[AndySmith1990]

He'll get there at plenty of places, he's going to the top, 100%.

There are very, very few 18 year old who are so good you can say with 100% certainty they'll make it to the top. Mainoo is not one of them, and I don't understand the desperation to overhype him. He's good for his age and has plenty of potential. We've had a few of those who have ended up out the door a few years later.
I hope those around him are keeping him grounded and giving him good advice so he doesn't end up like the others

 

[Roboc7]

He was poor today but you are throwing an 18 year old into a midfield that is a complete shit show.

 

[jesperjaap]

He is 18, not his best game, got caught in possesion a few times agsinst pressure and pressing.....but that was happening to Carrick I remember a lot in hsi mid twenties here especially against Liverpool.

Think today was a great learning experiece for him. Worthy of the hype for me, but again let us not forget he is 18 ad still has a lot to learn especially defensively. As someone above states, he isnt a dead cert, very few that age are, but he certainly has the ability and seems to have the mindset to develop into a top top player and there contrary to some of the hyped up youth players for me, have been few and far between of such players

 

[Foolsgold21]

Anyone making conclusions in here after City away need to put their phone/laptop down.

He’s a cracking player with bags of potential. Phil Foden scoring a couple doesn’t change that.

 

[Ekeke]

Again I dont think he was bad in the first half considering we went there just to defend and quickly get the ball to the front players for a few counters in a smash and grab scenario. In the first half he tracked back and worked hard winning the ball a bunch of times. The 2nd half on the other hand was poor. He was no longer winning the ball and continued to barely get a kick of the ball. The right call to sub him but we've got such poor squad depth that the fresh midfielder played worse than he did in the 2nd half

 

[kouroux]

There are very, very few 18 year old who are so good you can say with 100% certainty they'll make it to the top. Mainoo is not one of them, and I don't understand the desperation to overhype him. He's good for his age and has plenty of potential. We've had a few of those who have ended up out the door a few years later.
I hope those around him are keeping him grounded and giving him good advice so he doesn't end up like the others

I recently read someone on the caf that he increases England's chances at the Euros
The kid has got talent but as a fanbase, we need to be patient with his development in positive and negative aspect

 

[Pogue Mahone]

There are very, very few 18 year old who are so good you can say with 100% certainty they'll make it to the top. Mainoo is not one of them, and I don't understand the desperation to overhype him. He's good for his age and has plenty of potential. We've had a few of those who have ended up out the door a few years later.
I hope those around him are keeping him grounded and giving him good advice so he doesn't end up like the others

So who does make your shortlist?

 

[Lay]

Can't wait for him to play under a manager who knows how to set up a midfield.

 

[EI Beatle]

i think he could have done better for the first goal instead of just turning his back

 

[NoPace]

Only comment here is that he lost De Bruyne at one point and then defended positionally a bit better.

 

[lex talionis]

Kobbie was outstanding. Not prime Schweinsteiger outstanding, but outstanding for where he is in his development.

The floggers out there need to have a word with themselves.

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

Put Mainoo in the other team for this game, and he would look like one of the best midfielders on the planet, completely dominating our midfield and dictating the pace for the whole game.

Put one of City's midfielders or Stones in our team, and I don't think they do anything worthy of note either today.

Same could go for Onana and Ederson. Switch them up and City will keep playing the same way they have been for years, meanwhile Ederson will start conceding goals every week, due to facing 15-30 shots per week instead of 2-5.

It's all about environments and we have several really good players who would look like world class players for City.

We don't have any, I love Kobbie but no, he is not the same level or anywhere near city players.

 

[The Red Thinker]

There are very, very few 18 year old who are so good you can say with 100% certainty they'll make it to the top. Mainoo is not one of them, and I don't understand the desperation to overhype him. He's good for his age and has plenty of potential. We've had a few of those who have ended up out the door a few years later.
I hope those around him are keeping him grounded and giving him good advice so he doesn't end up like the others

Sure. But the reason why other talented kids went away was because they couldn’t bring the most crucial element a Manchester United player needs to survive playing for us - consistency.

Garnacho found it and will get better with time. Same for Mainoo. Elanga had spurts … then fell off. Wilson had spurts…. Fell off. Chris Eagles for god sakes had moments… fell off.

Mainoo has found consistency from day 1. That is a remarkable occurrence. Very rare. Especially so for his position and his age. He has the intangibles that you don’t see too often - composure, tenacity and not wilting in big games.

Of course nothing in football is certain. But I do know this - he has all the markers of a prodigy that is destined to be successful. How successful? That is down to luck and footballing environment. The latter will be provided to him, the first is all about staying healthy and winning games by slivers.

 

[gajender]

We don't have any, I love Kobbie but no, he is not the same level or anywhere near city players.

