He played deeper for us last season and also for England.
It's as if people have eradicated all memory of his performances last season.
37
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 25
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 6
It's as if people have eradicated all memory of his performances last season.
I think he can be a great player but he really needs to be more aware of whats going on around him. His positioning isn't great, doesn't know who's behind him, never seems to be in a position to block a passing option which gives the opposition an easy out through the midfield all the time, always looking to play the ball backwards or sideways because he's not taking the ball on the half turn. Don't know if it's low confidence or he's just struggling to adapt to what the new manager wants but he really has to be more assured on the ball.
No way we should be selling him, but he needs to get faster somehow. It's severely holding him back and he's just off the boil this season in general - much like the whole squad
To the point that the thread becomes a redundancy in many ways.
What he does need badly is coherency and structure; this is not a player who can cope in a bad, every man for himself football team. Once you take away competency, football becomes helter skelter chaos and that’s when the least athletic will fold, like a bleep test, they will be the first exposed and out.
Only really works in a 3.
Watching him run is a sorry sight. His passing range is very limited but with the added speed and dynamism of Maguire. This is not something you can afford in the midfield.
This summer would be the perfect time to cash in for a monstrous fee. If I had to choose between him and Garnacho, I'd sell him and use the funds to rebuild the squad with more fitting players.
This summer would be the perfect time to cash in for a monstrous fee. If I had to choose between him and Garnacho, I'd sell him and use the funds to rebuild the squad with more fitting players.
You can’t just get faster, if he’s this slow at 19 it’s a real concern.
Although if he worked on his positioning and reading of the game he wouldn’t need to worry about his pace as much.
Moorouse deserbes a chance instead of him, more dynamic,
Needs to concentrate on keeping hold of the ball better, last night he was either running into 3 players or trying to do a flick or trick to get past them and none worked.
You can work on sprinting technique, get stronger in your legs, improve explosive power, there's lots you can do to get faster.
Obviously there is a limit with this but he can definitely work on improving this aspect for sure.
That could be it.
Just be patient bros, he's 19. Amorim and his staff will know how to make him better.
Seedorf, Scholes, Modric, Kroos.....
A reminder that none of these guys were fast either, yet had the very best world class careers.
feck Amorim to trying to force and phase Mainoo out, instead of developing his fitness and mobility in CM.
A reminder that none of these guys were fast either, yet had the very best world class careers.
feck Amorim to trying to force and phase Mainoo out, instead of developing his fitness and mobility in CM.
And you think these things have not been tried by someone who's been at one of the richest clubs of the world for over 10 years?
Also, this progress is pretty limited. Speed is mostly genetics.
He was the one player I thought no matter how bad we were, he’d still perform. Hes still a young player in the end
Mainoo hasn't been around the first team long, so I reckon these finer points are definitely being worked on.
You can be fast by genetical foundation yes, but you can also improve your speed by working on what I've mentioned previously.
Something Rashford worked on individually with a sprinting coach for example, outside of what I ited were offering. This happened to coincide with his best goal scoring season.
So it's also definitely possible that Mainoo can work on improving his speed outside that what United are currently doing.
They work on speed drills/speed mechanics at Fortuna Sittard youth team, a club who's at most a mid table Eredivisie team. I'm sure they do the same at United's youth setup.
Rashford has been rapid in the youth setup, but i agree he added a little extra. I'm not saying you can't change anything but i wonder how much faster someone can truely get.
Fish out of water playing that role last night.
My concern isn’t physical. Sure, he’s slow, but he’s a standard height and his actual stature is relatively strong for his age. Mine is technical — he’s an excellent close control dribbler and he’s generally very composed when shooting in front of goal, but otherwise his lack of passing range and/or his ability to see the pass concerns me.
mainoo is going to be a star, I've never seen such a fickle bunch. yes he's not playing to his abilities at the minute but who is? we're in a rough patch for sure but this 'get rid' is ridiculous. same fans will be 1st back on his bandwagon. old Trafford faithless
Don’t you remember how open we were though when he played deeper? He has no recovery pace and was easily bypassed at times. So not saying he can’t or shouldn’t play deeper, but it does come with its issues.
Look at that palace game last season where they just waltzed past him for fun.
How is he trying to phase him out? He plays the guy most weeks and is clearly trying to find a spot for him. Stop being so dramatic.
It actually is in his game
He didn’t have structure last season, playing in the donut formation. The issue is him, he’s simply not playing at his previous levels, but he’s a kid and it happens. Hopefully he finds his form too.
He has shown he can do it when he came on early vs Newcastle or when he played as a 10 in the EL, albeit against weak opposition.
Oh don't get me wrong last season we played way too open, but I think that was a limitation of the tactics, rather than Mainoo. Unless we had two midfielders with Kante esque energy levels then it was always going to be a struggle.
