[Gabriel Djemba-Bebe]

As of 1st Aug
He seems to have improved defensively but was disappointing in possession against Brighton.

I didn't see that not the greatest sample size. His defensive responsibilities won't be as demanding with Ugarte next to him instead of Casemiro.

 

[NinjaZombie]

I still don’t see the hype with this guy. Utd have players who you could watch for 45 minutes and be sure that they are genuinely top tier (Amad and Garnacho, to name a couple). But although Mainoo doesn’t have any really serious weaknesses, he’s not overly quick, or overly strong. His passing is very good I think, but not excellent. He doesn’t have that height advantage that allows you to score goals from nothing. He’s a very confident finisher from what I’ve seen, and as I say he can pass well and is good in tight spaces. But in terms of being the ‘future of the club’ in midfield I can’t understand the certainty that some on here feel. Reminds me a bit of when some on this board were debating whether Rashford was better than Mbappe. He seems like a genuinely nice, humble guy though, he has the right attitude succeed, certainly a better attitude than Pogba, who was IMHO more talented.

Funny this. Amad and Garnacho are two players I still have reservations on. They can score goals, but they're also kind of wasteful and lack ruthlessness when in promising positions. They're quite chaotic which is something you get used to seeing in United players, especially nowadays.

Mainoo is someone I watch on a weekly basis and pinch myself at times because the composure on the ball, stability and maturity he has is something I rarely see in a United player his age.

 

[Guapa]

Still needs his game time managed at this stage.

 

[Alemar]

Hopefully Kobbie goes up a level now, when paired with Ugarte who will take the defensive burden off him.

 

[Bestie07]

He needs his minutes managed. We will run him into the ground playing him as much as we have been in this dysfunctional midfield setup.

 

[lost7]

I like Kobbie but he shouldn't be a starter every game

 

[jem]

I love him but it's scary (and a damning indictment on our squad planning) that we are relying on him to start every game.

 

[Bobski]

He doesn't have the legs or running power for Ten Hag's brainless approach.

 

[Idxomer]

He does a lot of great things but the lack of structure exposes his flaws.

 

[Gandalf]

He seems to look gassed pretty early every second half. It might be running to cover for the lack of legs next to him but I really feel they need to look into his stamina issues.

 

[Ichabod Ferguson]

He doesn't have the legs or running power for Ten Hag's brainless approach.

And more worryingly he‘s 19 years old and will have to play every minute because our genius squad planing has left us with literally no cover whatsoever for him other than an over the hill Eriksen.

 

[HotOne]

Hopefully Kobbie goes up a level now, when paired with Ugarte who will take the defensive burden off him.

The problem is we don't have players who are comfortable in possession, who can keep the ball and dictate play. That's been a massive problem for 10 years. Yet in everyone's heads the solution is always "sign a destroyer defensive mid". I said it when we signed Casimero that it won't solve our issue and Ugarte won't either. We need a Carrick, Pirlo, Busquets type player. Who yes, can shield the defence but who can actually give some structure and calm when in possession. Without it we'll continue to have a team of headless chickens running around not knowing what to do.

 

[MDFC Manager]

We'll burn him out and deny him the chance to grow and reach his potential. The workload is already burdening him

 

[MDFC Manager]

And more worryingly he‘s 19 years old and will have to play every minute because our genius squad planing has left us with literally no cover whatsoever for him other than an over the hill Eriksen.

Not adding more cover in midfield already proving to be a dubious decision

 

[Ekeke]

Had some good moments and some bad moments. Was our best midfielder yet made a mistake losing the ball too easily for the 3rd Liverpool goal.

It was a tough game for our CBs and midfielders as Liverpool put in a lot of effort marking our midfielders so our CBs couldnt pass to them and they usually had players in the way to pass to each other.

 

[Superunknown]

I am convinced that we are going to ruin this player. We take young talent and we eviscerate it. We run players into the ground until they're broken and we demoralise them.

 

[Stadjer]

I like Kobbie but he shouldn't be a starter every game

It is fine for him to start (almost) every game in my opinion. He just shouldnt be expected to do everything in midfield by himself.

 

[Manny]

Doesn't look up to speed and was caught on the ball a lot. Unfortunately, we are so short in midfield that we are going to be relying on him to play every game.

Worrying especially once the European games start.

 

[Darlington Padgett]

He needs a player that can dictate the game next to him. He thrives when we're in control but our current squad doesn't have the players to do that.

 

[EdinburghDevil]

I'm hoping he withdraws from the England squad and gets a rest.

He's struggled since returning from the Euros

 

[Highfather_24]

The problem is we don't have players who are comfortable in possession, who can keep the ball and dictate play. That's been a massive problem for 10 years. Yet in everyone's heads the solution is always "sign a destroyer defensive mid". I said it when we signed Casimero that it won't solve our issue and Ugarte won't either. We need a Carrick, Pirlo, Busquets type player. Who yes, can shield the defence but who can actually give some structure and calm when in possession. Without it we'll continue to have a team of headless chickens running around not knowing what to do.

Hopefully we can get a Scholes/Modric type next season, and we can play him next to Ugarte.

 

[Lash]

Rough day at the office for him. His weaknesses were totally exposed by his midfield partners today. He'll learn from the mistake for the goal, that rarely ever happens, so I'm not worried.

 

[Grand Vizier]

Hopefully we can get a Scholes/Modric type next season, and we can play him next to Ugarte.

Joao Neves was available and should have been the first signing. I know we needed to fill more than one role, but this type of player don't come around too often, and we absolutely needed him. Should have been priority number one. Oh well.

