Is Mainoo the real deal?

Is Kobbie Mainoo the real deal?


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I voted Patience, only because he is 18, but I am 100% for allowing him consistent game time so he can develop and get better and better, so from the perspective of giving him game time, i would say yes he worth the risk 100%
 
He should start 1 game a week minimum.

Squad is full of injures so it's perfect. Only choice to make is does he start against West Ham at the weekend or Villa a few days after.
 
I have no problem with the minutes he has been getting after he came back, just find it a little strange that we seems to choose the hardest matches for him to be starting if we are bedding him in.
He solves it brilliantly himself every time so no issue there, but he should get some, on paper at least, easier games to start.
 
The fact United need to rely on an 18 year old and 2 20/21 year olds tells us all we need to know how good United is at squad building for managers
 
Foden started 3 league games and played around 300 league mins when he was 18.

When he was 19 he started 9 league games. Good chance Mainoo will start more league games at 18 than Foden at 19.

Also Foden should be example for a player who was introduced very slowly, everyone lost their shit saying how Pep is ruining him.

Also Mainoo has barely any appearance as he was injured for months and came back recently. He has started vs Newcastle, Everton, Liverpool and all away games.

Agree with this, Foden was in the opposite situation: playing in a great team, being eased in slowly. Mainoo's early years of his senior career will likely be playing week in week out in a shite team. :lol:
 
Agree with this, Foden was in the opposite situation: playing in a great team, being eased in slowly. Mainoo's early years of his senior career will likely be playing week in week out in a shite team. :lol:

It’s the same with Garnacho and Hoijland. Even if they are slightly older, they are not experienced enough for us to be banking it all on 3 youngsters at this stage of their careers. Having one youngster in an experienced, confident team can work, but having 3 shouldn’t need to happen.
 
He’s being eased into first team football, after recently returning from a fairly big injury. He’s young, he’ll be fine. We’ve seen the pros and cons from either thrusting youngsters in too early and/or depending on them and putting that sort of responsibility on their shoulders as well. I don’t really see it as an issue at this point.

We’d all like to see him get more minutes but he’s appeared in our biggest matches recently - which clearly shows the manager rating him. So how’s that “holding him back?” as per the poster I replied to?
That’s fair enough, but let’s see what happens after Casemiro is back. Hopefully Mainoo continues to get starts alongside Casemiro as well
 
What do you think


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Too early to tell, we have seen false hopes in past like Januzaj
 
The fact United need to rely on an 18 year old and 2 20/21 year olds tells us all we need to know how good United is at squad building for managers
He was playing alongside Amrabat, another terrible ETH signing. What exactly was his position yesterday, he certainly was not playing deep alongside Amrabat, I guess it was once again the single pivot? he looks calm on the ball but struggled to impose himself yesterday, cant help feeling the formation did not help him.
 
He was playing alongside Amrabat, another terrible ETH signing. What exactly was his position yesterday, he certainly was not playing deep alongside Amrabat, I guess it was once again the single pivot? he looks calm on the ball but struggled to impose himself yesterday, cant help feeling the formation did not help him.

Amarabat, no more then Weghorst , is “a ETH signing”. He’s a player he was given.

There is a difference between a manager saying “I’d like that player” versus “this is probably the best we can as a club offer you”.
 
We need to give him time to develop but the signs look good. Very composed on the ball, good defensively and doesn't seem phased by the big occasion.

That being said we were completely dominated in midfield yesterday and until Mainoo has better players alongside him we won't be able to fully unlock his potential.
 
You forgot when ETH came on the pitch during the friendly vs Arsenal and injured Mainoo?

Absolutely baffling that people are suggesting EtH is holding him back.

He gave him his debut at 18 and has played him in some of our biggest games this season in the PL and given him minutes in Europe.

It’s literally the opposite of holding a young player back.
 
Mixed bag yesterday, he was fantastic on the ball and brought a calming presence, but he got glided past on a few occasions by Liverpool players which could be exploited in future games.
 
Mixed bag yesterday, he was fantastic on the ball and brought a calming presence, but he got glided past on a few occasions by Liverpool players which could be exploited in future games.
Liverpool have good ball carriers in midfield so that is to be expected, especially after picking up a yellow. I don’t understand how Ten Hag sees him and Amrabat and chooses to play the latter in a single pivot.
 
This kid needs to be brought through gradually, but I'm not worried if this Kid gets put in on more regular basis..Away at Everton imo was MOTM bar Garnacho .. then Away at The Scum he has another composed game..

