MOTM today for me.
37
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 31
- Goals
- 4
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 3
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
He is more like Seedorf mark II, a more agile version potentially. You compared him to the wrong players. More importantly, he is himself and will become a great player in his style. He doesn’t need to become anyone else.
In the past, this kid would have been getting game time between a Scholes and Carrick, or a Keane and Butt, or an Ince and Keane. It's imperative that he is given a partner in midfield who can mentor him and be on or above his level, just as a Scholes got when he was under Keane's tutelage.
I've mentioned this many times on here, but well run clubs bring through elite players who then play next to elite players who not only make their transition into first team football as smooth as it can be, but ensure that the young talent has a bar set by a superior player to themselves for the time being. We have only one player in midfield who comes close to fitting this description for Mainoo and that's Casemiro whom we need fit and switched on, passing on knowledge and expertise to an extremely talented understudy.
Mainoo shouldn't be seen as a saviour to the midfield, but a locked component in it becoming top-level competitive again. The midfield is far from complete, but this is the bottom line of what it should look like per position - total competence in execution and that air of class.
I've watched the game back and one of the most refreshing things about Mainoo's performance is observing Everton's midfield quickly assessing that this is a difficult foe to deal with. What the great midfielders do is make it known that pressing and harassing them can lead to downfall; the more you pressure, the more they pick you apart and exploit the gaps you leave. If the midfielder is good enough, it doesn't take much time for the opposing midfield to pay their respect and no longer try and hunt said player, instead backing off or second-guessing their action. In those moments where they second guess, the skilled midfielder exploits their hesistancy and carries/passes between the lines, effectively punishing them for their pause for thought. Scholes is the best we've had for all the above, but you saw it with Mainoo in this game, and if you've been following him, know this is quite the norm for him.
We need midfielders alongside him who can read what's going on and further exploit it by running into pockets of space to get the combination passing going. What we don't want is for Mainoo to be some Robson figure that has to do too much by himself; he's a superb cog who we want other pieces fitting nicely beside. I don't see the benefit in slamming McTominay, but it has to be pointed out that Mainoo is the kind of player who exposes him more than others. McTominay is reluctant to receive the ball and especially so on any kind of turn, whilst Mainoo wants a midfielder to open his body up and be ready to bounce passes off of. There was a disconnect between them in the desire to do things on and off the ball. Mainoo is eclectic and isn't fussed about the requirements of a situation. As we saw today, if you give him space, he'll decide for himself whether to run into it, pass through it or use a teammate. If you try to squeeze the space and press, he'll assess and do the percentage prudent thing most times, like Scholes. He is completely at ease in any scenario front or back facing. McTominay cannot play like that, which creates a problem because he will be bypassed entirely over incorporated into a play he doesn't know how to position himself for. This is the kind of player you want the likes of those aforementioned top players next to to optimise and maximise his game.
It's a shame we're going to the harder run of games now because it would have been beneficial to see how Mainoo + others in deeper midfield would look. Until Casemiro gets back, finding the most able partner should be the order of the day. Xavi had Busquets behind him and Iniesta in front; Kroos had Modric and Casemiro - the list goes on to midfields who aren't in all-time conversation, but the point is that all of them are complementary and facilitate the play for each other and we need exactly that. Mainoo should be interacting with others who are on his wavelength. It would be transformative for us in midfield and for the team as a whole.
Even if you don't want to get ahead of yourself with praise for Mainoo, the potential his game carries for our season is obvious and enormous because he's the kind of player the league raves about, and it's no wonder at all that City are still trying to poach him from us because he would slot straight into their midfield and be seen as a special player, in the same kind of triumvirate I've referred to in this post, that time with Rodri and Bernado, which would have Pep creaming himself. Our onus is on making a similar unit of our own with Mainoo smack, bang in the middle of it.
If you were ever raving about Evans, Rossi, Pogba, Morrison and Greenwood as obvious talents who would make waves in the professional game, you should have the same feeling about Mainoo, which those that have tracked him do, to be fair. I just hope that he remains injury free and we manage to optimise his game. The time for wondering whether he's ready is over as it is abnormal to come into such a hostile environment, away from home, and play like you're a seasoned professional on your league debut, being the best midfielder on the pitch and the obvious MotM.
I've mentioned this many times on here, but well run clubs bring through elite players who then play next to elite players who not only make their transition into first team football as smooth as it can be, but ensure that the young talent has a bar set by a superior player to themselves for the time being. We have only one player in midfield who comes close to fitting this description for Mainoo and that's Casemiro whom we need fit and switched on, passing on knowledge and expertise to an extremely talented understudy.
