Get In Scholesy
Full Member
MOTM today for me.
He is more like Seedorf mark II, a more agile version potentially. You compared him to the wrong players. More importantly, he is himself and will become a great player in his style. He doesn’t need to become anyone else.Nope, Oxford was a DM in his early West Ham days.
Look at the reaction to his debut:
Arsenal 0-2 West Ham United - BBC Sport
Good fundamentals, but not enough to become a truly top notch midfielder. He probably needs another few outstanding natural gifts to have that potential, for instance the stamina & aggression to become a Kante, the passing range to become a Jorginho or the strength & dribbling to become a Toure. Obviously he can develop these assets, but they should already be standing out if he's to ever to truly excel in them.
Yeah that's true he was getting plenty of space in the second half when Evertons midfield basically gave up trying to press him. He is like an anti-Bruno in the sense that he leans more to ball retention than to trying the hollywood pass but then again he is a pure midfielder in the 8/6 mould while Bruno isn't. There was a period of play in the second half where we were under pressure and he received the ball when we were defending deep and instead of hoofing the ball forward he found a pass through to Maguire on the right wing (I'm not sure what Maguire was doing there at the time) but it's that sort of thing that gives me the optimism, his calmness is beyond his age.I thought this actually happened today early in the second half. He was effectively playing quarter back role and received the ball deep inbeteeen the two cbs and on at least two occasions nobody went near him to apply the press. Everton had seen enough
its gotta be a bit embarrassing for McT, Amrabat and the rest of the team really when he was the one out there who looked most assured and calm in possession. And was proactive and positive with it. Not just playing safe
there was a moment in the second half when Bruno received it in moderate space on the half turn and he just wellied it up and over the top to nobody. Possession lost. This kid ain’t one to relinquish possession quite so easily.
a joy to watch today. Hopefully he doesn’t get the Mjebri treatment and goes missing for a month after a sold performance.
honestly I’d love to see these two in midfield together. Technically sound. Battlers. Awareness of others around them.
ooh that’s a brave call about the England call up. I must admit to thinking the same if a) he doesn’t get injured b) he’s trusted with game time after his performance level today c) he maintains the same level
nothing more frustrating seeing a young lad play well and then get binned for the older, seasoned (but lesser) players
And without injuries to Lisandro and Shaw at the same time, we would be competing for top spot now. It could’ve been an entirely different teamIt’s a shame Casemiro and Mainoo have had injuries this season.
If they’d been fit together to play as planned we’d of started much stronger imo.
Tears of joy...
It's been years since our recruitment team bought someone who could actually do this. Thank God for our academy.
How do you spend £1 billion on transfers and not buy a single central midfielder who's happy to take the ball off your back line and carry it forward..?
Because by and large our knowledge is second to none.The biggest winners tonight are the I told you so crew. They can sleep easy.
Hurray ,,,,2 best players nice for a change.No he wasn't. Onana was...
It was his full debut.Excellent performance and exactly what we've been missing this season. Amongst other things
Why did pretty much every broadcaster think this was his debut though?
Or is this just fantasy ....A midfielder who doesn't hide from the ball and doesn't crumble under pressure. Is this real life?
For once I'm not worried about a midfielder we have. People don't understand how good Mainoo is. He's always two steps ahead when on the ball, he's one of those midfielders that you can't get near and the opposition won't even bother to try and give up after a while.
The first minute is a good example, simple 1-2 when surrounded by Everton Midfielders to get out of a tight situation. The most impressive thing about Mainoo is that he knows what he's going to do before receiving the ball, which is a rare trait for a Manchester United midfielder post Scholes/Carrick and is the reason why I'm optimistic about him.
He's so good that barring injuries he'll be on the plane with the England squad this summer.
47:29: Mainoo receives the ball from a somewhat cushioned header served up by Lindelof off a failed long pass from Everton's right flank down to our LCB position. As the ball is coming down from said header, Mainoo is being closed down from the rear by Doucoure whilst having Calvert Lewin in his line of vision also closing down in close proximity. Mainoo chests the ball down and runs on the same line towards Calvert Lewin before suddenly spinning off to his left side, on his left foot, seemingly into a trap set as there's now three Everton players around him: 1 behind, 1 next to him and one he's just turned into (Harrison). Mainoo uses Harrison's momentum against him as that he cannot press at that speed and also suddenly put on the brakes. Mainoo has slowed himself right down now, so that Harrison simply overruns and effectively takes himself out the game at which point Mainoo casually plays a short ball on the inside of Harrison to Shaw who then has space to set off into and a 1on1 opportunity out of nowhere because Mainoo has taken two midfielders out of the play in one action that was created impromptu from an innocuous cushioned header from Lindelof.
