He looks demoralised, tbh. Looked annoyed when he came on and just doesn't seem like he's enjoying his role. Nobody looks confident right now. Mistakes are inevitable when the morale of the squad is low.
Kobbie Mainoo
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No regardless of playing the least amount of minutes, he needs his bubble burst more than anyone else in our midfield apparently
I don’t understand. For me he’d be the first name on the team sheet.
No he shouldn't he has showed very little with the chances he has been given. Yesterday was a good example.
I think it’s harsh to judge him based on 100 minutes played across 7 games in the league. He is clearly not as important to ruben as we thought he would be. It may be the fact that Bruno is starting as CM (despite modest performances) or probably poor display in training.
He looks demoralised and i can imagine. His first season and the euros were very promising. Since then, he’s put in average performances last year and now given a small role so far.
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So losing the ball, not bothering busting a gut is ok for a youth player because he is one of us. He just looks slack.
This is genuinely nuts. He's a promising young player, but one who's lacking in several fundamental abilities to play in midfield; pace, stamina, positional sense, security on the ball, etc. While there's an argument that he should be starting over Bruno at the moment, that's only because Bruno's form is atrocious, rather than Mainoo pulling up any trees.
He's got so much he needs to improve in order to be a success in the Premier League, both physically (e.g. fitness, pace) and technically (gives the ball away far too often, often caught out of position, etc). On top of that, he's generally quite lazy off the ball, and doesn't seem interested in pressing or recovery. First name on the team sheet is frankly ludicrous.
Yeah... but he's an academy player.
Season isn't spelt with a 'z'.
ok, boomer.
I still don't know what his position is.
He has excellent curling shot to the far corner. He can somewhat shield a ball when pressed.
Haven't seen him control the tempo of the game or produce hollywood passes.
Not great defensively.
Maybe a LM or RM, some kind of CM in a midfield 3. Box to box? Number 10 maybe?
He has excellent curling shot to the far corner. He can somewhat shield a ball when pressed.
Haven't seen him control the tempo of the game or produce hollywood passes.
Not great defensively.
Maybe a LM or RM, some kind of CM in a midfield 3. Box to box? Number 10 maybe?
He needs to fight for his place in the team and no one is entitled to be in the starting XI unless. Beckham, Scholes and Gary Neville were bench warmers at Mainoo's age and barely featured for Utd. Even younger Ronaldo spent more time on the bench than Mainoo. I get that he's frustrated with the lack of minutes this season but he needs more patience.
If he wants to leave the club, then sell him. Garnacho and Rashford came from our academy but we got rid of them and it was for better. He's not a bench warmer without any reason. He was sheite last season, and has been pretty bad this season as well. He looks nothing like a player in his debut season.
Sadly he just doesn’t fit into this mad system. You cannot play Mainoo in a mid two. Will have to wash my mouth out, but Southgate could figure that Kobbie was effective in a mid three. Feel a bit sorry for him, tbh. He either needs to leave, or hope Amorim gets replaced by someone who goes 4-3-3
I think he should start vs Liverpool alongside Casemiro.
His press resistance taking the ball from the back 3 into midfield would relieve Casemiro of some of the load, which they will look to exploit.
Bruno should start at 10, with Mount dropping to bench (harshly)
His press resistance taking the ball from the back 3 into midfield would relieve Casemiro of some of the load, which they will look to exploit.
Bruno should start at 10, with Mount dropping to bench (harshly)
He's looked pretty lost so far this season. He's done very little to indicate he should start vs Liverpool. Plus he's even less mobile than Bruno (who isn't the quickest) so alongside Case we'd be asking for trouble imo. I don't see a place for him here as things stand - such a shame, as I thought he was going to be a worldie when he burst onto the scene.
I watched him lose the ball and jog back yesterday as the Sunderland play out paced him whilst carrying the ball. If he played like that against Liverpool it would be a cricket score.
Yeah but out of our midfielders hes the one you'd trust to be secure in possession. One error doesn't change the equation
I would feel better if he put a shift in.
You guys need to stop focusing on one lapse and making that be your takeaway.... 6 months from now it will have turned into its own narrative with no nuance or context
Said this in his performances thread, but I'm not sure that's even true. He doesn't pass a lot, it's not progressive and he's got the same completion percentage as Ugarte.
I am at every home game. I gave an example from the last one. I have seen the same jogging about many times
He is not a good passer of the ball, until he fixes that he's not going to get into the team.
Why doesn’t he play in the England U21’s?
Yeah. He really should have been changing the game when United were 2-0 up with 13 mins to go.
In 6 months time, he will be at another club, likely playing really well.
1 game a week makes it a lot harder for backups like Mainoo and Zirkzee to get minutes this season.