Mainoo shouldn't be seen as a saviour to the midfield, but a locked component in it becoming top-level competitive again. The midfield is far from complete, but this is the bottom line of what it should look like per position - total competence in execution and that air of class.
I've watched the game back and one of the most refreshing things about Mainoo's performance is observing Everton's midfield quickly assessing that this is a difficult foe to deal with. What the great midfielders do is make it known that pressing and harassing them can lead to downfall; the more you pressure, the more they pick you apart and exploit the gaps you leave. If the midfielder is good enough, it doesn't take much time for the opposing midfield to pay their respect and no longer try and hunt said player, instead backing off or second-guessing their action. In those moments where they second guess, the skilled midfielder exploits their hesistancy and carries/passes between the lines, effectively punishing them for their pause for thought. Scholes is the best we've had for all the above, but you saw it with Mainoo in this game, and if you've been following him, know this is quite the norm for him.
We need midfielders alongside him who can read what's going on and further exploit it by running into pockets of space to get the combination passing going. What we don't want is for Mainoo to be some Robson figure that has to do too much by himself; he's a superb cog who we want other pieces fitting nicely beside. I don't see the benefit in slamming McTominay, but it has to be pointed out that Mainoo is the kind of player who exposes him more than others. McTominay is reluctant to receive the ball and especially so on any kind of turn, whilst Mainoo wants a midfielder to open his body up and be ready to bounce passes off of. There was a disconnect between them in the desire to do things on and off the ball. Mainoo is eclectic and isn't fussed about the requirements of a situation. As we saw today, if you give him space, he'll decide for himself whether to run into it, pass through it or use a teammate. If you try to squeeze the space and press, he'll assess and do the percentage prudent thing most times, like Scholes. He is completely at ease in any scenario front or back facing. McTominay cannot play like that, which creates a problem because he will be bypassed entirely over incorporated into a play he doesn't know how to position himself for. This is the kind of player you want the likes of those aforementioned top players next to to optimise and maximise his game.
It's a shame we're going to the harder run of games now because it would have been beneficial to see how Mainoo + others in deeper midfield would look. Until Casemiro gets back, finding the most able partner should be the order of the day. Xavi had Busquets behind him and Iniesta in front; Kroos had Modric and Casemiro - the list goes on to midfields who aren't in all-time conversation, but the point is that all of them are complementary and facilitate the play for each other and we need exactly that. Mainoo should be interacting with others who are on his wavelength. It would be transformative for us in midfield and for the team as a whole.
Even if you don't want to get ahead of yourself with praise for Mainoo, the potential his game carries for our season is obvious and enormous because he's the kind of player the league raves about, and it's no wonder at all that City are still trying to poach him from us because he would slot straight into their midfield and be seen as a special player, in the same kind of triumvirate I've referred to in this post, that time with Rodri and Bernado, which would have Pep creaming himself. Our onus is on making a similar unit of our own with Mainoo smack, bang in the middle of it.
If you were ever raving about Evans, Rossi, Pogba, Morrison and Greenwood as obvious talents who would make waves in the professional game, you should have the same feeling about Mainoo, which those that have tracked him do, to be fair. I just hope that he remains injury free and we manage to optimise his game. The time for wondering whether he's ready is over as it is abnormal to come into such a hostile environment, away from home, and play like you're a seasoned professional on your league debut, being the best midfielder on the pitch and the obvious MotM.
Yeah that's true he was getting plenty of space in the second half when Evertons midfield basically gave up trying to press him. He is like an anti-Bruno in the sense that he leans more to ball retention than to trying the hollywood pass but then again he is a pure midfielder in the 8/6 mould while Bruno isn't. There was a period of play in the second half where we were under pressure and he received the ball when we were defending deep and instead of hoofing the ball forward he found a pass through to Maguire on the right wing (I'm not sure what Maguire was doing there at the time) but it's that sort of thing that gives me the optimism, his calmness is beyond his age.
I also think he'll get plenty of minutes unlike Mjebri as he's just quite simply a better player. I've watched DVB, Amrabat and Mctominay in this midfield over the last 2 seasons and he's put in a better midfield performance in his debut than they've managed so far. Mjebri while talented is a bit of a hothead and let's the game and the emotion get to him a bit while Mainoo looks like he's just had a kickabout with his friends. I know I've mentioned it a lot already but the key for me is his calmness and his football brain which is far beyond his years.
