[Hammondo]

Solid, and promising signs with his longer range passing. Not as eye-catching as he can be sometimes. Unfortunate that two lovely balls over the top he spotted - one to Bruno and one to Shaw - were both slightly overhit.

Still lacks the ability to cover ground dynamically enough next to Casemiro, though it's much less of a problem in this system than Amorim's. And Casemiro is admittedly very clever about using his positioning to mask the problem. But still plenty of occasions we were caught and neither could catch back up with the play.

He could look even better next to a physically dynamic partner, especially if he can grow that long passing game and play more of a distributor role.

The worry is that clearly casemiro is doing a lot of work, and when he goes off we are lost.

 

[owlo]

I didn't think he was great today especially positionally, though he did get stuck into more duels etc and pinged a couple of nice balls. Still feels like Cas is the brains and conductor, and when he's off Kobi goes to crap.

 

[Ekeke]

Had a couple of nice long range passes to set us forward. Hope to see more of that

4 tackles today too, his defensive work probably went a bit unnoticed

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The worry is that clearly casemiro is doing a lot of work, and when he goes off we are lost.

What has any of that got to do with Mainoo? Casemiro’s a very good player, who is playing very well. Replacing him with Ugarte is obviously going to make the team worse, no matter who he starts alongside.

 

[Hammondo]

What has any of that got to do with Mainoo? Casemiro’s a very good player, who is playing very well. Replacing him with Ugarte is obviously going to make the team worse, no matter who he starts alongside.

Case is covering for him quite a bit, and it's a problem. 1 player cant hold alone. For a season that's very low scoring generally, we concede a lot.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Case is covering for him quite a bit, and it's a problem. 1 player cant hold alone. For a season that's very low scoring generally, we concede a lot.

Again, what’s that got to do with Mainoo? We’ve conceded more goals than we have done in years, while he hasn’t been getting a kick. Are you really trying to blame him for the continuation of a trend that started when he was frozen out of the team?

In the games he has started we’ve conceded against the most in form two teams in the league (including long range worldies and set piece crowd scenes) but completely shut out the team currently in second place. One of only three clean sheets this season. Do you give him credit for that? Because 1 clean sheet every 3 games is a massive improvement on the situation before Kobbie began starting games.

 

[hellhunter]

Case is covering for him quite a bit, and it's a problem. 1 player cant hold alone. For a season that's very low scoring generally, we concede a lot.

We conceded even more when Mainoo was frozen out, this has absolutely nothing to do with him

 

[bosnian_red]

Something was off about our midfield setup today because Fulham sliced through it like butter. But when he actually had to engage in duels and get on the ball, I thought Mainoo did very well.

Wasn't so much midfield personnel, I think they baited us into pressing too high and played around it as they dragged us around. They have a lot of comfortable ball players in deep areas so fair play to them on that.

 

[Hammondo]

Again, what’s that got to do with Mainoo? We’ve conceded more goals than we have done in years, while he hasn’t been getting a kick. Are you really trying to blame him for the continuation of a trend that started when he was frozen out of the team?

The point is our midfield has been our weak point aside from casemiro, still is, it gets run through.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Passing far better, but Casemiro is still the biggest difference maker with his positioning.

And he should be. Mainoo is 20 years old. At that age, Casemiro was still at Sau Paulo. Experience is massive, especially in that position. Same for Carrick, Scholes, etc. They all got better with age.

Having said that, we need to make sure we find the right replacement for Casemiro.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

The point is our midfield has been our weak point aside from casemiro, still is, it gets run through.

Did you watch the derby?

 

[hellhunter]

Did you watch the derby?

Our midfield was just fine vs Ballon d'Or Rodri and best player in the league Rice

 

[Hammondo]

Did you watch the derby?

Yea, we packed the midfield with more players, played narrow and defended the space well. It's what Carrick does, he won't give up midfield easily.

Can't do that against everyone.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Putting in decent well-rounded performances now. Nothing exceptional but keeps it ticking, gets stuck, distributes well, etc.

 

[Borys]

I think people are misinterpreting Casemiro situation in regards to Mainoo performance.

It was clearly 'all attack' from Fulham once Casemiro went off. We were getting outrun, tactical changes were required and a bit more calm head would open nice counterattacks for us.

If it's Mainoo - Ugarte from the start, the game doesn't look like the last 20 minutes. And it's not about Casemiro vs Ugarte comparison, just the context of ultra offensive tactics from Fulham when Case went off.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yea, we packed the midfield with more players, played narrow and defended the space well. It's what Carrick does, he won't give up midfield easily.

Can't do that against everyone.