Hopefully utd have a top player coming through..
 
That’s fair enough, but let’s see what happens after Casemiro is back. Hopefully Mainoo continues to get starts alongside Casemiro as well
Absolutely. Casemiro, Eriksen, mount as well. Albeit, Casemiro probably seen as more of a direct replacement if we’re going single pivot. Seemingly he’s impressed with Mainoo, as we all are, so I’m sure he’ll continue to get minutes.
 
He should start 1 game a week minimum.

Squad is full of injures so it's perfect. Only choice to make is does he start against West Ham at the weekend or Villa a few days after.
Good job we only have 1 game a week after Christmas! :lol:
 
He has done quite well, but we cannot build this lad up too much too soon, he is so young give him time to develop.

Remember Macheda was the next big thing and look how that turned out.

Let Kobi develop without too much social media hype.
 
My thoughts before yesterday were that he should definitely start every home game between now and the end of the year. Now he has dealt with an in-form Liverpool away from home I think maybe the only game to give him a miss in will be City away.

Doesn't need the full 90 in each game but at least 60-70 minutes and don't make him play through any niggles.
 
My thoughts before yesterday were that he should definitely start every home game between now and the end of the year. Now he has dealt with an in-form Liverpool away from home I think maybe the only game to give him a miss in will be City away.

Doesn't need the full 90 in each game but at least 60-70 minutes and don't make him play through any niggles.
I wouldn't over think it. If he's playing well and is fit I'd play him against anyone.
 
Think he did one shit thing yesterday (gave possession away just outside our box, maintaining Liverpool pressure).

But that was outweighed by serious composure across the park. He was everywhere. A killer pass to Garnacho, who was also slightly unlucky that Trent managed to accidentally tackle him, but should have done better on the balance of probability.

Mainoo is fecking young, playing in one of the most mature positions on the field. First three starts for United - Everton, Newcastle and Liverpool away. I'm going to say he's the real deal, he's been incredibly impressive.

I was sceptical of the hype during pre-season and thought it ridiculous that loads of people were clambering for a player that had never started for us to come back from injury and "save" our season.

Arguably all justified, based on his first three games. The kid is bloody good at football.
 
Just play Mainoo, Hojlund and Amad Traore for rest of season. They will benefit from consistent matches and understand the demands of the top level games
 
Like the majority of academy watchers, I've been a fan of Mainoo's for a good few years now, and seeing him take to senior level football like a duck to water has only made me more confident in his potential. I think he's the real deal.
 
Like the majority of academy watchers, I've been a fan of Mainoo's for a good few years now, and seeing him take to senior level football like a duck to water has only made me more confident in his potential. I think he's the real deal.
We could potentially get a lot of mileage out of the FA youth cup winning team, Garnacho, Mainoo and I have really high hopes for Gore too.
 
Play the lad all the while he’s fit. Play him alongside Casemiro & Bruno.

Those three providing a stable and reliable platform, allows one of them to be rested at a time. At the moment we’re making two or even three midfield changes and it torpedos any kind of continuity. The whole team dynamic is changed. We go from single to double pivot on a whim. It’s mad.
 
Way too early to tell. Looks a really talented player but his recovery speed does worry me. He couldn’t catch Gravenberch when he was running with the ball, it also happened with Joelinton. These are decent enough ball carriers but they’re not Kaka.

After Januzaj my approach with judging young players is now over two seasons before really giving a decision on potential. Rashford and Greenwood were able to keep fairly consistent in their second year but we’ve seen a few start well then fade badly.
 
Yes, I think, he shows the right timing and decision making in his play as well as some lovely ball control and distribution.

Kobbie has still a lot of development to progress through, but at the right time and in the right place; and although I hate to say it, staying with us in our current situation will not help and might even hinder him. We need to get him in with a better squad and would not blame ETH if even in having to try to scrape something out of this season, he kept Mainoo in reserve more and did not burden his development by playing him alongside others not in his category. If things don't improve Kobbie will need some 'cotton-wool' development to ultimately get the best out of him.
 
I was very impressed with him. The occasion wasn't too big for him. He's not scared to be on the ball. Hopefully the club doesn't rush him into service too quickly.
 
Considering how well Mainoo has done albeit hasn't played many games, you can only wonder how our season would have gone if we'd had Martinez fit at cb and a base of Casemiro - Mainoo available most of the season. Considering our signings I think that was ETHs actual plan.

Hopefully we can get Martinez/Casemiro back soon and give them a run of games asap.