If we are being honest we only have Hojlund , Martinez, Dalot, Mainoo, Amad ,Shaw, Onana currently who have basic attributes to to even part of City's squad at stretch , with rest City wouldn't even bother even if available on free and that just sums up shambles of our recruitment post Sir Alex's Retirement .

 

[OmarUnited4ever]

If we are being honest we only have Hojlund , Martinez, Dalot, Mainoo, Amad ,Shaw currently who have basic attributes to to even part of City's squad at stretch , with rest City wouldn't even bother even if available on free and that just sums up shambles of our recruitment post Sir Alex's Retirement .

Exactly, some of our players may have basic attributes to be excellent, and do not get me wrong, I love Hojlund, Mainoo & Garnacho, but they are just too young to be as good as any of City players, Amad too, I like Martinez, Dalot & Shaw, but I can't say they are as good as City players, you say it perfectly, it really sums up our horrendous player recruitment post SAF

 

[Rojofiam]

Exactly, some of our players may have basic attributes to be excellent, and do not get me wrong, I love Hojlund, Mainoo & Garnacho, but they are just too young to be as good as any of City players, Amad too, I like Martinez, Dalot & Shaw, but I can't say they are as good as City players, you say it perfectly, it really sums up our horrendous player recruitment post SAF

Your logic is incredibly flawed.

First of all, some of our players aren't good enough to play for City, because they are too young? Rico Lewis played a big part in City's success last season, at 18 years old. If Pep had Mainoo, he would be getting significant game time there as well, no doubts about that. If you watch him play, and actually understand what you're watching, you'll know how good he is, despite playing in a shit team. And I don't see how you can just dismiss the performances he's shown at United with "well, he's 18, not 22, so he's too young to be as good as a City player"

The only difference for City is that they don't need to rely on 18-20 year olds to be difference makers, like we do, because of the quality of their squad. They can wait for their Lewises, Bobbs, Fodens, etc. to be 20-21 before they play 50-60 games a season. But the ability for obvious future stars like Mainoo is there already. He'd probably get 20-30 games per season for them right now, but not down to his ability, but due to the things I've just listed: basically they can afford to manage them better.

You also don't also realize that most of City's players aren't demigods, they are just quality players put in the best possible tactical setup and environment, where their weaknesses are masked and they are surrounded by other great players.

That's why I listed two examples: switching Mainoo with one of their midfielders, and/or the two goalkeepers yesterday wouldn't have changed anything. Onana or Mainoo would've performed well for City yesterday, and would do so week in week out, whilst Ederson or Rodri/Bernardo etc. wouldn't be able to carry this United team on their own, maybe other than De Bruyne. But even De Bruyne would look worse if you just put him in our team and made no other changes.

Such an obvious thing that's easy to understand, except on RedCafe where the general consensus is always that we have 3 or 4 good players at best, which should have us finishing around 15th every season, but sure, keep ignoring reality that this team as a whole, is actually way less that the sum of its parts.

 

[Malons]

I have no issues with how he plays. The issues for me in terms of how performances are judged is that fans now, overwhelmingly, take the same attitude towards assessment of performances as a co-commentator does at picking MOTM.

Scored? Played well.

Didn't score? Disappointing game

Apply that to 'assist' or 'key passes' or anything else that exists to make fans think they can just have goal alerts pop up on their phone whilst watching Love Island and go on Twitter to analyse the game after because they're armed with statistics and don't think not watching the match itself is any barrier to holding an opinion as to how someone actually played.

Mainoo doesn't do the spectacular every match, but he does the simple things well and consistently and that's encouraging to see for a young player. Getting the basics right is more important than scoring wondergoals for a player's development, quite frankly. But because rarely will be show up on the board for any of the big headline stats so I think sadly there will always be probably a majority of fans who will always think this must mean he has a poor game if he's not getting on the score sheet or impacting their most favoured stat charts.

His understanding, reading, positioning, passing are all streets ahead of some in the team already despite them having 7-10 years head start.

 

[Jeppers7]

We had possession for 1/4 of the game so actually in comparison to the amount of possession we had and his role in the team alone you can understand why he was not very involved in the general play, which is what we need to sort out.

Sort out our general play, tactics and watch Mainoo perform.

 

[TheGhostOfJamesJoyce]

It is difficult to get over the talent this kid has; it is in all seriousness nothing short of awe-inspiring. He really is that good.

A mere 18 years old and he possesses the composure of a well-seasoned midfielder. There is such an elegance to his game; like he is floating on the pitch rather than running; something is just intricate about the way he moves.

I remember watching Wayne Rooney since he was 16 years old, and he still is the greatest young talent I have ever seen (yes, even better than CR7), but I genuinely feel like Mainoo has the potential to reach those heights.

