[Member 5115]

when you have the mobility of a traffic cone you need to be two steps ahead mentally and quick to get the ball out of your feet. that's just not him right now.

 

[the hea]

He was terrible today. He needs ti improve on his athleticism if he wants to succeed, he's to slow and weak to be relied upon in midfield.

 

[Gomes]

He really doesn’t fit this system, as much as we keep trying. It would probably help if he lost some weight too.

It's not the system. Been the same the whole season unfortunately.

 

[Idxomer]

Steady on

It's specifically about this game, he was nowhere to be seen at any phase of play.

 

[McLvnsMuse]

He lacks athleticism. Won’t be a problem if he offered elite offense through incisive passing or dribbling. He doesn’t. He hardly opens teams up.

So not quite a DM (yet) and not quite an AM.

None of this is fatal to his career at United. It just means we need to be realistic about how reliant we are on him. This team needs physicality and creativity. Especially in the middle.

 

[the hea]

Doesn’t deserve to get more than Amad who is on around £100k, let alone the reported £200k demand. Even before tonight’s performances.

He deserves nothing close to Amads wages. Amad is turning into a star who can turn matches around for us on his own, Mainoo is still only a young talent who might or might not reach Amads levels one day.

 

[Hammondo]

He showed his talent literally in the last game.

And what was that? He battled well, but that's all, what is the actual talent outside of close control?

 

[Paddymcc]

It's hard to put the blame totally on him and Ugarte but Hoijlunds lack of hold up ability meant the ball was going forward, turned over and Southampton putting us under serious pressure most of the game.

They were getting pulled all over the place and Mainoo certainly hasn't got the athleticism for that and covering large spaces.

He seems to operate much better in tight spaces, he also seems to have put on quite a lot of upper body muscle

 

[Robbie Boy]

He's been completely off the boil most of this season. It's very disappointing as he was a breath of fresh air last season.

 

[Who's Kissing Cameras?]

Tired after the Arsenal game. Nothing to see here. Still a star in the making.

 

[Hammondo]

He was poor but I don't think he was the main reason for the poor performance. I thought we got worse at the start of the 2nd half and after Collyer came on we still didn't play particularly well either. He needs to perform at a high level though.

Collyer made a huge difference, second half was significantly better than the first.

 

[WouterWeghorst]

He's been completely off the boil most of this season. It's very disappointing as he was a breath of fresh air last season.

I found it worrying that he did so well against 2 big teams, to completely not turn up against a bottom half team. That doesn't really seem to be a thing of quality, more of mentality?

He's young and very talented obviously, hope he gets into a better spell soon as we need a good shuttle player to link defense & attack.

 

[Garethw]

What on earth has happened to him this season? He looked a potential world class midfielder last season.

Is all the contract talk affecting him maybe?

 

[Bwuk]

Poor performance but those saying he needs more athleticism etc Mainoo isn't the profile of a midfielder especially centrally in a pivot.

He played predominantly as a striker / winger in the academy, he is by no means a 6. Southgate / Erik totally mis-profiled him and it seems Amorim is making the same mistake but his insistence could be due to the omission of Casemiro.

Doesn’t matter what he played in the academy. Mainoo couldn’t play as a winger or a striker in senior football.

 

[Cassidy]

And what was that? He battled well, but that's all, what is the actual talent outside of close control?

If you don’t know by now then I can’t help you.

What he lacks is experience, passing range and running power thats clear. Lets see if he can work it out.

 

[saivet]

Collyer made a huge difference, second half was significantly better than the first.

I wasn't impressed with what I saw for the majority of that second half, even if we were a bit better. Southampton offered less threat but I think that was also to due to them being ahead and tiring.

 

[tomaldinho1]

It's specifically about this game, he was nowhere to be seen at any phase of play.

I distinctly remember him chasing someone back and then hooking the ball off them. That's really about it but that's immediately better than the worst we've seen of Case - which was end of last season and he was trying to get himself send off and flying into every tackle, but being so old he just missed everything.

 

[Uncle Mainoo]

Tired after the Arsenal game. Nothing to see here. Still a star in the making.

He’s tired every game. He’s like the guy who comes to all the circuit classes but after 3 years he still has a belly.

 

[-Supreme-]

He deserves nothing close to Amads wages. Amad is turning into a star who can turn matches around for us on his own, Mainoo is still only a young talent who might or might not reach Amads levels one day.

Agreed, let’s hope our new leadership team do not have the same fantasy towards academy players compared to the people on the caf. All players in the.squad should be treated the same way, the last thing we need to overhype and overpaying when he hasn’t even delivered yet.

 

[Toshey]

Does he know he is allowed to actually run while playing football? Seems alien concept to him.

 

[Cloudface]

Tired after the Arsenal game. Nothing to see here. Still a star in the making.

He played 80 mins four days ago. Not the most demanding schedule especially when he gets hooked after 45 here.

He is young so he has time and we shouldn't be relying on him at the minute, but his athleticism is the thing that looks like it will hold him back.