About the England thing, I genuinely think that only injuries can stop him from going to the Euros as I don't think he's going to be struggling for game time. Of course he's still young so he'll be inconsistent but I think if we get him in a midfield base with Casemiro we'll see even more from him.
It’s a shame Casemiro and Mainoo have had injuries this season.
If they’d been fit together to play as planned we’d of started much stronger imo.
If they’d been fit together to play as planned we’d of started much stronger imo.
And without injuries to Lisandro and Shaw at the same time, we would be competing for top spot now. It could’ve been an entirely different team
He attacked the space just like Andersun
Because by and large our knowledge is second to none.
Has to start fmo now on
High football IQ. Those who follow youth football will know exactly how good Mainoo is, but the step up to the men’s game is massive and he has already shown he is the part from last season and pre-season. Next season, bring in Gore and we can lose McT. I hope and wish that Mainoo will have the best of luck with being injury-free!
It wasnt just the good dribbles, passes, taking the ball away from players pressing him or even the clearence off the line that was impressive. It was how effortless it looked for him to do it too. He's on his debut in the premier league starting for Manchester United and hes as calm and composed as if he was having a kick about with some kids in the park.
47:29: Mainoo receives the ball from a somewhat cushioned header served up by Lindelof off a failed long pass from Everton's right flank down to our LCB position. As the ball is coming down from said header, Mainoo is being closed down from the rear by Doucoure whilst having Calvert Lewin in his line of vision also closing down in close proximity. Mainoo chests the ball down and runs on the same line towards Calvert Lewin before suddenly spinning off to his left side, on his left foot, seemingly into a trap set as there's now three Everton players around him: 1 behind, 1 next to him and one he's just turned into (Harrison). Mainoo uses Harrison's momentum against him as that he cannot press at that speed and also suddenly put on the brakes. Mainoo has slowed himself right down now, so that Harrison simply overruns and effectively takes himself out the game at which point Mainoo casually plays a short ball on the inside of Harrison to Shaw who then has space to set off into and a 1on1 opportunity out of nowhere because Mainoo has taken two midfielders out of the play in one action that was created impromptu from an innocuous cushioned header from Lindelof.
All of the above is executed inside four seconds and is a run of play people mightn't have paid attention to, but it is a sublime action in deep midfield that turns play and has us on the attack in an advantageous position in an instant. Someone like Mainoo is doing these things all the time throughout the game, and by the time you're deep in the second half, it is seriously demoralising for the midfielders trying to press. If there's anyone willing to gif that sequence, it would be interesting to see who else people think could have executed that play in our squad. Before anything else, Mainoo has a niche and set of qualities we need as a team. It'll make him indispensable as time goes by.
All of the above is executed inside four seconds and is a run of play people mightn't have paid attention to, but it is a sublime action in deep midfield that turns play and has us on the attack in an advantageous position in an instant. Someone like Mainoo is doing these things all the time throughout the game, and by the time you're deep in the second half, it is seriously demoralising for the midfielders trying to press. If there's anyone willing to gif that sequence, it would be interesting to see who else people think could have executed that play in our squad. Before anything else, Mainoo has a niche and set of qualities we need as a team. It'll make him indispensable as time goes by.
A midfielder who doesn't hide from the ball and doesn't crumble under pressure. Is this real life?
Hurray ,,,,2 best players nice for a change.
Our best player in the 1st half and 2nd best if not the best overall in this game. He's really promising talent.
He’s so easy on the eye, and exactly what we need in the longer run. He is probably the closest we are going to come a Frenkie De Jong, given that even if he takes 3-4 years to settle and become consistent etc, I still don’t see too many other candidates with that ability to progress the ball from deep.
Such a beauty of a game! We’ve been right about him all along it was obvious. The way he moves is different and the way he can manipulate the ball in tight spaces and beat the press is great to see. He’s an international level player if he can stay fit and focused.
Very press resistant. He does it with ease.
Excellent performance and exactly what we've been missing this season. Amongst other things 
Why did pretty much every broadcaster think this was his debut though?
Why did pretty much every broadcaster think this was his debut though?
It was his full debut.Excellent performance and exactly what we've been missing this season. Amongst other things
Why did pretty much every broadcaster think this was his debut though?
Did he pass the @Yagami test?
Or is this just fantasy ....
I think he will do well when paired with Casemiro.
