Kobbie Mainoo image 37

Kobbie Mainoo England flag

2023-24 Performances


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6.2 Season Average Rating
Appearances
32
Goals
5
Assists
1
Yellow cards
4
Status
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There were moments in the game where I was wondering what it would look like if Mainoo was playing #10. Quick feet, composure and ball retention... I think we could have scored 5 or 6.

If we had 3 of him, he would be playing #6, #8 and #10
100% agree. Bruno can’t play possession based football.
 
The youth system is obviously working, that's something that doesn't need to change in my opinion.
The club has been producing more players in the academy over the last 10 years who could easily make the step up to first team football but many never get a real chance in the first team due to the incompetence of our managers and club brass over the years. We had our midfield pairing of the future in the academy with this guy and Galbraith and we let Galbraith go. I have no doubt in my mind that if Galbraith was given a proper chance, he would have nailed down a spot in this team. Galbraith was just as press-resistant as Mainoo and was excellent on the ball too. Our group of midfielders have been the worst in the PL at doing the job of actual midfielders over the last decade. What could have been.
 
The club has been producing more players in the academy over the last 10 years who could easily make the step up to first team football but many never get a real chance in the first team due to the incompetence of our managers and club brass over the years. We had our midfield pairing of the future in the academy with this guy and Galbraith and we let Galbraith go. I have no doubt in my mind that if Galbraith was given a proper chance, he would have nailed down a spot in this team. Galbraith was just as press-resistant as Mainoo and was excellent on the ball too. Our group of midfielders have been the worst in the PL at doing the job of actual midfielders over the last decade. What could have been.
Where is Galbraith now? Ickbal is press-resistant as well, how is he doing?

Some players don‘t make the step up, for various possible reasons.

Mainoo is gold, a once in a generation player perhaps.
 
He seems to always have time and space with a 360° view of his surroundings too. Such a talent!
 
Unreal talent. People said it with Greenwood but I’d say Kobi hands down is generational and excites more than greenwood ever did. To have that kind of calmness and precision on the ball at that age against a very competitive midfield is insane. Streets ahead of all our central midfield players in terms of pure technical midfielding.
 
Been a lot of talk of Mainoo learning from Casemiro but I really think Casemiro could learn from Kobbie in terms of maintaining the ball under pressure. Casemiro really could have been sent off for a bad challenge after poor control. Kobbie’s yellow for a perfect tackle was also a joke.
 
Uncanny composure for an 18 yo. Just a bit nuts that he plays with some of the most experienced midfield players out there in Bruno and Casemiro and he has to watch them give the ball away for fun as soon as the pace surpasses testimonial levels.
 
Screenshot-2024-02-18-20-40-32-71-40deb401b9ffe8e1df2f1cc5ba480b12.jpg
 
Been a lot of talk of Mainoo learning from Casemiro but I really think Casemiro could learn from Kobbie in terms of maintaining the ball under pressure. Casemiro really could have been sent off for a bad challenge after poor control. Kobbie’s yellow for a perfect tackle was also a joke.
Actually thought Case’s yellow was a bigger joke than Kobe’s. Yellow cards really should be reviewed without stopping play and rescinded if obvious.
 
Looks an incredible talent! One of our two or three best players. Maybe says something about our squad, but just wow. Looks a level above everyone.
 
Hojlund will probably get MOTM for the goals but I think Mainoo was comfortably the best player. The only player in our team who showed any kind of composure.

Same, my motm. It’s been so long since we’ve had a player who can knick the ball away and manipulate it well under intense pressure. His passing is crisp too. Great player in the making. We couldn’t ask for more.
 
His ability on the ball is much better than most of his senior team mates. I'd even argue out of all our cm options, his decision making is the best. Almost every pass and move he made were made in a context of playing in a team. He passes the ball to his team mates in a way that the team can progress. He's just ridiculously good.
 
Would love to see him play further up the field with less defensive duties and running.
 


The lad is quality, probably the best player on the pitch out there today.

His composure on the ball continues to amaze me. He's the youngest player yet always looks the most comfortable and least fearful in possession.


Amazing that he has all that awareness and composure at 18. Wonderful talent, needs to be given the time and freedom to develop, he'll make mistakes and he'll learn from them. He could develop into one of the best midfielders in the game.
 
Probably the umpteenth poster to say this but that yellow card was a travesty. Brilliant tackle.

Those are the decisions that get overlooked when the media starts its 4 years of national mourning when we get a decision for us.
 
Just supremely talented. Who’s the last midfielder to show this level of maturity at 18 in the Premier League? Fabregas?
 
All seems so effortless with him.

If we had less brainlessness in Bruno and Casemiro, he would almost certainly be even better by now.

The standard of his performances are too consistent for this to be a false dawn right?
 
He was fantastic for the academy but even I've been surprised by just how good he's looked at first team level.
 