At least there is something, in my opinion, to be excited about in these times of clear uncertainness.

 

[Member 58925]

Your logic is incredibly flawed.

First of all, some of our players aren't good enough to play for City, because they are too young? Rico Lewis played a big part in City's success last season, at 18 years old. If Pep had Mainoo, he would be getting significant game time there as well, no doubts about that. If you watch him play, and actually understand what you're watching, you'll know how good he is, despite playing in a shit team. And I don't see how you can just dismiss the performances he's shown at United with "well, he's 18, not 22, so he's too young to be as good as a City player"

The only difference for City is that they don't need to rely on 18-20 year olds to be difference makers, like we do, because of the quality of their squad. They can wait for their Lewises, Bobbs, Fodens, etc. to be 20-21 before they play 50-60 games a season. But the ability for obvious future stars like Mainoo is there already. He'd probably get 20-30 games per season for them right now, but not down to his ability, but due to the things I've just listed: basically they can afford to manage them better.

You also don't also realize that most of City's players aren't demigods, they are just quality players put in the best possible tactical setup and environment, where their weaknesses are masked and they are surrounded by other great players.

That's why I listed two examples: switching Mainoo with one of their midfielders, and/or the two goalkeepers yesterday wouldn't have changed anything. Onana or Mainoo would've performed well for City yesterday, and would do so week in week out, whilst Ederson or Rodri/Bernardo etc. wouldn't be able to carry this United team on their own, maybe other than De Bruyne. But even De Bruyne would look worse if you just put him in our team and made no other changes.

Such an obvious thing that's easy to understand, except on RedCafe where the general consensus is always that we have 3 or 4 good players at best, which should have us finishing around 15th every season, but sure, keep ignoring reality that this team as a whole, is actually way less that the sum of its parts.

Your optimism is admirable but I wouldn't hold my breath

 

[Rojofiam]

Your optimism is admirable but I wouldn't hold my breath

I don't think it's optimism to claim we have 10-15 players who would each do well if they were suddenly transferred to a City / Arsenal and became part of a functional tactical system and a cohesive unit. Of course it would be to varying degrees, and I'm not saying that McTominay or Hannibal are as valuable as Mainoo, Hojlund, or Martínez, but there's a lot of players who could at least play a role for a good team, and a few of them could be potential key players too.

The most important thing for players is the environment they play in, as football is a team sport, and there are very few players who can shine on their own in a bad system and/or dross surrounding him.

Especially for defenders, or midfielders, where they have to coordinate themselves as a big unit basically, for large parts of the game, what is a guy like Malacia supposed to do if the whole defence sucks, or when we set up tactically to hand over control to the opponents and he has to deal with so much in 1 match that City's or Arsenal's left backs have to deal in 3 or 4 games? You need to look at the qualities he's shown at Feyenoord or in games where we played well as a team at United.

 

[Member 58925]

I don't think it's optimism to claim we have 10-15 players who would each do well if they were suddenly transferred to a City / Arsenal and became part of a functional tactical system and a cohesive unit. Of course it would be to varying degrees, and I'm not saying that McTominay or Hannibal are as valuable as Mainoo, Hojlund, or Martínez, but there's a lot of players who could at least play a role for a good team, and a few of them could be potential key players too.

The most important thing for players is the environment they play in, as football is a team sport, and there are very few players who can shine on their own in a bad system and/or dross surrounding him.

Especially for defenders, or midfielders, where they have to coordinate themselves as a big unit basically, for large parts of the game, what is a guy like Malacia supposed to do if the whole defence sucks, or when we set up tactically to hand over control to the opponents and he has to deal with so much in 1 match that City's or Arsenal's left backs have to deal in 3 or 4 games? You need to look at the qualities he's shown at Feyenoord or in games where we played well as a team at United.

Oh I meant optimism that they'll watch him play and understand what they're watching. He's of course talented enough to chip in with some goal contributions, but his biggest contribution to the side will be doing things that require a little more of a nuanced understanding of the game. Recycling possession under pressure, always being available for the ball by anticipating space, passes that lead to dangerous attacks in the opposition's final third, breaking up play and covering for full backs out wide, etc...

 

[Rojofiam]

Oh I meant optimism that they'll watch him play and understand what they're watching. He's of course talented enough to chip in with some goal contributions, but his biggest contribution to the side will be doing things that require a little more of a nuanced understanding of the game. Recycling possession under pressure, always being available for the ball by anticipating space, passes that lead to dangerous attacks in the opposition's final third, breaking up play and covering for full backs out wide, etc...

Sorry, I didn't notice that you bolded that part

I agree, though, feel like might not be appreciated to the degree he should be in the future, should he be able to fulfill his potential in the upcoming years. A lot of the things he does will be difficult, important, and yet he can make them look effortless, like how he escapes a press, or how he makes space for himself and the defenders just by his off-ball movement, before receiving, etc.

