37
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 32
- Goals
- 5
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Status
He is technically generational in the same way greenwood or Morrison was/is. Hopefully he can stay injury free and keep his feet on the ground over the next few years. We’ve been crying out for a press resistant midfield prospect since the days of Possebon and Ben Pearson. This is it, he’s the one.
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Do we have another player like that in the academy? What a footballer and he’s only 18 playing like a seasoned pro in the Premier league
If we could get another midfielder who also has that ability in there next to him I think we'd quickly see teams giving up on pressing us. It would also help us against the likes of a city or pool. Would have been interesting to see both De Jong and Mainoo together in a midfield in these tactics.
It it’s the perfect example of why it’s so important to have technical midfielders that can carry and take the ball and turn. We literally only have Mainoo, the rest of our options are awful at it including our two starters next to him last night.
Part of me worries that we're overhyping him because we've never had such a midfielder apart from Giggs' brief stint at CM. But for any Spanish side (or really any modern side) his skillset is a pretty basic requirement. All different players but we've never had a player similar to Modric, Odegaard, Bilva, D.Silva, Pedri, FdJ etc. etc. I guess Pogba was close but he never really realized his full potential here.
Pogba certainly could do it but we didn’t really have any set build up patterns besides just giving him the ball and hoping he made a worldly pass so it would often result in the hated “dwelling on the ball” we’d see from him. Younger Pogba with Mainoo would have been monstrous.
And I think there is a difference between overhyping and just realizing a talent. I’ve said since watching his debut this year that he’s the best midfielder at the club. That doesn’t mean I think he’s world class or will become world class, but if you just watched a Birds Eye view of unnamed players his qualities and maturity/intelligence just stand far above anyone else we have. “Overhyping” for me is mainly done on players that go through a hot streak of goals/assists and start getting compared to genuine top players when their overall games aren’t comparable.
I never really understood press resistant before. But this lad is it right? once he gets it, people aren't able to press him off it easily. he twists turns makes a bit of space and releases
I think it simply means you got a bit of close ball control and don't shit yourself if an opponent comes within 5 metres.
Kobbie is good, but I'd argue that every player in the United first team should be press-resistant as a bare minimum for technique
Gushing piece on Mainoo on the BBC today. I remember a similar gushing piece somewhere on Martial after he made a decent start at Man Utd, former coaches talking about how special he was, etc etc. Young player breaks through - cool. Once he's a known quantity, the test begins again.
He scored from this starting position 
Loved the celebration.
It was like he was saying, "what else do you expect, I am just that good and I know it".
It was like he was saying, "what else do you expect, I am just that good and I know it".
I think Mainoo goes beyond at least what the literal meaning would be. He's more like a player who can take the ball on the half turn like you want from a number 10, but he'll do that and dribble away from a challenge in his own half with a cool and composed manner whereas there are plenty of number 10s who can fumble taking those kinds of chances deeper on the pitch knowing that the risk is much higher if they lose the ball. The likes of Fernandes and Maddison might try it and panic a bit under pressure when its on the edge of their own box, but for someone like Mainoo its the same as a kick about in the park.
For me the more important part is that he has that side, but he also has an aggressive ball winning and defensive responsibility side. He isnt a player who looks twice as interested when we have the ball, he'll press, try and track a runner or get in with a tackle with the same work ethic as when he has that ball. Cool and composed but making sure the job is done well. If he didnt have that side as well I wouldnt like him playing as our deepest midfielder. But hes doing great with it for someone so young. He's more reliable than someone like Fred for example who was another player you couldnt trust in those half turn and receiving the ball under pressure deep in his half situations. He would panic and take a bad touch or play a bad pass but for Mainoo its easy.
Held the mic like he was in the biggest cipher of the year.
Hadn't noticed before, but a fantastic run by Forson gave Kobe all the room he needed. Not sold on Forson but have liked what I've seen thus far.
What a boy. What a man.
That goal is the kind of thing that Messi used to do. It gives him a whole extra dimension as a midfielder.
