Is Mainoo the real deal?

Is Kobbie Mainoo the real deal?

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    1,149
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criticalanalysis said:
Plays it incredibly safe, almost to the point of being passive but for a 18 year old kid in this midfield set up and in his 5th/6th senior game, I don't mind that. I just hope he can grow more physically, gets more games under his belt and with experience start to show a bit more impetus.

Not a criticism at all, just an observation for the near-mid term for now.
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We must be watching a different game. For instance, I can remember in the game, 2 nil down, Onana gave him a hospital pass with 3 Villa players around him. He controlled it, took it back a step then nutmegged the Villa player to put the ball going forward.

Anyone else remember what I'm on about?
 
criticalanalysis said:
Plays it incredibly safe, almost to the point of being passive but for a 18 year old kid in this midfield set up and in his 5th/6th senior game, I don't mind that. I just hope he can grow more physically, gets more games under his belt and with experience start to show a bit more impetus.

Not a criticism at all, just an observation for the near-mid term for now.
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Keeping the ball is now "playing it safe" to some people.

If only half our players did this!
 
Roy Keane, albeit playing in a great side, insisted on passing forwards to nullify the opposition's midfield, and he still maintained high passing stats all the while.

I think Kobbie has to take a leaf out of the same book. It was a bit sideways and backwards today, but the ability is there.
 
LDUred said:
Roy Keane, albeit playing in a great side, insisted on passing forwards to nullify the opposition's midfield, and he still maintained high passing stats all the while.

I think Kobbie has to take a leaf out of the same book. It was a bit sideways and backwards today, but the ability is there.
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After his error in the last game, perhaps he was always gonna be a little cautious tonight. Give the kid a little time.
 
Dannn411 said:
Needs to take more risks on the ball and pass forward more. Other than thaat, he is excellent. Nailed on starter at 18 in a PL side is not bad at all.
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No he doesnt. Thats what Eriksen and Bruno are in the team for. His job is to keep us ticking us over.
 
GazTheLegend said:
We must be watching a different game. For instance, I can remember in the game, 2 nil down, Onana gave him a hospital pass with 3 Villa players around him. He controlled it, took it back a step then nutmegged the Villa player to put the ball going forward.

Anyone else remember what I'm on about?
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Sandikan said:
Keeping the ball is now "playing it safe" to some people.

If only half our players did this!
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I think bar 4-5 really good moments in the whole game where he dealt with some hospital balls and/or put himself in a tight situation with a loose touch, most of his passes were relatively straightforward 5-10 yarders. High volume amounts, which again I like considering his age/position but I thought there was a few moments where he could have played passes between the lines. I'm nitpicking but it's not a massive complaint for me.
 
LDUred said:
Roy Keane, albeit playing in a great side, insisted on passing forwards to nullify the opposition's midfield, and he still maintained high passing stats all the while.

I think Kobbie has to take a leaf out of the same book. It was a bit sideways and backwards today, but the ability is there.
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Roy Keane was playing for Cobh Ramblers at Mainoo's age.
 
criticalanalysis said:
I think bar 4-5 really good moments in the whole game where he dealt with some hospital balls and/or put himself in a tight situation with a loose touch, most of his passes were relatively straightforward 5-10 yarders. High volume amounts, which again I like considering his age/position but I thought there was a few moments where he could have played passes between the lines. I'm nitpicking but it's not a massive complaint for me.
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He's a kid playing his 5th career game of football.

It's not just nitpicking at this point :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

He reminds me of Xavi when I first saw him play, and Fabregas/Scholes. It can be stupid to draw comparisons but that's the way I feel. Hope he continues his upward trajectory.
 
RedStarUnited said:
No he doesnt. Thats what Eriksen and Bruno are in the team for. His job is to keep us ticking us over.
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There were at least 3 or 4 times that he could have put Rashford in himself but chose to turn round and pass it backwards. That is what I mean. Sometimes he can make that pass himself instead of just trying on Eriksen or Bruno.
 
Scorpy said:
Roy Keane was playing for Cobh Ramblers at Mainoo's age.
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Very important perspective. He needs to come in and out of the team and build season on season until his performances (hopefully) make him undroppable.
 
