[Kostov]

I remember welbeck turned him and then just didn't even acknowledge he was chasing him.

You mean in the same instance when our captain Martinez let Welbeck run past him like a training con and it was left for Mainoo to make the tactical foul and get the yellow in order to prevent the counter? Yeah definitely it was Mainoo who was at fault there

 

[Kostov]

Mainoo was one of our better players against Brightong. Seems that people can't get past the fact that the incompetent Amorim has been fired and Kobie goes straight into the line up.

 

[Hammondo]

You mean in the same instance when our captain Martinez let Welbeck run past him like a training con and it was left for Mainoo to make the tactical foul and get the yellow in order to prevent the counter? Yeah definitely it was Mainoo who was at fault there

I didn't see that, do you have a link to a clip of it?

 

[romufc]

Mainoo was one of our better players against Brightong. Seems that people can't get past the fact that the incompetent Amorim has been fired and Kobie goes straight into the line up.

Our midfield was constantly bypassed by Brighton... on a regular basis, they got down the sides of our defence regularly.

If you watch other clubs, when the ball gets played in by the sides... CM's usually cover and track runners. You will also see that CM's make it hard for opponents to play line breaking passes, which happened regularly against us.

Then on the ball, Mainoo was good passing sideways and backwards, when it came to passing forward, he was poor.

 

[Kostov]

Our midfield was constantly bypassed by Brighton... on a regular basis, they got down the sides of our defence regularly.

If you watch other clubs, when the ball gets played in by the sides... CM's usually cover and track runners. You will also see that CM's make it hard for opponents to play line breaking passes, which happened regularly against us.

Then on the ball, Mainoo was good passing sideways and backwards, when it came to passing forward, he was poor.

You can’t expect to play a midfield duo of Ugarte and Mainoo and not be bypassed, it’s been the same story and worse with Bruno and Casemiro. We also bypassed Brighton’s midfield consistently but failed to capitalize on our chances.

And it’s Mainoo and Ugarte first start together under a new manager, both did well. We lost thanks to senior pros like Dalot, Mount and Cunha being absolute shit, the midfield did its job. No wing play meant very little options for a forward outlet.

Not sure what do you expect of Mainoo to do? Be Paul Scholes and dictate play?

 

[romufc]

You can’t expect to play a midfield duo of Ugarte and Mainoo and not be bypassed, it’s been the same story and worse with Bruno and Casemiro. We also bypassed Brighton’s midfield consistently but failed to capitalize on our chances.

And it’s Mainoo and Ugarte first start together under a new manager, both did well. We lost thanks to senior pros like Dalot, Mount and Cunha being absolute shit, the midfield did its job. No wing play meant very little options for a forward outlet.

Not sure what do you expect of Mainoo to do? Be Paul Scholes and dictate play?

We know Bruno has frailties defensively... but we shall see how Carrick sets up.

Most times when we did bypass Brighton... it was Bruno, Cunha playing the ball..

Actually, I do expect one of the CM's to dictate play..

 

[Irwin99]

You can’t expect to play a midfield duo of Ugarte and Mainoo and not be bypassed, it’s been the same story and worse with Bruno and Casemiro. We also bypassed Brighton’s midfield consistently but failed to capitalize on our chances.

And it’s Mainoo and Ugarte first start together under a new manager, both did well. We lost thanks to senior pros like Dalot, Mount and Cunha being absolute shit, the midfield did its job. No wing play meant very little options for a forward outlet.

Not sure what do you expect of Mainoo to do? Be Paul Scholes and dictate play?

I don’t think Bruno and Casemiro has been nearly as bad as people thought it would be and the midfield of Ugarte and Mainoo against Brighton seemed more open if anything.

It’s a structural issue but if we’re going to pick two deeper midfielders I’d stay with Bruno and Casemiro for now. Mainoo wasn’t bad in his last match but he doesn’t have the creativity of Bruno from deep.

