immobile trio for the role.

 

[V.O.]

Yes, bit of a concern that, might still have some growing and filling out to do, which could give him a bit more dynamism and running power. Cas, Amrabat and Mainoo is a fairly immobile trio for the role.

The bigger issue is the fact that we're playing a one man midfield at all. You'd need Kante's legs, Casemiro's positioning and Modric's ability on the ball for it to be a success.

 

[Leftback99]

Lack of pace will be a problem without physicality in midfield around him.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Football is ruthless. One mistake in the EPL and you're punished. Before that, he was having a good game. Unfortunately, people will remember his mistake that lead to West Ham's second goal, which pretty much wrapped it up.

It's a learning curve though.

 

[Trequarista10]

The bigger issue is the fact that we're playing a one man midfield at all. You'd need Kante's legs, Casemiro's positioning and Modric's ability on the ball for it to be a success.

Spot on

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Lack of pace will be a problem without physicality in midfield around him.

I remember watching Ajax 2019 and ten Hag had Schone next to De Jong, who was a physical beast. Don't get me wrong, De Jong isn't exactly physically inept, and with time, Mainoo will obviously improve in that regard, but we could definitely do with someone in the mould, who, as you said, has a bit of physicality and grit.

A ball player with a ball winner type is a good blend.

 

[Oranges038]

Was quality on the ball today. Feck the mistake, played better than his 2 midfield partners.

 

[Adnan]

He played really well imo and the mistake was unfortunate, but investing in Mainoo is the way to go imo and as he gains more experience with time, he will get quicker and stronger. Willy Kambwala also debuted, which came as surprise to me due to the games he's missed at youth level in the last few years owing to injuries. But if he can develop some facets of his game, then he has the attributes that can be of huge value to us when defending transitions and initiating attacks. Maybe a loan move might be something he needs to develop his game further.

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When I looked at the lineup before the game, I was concerned with both McTominay and Fernandes as the players occupying positions high up in midfield. And the reason for that is quite simply down to the pair lacking technically (McTominay) and athletically (Fernandes). The problem wasn't that we didn't have a midfield, but rather when the ball got to McTominay and Fernandes they didn't have the ability to open up space via a dribble and hence it was easy for West Ham to defend against us. Kudus for West Ham was a threat because he can beat players in the dribble coming centrally and that makes a difference. His pace and athleticism was a factor and hence his technical ability on the ball made a difference.

We had no issues getting ball into West Ham's defensive third. But once it got into the West Ham defensive third, we didn't have the ability to create space to unhinge the West Ham defensive structure. I want to see Mason Mount as the AM with Mainoo - Amrabat/Casemiro occupying positions in deeper midfield.

 

[Someone]

Had a great game up to that mistake, but I thought he looked like he's running out of steam before that. Hope we keep playing him.

 

[Marwood]

It's not even about being young necessarily. Players make mistakes, it happens.

Keane against Juve. We all agree it was his pinnacle. But the yellow he got was due to a bad touch similar to Mainoo today. That was prime Keane in the game of his career.

 

[NinjaZombie]

A neat and tidy player for his age, but he has absolutely zero pace. Looks even less mobile than Carrick.

Honest question: Why would he need pace?

 

[flameinthesun]

Had a great game up to that mistake, but I thought he looked like he's running out of steam before that. Hope we keep playing him.

Yeah I'm not sure he has the stamina yet for a full 90. I also feel like playing him at 6 instead of at 8 is restricting him a little. Hopefully as his confidence grows he starts getting a bit more dominant in the middle.

 

[Unam333]

It's football, people make mistakes. Young players make even more mistakes, that's life.

I think his lack of pace is a bit worrisome. Players on the ball are faster than him.

 

[Lost bear]

Agree. He looked wrecked by the time he made the mistake too. Putting him with Bruno and McT is surely some kind of sadist act though. Bad call from the manager

Yep.

The focus should not be on Mainoo’s error, but on ETH’s refusal to learn that one defensive midfielder in this team and in this league is not enough. Mainoo played well, especially considering he was coming back from illness. The other factor was that the game should have been different and more comfortable by then. We had at least one clear chance to go ahead in the first half.