He is in a different planet to the rest of the team when it comes to ball retention. And I think playing him DM is a waste of his talents.
 
Was it Neville who said he was the only player that would get in the City team earlier on this season and got absolutely battered on here for it?

Well he was absolutely spot on. The kid is class.

Lisandro and Shaw would moonwalk into City’s lineup.
 
He is in a different planet to the rest of the team when it comes to ball retention. And I think playing him DM is a waste of his talents.

I completely disagree. I think you're underestimating the importance of the role and the attributes required. Specifically his ball retention ability is why we need a player like him playing from deep. These type of midfielders seem to be the hardest to come by these days.
 
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say I’ve rarely seen a player who belies his years in the way Mainoo does - Bellingham maybe, possibly Rooney. Mainoo plays like he’s about 30 years old, 125 international caps and won every trophy going. Pure class.
 
The club has been producing more players in the academy over the last 10 years who could easily make the step up to first team football but many never get a real chance in the first team due to the incompetence of our managers and club brass over the years. We had our midfield pairing of the future in the academy with this guy and Galbraith and we let Galbraith go. I have no doubt in my mind that if Galbraith was given a proper chance, he would have nailed down a spot in this team. Galbraith was just as press-resistant as Mainoo and was excellent on the ball too. Our group of midfielders have been the worst in the PL at doing the job of actual midfielders over the last decade. What could have been.
Gomes over Galbraith.
 
We need to wrap Kobbie in cotton wool.

He is by far our most composed midfielder. The first player to come close to looking like a midfield controller at Man Utd since Michael Carrick retired. Plus, I'd argue, on the ball, under the press, Kobbie is better than Carrick was. Although, obviously, Carrick had other strings to his bow that Kobbie hasn't developed...

...yet.

Yeah same. It’s weird that he seems to be able to do the same things against pl players as he did against u18s and it works.

IMO he's better than he ever was at the younger levels. Kobbie could always run players and do the silky stuff. Its his decision making and cool under fire that's been really breath taking. I saw him developing into a more attacking midfielder. Not a #10 but maybe someone in a midfield free role backed up by two work horses. What he's showing is that he can absolutely run games, even as the deepest midfielder. Never saw it coming.
 
I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say I’ve rarely seen a player who belies his years in the way Mainoo does - Bellingham maybe, possibly Rooney. Mainoo plays like he’s about 30 years old, 125 international caps and won every trophy going. Pure class.

Whilst I'm a massive fan of Mainoo, saying Bellingham 'maybe' is a stretch. Bellingham is 2 years older than him, and has been unreal for a good while. Rooney it's hard to say, he wasn't necessarily mature in his football brain, it was his physique and talent that set him apart.

Weirdly I'd say Mbappe played just as maturely at 18, it's as his fame rose that he's become so immature and selfish.
 
He is in a different planet to the rest of the team when it comes to ball retention. And I think playing him DM is a waste of his talents.
Don't think it's a waste at all. A press resistant, top deep playmaker is one of the most important parts of a team, an absolute requirement to every top team and one of the rarest profiles to find. There's loads of guys who can be quality #10's. Growing Mainoo as a deep playmaker means we'll have that Scholes type player for 10+ years. Teams won't be able to press us into collapsing, as he'll always be able to get past them. The next step is when he develops more and starts dictating the tempo of games with his passing. He can truly turn into one of the best midfielders in the world there where you don't care about goals or assists. He can sprinkle them in, but that's not his big plus.
 
I completely disagree. I think you're underestimating the importance of the role and the attributes required. Specifically his ball retention ability is why we need a player like him playing from deep. These type of midfielders seem to be the hardest to come by these days.

He is like Gundogan to me. Yes he does his fair share defensively but he adds more to the team going forward. We still need a Rodri, a player who can pass and retain possession, and is defensively very sound.
 


The lad is quality, probably the best player on the pitch out there today.

His composure on the ball continues to amaze me. He's the youngest player yet always looks the most comfortable and least fearful in possession.

Have no idea how he kept the ball at that bit around the 1 minute mark. Phenomenal talent
 
Don't think it's a waste at all. A press resistant, top deep playmaker is one of the most important parts of a team, an absolute requirement to every top team and one of the rarest profiles to find. There's loads of guys who can be quality #10's. Growing Mainoo as a deep playmaker means we'll have that Scholes type player for 10+ years. Teams won't be able to press us into collapsing, as he'll always be able to get past them. The next step is when he develops more and starts dictating the tempo of games with his passing. He can truly turn into one of the best midfielders in the world there where you don't care about goals or assists. He can sprinkle them in, but that's not his big plus.

Scholes went deeper when he got older and his legs went. Mainoo to me is closer to Iniesta than Xavi stylistically (NOT ABILITY). And Iniesta didn't play deep.

We need another player is what im saying.
 
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