 

[Jund]

The fact that every time we discuss Mainoo, in whichever capacity ends with a "but" says it all really. He didn't play bad, but. He did OK, but. *Insert statement* but.

He's either not ready and needs to put in a lot more effort(not in expressing his frustration to the media), or he'll never be ready and we're fools for not selling him while his stocks are relatively high.

 

[dinostar77]

Let's see how he does under Carrick.

 

[Glorio]

You always hope that a midfielder like Carrick understands what a team needs in midfield for proper balance. Let's hope he can bring it here

Looking forward to the scenes when you suddenly remember EtH and Amorim were both midfielders!

 

[bosnian_red]

Looking forward to the scenes when you suddenly remember EtH and Amorim were both midfielders!

They were midfielders but nowhere near the level that Carrick was obviously. Carrick also was a pure dictating midfielder, understood how to read the game and how to dictate tempo and spread the pitch, as well as how to position himself to plug the gaps defensively. It's not just "any midfielder can do it".

 

[poleglass red]

Let's see how he does under Carrick.

exactly, let's see how he does when he's fully match fit and played a run of games. He's barley played all season and is just coming back from a knock.

 

[Kostov]

We know Bruno has frailties defensively... but we shall see how Carrick sets up.

Most times when we did bypass Brighton... it was Bruno, Cunha playing the ball..

Actually, I do expect one of the CM's to dictate play..

Don’t put Cunha in the same bracket as Bruno, he was disaster.

And no it was not just Bruno, Mainoo was good too. We have a goal difference of +4 after 21 games in the league, this team has no clue how to play dominant football, you expect the new duo consisting of 20 year old CM who barely played all season to just show up and dominate the game against a very good opponent?

I don’t think Bruno and Casemiro has been nearly as bad as people thought it would be and the midfield of Ugarte and Mainoo against Brighton seemed more open if anything.

It’s a structural issue but if we’re going to pick two deeper midfielders I’d stay with Bruno and Casemiro for now. Mainoo wasn’t bad in his last match but he doesn’t have the creativity of Bruno from deep.

They have been useful to a certain way of playing, a way that is not sustainable nor acceptable for a club wanting to be successful, they were used to neglect control and stability and simply just as fast as possible to transition the ball to the front 3 or the wing backs. That’s why we were very reliant on individual play to create something or pressure the other team high and hope to create danger.

We were not more open against Brighton imo, the previous meeting which we won we had less possession but scored 4 goals while still being 3:2 in the 90th minute. On Sunday we played with Cunha and Mount being absolutely dreadful, Dalot having a stinker and it cost us. We had way more possession and generally I think we were okey in midfield, again mainly due to Bruno but Mainoo and Ugarte were okey considering it’s their first start together.

 

[Glorio]

They were midfielders but nowhere near the level that Carrick was obviously. Carrick also was a pure dictating midfielder, understood how to read the game and how to dictate tempo and spread the pitch, as well as how to position himself to plug the gaps defensively. It's not just "any midfielder can do it".

Pretty sure that's how EtH was described - obviously not the same level, but the same attributes

 

[NotChatGPT]

I still don't get it.

Mainoo had a fantastic debut season, but like so many other players he's completely failed to build on it. He goes from being an unknown quantity to someone the opposition is more aware of, you adapt and improve or you fade out. Mainoo is still the same player he was when he debuted, there's no improvement.

 

[bosnian_red]

Pretty sure that's how EtH was described - obviously not the same level, but the same attributes

And it turns out he didn't get what it took to have a balanced midfield! Or just didn't prioritize it. His initial plan with Case next to Eriksen as a deep playmaker worked really well and it worked for that season, but it wasn't ten hags ideal plan and they were on the decline. Turned out he only cared about midfield balance when he was adapting to the players and threw it away when he was building to his own style.

 

[Kostov]

I still don't get it.

