FlawlessThaw
most 'know it all' poster
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2005
- Messages
- 29,688
What an absolutely amazing performance, brilliant player for us. How we will cope without him next season when he has to do National Service, I’ll never know.
He used to be a striker according to himself in some video.Out of interest, what position did he play mostly in the youth teams? I've never really thought to look.
Fake twitter account
Phillips being what he is atm plus Henderson on vacation means it’s likely going to be Rice Bellingham Mainoo anyway.@Fortitude I highly doubt Southgate would breakup his trusted Rice - Billingham partnership. And he also won't change his system, just to accommodate Mainoo. Not when the tournament is this close, at least.
Ok. You guys know more about England NT. So I'll take your word for it.Phillips being what he is atm plus Henderson on vacation means it’s likely going to be Rice Bellingham Mainoo anyway.
10 times is an exaggeration but from a pure midfielder pov he isn’t wrong, Mainoo at 19 is far ahead of Scholes at 19 when the latter hadn’t even made his senior debut. We would be supremely lucky if Mainoo is comparable to 29 year old Scholes in accolades in 10 years time though.Scholes is so modest that he's self deprecating
@Fortitude I highly doubt Southgate would breakup his trusted Rice - Billingham partnership. And he also won't change his system, just to accommodate Mainoo. Not when the tournament is this close, at least.
What an absolutely amazing performance, brilliant player for us. How we will cope without him next season when he has to do National Service, I’ll never know.
Korean MainooHuh?
But that isn’t the partnership he’s been using? Bellingham plays at ten for England.@Fortitude I highly doubt Southgate would breakup his trusted Rice - Billingham partnership. And he also won't change his system, just to accommodate Mainoo. Not when the tournament is this close, at least.
I’ve had a look at all his touches and also rewatched the match looking at his positioning and he was absolutely holding his own and so composed on the ball but making good available movements whilst off it.What's not really being made a fuss of is that he's performed like this against Rodri and his cohorts, who if not the best midfield set in the world, are par with it. Not even for a moment did Mainoo look their inferior, in fact, for the majority of the game, it was them trying to contain him in terms of 1:1, and when City's onslaught did come, it was all down the flank in Doku, not marching through our midfield or being able to abandon duty therein because of the openings that would provide for exploitation. Mainoo and Bruno essentially kept their midfield honest.
He's a dead certainty to be going into the Euros as a starter, and it's a place earned on merit - there are not many midfielders in the world who can go into a game against City - and more specifically Rodri - and come out on top like that. It's the biggest feather in his cap of his season and elevates him to a different standing because he's gone from looking great in games against varied opposition to facing off against best in class and still looking like the best midfielder out there.
His talent is undeniable by now. Even Southgate will yield and put him straight into his best team. So long as he doesn't tire, there's absolutely no reason why Mainoo cannot be one of the star midfielders of this tournament. Pedri was the breakout midfielder of 2020, Mainoo has it in him to be that player in 2024. That's how good he is.
I actually want to watch this game back - which is something for this season - there were loads of tactical and positional battles going on, and it would be nice to observe them without the real-time stress. Would be nice to hone in on Mainoo and see how City approached him from the beginning of the game.I’ve had a look at all his touches and also rewatched the match looking at his positioning and he was absolutely holding his own and so composed on the ball but making good available movements whilst off it.
We really have lucked out here in finding a player and developing them like Mainoo he’s saved us £100m.
Absolutely incredible from a 19 year old.
My one thing I’d still like though is someone to push him in the squad. He definitely needs a rotation as he develops and I look to how Foden was handled as an example of how to ensure a player with high potential can reach their peak without burn out.
Mainoo is fast becoming my favourite player though. What a kid!
What a load of shite. Anyway, Mainoo's 19 right?
Yeah it was a joke from me anyway.
That’s what it is as well, his never flustered. Some players just play the game there own way and it shows. He can grab a game by the scruff of the neck and take charge, either creating midfield patterns or as you say with Kaka driving runs into the box.I actually want to watch this game back - which is something for this season - there were loads of tactical and positional battles going on, and it would be nice to observe them without the real-time stress. Would be nice to hone in on Mainoo and see how City approached him from the beginning of the game.
Obviously by a certain point he'd earned his respect and as @Borninthe80ts says, City's players started to fret because of his threat (badum tisch) and were trying to double up on him before opting to try track his passes instead of pressing him directly, which is the ultimate form of respect.
The one run that really stood out to me was the Kaka'-esque drive from the edge of our box and playing a progressive pass in stride. I think it was Rodri trying to track him, but Mainoo negated that with his release straight into Hojlund's path without a moment's hesitation, which is absolutely elite, but par for the course for Mainoo.
I think any player who can make Rodri huff and puff and look so flustered all game is one to keep an eye on, and you'd never know this was a teenager in his debut season against one of the best players in the world as matching him was effortless for Mainoo. It's such a massive scalp and rite of passage, like when Bale torched Maicon and officially arrived on the world stage.
There's not a better opponent for Mainoo to make his name against and I really believe this will reframe the perspective on him for any that need it. I'm dead certain it won't be the calibre of opposition hindering him in the Euros nor the domestic game.
If we get supplementary players of equal ability in midfield, we'll have a world class unit. What we do in the market as well as who we bring through is pivotal because I don't see a top tier midfield unit in the game Mainoo doesn't slot into and look like he's been there for years.
The last young midfielder that gave me the feeling they were a dead cert was Pedri. Mainoo needs to prove himself on that kind of stage to verify all this chatter, but I have no doubt he can.
Remember it well. It was Greenwood in the FA Cup.Robertson at Liverpool tried this once against us, can't remember who our player was but they scored anyway. Struck me then as not very classy and haven't changed my mind!
Remember it well. It was Greenwood in the FA Cup.