Developing nicely.
Great goal last night.
Great goal last night.
Incredible talent. If we can add the right singing or two next to him midfield we’ll be dominating teams.
Hah I'm definitely over hyping because I think we should build the midfield around him. I think people are already talking about a Mainoo, Rice, Bellingham midfield for England. So there's definitely hype.
I doubt it... I watched Pogba loads in the youth teams.
He had zero defensive awareness. He would've left Mainoo alone in midfield with untold amounts of work to do.
Mainoo is too good a footballer to be stuck just guarding the back four.
From now on till the end of the season for his development I reckon he'll benefit a lot playing alongside veteran Casimero...
What a talent. I really hope we can bring in someone like Kamara from villa to play next to him.
While you aren’t wrong, just watching him compared to someone like Amrabat, Amrabat is far better as getting on the ball and getting loads of touches on the ball. He’s not as composed or press resistant as Mainoo but he’s far better as showing and is more confident taking it anywhere. I don’t have the stats but I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t touch the ball far more on a per game average.
He scored from this starting position
One is the greatest player of all time. The other is Maradona.
He does, at the cost of being positionally ill-disciplined and quite irresponsible - Mainoo just won't compromise position to seek the ball and I think that's better for the team as we currently are, and for him given the way we play and the invariable consequences for our midfield losing the ball at inopportune moments.
It's hard to be the imposing one coming on to the ball when you are responsible for so much off it and in terms of defensive positioning and I think it will take collective improvement for him to be confident in venturing off to have more of the ball and on the offensive side of the play.
If your deeper players are to probe more whilst maintaining shape, the defence has to contract more and venture into midfield, which is where Martinez is going to make a difference in terms of freeing up Mainoo to roam and demand the ball of others.
I think he shows astounding levels of maturity to be so astute - it is not a lack of confidence or presence that is preventing him; it's studiousness to his primary tasks.
Amrabat is really good at that in fairness to him. It's just that he's not much of a dribbler and he's doing that thing a lot of players new to the league do where they seem genuinely shocked to have a defender or two on them instantly.
I mean likewise Pogba was too good of a footballer to be asked to sit in a pivot without an actual holding mid next to him. Just saying the combo with those two in terms of in possession would have been absurd to watch.
And I’m undecided on Mainoos final position. People are really undervaluing having a 6 that can control play as well as carry the ball through under pressure. It’s a unicorn profile compared to finding 8’s with good technique and engine. But of course if he continues bossing it and showing output in the final 3rd it’s tough to argue with.
Oh how I've longed to see a press resistant midfielder for us.
This might come as a surprise then as the only 2 players who are truly elite press resistant are Mainoo and Martinez. Maybe Shaw to an extent
Could not agree more. To add to that he didn't want to do that part of midfield duties. I can see why one would think a combination of Mainoo and Pogba would be awesome on paper given their ability but Pogba never had the defensive nous or work rate for it
This is the level of talent that should be playing in midfield for us. Not some bloke that treats the ball like plutonium.
Shaw is absolutely press resistant and so is Antony as well.
Singlehandedly kept ETH in the job. ETH owes him a starting place for the rest of the season. Build the team around him.
Mainoo reminds me of Seedorf. His first touch is very impressive , not just place the ball within control range but have planned for the next step and keep the momentum to forward the game instead of slowing it down. Therefore although he still is not getting edge on strength when competing with EPL opponents but he rarely loses balls. This type of skills is hard to find nowadays.
Playing at No. 6 just wastes his talent . He can become an excellent No.8 in an dominant controlling football setup.
Playing at No. 6 just wastes his talent . He can become an excellent No.8 in an dominant controlling football setup.
Someone like Douglas Luiz would be a solid partner beside him. Both have that defensive awareness to play as a 2, and both have something about them going forward in a goal scoring and creative capacity.
Stories today in the press that Ghana are tapping him up for international football. Southgate really needs to have a word. Rice, Mainoo and Bellingham as a midfield in three or four years time, anybody?
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