We talk about United not having a midfielder like him but have England had a midfielder like him since Carrick (who to note was grossly underused)
Watched this piece of play again, yeah it was executed with superb composure.
Also just few mins later, when Maguire made attacking run, Mainoo slotted in CB position, then when Everton lost the ball Mainoo from.Maguire position played a very good pass to pick Maguire
on RW with acres of space. That was the move where we won penalty.
There were few more instances where he showed what he brings to the team, most impressive of them all was him receiving the pass in defensive area and then carrying it with ease.
Not his type though. His game is more about awareness, passing and similar fundamentals. And his midfield game is so far ahead of any of our other CMs...even if his level dips he should continue to play
I mean in last 25 yrs we have bought one proper CM who had a long and integral run in first team and that was Carrick in 2006
Good point to raise about him slotting in at times on the other side of the ball. It's all so seamless that you have to be paying attention to really acknowledge that it's something special that he is so switched on he does these things without a second thought.
It's not just that he looks around when not on the ball, but that he constantly frames the pitch and knows instantly what he should be doing in case he's needed offensively as well as defensively. I think he'll get cited a lot for making those block tackles he was making as well as things like the goal line clearance, but that positioning and constant reading and re-reading of the game that means he's so frequently in the position to make those things happen in the first place, will get lost in the bigger picture.
He's the first midfielder we've had since Scholes who can take those snaps of the pitch and adjust to them accordingly over and over again (being ahead of the play), which is why everything will look so effortless; jogging constantly with purpose and not just for the sake of it; knowing what he'll do with the ball before it's reached him; constantly making himself available it's one thing to see these things in the unders or preseason, but to do it all in such a cauldron against men, on his debut. That's exceptional.
You summed up what he brings to the team very well. It's so natural to him, it looks like everything he does is simple things and basics right, but there is more to it. Like you said, always reading, re-reading the game and positioning himself well with and without possession.
IMO he is a complete package, at least has all the right attributes to be a complete package. It's all about getting the experience playing at highest level.
Our midfield got dominated today and Onana bailed us out a few times. How would that be a wind up?
Impressive performance. We still need to bring in a senior top class CM though. Wouldn't want a repeat of the whole Rashford issue. Kid needs guidance, and needs to be managed properly.
You're right. McTominay was shite. I can't even count how many times he was passed the ball by the defense or Onana and rather than try and turn or at least pass it wide, he passed it straight back. That doesn't change the fact that Mainoo wasn't an 8/10. He was good. Definitely better than McT. But people are seeing what they want to see. We all want to see the kids do well. And he did. But not an 8/10 or MOTM performance. All I'm saying is don't overhype the kid or it's going to be like Januzaj all over again...
It doesn't matter whether people want to say it or be reserved in assessment: it's clear as day this is a prodigious talent that would be an exciting prospect even in our world class squads of the Fergie era, let alone now. I don't know how much he'd be worth on the open market, but that value is going to grow exponentially because he's clearly the kind of talent you can throw out in the kind of company you wouldn't even dream of for others.
I haven't seen that level of composure from a teen midfielder in the PL since Fabregas. It's that simple.
The manager should be doing everything in his power to play down everything about the player and try and keep the media hype as low as possible, but as fans, there should be murmurings of him in associative breath to the most special of talents that came through here and announced themselves. My feeling is, he's going to have a such a good game against a strong opponent that the cat will officially be out of the bag and the England talk and hype will arrive, at that time he'll no longer be any kind of secret or one to look out for in terms of touted talent, but for now, wrap in cotton wool, play down the praise whilst knowing this is one ludicrous talent.
I'm not criticizing him. I'm saying don't overhype him and give him ratings he doesn't deserve. He was good. ANd that was really good to see. He deserves to start. But it wasn't an 8/10
Best thing about his performance was he’s been out for 4 months and still looked class. A lot of other players will be rusty and not sharp.
He was at least a 7.
If Casemiro is lightweight, Mainoo is basically a kite that flies to wherever the wind takes him.
Mainoo passed my test years ago. I've been a fan for a long time. Seeing him do it in the first team at Goodison is extra nice, though! My initial post after yesterdays game should tell you everything
Having him as our deepest midfielder in possession to play out from the back and advance the ball compared to Casemiro or Eriksen is night and day.
Hey, don't do Kobbie like that. Mainoo has always been hard to dispossess. Even Doucouré couldn't get near the ball when Kobbie was gliding. Casemiro is, and always has been, a complete lightweight when shielding the ball despite being known for his physicality out of possession.