It’s what most teams do. It’s the main reason Arsenal are top of the league. That and set pieces. Fulham did it very well today as well (and have done for most of this season) It isn’t a reflection on the personnel available. Unless you think Rice and Zubimendi are so bad that Arteta is forced to play fullbacks who tuck in when not in possession?

 

[MadMike]

I think people are misinterpreting Casemiro situation in regards to Mainoo performance.

It was clearly 'all attack' from Fulham once Casemiro went off. We were getting outrun, tactical changes were required and a bit more calm head would open nice counterattacks for us.

If it's Mainoo - Ugarte from the start, the game doesn't look like the last 20 minutes. And it's not about Casemiro vs Ugarte comparison, just the context of ultra offensive tactics from Fulham when Case went off.

If it's Mainoo - Ugarte from the start then we don't score that first goal and I have no idea how the game goes from there. It might not look like the last 20 mins, but to me it doesn't look like a win either.

Ugarte sadly doesn't bring anything special at all. He has some tenacity, but he's below average on the ball and his reading of the game is not that good either. The drop off from Casemiro is significant. That said I agree that more factors are at play for why we got penned back in the last 20 mins, than just Casemiro leaving the pitch.

 

[saivet]

Wasn't so much midfield personnel, I think they baited us into pressing too high and played around it as they dragged us around. They have a lot of comfortable ball players in deep areas so fair play to them on that.

Yeah I think we tweaked things slightly but Mainoo is pushing high on Sande Berge (who played well) quite a bit and with him pressing high and Bruno up the pitch as well it meant that if they beat the press ESR and Wilson, who effectively played as a no.10 rather than wide player got into space. I think Silva exploited that aspect of our player as Mainoo was tasked with a similar role.

I thoughts we defended well when back in shape but definitely looked like something Silva targeted, based on how we set up against City and Arsenal.

 

[Godfather]

Best performance from him in a long time I felt

 

[Hammondo]

It’s what most teams do. It’s the main reason Arsenal are top of the league. That and set pieces. Fulham did it very well today as well (and have done for most of this season) It isn’t a reflection on the personnel available. Unless you think Rice and Zubimendi are so bad that Arteta is forced to play fullbacks who tuck in when not in possession?

Not when trying to control the game, it's a more defensive approach. Arsenal focus on wide attacks quite a lot.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Thought he was brilliant. Carricks set up with our midfielders associating more closely is ideal for him and makes our build up truly brilliant at times. Played some great balls over the top as well and won almost all of his duels.

Fulham playing through us was a structural thing more than anything. They are excellent at doing so anyways and we are slightly limited with Maguire/Martinez/Casemiro/Mainoo all being good players but not elite athletes. Though our backline was too dropped off on the press at times.

Oh well. That’s a really tough fixture and we still managed the majority of the game and came away with 3 points

 

[Borys]

If it's Mainoo - Ugarte from the start then we don't score that first goal and I have no idea how the game goes from there. It might not look like the last 20 mins, but to me it doesn't look like a win either.

Ugarte sadly doesn't bring anything special at all. He has some tenacity, but he's below average on the ball and his reading of the game is not that good either. The drop off from Casemiro is significant. That said I agree that more factors are at play for why we got penned back in the last 20 mins, than just Casemiro leaving the pitch.

Like I said, it's not about the Casemiro vs Ugarte because it's quite obvious result of the comparison so I will not even reply to this, but your last sentence is the point I made in my comment. We need to be able to adjust tactically to that situation. It's a bit difficult without Cunha and Dorgu I think now to be a threat on the counter. We did just enough with Bruno&Sesko, but overall our midfield was very exposed because of Fulham approach last 20 or so minutes.

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Thought he was brilliant. Carricks set up with our midfielders associating more closely is ideal for him and makes our build up truly brilliant at times. Played some great balls over the top as well and won almost all of his duels.

Fulham playing through us was a structural thing more than anything. They are excellent at doing so anyways and we are slightly limited with Maguire/Martinez/Casemiro/Mainoo all being good players but not elite athletes. Though our backline was too dropped off on the press at times.

Oh well. That’s a really tough fixture and we still managed the majority of the game and came away with 3 points

Our press is not as co-ordinated as it should be. But that is something that will take a bit of time and practise.

 

[TrailMonkey]

I’m starting to think Carrick sees a bit of himself in Kobbie, ie acknowledging pace is never going to be part of his game but finding the right space to be involved, keeping possession, linking up, being progressive where possible, and looking for those through balls.

Not saying Kobbie is that player now that he’s back in the team, but I sense Carrick has given him his backing and told him to play his natural game even though he has deficiencies.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Our press is not as co-ordinated as it should be. But that is something that will take a bit of time and practise.