 

[Raees]

Just posting here in case missed on the other Mainoo thread…

 

[manutddjw]

Don’t scare people like that! Every time I see 2 threads on the same player bumped I automatically assume the worst. Im glad it’s just a video.

 

[Bobski]

Looks like he needs a break, super quiet over the last 2 games. The style of play doesn't suit him, the hit and rush doghsit is too much for where he is physically right now, 19 completed passes in 80 mins, Amrabat got 15 in the small mins he played.

Really only seeing flashes of his quality with this style.

 

[Remember the geese]

Poor by his standards, but the team is fecking shite. We need to learn to value possession if we want to see Mainoo thrive.

 

[Based Adnan]

We'll get the most out of him when we bin this manager and get one that actually values taking care of the ball

 

[RedIan]

Bang average today, after his hyped up start in the team. I give Amrabat a run along side casamiro and i feel we would gain more control in midfield,

 

[bosnian_red]

Looks like he needs a break, super quiet over the last 2 games. The style of play doesn't suit him, the hit and rush doghsit is too much for where he is physically right now, 19 completed passes in 80 mins, Amrabat got 15 in the small mins he played.

Really only seeing flashes of his quality with this style.

Don't think he needs a break, I think it's just that 2nd midfielder role that Ten Hag uses and the way he asks them to play. Ten Hag is asking Casemiro to be the deep playmaker and Bruno is the focal guy and creator in attack. Mainoo is just used as little bits here and there, like Mount was, like McTominay was, and so on. It's a system thing and that 2nd mid never gets on the ball much for ten hag.

Besides, really should be Mainoo getting the role of being the deep playmaker, Casemiro is horrible at it.

 

[Brightonian]

Bang average today, after his hyped up start in the team. I give Amrabat a run along side casamiro and i feel we would gain more control in midfield,

Are you mad? Casemiro literally could not find a teammate with a pass in the first 60 minutes. How is Mainoo, a possession midfielder, meant to do anything about that?

 

[Bobski]

Don't think he needs a break, I think it's just that 2nd midfielder role that Ten Hag uses and the way he asks them to play. Ten Hag is asking Casemiro to be the deep playmaker and Bruno is the focal guy and creator in attack. Mainoo is just used as little bits here and there, like Mount was, like McTominay was, and so on. It's a system thing and that 2nd mid never gets on the ball much for ten hag.

Besides, really should be Mainoo getting the role of being the deep playmaker, Casemiro is horrible at it.

Mainoo hasn't really shown the passing range for what Ten Hag wants which is those whipped passes over the top for the runners from the deep midfield role. Generally he has not been a particularly progressive passer so far, what he is is composed and calm on the ball, with the ability to work his way out of difficult situations and retain the ball. Retaining the ball is not a priority for Ten Hag, so his key skills are not being utilized other than in flashes.

 

[Litch]

Play him too long with this lot, he’ll turn to shit too…..

 

[CasaStreets]

Just posting here in case missed on the other Mainoo thread…

I normally don’t like these types of videos but this one nailed it.

- Optimistic in tone but very clear that he’ll need to add to his game to become a career starter for us.

- identifies the sort of player he has a path to becoming while ruling out many of the silly comparisons being made.

- Highlights what most here would agree are his strengths (awareness, touch, def 3rd control/composure)

- calls out the dimensions he will need to add to become elite (mobility, more receptions, middle/attacking 3rd control).

Terrific season - so much ahead of him if he works his socks off. Going to really enjoy watching his progression.

 

[edgecutter]

He hasn't played well in the last number of games. Concerning considering he started off so bright when he got his chance in the team.

 

[Dan_F]

Are you mad? Casemiro literally could not find a teammate with a pass in the first 60 minutes. How is Mainoo, a possession midfielder, meant to do anything about that?

No idea why we’re making Casemiro the deepest midfielder when playing out from the back. Mainoo is far more suited to playing that De Jong role for Ten Hag. The midfield set up is a mess.

 

[Bobski]

No idea why we’re making Casemiro the deepest midfielder when playing out from the back. Mainoo is far more suited to playing that De Jong role for Ten Hag. The midfield set up is a mess.

Because Ten Hag's football is built on first strike hoof the ball over the top to runners long ball shit. Mainoo has not shown to have that pass as yet.

 

[Remember the geese]

Because Ten Hag's football is built on first strike hoof the ball over the top to runners long ball shit. Mainoo has not shown to have that pass as yet.

He certainly has it in him.

 

[Scandi Red]

He's been invisible lately.

 

[Offside]

Performances always going to dip when you become reliant on a kid. Seen this so many times before with young players here in recent years. Let’s hope we get the quality in to take the pressure off him.