Mainoo had a fantastic debut season, but like so many other players he's completely failed to build on it. He goes from being an unknown quantity to someone the opposition is more aware of, you adapt and improve or you fade out. Mainoo is still the same player he was when he debuted, there's no improvement.

We’ve been an absolute disaster of a club the past 2,5 years, how do you expect a young footballer to develop with the incompetence from the manager to the coaching that influences him?

 

[AndySmith1990]

I still don't get it.

Mainoo had a fantastic debut season, but like so many other players he's completely failed to build on it. He goes from being an unknown quantity to someone the opposition is more aware of, you adapt and improve or you fade out. Mainoo is still the same player he was when he debuted, there's no improvement.

United youngsters seem to develop massive egos and become bellends once they've made it to the first team. His contract demands were a big red flag

 

[NotChatGPT]

We’ve been an absolute disaster of a club the past 2,5 years, how do you expect a young footballer to develop with the incompetence from the manager to the coaching that influences him?

The fault always lies somewhere else.

feck improving, free Kobbie.

 

[Frank White]

The fault always lies somewhere else.

feck improving, free Kobbie.

I'd tend to agree if we where known for making players better but it's normally the opposite here. We've just bought two players last year who where the best from the rest in Cunha and Mbeumo and both have looked lost for the majority of the season.

 

[JohnnyLaw]

I still don't get it.

Mainoo had a fantastic debut season, but like so many other players he's completely failed to build on it. He goes from being an unknown quantity to someone the opposition is more aware of, you adapt and improve or you fade out. Mainoo is still the same player he was when he debuted, there's no improvement.

Since his debut a little over two years ago he’s missed a lot of football to be fair to him. Alot of it fue to injuries and since Amorim came in he didn’t fit into the system and his minutes suffered. Hard to make an impression when you’re never playing. Maybe if he’d got that loan he wanted we’d be viewing him differently now.

A loan in the summer might have

 

[NotChatGPT]

I'd tend to agree if we where known for making players better but it's normally the opposite here. We've just bought two players last year who where the best from the rest in Cunha and Mbeumo and both have looked lost for the majority of the season.

I don't think either of them have looked lost for the majority of the season. Cunha looked fine to begin with, but he's been a walking disaster in the last period. Mbeumo has generally been fine.

In regards to Mainoo, if you disregard his approach to being told to improve, hashtag free Kobbie, i still think there's a huge disconnect between what he's actually doing on the pitch and what the perception seems to be by a lot of fans. How often do you see Kobbie play a pass and move into a position where he can actually receive the ball again? From my perspective, most often he'll pass the ball and jog into a position where he's covered by the opposition. Which is why i don't really understand the notion that he's struggling because it's difficult to play one-twos with Ugarte. Sure, i can imagine more suitable partnership, but Mainoos strenghts aren't exactly built on passing the ball to teammates and instantly moving into a position to receive it again.

Since his debut a little over two years ago he’s missed a lot of football to be fair to him. Alot of it fue to injuries and since Amorim came in he didn’t fit into the system and his minutes suffered. Hard to make an impression when you’re never playing. Maybe if he’d got that loan he wanted we’d be viewing him differently now.

A loan in the summer might have

I feel it's a bit of a piss take. Sure, it's not ideal to have a new manager come in and realize that he has a different view on players and formations, but you're young and it should also be considered as an opportunity. He wanted a contract that hardly reflected what he was delivering on the pitch, his reaction to having to improve was wanting to go out on a loan. His reaction to not being allowed to go out on loan, for obvious reason, was "free Kobbie".

I find it difficult to believe that someone with such a shit mentality will change and suddenly realize that he might just have to improve as a player.

 

[Kostov]

The fault always lies somewhere else.

feck improving, free Kobbie.

Which young players have we developed and improved these past 2,5 years??

 

[Frank White]

I don't think either of them have looked lost for the majority of the season. Cunha looked fine to begin with, but he's been a walking disaster in the last period. Mbeumo has generally been fine.