It was off for sure but Fulham/Silva are some of the best in the league at playing through a press too. Serious combination of athletes and smart rotations. It’s a bad matchup for us and our current personnel.

 

[Ollie Derbyshire]

He is improving with each game, and is, importantly, getting minutes into those legs.. he needs to keep playing, playing, playing.

Looks like a starter and that's good, but he still has another gear.. but he's getting there and has been key in our last few games.

I'm pleased for him. And he has the perfect manager who will teach him a huge amount.

Agreed, if we are going to give him an extended run in the team he needs to be playing full games to boost his stamina and running power. It’s the only way it can improve in my opinion.

 

[SalfordRed18]

Robin Solanke

 

[Rossa]

The Norwegian commentator said at one point that he had covered the most grass by any United player today - Bruno must have exceeded him eventually. The great thing is that Mainoo is doing what he has been criticized for:
- he's really working hard - showing great intensity
- he's trying to mix his game up with some long range passing. He still needs to work on them as they are too lofty, but he's doing it.

I'm really, really impressed!

 

[criticalanalysis]

3 full games in a row after having barely played under Amorim so he will be still building up his fitness and sharpness. Fundamentally we will just have to accept he's not going to be doing lots of high intensity sprints and putting out fires like a Kante would. However, he does get very involved in different ways with interceptions, getting goal side and a lot of good work in front of the defence. He moves around the pitch with purpose on the ball even if things don't come off.

 

[stevoc]

Thought he was excellent today, his best perfromance in a while. Hopefully he'll improve the more games he plays.

Bonkers that Amorim froze him out.

 

[Escobar]

I hope he keeps that intensity and work rate up. Still have a feeling he will change again eventually hopefully not

 

[Jacob]

Will he make the WC squad? Doubt it with Eliott's emergence.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

One of our best players, and what a tackle that was!

 

[ClaytonBlackmoorLeftPeg]

Will he make the WC squad? Doubt it with Eliott's emergence.

Think he’s unlikely to be anywhere near starting. But yes he does have a chance of getting in the squad - if he keeps this up.

 

[bosnian_red]

Will he make the WC squad? Doubt it with Eliott's emergence.

Can see it being between Mainoo and Wharton to backup Anderson. Slight chance of it being both of them

 

[El Jefe]

Unfortunately the conversations about Mainoo have become too narrow and looked at on a game by game basis. For someone who hasn’t had a proper run of football for a while and for someone still so young we need to be looking at his progression over a run of games and seasons.

There’s a lot of comments about how his passing was more positive today. In previous games there were posters that wrote him off because of his progressive passing as if that wasn’t something he could be coached to be improved on.

There is the possibility that he doesn’t progress his game but some people need to open themselves to the possibility that with more experience and understanding of the game, he gets so much better.

It’s a similar conversation with Sesko where posters were making such grand claims about what a player is and isn’t at such a young age. I get it when it comes to players who lack the natural talent but with naturally gifted players like Mainoo and Sesko I just don’t see them not improving on their weaker areas.

I remember Fletcher being carried by Scholes and Carrick in the playmaking aspect in midfield but about a season or two before his illness, he had started dictating games with his passing too. Same thing with Carrick, he was not a DM when he joined us but his ability to score protect the back four went up a level each season.

 

[Skills]

Wasn't so much midfield personnel, I think they baited us into pressing too high and played around it as they dragged us around. They have a lot of comfortable ball players in deep areas so fair play to them on that.

I thought so too - we were pressing their keeper at times, which is always a little silly.

 

[Ekeke]

If it's Mainoo - Ugarte from the start then we don't score that first goal and I have no idea how the game goes from there. It might not look like the last 20 mins, but to me it doesn't look like a win either.

Ugarte sadly doesn't bring anything special at all. He has some tenacity, but he's below average on the ball and his reading of the game is not that good either. The drop off from Casemiro is significant. That said I agree that more factors are at play for why we got penned back in the last 20 mins, than just Casemiro leaving the pitch.

Ugarte wins the ball the most. Thats it. It falls to everyone else to play progressive passes and key passes. If Bruno and Amad can do all the creating then we might get by. If they need some help, hes not going to provide it

 

[Swedish_Plumber]

Had a couple of nice long range passes to set us forward. Hope to see more of that

4 tackles today too, his defensive work probably went a bit unnoticed

Came here to say your first point. Think he almost found someone in behind at some point too(?)

Think that would really elevate his game and push him towards that England recall too.

 

[Who's Kissing Cameras?]

Had a tough start to the game, his short to mid game was off, but then really imposed himself defensively and also his passing range was really really good today.

He’s been impressive in the last 2 games and this might’ve been his worst from the 3 but also his most encouraging. He showed he has got defensive qualities and he is developing a strong passing range.