 

[bavarianred]

Let's be honest he was massively overhyped because he was probably the only spark of hope in a season full of crap. Difficult to say where his ceiling will be, but I'm 100% sure we won't see the upper half of the table again if we rely on him as a key player in that system by now.

Not his fault though, squad planning has been absolutely woeful during the ten Hag era.

 

[Erictheking7]

Not at his best lately but the kid will come good. Still developing physically and not having the luxury of playing in a settled side won't be helping him either.

 

[Roboc7]

He had a bad game but his performances have been much better recently. Mazraoui was way too deep and at times Mainoo was in no man’s land.

 

[Redstain]

Doesn’t matter what he played in the academy. Mainoo couldn’t play as a winger or a striker in senior football.

It does matter because it shows why instinctively he's not got the reading of the game, positioning and composition to play as a central midfielder. Evidently a position that requires the most experience and game intelligence to cover.

There's a reason Mainoo's most consistent contribution and highlights for United are when he's in the opposition box compared to any other position on the football pitch. His best performances under ETH are in attacking positions.

 

[Bwuk]

It does matter because it shows why instinctively he's not got the reading of the game, positioning and composition to play as a central midfielder. Evidently a position that requires the most experience and game intelligence to cover.

There's a reason Mainoo's most consistent contribution and highlights for United are when he's in the opposition box compared to any other position on the football pitch. His best performances under ETH are in attacking positions.

If your suggesting Mainoo who is slow and struggles to run could play wide or as a striker in senior football I’m really not sure how to respond.

 

[youngrell]

Still looking very leggy and his touch is still off compared to usual. Made Bruno look super sharp in comparison when he dropped into his role. Wasn’t ideal opposition for him though, Southampton were very athletic tonight.

 

[El Jefe]

He needs to work on his athleticism. Doesn’t seem to have the engine of a top player.

Yup even when he was brilliant last season this was called into question. It’s also very strange because younger players generally come into the team and their energy and athleticism is what stands out most at first.

I don’t think I’ve seen him press high up and win a ball this season or win a ball when a player is driving at our defence and he’s behind that player.

When the team is a lot more compact he’s much better because he has less space to cover but that’s not how Amorim wants us to play.

 

[Cassidy]

If your suggesting Mainoo who is slow and struggles to run could play wide or as a striker in senior football I’m really not sure how to respond.

Zirkzee is slow. Berbatov was slow. Bergkamp was slow…

 

[superdry]

Looked a bit heavy and slow.

 

[JJ12]

What on earth has happened to him this season? He looked a potential world class midfielder last season.

Is all the contract talk affecting him maybe?

Injured to start the year, a few poor games and a few good games. I worry about his pace in honesty

 

[Borussia Teeth]

I think he was good against Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal. He's also had some poor performances this season, like tonight.

A 19 year old being inconsistent? Who would have thought?

Such a shitty fanbase in this thread. We don't deserve good players

 

[Cassidy]

I think he was good against Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal. He's also had some poor performances this season, like tonight.

A 19 year old being inconsistent? Who would have thought?

Such a shitty fanbase in this thread. We don't deserve good players

Pretty much this

 

[Hammondo]

If you don’t know by now then I can’t help you.

What he lacks is experience, passing range and running power thats clear. Lets see if he can work it out.

Yes but you are using experience to cover a lot, like positioning, reading of the game, and general football intelligence that Collyer showed more of.

 

[Gandalf]

Kobbie has great technique but physically I am starting to worry that he just does not have what it takes for the PL. I could see him tearing it up in France like Angel Gomes but here the pace seems too much for him, he is slower than Maguire and looks absolutely shattered before half time in almost every game he starts. It is possible that good fitness coaching and some sprint training could help but the worry is this is the sort of thing that should have been identified much earlier in his development.

 

[Orange Tree]

Still think he is better utilized further up the field. He rarely makes himself available for the CBs to pass to him, he is slow and his passing isn't varied enough.

As a number 10, he can use his close control and dribbling for quick interplay and cause chaos in the final third. And his pressing is actually quite good.

 

[Hammondo]

I wasn't impressed with what I saw for the majority of that second half, even if we were a bit better. Southampton offered less threat but I think that was also to due to them being ahead and tiring.

Yea they did tire, but we started to get control of the ball a lot more, that's the difference I am pointing to.

Second goal came imo because Erikson is more technical and intelligent than our other players, which includes Bruno.

A lot of the time amad has no one to play with on his level.

 

[Bebe]

He's a #10 (and should probably be developed as Bruno's successor). This playing him at #8 solely because he can control a ball and turn a man is an indictment on our lack of CM talent.

 

[Hammondo]

Kobbie has great technique but physically I am starting to worry that he just does not have what it takes for the PL. I could see him tearing it up in France like Angel Gomes but here the pace seems too much for him, he is slower than Maguire and looks absolutely shattered before half time in almost every game he starts. It is possible that good fitness coaching and some sprint training could help but the worry is this is the sort of thing that should have been identified much earlier in his development.

I'm just as worried about his passing, it's woeful.

 

[Godfather]

He has no passing in him has he? Bit worrying for a supposed CM