But the team is far more important than any one player, so Mainoo just needs to get his head down and take his chances when they do come.
You can't really blame the manager for not starting him after watching the Grimsby game, plus his recent cameos.
But the team is far more important than any one player, so Mainoo just needs to get his head down and take his chances when they do come.
You can't really blame the manager for not starting him after watching the Grimsby game, plus his recent cameos.
With this logic, who actually deserves to start?
You all seem to have forgotten how he bossed the FA Cup Final against City and drove the team on to a fine victory - and that was as a young boy ! Those performances got him into the England squad where he was a regular starter in the very biggest matches. Also remember what Scholsey said - better than he was at the same age.
He has had the misfortune to now be playing for a manger who either doesn’t like him or insists on a formation where he seems to be competing with Bruno. Crazy.
All he needs is a run of games and a manager to put his arm around him and give him confidence.
We all know we should have packed Bruno off and taken the £100M. If that had happened perhaps he would be getting the game time and perhaps he would have a new partner in CM ?
Simple...the players who are playing well! it's not rocket science.
If you need specifics, then the starting eleven vs Arsenal gets +points, the starting eleven against Burnley gets +points. The starting eleven against Sunderland gets +points.
Grimsby was such a truly awful match that it's going to live long in the memory, sadly
While the team is trying to build some form, the fringe players like Kobbie and Zirkzee are just going to have to wait.
Not me mate. Im saying if he continues to be held to playing 15 mins a game (if that), he will leave. He won't sign a new contract and go somewhere else and shine.
Im not saying he is a world class talent, but his development is stunted at United under this manager, so he may as well move on.
I think it is possible, but not in the PL. I can see him moving to Italy or Spain.
I find it really strange that a CM can only fit one system. That to me says, he isn't really that good, when the system is always the problem.
In a 4-3-3 he needs someone to do the creative element for him and defensive, so basically you are saying he only fits a system where it hides him?
This isn't a unique to Mainoo issue. This is an everyone issue. The majority of midfielders would not be very effective in a 2 these days, it's a lot more specialized. Using a 2 when everyone else uses a 3 means you'll generally be bypassing the midfield and their main roles will be long range passing to skip the space which would otherwise have midfielders, and then ideally having the legs to cover ground off the ball. Sir Alex for example loved midfielders with a big passing range and that's how he had his midfielders always work. It's not just "he only works in 1 system". The systems he does work with are far more common these days than the systems which he doesn't work in. A fullback isn't a shit player because they don't work as a wing back, nor does it make them limited. This is just what happens when you use a more unique system, most players will not be too used to playing that role and will probably lack some skills for it.
This is very disingenuous. As an example, when we have played 3 in midfield with bruno as a 10, he dropped deep less than our current 10's do. Plenty of teams have a 10 that is very attacking focused, we have 2 that both drop often to help the midfield.
In a traditional midfield 3, his problems are still big problems for the team, there is no hiding from it, and there is no formation where they don't matter.
Ther
I would argue if you need it you are not very good
Alot of teams actually play a 2 because they play 4231 and the 10 in many teams is not playing in the midfield really.
There is a big difference between a midfielder needing to play in a 3 and one being better in a 3.
I would argue if you need it you are not very good
Alot of teams actually play a 2 because they play 4231 and the 10 in many teams is not playing in the midfield really.
What? Bruno as a 10 in prior systems still dropped deep a the time to get on the ball. It was very much a midfield 3. He always had among the most touches on the pitch for us.
His problems are not "big problems". They are qualities that can be worked around and improved on, naturally, as he's only 20. He isn't this massive liability that you are incredibly weirdly trying to portray him as.
Anyway, my point on Mainoo is he's a top talent (honestly don't give a feck if you think he's shit) and should have his development prioritized more. I don't think he should be walking into the starting 11, and I don't think he suits Amorim (but I don't think anybody we have suits Amorims midfield, nor his wing backs, and only Cunha and Mount suit his 10's). If this shit manager sees him as a backup to Bruno, then the second we got knocked out to Grimsby, loan him out. Just hurting his development otherwise to have him sit on the bench. How we are treating him to me looks like all the steps a club would take at slowly pushing out a player where they know it'd be controversial to sell.
A 4231 still typically uses that #10 as as midfielder and I think Mainoo would still be perfectly fine in that, like he was for England as a teenager. I still see that as a midfield 3, not exclusively talking about a Barca style 433 (but I do think that gets the best of him).
Bruno was criticised for being a second striker and not coming back to help the midfield. Even now playing in a deeper position he's often out of position because he wants to be up the pitch.
Mainoo's weaknesses are fundamental basics that a team cannot afford to have.