 

[The Purley King]

He needs a player that can dictate the game next to him. He thrives when we're in control but our current squad doesn't have the players to do that.

Today he played next to a pensioner.
I feel for him although he should have done better for the third goal. That was on him.
If Ugarte can do Casemiro’s running then we might have a functional central midfield (without Casemiro) but today Casemiro was so catastrophic it ruined everything.

 

[Gordon S]

Kobbie was ok for us today. Playing next to grandpa Case makes it awfully hard.
Some difference to the NT where he has Rice covering ground like a sheepdog on steroids.
We so desperately need Manny to hit the ground running.

 

[Frank Grimes]

He's not a 6 or even an 8 imo. He is a 10 who will be a lot better than Bruno at keeping the ball and will win more ball coming into midfield out of possession.

 

[Todd]

Even when he isn't at his best, he is so much better and calmer on the ball than anyone else in our squad it's actually shocking.

To be brutally honest this lad should push for a move next summer, to City or Madrid. Under a top manager and surrounded by elite players he will become an absolute world beater by the time he's in his mid twenties.

If he stays with us his talent is going to be squandered, and it'll be a crime against football.

 

[zurnalist]

My favorite player in the team but a young talent like him shouldn't be the only reliable midfield option in the squad. Really afraid that this will come back to bite us and he will lose a lot of confidence because of this.

For example, Real Madrid gave a lot of time to Camavinga and Tchouameni before using them constantly in midfield although their talent levels are insane. And in the long run, that's how it should be done.

 

[Dominos]

He's trying to dribble in dangerous areas too much for my liking. He could do with simplifying his game and passing the ball sooner rather than dawdling.

I'm starting to think he's probably more suited to being higher up the pitch alongside 2 disciplined midfielders.

Our current team with every attack having to go through Bruno and the individualistic approach to our football means that his best role in the team probably doesn't even exist at the moment.

 

[dubplate warrior]

He does a lot of great things but the lack of structure exposes his flaws.

I think that's the problem for most of our players. Unlike previous managers who were coming to the end, I don't feel as pessimistic about the team. Our recruitment has improved, but we are making them look worse.

 

[Poborsky's hair]

he actually upped his game a little in the second half adding a little bit of more urgency and risk taking. However he should play like that all the time otehrwise we could just have cleverly taking basic passes and running 1.5x more .

Lets see if he can work with Ugarte. Doesnt seem like the best fit, but interestingly B. Silva and Kovacic can work for city so why not this.

 

[The Hilton]

Caught on the ball for Liverpool's third, but can't really blame him for the performance, he was overrun and his partners were useless.

 

[El Jefe]

In an ideal setup, he's eased into the season after the amount of football he played last year and the lack of preseason. Him and Martinez look well off the pace compared to their normal levels.

 

[Bwuk]

I’m not convinced your ever going to get a midfield 3 that contains both him and Bruno to work.

 

[Baneofthegame]

Think aside from losing the ball for the third goal he was a lot better today, looked for the ball more, drove with it more, but we need to be able to rest him at points.

 

[kouroux]

I don't think he should be starting automatically

 

[McFred]

It might be sacrilegious to say it around here but I’m not convinced by Mainoo as a centre mid in the premier league. He has talent definitely, but I don’t see him impacting enough games. His lack of athleticism doesn’t help.

Not his fault but he should not be starting every week. Midfield was absolutely dreadful today, from Casemiro’s and Mainoo’s mistakes, to Bruno failing to have any impact. That said I also cannot understand ETHs defensive system, and it’s clear the players don’t either (or simply cannot do what he’s asking).

 

[McFred]

I still don’t see the hype with this guy. Utd have players who you could watch for 45 minutes and be sure that they are genuinely top tier (Amad and Garnacho, to name a couple). But although Mainoo doesn’t have any really serious weaknesses, he’s not overly quick, or overly strong. His passing is very good I think, but not excellent. He doesn’t have that height advantage that allows you to score goals from nothing. He’s a very confident finisher from what I’ve seen, and as I say he can pass well and is good in tight spaces. But in terms of being the ‘future of the club’ in midfield I can’t understand the certainty that some on here feel. Reminds me a bit of when some on this board were debating whether Rashford was better than Mbappe. He seems like a genuinely nice, humble guy though, he has the right attitude succeed, certainly a better attitude than Pogba, who was IMHO more talented.

This is spot on in my view

 

[DownRiver]

Slot mentioned in the post-match what he had seen in changes from last season in this United team.

One area he mentioned is how we have changed our pressing, and specifically how our midfielders need work more/run more as a result.

I think Mainoo is having to work more this season and we will see less of his abilities further forward.

 

[Pickle85]

I still don’t see the hype with this guy. Utd have players who you could watch for 45 minutes and be sure that they are genuinely top tier (Amad and Garnacho, to name a couple). But although Mainoo doesn’t have any really serious weaknesses, he’s not overly quick, or overly strong. His passing is very good I think, but not excellent. He doesn’t have that height advantage that allows you to score goals from nothing. He’s a very confident finisher from what I’ve seen, and as I say he can pass well and is good in tight spaces. But in terms of being the ‘future of the club’ in midfield I can’t understand the certainty that some on here feel. Reminds me a bit of when some on this board were debating whether Rashford was better than Mbappe. He seems like a genuinely nice, humble guy though, he has the right attitude succeed, certainly a better attitude than Pogba, who was IMHO more talented.

You think you'd watch a random 45 from Amad/Garnacho and think they're top tier, whereas kobbie you wouldn't? Both amad and garna both have games where they go completely missing - mainoo is trusted much more and with good reason. His floor is much higher than the other two and his ceiling is also higher, imo.