Best academy midfielder since Scholes
Is Mainoo the real deal?
- Thread starter Samid
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I said it a couple of months ago that Mainoo will be a certain starter before long and on the plane to Germany this summer. The guy is already playing at an extremely high level. But what I didn’t know is that he can also finish. His 2 goals were taken so calmly & effortlessly, that’s probably the most difficult skill in football to master. Oozes quality. Rice, Mainoo and Bellingham in midfield for England?!?! WTF!!!! Where is all this quality coming from all of a sudden? So many young talented English players at the moment, England will win at least a EC and WC in the next ten years, no doubt about it. Hopefully United can have similar success too.
His calmness on the ball is what I admire most about him. Utd has got an amazing talent on their hands.
Build around him with similar level of talent, please.
Yeah, usually you see this kind of composure on more senior players, but he played like that from the start at 18 years old. Amazing talent.
I remember arguing with this guy who was downplaying Mainoo big time. No longer with us but wonder what he's thinking now.
I’m all for hyping Mainoo but this is a step too far
And in 10 years time you may quote me on that, although you are taking my remark out of context. I didn’t mean that England will be successful due to Mainoo, I meant they’ll be successful due to the ridiculous amount of highly talented young English players coming through, like Kobe Mainoo.I’m all for hyping Mainoo but this is a step too far
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Yeah, he's fecking wank, but he's better than Antony, and he's more of an actual winger than Rashford.
I've said it before but I'd already start him for England. I think he's good enough already, and I don't think we have anyone better to compliment Rice and Bellingham. The other midfielder I wouldn't mind starting alongside them two is Dan Neil from Sunderland who's press resistant, but the fact that he plays in the championship means it's pointless to even consider him unfortunately.
Fecking hell. Those stats are incredible.
I’m just hoping we can manage his ascent properly and keep him grounded.
He seems like a humble, sensible lad but so did Rashford.
For all Ten Hag’s flaws he’s done a good job so far with Garnacho so hopefully he’s in good hands for now.
He seems like a humble, sensible lad but so did Rashford.
For all Ten Hag’s flaws he’s done a good job so far with Garnacho so hopefully he’s in good hands for now.
Don't need Southgate and England ruining him before he's even really got going thanks.
THIS!
This, United players seem to come back worse after England.
it's a shame how true this is
It’s really saddening that a NT manager can be such an indictment and impediment; a lot of us fear what Southgate will do to him.
I don’t think he’ll even use Bellingham correctly, so shudder to think how badly he could feck up with Mainoo.
Going to majors early is a rite of passage for most of the great players - the levelling up the whole experience can provide is unprecedented, so it’s such a shame there’s a reasonable doubt as to whether it’d be beneficial for this kid.
I don’t think he’ll even use Bellingham correctly, so shudder to think how badly he could feck up with Mainoo.
Going to majors early is a rite of passage for most of the great players - the levelling up the whole experience can provide is unprecedented, so it’s such a shame there’s a reasonable doubt as to whether it’d be beneficial for this kid.
I was in the patience camp but now I'm fully captivated by Mainoo Mania
He plays like he's been in the league for a few years. Too early to say how good he will eventually become but he's a certainty for a career in the PL. Not sure how many of the other youngsters you could say that about. Garnacho is probably the only other one.
Midfield looks good but the rest of the pitch? Our best chance to win something has come and gone.
Attack is very good too.
If we don't win these euros Southgate will be gone, so it will cease to be a problem in five months' time.
Kane, Zaka, Foden, Rashford, Palmer, Sterling, Eze to choose from up front.
And let's not forget Sancho and Mount have reached the latter stages of the CL.
If he does not win the Ballon Dor next I will not understand this world anymore.I’m all for hyping Mainoo but this is a step too far
Seems to have the correct mentality. I hope we don't feck him up.
He’s the N’Golo Kante we never had
Far superior footballer to Kante. Very different players.
Apart from both being quite short, seriously is there that much of a similarity?
Bellingham is yesterday’s man, here comes the real deal!
He reminds of Seedorf, when he was older at AC Milan. Similar style of play. Obviously not as good but who’s to say he can’t be one day. Skys the limit for the kid.
Always fear for young players when they get so much hype. Hope he has a good head on his shoulders.
I'm not sure he's taller, he's just closer to the camera and Bruno carries himself like a slouch. Bruno is also quite short anyway at 5'10. granted Kante was really short but I just don't see much, if any, similarity with their games. As a few have said, he is much more like Seedorf - like an all round player who can run at and past people, has good finishing, tackles and chases well, and can play across the CMs and AMs. Obviously a long way to go to reach that level but the broad skillset is there apart from the rocket shot.
Seedorf is actually a very good comparison. I'm old enough to have seen Seedorf play a lot. Kobbie's body type and playing style is quite similar.
Defensive positioning and intelligence? Tackling? Pretty good distribution?
I reckon there’s a fair few similarities actually, and yes, I suspect Mainoo is better technically whilst not being quite the disruptive force that Kante was (though nobody is)
He has as much composure as Onana for the third goal. Balls so big and heavy he didnt even move an inch.
Defensive positioning is so broad though, Mainoo doesn't come close to Kante at his peak and they play in very different ways. If you're saying Mainoo can tackle...sure, I doubt he would be at the level of Kante at breaking up play and doing the hard yards though because for most of Kante's career he'd have been in Case's role as a comparison. Mainoo is quite clearly better technically already though, Kante literally couldn't have done what he did yesterday.
Mainoo's game isn't limited to being a disruptive force, which is basically what Kante forged his career on. It amuses me when I constantly see Mainoo compared to the likes of Kante and Makelele. He's a lot more talented and is more of a playmaker.
I understood you didn’t mean England being successful due to Mainoo, I’m just quite sceptical of English national team, I’ve been told they’d surely rack up multiple trophies in the next decade since I was born in the early 90s and already witnessed a couple of golden generations. Nothing personal against you or Kobbie.
I think it is extremely difficult to win Ballon d’Or or any popularity contest from his position - Modrić managed it but he won a lot of trophies that season, reached the unlikely World Cup final and was honored also in light of his long and wonderful career. Bellingham looks nailed to be one of the dominant candidates in the post Messi and Ronaldo era, but even if he is the overall best player in the world my money is on forwards like Haaland or Mbappe earning the accolades.
still, our first academy player since Rashford when the sky high hype is rather justified, every team in the world wished they had a talent like Mainoo.
I don't think you necessarily need to be a destroyer to be successful there. Carrick was not much of a disruptive force in the physical sense, but he made up for it with his positional sense and general reading of the game.
It's early days and Mainoo may develop that nous with maturity, but I definitely see him more in the Scholes role. Like you say, he has the sharpness of a natural playmaker, and his balance, quick feet, and close control will cause naturally problems in the final third.