You know you have played well when the commentators from the opposing side asks if he is available for loan 
Kobbie Mainoo
- Thread starter roonster09
- Start date
I've thought Hannibal is our best talent since Ravel and now Mainoo
Really impressive performance.
Looks a special talent but what's the point. He'll barely play just like most of the talented guys at this level. We've seen so many of these talented youngsters and they barely get the opportunity to prove it at the first team level. Instead its the average ones who get all the opportunities and then we wonder why teams are asking us for €100m for their players. We sign the youngsters and barely play them. Every superstar today was once a youngster begging for a chance. Give talented youth a chance!!! They just might surprise you.
I think Casemiro will learn a lot from Mainoo. We can't get too excited it's probably too early for him to win the Ballon D'or this year so next year?
#7 is taking it easy.
Personally, he’s in my top three talents I’ve ever seen play for the youth team (been watching since 2000) The only other players I was so sure would make it at United were Greenwood and Morrison. With the right attitude and luck with injuries he’ll be a massive player for us!
I am not sure that this is true on any level. The only 2 players that I can think this remotely applies to are Scott Mctominay and Paddy Mcnair. Mctominay has unique physical attributes and Mcnair was a much better player on the ball than Thorpe and in the end had a much better career anyway.
He had been impressive defensively on this game as well.
I've noticed he's started most games this season from a much deeper position compared to last season.
Intentionally probably...
What's 'natural' position or where do you see him playing?
He's got a good touch, awareness and great ability to turn perfectly suited to the hustle and bustle of midfield but which side of the pitch?
Mainoo, Hannibal and Iqbal future midfield three
?!Hope he makes it
He’d automatically get a chant with that name
He’d automatically get a chant with that name
Was ETH or Steve at the game last night. Kobbie, Iqbal Gore and Vitek were all excellent
I see him as someone who is best utilised next to a positionally disciplined midfielder. That would give him the freedom to showcase his ability on the ball and provide the craft and guile going forward which is important both in the build up phase as the #6 and also as the #8 going forward.What's 'natural' position or where do you see him playing?
He's got a good touch, awareness and great ability to turn perfectly suited to the hustle and bustle of midfield but which side of the pitch?
Mainoo, Hannibal and Iqbal future midfield three
So for me I'd go with two of Hannibal, Mainoo, Iqbal, and would have someone like a Toby Collyer as the holding midfielder. Collyer hasn't featured much yet but he looks a very good midfielder in a deeper role and has good vision and passing ability with either foot. He's also quick and tenacious and looks a very classy player whilst being positionally disciplined in that deeper role.
Last edited:
I hope to see him partner Casemiro in the next year or two. I think he could save us a pretty penny. Our answer to Bellingham.
Cheers, will be keeping an eye on this thread!
Fairly sure he is in this video with the 1st team.
It’s great to see ETH giving lots of the talented kids experience training with the first team!
Mainoo seems like a freak in that his body seems ready for adult football at 17. Can see him getting some first team minutes this season and is clearly very highly rated!
Unfortunately for lots of these youngsters, the first team is still finding its way, so there haven't been many opportunities to bring them on when we've been 3 up or something.
Hannibal's done the right thing to go on loan, Amad too, even if I wonder how well they'll have to do there to be considered ready. I hope for Garnacho, Zidane, and to a lesser extent, Kobbie's sakes, the senior players get into a groove soon.
Hannibal's done the right thing to go on loan, Amad too, even if I wonder how well they'll have to do there to be considered ready. I hope for Garnacho, Zidane, and to a lesser extent, Kobbie's sakes, the senior players get into a groove soon.
I’d expect them to get opportunities in the Europa League. It could actually be a blessing in disguise playing some of the minnows to give the aforementioned first team exposure
True - if we can do the business in the first 3/4 games, that would be the ideal situation
That has seemed like out strategy for a long time but its a poor one. We need to show a bit more risk tolerance, starting these lads for an underperforming player isn't a huge risk.
Mainoo in particular is going to struggle as it's such a key position where we've bench players who need minutes.
He'll have 10-20minutes in a couple of games to somehow show he deserves a spot before we ship him off.
Does look like him. He also looks like he has has a massive growth spurt if that's him at 3:10? I thought it was Hardley at first. Is he the only U18 in the video? Who are the other two lads with Mainoo, Jurado, and Garnacho at 3:10? Looks like one might be McNeil? Who is the lad with the leg tattoo?
The loan market should be the best way to prepare players like Hannibal, Mainoo, Shoretire, Gore etc for the premier league. If they tear up the championship and/or play well on loan for a pl side then they can be given a spot in the squad if there’s space. But then again unless they’re tearing it up on the premier league they’re unlikely to be trusted by ETH and rightly so given the pressure on him to make top 4.