In regards to Mainoo, if you disregard his approach to being told to improve, hashtag free Kobbie, i still think there's a huge disconnect between what he's actually doing on the pitch and what the perception seems to be by a lot of fans. How often do you see Kobbie play a pass and move into a position where he can actually receive the ball again? From my perspective, most often he'll pass the ball and jog into a position where he's covered by the opposition. Which is why i don't really understand the notion that he's struggling because it's difficult to play one-twos with Ugarte. Sure, i can imagine more suitable partnership, but Mainoos strenghts aren't exactly built on passing the ball to teammates and instantly moving into a position to receive it again.

Both have been hugely disappointing, Cunha more so but prior to AFCON Mbeumo had a run of games where he was just as bad. Even if you don't agree they've been bad both don't look like half the players they where last year and that seems to be the trend with nearly every player we buy/bring through the academy.

On Mainoo I don't know what he'll be or how good he is but my response was to you saying "just improve" like that's what United has been known for, for the last decade.

 

[NotChatGPT]

Which young players have we developed and improved these past 2,5 years??

Is that a reflection of the club or of the players? Does it even make a difference in regards to Mainoo?

 

[AndySmith1990]

Which young players have we developed and improved these past 2,5 years??

It's not all on the club. We can't force them to have the right attitude, we can't force them to work hard and keep improving

 

[Kostov]

Is that a reflection of the club or of the players? Does it even make a difference in regards to Mainoo?

The manager before Amorim loaned in Regillon instead of playing the current LB of Real Madrid, the same imbecile played Antony and latter Forson instead of giving a consistent run to Amad.

Amorim invested time in Casemiro and persisted a system in which our best CM talent in recent years could not get a look in. Garnacho had been sold, Hojlund loaned out, Yoro stagnated.

So tell me again, which young player has these past two managers improved?

 

[NotChatGPT]

Both have been hugely disappointing, Cunha more so but prior to AFCON Mbeumo had a run of games where he was just as bad. Even if you don't agree they've been bad both don't look like half the players they where last year and that seems to be the trend with nearly every player we buy/bring through the academy.

On Mainoo I don't know what he'll be or how good he is but my response was to you saying "just improve" like that's what United has been known for, for the last decade.

I don't think both have been hugely disappointing.

And i didn't say it's piss easy to just improve, i'm saying that:

- He hasn't improved and he's still the same player he was when he first stepped into the first team
- His approach to having to improve, being challenged, was to look for a loan and/or permanent move, and when that didn't happen the approach was to moan about it, to the point where his fecking brother was parading a "Free Kobbie" t-shirt at Old Trafford.

 

[Frank White]

It's not all on the club. We can't force them to have the right attitude, we can't force them to work hard and keep improving

True but if the hit rate on the players who have maintained past performances from their previous clubs is so low and I'm talking 3 or 4 players then the common denominator seems to be the club. Also that's for players who maintained, the list for players who have improved is probably what? Bruno and Amad?

 

[Kostov]

It's not all on the club. We can't force them to have the right attitude, we can't force them to work hard and keep improving

Who hasn’t worked hard? Mainoo? Garnacho?

The only player walking around and jogging recently had been Cunha, if it was Garnacho doing the same or Mainoo, there would be riots.

 

[Frank White]

I don't think both have been hugely disappointing.

And i didn't say it's piss easy to just improve, i'm saying that:

- He hasn't improved and he's still the same player he was when he first stepped into the first team
- His approach to having to improve, being challenged, was to look for a loan and/or permanent move, and when that didn't happen the approach was to moan about it, to the point where his fecking brother was parading a "Free Kobbie" t-shirt at Old Trafford.

Fair enough not the 1st time I've disagreed with a poster on here about standards. Me personally I'd expect more from over 120m in talent if you don't then fair enough.

There is mitigating circumstances to why he's not improved but I doubt you'd care to hear them so there's no point but on the loan he wanted to play football and under Amorim that wasn't going to happen.