GS82 said:
Like a i said Utd fans have overhyped him. Totally lacks physical qualities.

Safe passing isn't hard.

Am sorry what is so special about him?

Waiting for the he's only 18 replies!
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Are you for real? The kid is the most calm and collected in tight spaces. He won 5 aerial duels but lacks physical qualities. Deary me.
 
Dannn411 said:
There were at least 3 or 4 times that he could have put Rashford in himself but chose to turn round and pass it backwards. That is what I mean. Sometimes he can make that pass himself instead of just trying on Eriksen or Bruno.
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Thought he made the right decision those few times, personally. Remember Rashford getting frustrated, but we aren't playing Oleball now.
 
criticalanalysis said:
I think bar 4-5 really good moments in the whole game where he dealt with some hospital balls and/or put himself in a tight situation with a loose touch, most of his passes were relatively straightforward 5-10 yarders. High volume amounts, which again I like considering his age/position but I thought there was a few moments where he could have played passes between the lines. I'm nitpicking but it's not a massive complaint for me.
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Nah, you’re right. Especially in the first half, he could’ve sent Rashford through but hesitated.
 
Scorpy said:
Roy Keane was playing for Cobh Ramblers at Mainoo's age.
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I don't mean to sound overly critical and I want us to start him and show faith through setbacks, which are bound to come along as for any talented young player. Like I said, he clearly has ability, and it's a fair point that as he got caught out in the previous game, he's bound to be more cautious.

I just think unncessary sideways and backwards passes is not what we are about as a football club. We pass forward, we get the ball out wide, and we play at a high tempo. Obviously, there are times to slow it down but we are at our worst when we are playing methodically across the backline because it invites pressures. There needs to be a bit more urgency in our play for us to tick.

Fair play to Mainoo, he's played a part today and he will continue to grow into the role.
 
He’s quality. “ he just keeps the ball” yet somehow most of our high paid midfielders can’t bloody do it. Well done lad
 
I like his attitude and really hope he develops into an important player for us but there’s a lot of developing to do IMO. I was very underwhelmed by his passing today. He could have played Rashford through on numerous occasions but decided not to. Also, I can’t quite wrap my head around how he manages to look so slow. Can’t remember seeing anything like it from such a young player to be honest.
 
GazTheLegend said:
He's a kid playing his 5th career game of football.

It's not just nitpicking at this point :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

He reminds me of Xavi when I first saw him play, and Fabregas/Scholes. It can be stupid to draw comparisons but that's the way I feel. Hope he continues his upward trajectory.
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I'm not sure what you want me to say. Check my posts in this thread or others about him. I've nearly always been complimentary.

So it's not fine for me to make an observation about this one game because he's young but then you're comparing him to past legends. Got it.

Rossa said:
Nah, you’re right. Especially in the first half, he could’ve sent Rashford through but hesitated.
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I'm wasn't even talking about these instances because those would be more speculative through ball/balls in behind, which I don't expect our deepest midfielder to play. I'm talking about instances where he had the ball on the half way line and he could have taken another touch and perhaps zipped it to someone's feet between the lines. After the West Ham game, I totally understand the more cautious approach of course.
 
criticalanalysis said:
I'm not sure what you want me to say. Check my posts in this thread or others about him. I've nearly always been complimentary.

So it's not fine for me to make an observation about this one game because he's young but then you're comparing him to past legends. Got it.
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Honestly, you're probably right in that he should/could get the ball through a bit more often and I remember the moment you're speaking of specifically, but I am not going to have a go at him for not playing it, he didn't lose the ball after all. I'm just sort of vaguely amused at the level you expect him to be playing at. Realise that it then of course leaves me open to be ridiculed for drawing comparisons with Xavi/Fabregas but the thing is I remember -their- debuts and feeling the exact same way - I think Xavi for Barcelona at Old Trafford in 1999 and Fabregas at The Milennium Stadium in 2004, and they just had a very similar composure on the ball.