I’ve seen countless players dominate in the youth teams but be no where near ready to play for a club that needs to challenge for a top 4 place in the pl. it’s getting to a stage now where you need a squad full of world class mens players across defence, midfield and attack just to do that. Unless you’re a generational young talent you really don’t have much hope at a club that’s serious about competing for titles.
I’ve seen countless players dominate in the youth teams but be no where near ready to play for a club that needs to challenge for a top 4 place in the pl. it’s getting to a stage now where you need a squad full of world class mens players across defence, midfield and attack just to do that. Unless you’re a generational young talent you really don’t have much hope at a club that’s serious about competing for titles.
Last edited:
You're not wrong - it however does seem to be the strategy we're following, which is what I'm going by. To your point, it's not like these kids e.g.Garnacho will come on and score a hattrick of own goals, but for whatever reason, even when they've done well with the piece meal opportunities they get, they've never been trusted (perhaps with a settled defence we may see more trust).
Obviously we're not privy to training, but I wonder whether there is something the managers are not seeing there. Nevertheless, whenever I've watched the small clips of the practice games, the likes of Hannibal have seemed to be doing really well - in one of the extended pre-season training clips, he was doing his thing, playing from deep, gliding around challenges like is was the U21s, and pinging balls around the place. Not sure he even played the next game.
The Garnacho one is particularly frustrating because there are two guys starting ahead of him right now that don't have his ability (Elanga) or his ability and work rate (Rashford). If he isn't getting his opportunity in an area where he is clearly better than the alternatives that are being utilised- even off the bench- then it is very unlikely that we will see guys like Mainoo or Gore get minutes in a much more "risky" position.
Kind of a moot point in a forum designed for opinions but don’t you think ETH would start or sub on Garnacho if he thought he could contribute more than either of those players? He knows a lot more than us about Garnacho.
He isn't clearly better yet. He's talented, and I think he will become a world beater, but he has plenty to improve on first. Decision making, composure, awareness, positioning, movement, numerous components of physicality, and the skills he does have need refining. He only turned 18 a couple months ago!! The fact he is training and travelling regularly with the first team is good learning experience at this stage. We have two domestic cups this season, Europa League, plus he is playing in the EFL trophy, so he will get plenty of playing time. We're 5 games into the season ffs.
We would probably have seen more of him if we weren't clinging on to 1 goal leads. Ideally we'll have some 2+ goal margins and he can get 30 minutes or so to demonstrate his ability against PL opposition. That will come. Throwing him in at the start of the season with our attack in a mess would have been insanely risky, not just to the first team but potentially detrimental to the kid as well. Throwing him on due to the various struggles and question marks over virtually all of our senior attacking players would likely backfire due to the inevitable media attention, analysis, critique. And anyone reading this who thinks about replying "oh but he seems like the sort of character who could handle it" - just don't. He's literally a child still.
Very very few talents break into professional football at the top level at his age, those that do are early developers physically, and quite often end up burnt out quite early on (Rooney, Fowler, Walcott, Owen, Fabregas, Luke Shaw even).
Garnacho will be written off the minute after he does get a start or sub appearance.
Fans are fickle. What’s new
If top managers were infallible in their selection policies then Salah and KdB would be tearing it up for Chelsea right now. Most coaches put a premium on experience and go with what they can trust over the unknown. EtH has studied the footage of Rashford and Elanga and so can factor their qualities (or lack thereof) into his gameplans. Any youngster getting initial gametime is an unknown entity, thus he won't be inclined to use them regardless of quality. It is the same reason that he wanted to sign anyone living in or near Amsterdam in the summer: familiarity rather than risk.
It's understandable to a point and I wouldn't have Garnacho starting in a full strength side (Sancho, Antony, Martial/Ronaldo) but given that Garnacho is an absolute terrier in terms of tracking runners and pressing, I don't really see what he can't offer that Elanga can. And Rashford is just poor at everything unfortunately - a traffic cone offers more work ethic and no less quality on the ball.
Not involved today for the 21's. Any reason why not?
Just came to post this, surely can't be involved tomorrow?
18's?
He played for the 21's against Carlisle.
Not in the 18's squad today either. Yeah, he played in midweek and was training with the first team yesterday. Odd.
You would be surprised. A nice surprise though
In the squad for Thursday probably.
Last game, we put two goalkeepers in the match squad. Is it something by the league rule that team can have one extra goalkeeper on bench?
Nope not in that squad either.
Yeah quite possibly. Although Garnacho is playing today and you'd expect to see him in the squad for Thursday too.