All of the above is executed inside four seconds and is a run of play people mightn't have paid attention to, but it is a sublime action in deep midfield that turns play and has us on the attack in an advantageous position in an instant. Someone like Mainoo is doing these things all the time throughout the game, and by the time you're deep in the second half, it is seriously demoralising for the midfielders trying to press. If there's anyone willing to gif that sequence, it would be interesting to see who else people think could have executed that play in our squad. Before anything else, Mainoo has a niche and set of qualities we need as a team. It'll make him indispensable as time goes by.
He could easily keep Casemiro out the team for the rest of the season based on that performance. But young players are inconsistent.
Tears of joy...
It's been years since our recruitment team bought someone who could actually do this. Thank God for our academy.
How do you spend £1 billion on transfers and not buy a single central midfielder who's happy to take the ball off your back line and carry it forward..?
Good point to raise about him slotting in at times on the other side of the ball. It's all so seamless that you have to be paying attention to really acknowledge that it's something special that he is so switched on he does these things without a second thought.Watched this piece of play again, yeah it was executed with superb composure.
Also just few mins later, when Maguire made attacking run, Mainoo slotted in CB position, then when Everton lost the ball Mainoo from.Maguire position played a very good pass to pick Maguire
on RW with acres of space. That was the move where we won penalty.
There were few more instances where he showed what he brings to the team, most impressive of them all was him receiving the pass in defensive area and then carrying it with ease.
Good point to raise about him slotting in at times on the other side of the ball. It's all so seamless that you have to be paying attention to really acknowledge that it's something special that he is so switched on he does these things without a second thought.
It's not just that he looks around when not on the ball, but that he constantly frames the pitch and knows instantly what he should be doing in case he's needed offensively as well as defensively. I think he'll get cited a lot for making those block tackles he was making as well as things like the goal line clearance, but that positioning and constant reading and re-reading of the game that means he's so frequently in the position to make those things happen in the first place, will get lost in the bigger picture.
He's the first midfielder we've had since Scholes who can take those snaps of the pitch and adjust to them accordingly over and over again (being ahead of the play), which is why everything will look so effortless; jogging constantly with purpose and not just for the sake of it; knowing what he'll do with the ball before it's reached him; constantly making himself available it's one thing to see these things in the unders or preseason, but to do it all in such a cauldron against men, on his debut. That's exceptional.
This is a wing up right ?
Mainoo finished the match with the most touches of the ball per minute in our side. McTominay would never give the same performance as he is entirely incapable of doing something as simple as touching the ball. In fact, he yet again did the complete opposite of Mainoo and finished dead last in touches per minute. Mainoo put in an actual midfielder's performance. McTominay was lost again.
If McTominay ever had the same performance and touched the ball so often he'd be given player of the season as people would be so shellshocked from him actually showing for the ball.
It doesn't matter whether people want to say it or be reserved in assessment: it's clear as day this is a prodigious talent that would be an exciting prospect even in our world class squads of the Fergie era, let alone now. I don't know how much he'd be worth on the open market, but that value is going to grow exponentially because he's clearly the kind of talent you can throw out in the kind of company you wouldn't even dream of for others.You summed up what he brings to the team very well. It's so natural to him, it looks like everything he does is simple things and basics right, but there is more to it. Like you said, always reading, re-reading the game and positioning himself well with and without possession.
IMO he is a complete package, at least has all the right attributes to be a complete package. It's all about getting the experience playing at highest level.
People in England saying "keeping it simple" for things like that is what led to the horrible underrating of midfielders like Scholes for years. Because what he did today isn't keeping it simple at all, in fact it's a very rare trait to actually do that, and it's the exact sort of midfielder that England has year after year just straight up failed to develop. Always move in the right positions to pick up the ball, dominate possession and have the most touches of the ball on the pitch, always evade pressure and progress the ball to an open man or open space, and being consistently reliable with his technique. Oh, and defensively and physically doing a great job. At the age of 18.
Instead, they criticize because he won't score or assist loads or provide highlight plays, without realizing that a natural 1st phase midfielder who is press resistant is an absolute must for a top team.
He was at least a 7.I'm not criticizing him. I'm saying don't overhype him and give him ratings he doesn't deserve. He was good. ANd that was really good to see. He deserves to start. But it wasn't an 8/10
Mainoo passed my test years ago. I've been a fan for a long time. Seeing him do it in the first team at Goodison is extra nice, though! My initial post after yesterdays game should tell you everythingDid he pass the @Yagami test?
Hey, don't do Kobbie like that. Mainoo has always been hard to dispossess. Even Doucouré couldn't get near the ball when Kobbie was gliding. Casemiro is, and always has been, a complete lightweight when shielding the ball despite being known for his physicality out of possession.If Casemiro is lightweight, Mainoo is basically a kite that flies to wherever the wind takes him.