 

[NotChatGPT]

The manager before Amorim loaned in Regillon instead of playing the current LB of Real Madrid, the same imbecile played Antony and latter Forson instead of giving a consistent run to Amad.

Amorim invested time in Casemiro and persisted a system in which our best CM talent in recent years could not get a look in. Garnacho had been sold, Hojlund loaned out, Yoro stagnated.

So tell me again, which young player has these past two managers improved?

Mainoo, when fit, featured plenty under Amorim last season.

 

[NotChatGPT]

Fair enough not the 1st time I've disagreed with a poster on here about standards. Me personally I'd expect more from over 120m in talent if you don't then fair enough.

There is mitigating circumstances to why he's not improved but I doubt you'd care to hear them so there's no point but on the loan he wanted to play football and under Amorim that wasn't going to happen.

There's a difference between expecting more and being hugely disappointing.

Mainoo featured plenty under Amorim last season, it's not as if the fecker was abolished. If the approach from our youngsters is to cry for a loan when they get challenged, then it's not very tempting to back the player. We're hardly talking Mourinho levels of antagonizing players just to see their response.

I'd love nothing more than for a academy player to become an integral part of the team and little would be better than Kobbie proving himself, but looking at him play a pass and just jog into space where he can't receive the ball, doesn't exactly fill me with much hope. Hopefully he'll prove me dead wrong, but right now i just don't see how he fits into the team and/or how you build a team around him.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

I disagree with Amorim on a lot of things but he’s right that Mainoo isn’t good enough.

 

[poleglass red]

If we go off previous Carrick comments on Mainoo, that he made to Rio, it seems Mainoo will at the very least, will be given a run of games most likely.He's not the finished article, he will be 21 in April, the same way Sessko who we paid 70 million for is not the finished article. He's only 23 this year. Problem we've had for Sessko is no-one was putting crosses in for him, I think Carrick's set up will suit him. Problem with Mainoo is, he'll play with Casemiro and/or Ugarte. None of those 3 complement each other. Their weaknesses are highlighted as none of them are quick, none of them can track runners. One energetic, player who can mix it physically and by that I mean get stuck in and win the ball, and track runners would benefit any of our current centre mids. When I say physical I don't mean conceding free kicks like Ugarte and Casemiro routinely do.Centre mid, regardless of who we play, will still have issues.

 

[appleman]

The fact that every time we discuss Mainoo, in whichever capacity ends with a "but" says it all really. He didn't play bad, but. He did OK, but. *Insert statement* but.

He's either not ready and needs to put in a lot more effort(not in expressing his frustration to the media), or he'll never be ready and we're fools for not selling him while his stocks are relatively high.

, or he's only just increasing in minutes again and needs to get into rhythm and we may need to delay our judgment. The "but" goes both ways, in the end.

 

[El-Manos]

He’s not as good as he thinks he is. Maybe it’s time for him to focus on improving as footballer rather than puppeteering his sister and brother to talk shite on social media.

 

[RedDevil [NC]]

He’s not as good as he thinks he is. Maybe it’s time for him to focus on improving as footballer rather than puppeteering his sister and brother to talk shite on social media.

Agreed, he's been mediocre since the Euro, he needs to actually show something and hopefully Carrick gives him a run to show if he stays or goes.

 

[bosnian_red]

Mid January and on our 3rd manager and he gets his first league start of the season, against city. Obviously needs time to work his way into form, as he basically hasn't played this season. Even aside from that obviously has gaps in his game, but the only way that improves is with game time. Hope he steps up today

 

[Woodenlung]

Mainoo was great today. Was defensively disciplined and acted as that link between the thirds of the field so well.

Shines Amorim in such a poor light that he didn't know how to get the best out of a player so obviously talented. He was a slave to his own system that clearly didn't translate at a higher level. And he didn't have the vision or competence to recognise that.