I wasn't having a dig, you're not wrong really, but that's an extreme level of standard for a guy playing his 5th game of football ever, and again it's stupid of the likes of me to be going on the other end of the spectrum too.
 
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There was a moment in the second half where he challenged for the ball head first... literally stuck his head in and could have got a boot to his face!

Proper bravery on the pitch from him.

Well done. Good performance tonight.
 
Just what we need with our depleted squad and strange buys. Touch of the Bellingham about him with his maturity at a young age.

Hopefully ETH realizes we need two quality mids.
 
Dannn411 said:
There were at least 3 or 4 times that he could have put Rashford in himself but chose to turn round and pass it backwards. That is what I mean. Sometimes he can make that pass himself instead of just trying on Eriksen or Bruno.
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Maybe he sees Bruno give it away constantly and thinks twice before he makes a risky pass.
 
Dannn411 said:
Needs to take more risks on the ball and pass forward more. Other than thaat, he is excellent. Nailed on starter at 18 in a PL side is not bad at all.
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Much of what I was thinking. I love his composure and toughness. I'd really love it if he develops more of an offensive game. Something like how Casemiro can make that devastating pass and score from distance. Be a reason teams have to push out to you. Right now, much of what he does on the ball is purely the safe play and a little too frequently backwards. If he can start hitting some of those long diagonal balls to the wings, I think it takes pressure off the rest of the central mids.
 
Remember the geese said:
He's a brilliant talent and the good thing is that we are still only seeing a fraction of what he's capable of.
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Totally agree but as fans we mustn’t put too much pressure on this kid, if United was a settled well run, well oiled machine he would maybe get 5 or 6 games this season as I see it now, he’ll probably badly play 15-20 games this season. And as well as he does he’ll make mistakes as he’s so young.
 
He's great, but let's give him a break when he has the inevitable poor game or even a full period of poor form and remember he's still basically a kid. There's no questioning his ability or mentality though. Hopefully he develops properly here.
 
Didn't think he was as good as some are saying, but was impressed he made the mistake last game and didn't seem to let it affect his performance in this one.

He was still constantly wanting to take the ball and dropping bsck to make sure he was available. Had to deal with some absolutely ridiculoys hospital balls amd didnt panic. The only player we have other than Casemiro who does this.
 
He should shoot as soon as he crosses into the opposition half
 
Things people should be raving about:

- the opponents and names Mainoo is out there competing against

- He's got 5 games under his belt as a professional, but he plays so well people critique him like he's been a pro for years and has arrived here as a key young signing.

- His teammates trust him with the ball at all times. Often when a youngster enters a team, they are ignored or played around a fair few times per half, this never happens to Mainoo. He has team deference at 18, with 5 games under his belt.

- He has shown his constitution is that of an aged pro - he makes a big mistake that ultimately cost a goal in the last game yet goes back out there and is un-phased, still playing with and showing for the ball. Aged pros sometimes shirk responsibility and lose confidence for a while after a big mistake. Mainoo just goes about the next game with the same certainty of purpose and resolve.

- He's only just stepped up to a level of football that is a multitude of order harder than the unders and yet he's able to find space and time in the same way he did playing against massively inferior opponents just last season. To put this into perspective: even some quality pros who go on to be special players in the PL take 6 months to a year of adjustment before they can find their feet in the way Mainoo has literally picked up instantaneously. This is a quality I feel posters don't comprehend the significance of, in fact, Mainoo is so seamless with it that what he's doing in this regard is taken for granted, unwittingly.

- He is 18, being given one of the biggest and hardest responsibilities and roles on the pitch. Youngsters usually come through and are immediately dropped into flank positions on the pitch; you can count the number of teenagers playing dead centre of the pitch for big clubs on your fingers.

I don't feel the need to post about him often because to me, he's a given and it's a matter of supplementing him with players on his level or above, but I do find the comments about him and how he is somewhat taken for granted already, to be intriguing enough to lurk his threads. United have a 4 or 5 carat diamond on their hands and some still think they're looking at a cubic zirconia.
 
He a top player and will only get better. So calm on the ball. Give him a world class partner and we’re laughing
 
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