Agree that he definitely has his issues, but I don't think his issues are particularly unique. I think next to an ageing Casemiro last season, most would have struggled. For me it's all about who he's paired with and the general tactical set up. If it's balanced, flaws aren't as easily exposed.
His game awareness & intelligence has been off this season for some reason. So many times when Amad got the ball on the wing rather than take some guys away & create space he kept coming closer to Amad and blocking things up. He also has been poor receiving the ball & not knowing what was around him so playing it safe. There's a player there but not sure why it's not coming out right now.
As Hoof the Ball says above. He needs to become elite at creating opportunities for others or like the other game arriving late into the box and getting opportunities for himself.
For me I guess im just disappointed that if he did have the altheticism he’d be some player.
Worrying form, but let's not forget how good he's looked at times since breaking through. We need to figure out what position to mould him into as soon as possible and give him some consistency there, along with strengthening midfield to give competition and support next season.
Having said that, we need to be so careful not to repeat old mistakes and reward him with a big contract already. I'm all for extending it with a pay bump, but mega money for half proven youth has to be a thing of the past. We still have no idea just what his final level is going to be.
Having said that, we need to be so careful not to repeat old mistakes and reward him with a big contract already. I'm all for extending it with a pay bump, but mega money for half proven youth has to be a thing of the past. We still have no idea just what his final level is going to be.
You can improve explosiveness and speed by up to 20% if you work on it, this has been found in medical/scientific studies.
For sure this is worked on at youth level but in no where near as heavy as it is when in and around the senior team.
But these are world class athletes, he’s coming up against the best of the best. He’s probably already worked on it and this is the best he can get.
Also, he does look heavy whether he’s been in the weights. But main issue is, he’s not dribbling in tight spaces which he showed glimpse off.
No way this is the best he can get in terms of speed, he's got years ahead of him with plenty of development still to go through.
Indeed. Pace should never be a concern for a central midfielder as long as he's technically gifted and reads the game well. Hopefully Mainoo regains his form and improves again. I struggle to believe that this is his level.
It’s a concern if your asked to cover a lot of ground, he simply can’t cover behind him due to a lack of pace. I think I could beat him in a race.
But I do hope he improves on last season as he was still very useful.
I saw all of this coming a while ago. He is very similar to Pogba, only a lot less good. The similarities is that the structure needs to be curated perfectly to suit his needs. The dish needs to be prepared at the exact temp, with the exact measurements, and any deviation to the left or right and the dish is ruined. Like Pogba, he is not a midfield two player, nor is he a 10. He is an 8.5, and needs to play in a midfield 3, with 3 forwards ahead of him. He needs help with the creativity side from one player, and with the defensive side from two players. So basically, a defensive player (6), and a partner in a double 8 who is more defensively inclined/has more legs than him. Whether or not we decide he is worth all of that is another question, as I don’t think the raw quality is as high as Pogba’s - but the running ability and low intensity is almost identical.
Now when optimised, there are some brilliant qualities to work with. He is a wonderful technician, and is suited to playing a short game. He can evade the press very well, and within a smaller structure, can support both the defence and attack, scoring goals and winning the ball. When the game becomes bigger, spaces wider, he struggles massively.
Now when optimised, there are some brilliant qualities to work with. He is a wonderful technician, and is suited to playing a short game. He can evade the press very well, and within a smaller structure, can support both the defence and attack, scoring goals and winning the ball. When the game becomes bigger, spaces wider, he struggles massively.
Very well put imo and actually not far from the truth if we're being honest. Who knows, maybe he will be able to work on his game even more than Pogba did, so he doesn't have to end up like him(with us that is), but only time will tell.
As a track and field coach of many years, speed is born, not made. You can and must hone that, but at 19 in an academy setup, he has pretty much topped out.
Oh, and you absolutely are not working on that sort of stuff during the season - there isn't time and the adverse effects would show in ganes.
That's a good point, he is support player. He can't be your main creator, he can't be your main midfield destructor, he isn't your main game manager and he doesn't really switch from one to the other he helps a main player in all of these areas. Now for a midfielder he is really young, so it is perfectly possible for him to become an elite game manager but he needs to nurtured in that role and no other, otherwise I expect him to be a jack of all trades but master of none.
There is literally no worries with him. He is going through the normal phases all talented players go through. Ups and down. Personally I like the idea of him as a 10 in the current set up. Once he and the rest of his teammates better understand how to function in the system. People will begin to see what Amorim has seen with him there and Bruno deeper.
He’s been terrible this season but he’s playing too much football as the other options are so limited. He’s not going to play his way into form in this side, that’s for sure.
I’m massively concerned by his lack of pace and movement around the pitch but what concerns me as much is that he’s seemingly gone from being press resistant to as clumsy and slow-thinking as the rest.
His positional discipline is all over the place too.
I’m massively concerned by his lack of pace and movement around the pitch but what concerns me as much is that he’s seemingly gone from being press resistant to as clumsy and slow-thinking as the rest.
His positional discipline is all over the place too.