Kobbie Mainoo image 37

Kobbie Mainoo England flag

2024-25 Performances


View full 2024-25 profile

5.4 Season Average Rating
Appearances
13
Goals
0
Assists
0
Yellow cards
5
He needs games to get his fitness back but I feel Amorim will control his game time very well so nothing to worry about.
 
When was the last time he had a good game? We overplayed him last season and now he has to managed very carefully.
 
With Ugarte looking very settled and a manager that favours three at that back it could be time to play Mainoo in a more advanced position than Ten Hag chose, he looks capable of this role and I think he can add some much needed composure to our attacking.
 
Its great that we're managing his minutes, we built our entire season him last season and without him we didnt have a midfield, much better approach.
 
When was the last time he had a good game? We overplayed him last season and now he has to managed very carefully.
He's barely played, so I'd imagine it's been a while since he played well... until today anyway
 
Best I've seen him play in a while I think. He didn't overplay it and hog the ball too long like he's prone to. Some nice forward passes. We really controlled that 2nd half.

Ugarte Mainoo probably seemed like our best midfield pair on paper, but the 2 times we'd started with it we lost to Spurs and Forest which wasn't a good sign. Nice to see some signs that it might work going forward.
 
Thought he was ok today.

I think his mobility and athleticism is going to be an issue in this formation though.

I also think Bruno will be an issue for him. Bruno suits the #8 better than the inside forward/10 role. I think we’ll line up Ugarte x Bruno for majority of games.
 
Thought he was ok today.

I think his mobility and athleticism is going to be an issue in this formation though.

I also think Bruno will be an issue for him. Bruno suits the #8 better than the inside forward/10 role. I think we’ll line up Ugarte x Bruno for majority of games.

Why this formation? Does he have to do more running than he would in a different midfield formation?

Personally not sure it's different at all.
 
I thought he played well after a poor 1st few touches.

I know people are unsure if he's a #8 or a #10, but I generally prefer him deeper.

Just hopefully works on his fitness, so he doesn't tire as much during games.
 
Ah I thought he showed plenty of flashes there today. A couple more games and he'll be back to his best. I think he can work beside Ugarte. Receive it in tight spaces, some fancy footwork, pop it off, find those between the lines forward passes. I love the idea of two neat and tidy operators in there. He's not quite there yet but not far off.
 
I thought he played well after a poor 1st few touches.

I know people are unsure if he's a #8 or a #10, but I generally prefer him deeper.

Just hopefully works on his fitness, so he doesn't tire as much during games.

He's done nothing to suggest he's a 10. He's a 6 or an 8
 
We should definitely expect a second season drop off from him , given how young he is. Plus getting used to a new system where is not expected to pick the ball up from defenders will help him in the long run. Can see him and ugarte are a complimentary midfield pair for the future
 
Don't think cameo does it justice, but thought it was his best performance of the season. Another who needs to use it as a platform to build upon.
 
Last edited:
He's become quite underrated for some reason. There's a section constantly trying to downplay his talent and, now, importance to the squad.

People thought he was overhyped and wouldn't make a difference last season before he eventually started away to Everton. He finally starts and ends up being our best central midfielder last season.

People then thought the Euros would be too much for him even though he had just got done dominating City in a cup final. Ends up having a great tournament. Outplaying Rice, Bellingham and Foden.

Now people think he should be behind Casemiro in the pecking order as he won't fit Amorim's system. Just gets done outplaying City. Again.

It's time to accept that he's good enough right now.
 
It's time to accept that he's good enough right now.
He is not fit enough right now (although fitness will come). Played too many minutes last year - hard for his age. So need be rotated carefully for the time being.

But quality wise he is good enough (and will only become better).
 
Thought he was ok today.

I think his mobility and athleticism is going to be an issue in this formation though.

I also think Bruno will be an issue for him. Bruno suits the #8 better than the inside forward/10 role. I think we’ll line up Ugarte x Bruno for majority of games.

Bruno might also help him if Amorim tweaks things a bit so it looks a little more like how Inter play (a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2), since Bruno might drop a bit deeper than the #10s at Sporting. We'd probably need really attacking wingbacks to make that work, so maybe buy a #10 and play Amad at RWB or leave Amad as one of the #10s but buy 2 wingbacks, or I guess just hope Dalot can develop offensively.
 
He's become quite underrated for some reason. There's a section constantly trying to downplay his talent and, now, importance to the squad.

People thought he was overhyped and wouldn't make a difference last season before he eventually started away to Everton. He finally starts and ends up being our best central midfielder last season.

People then thought the Euros would be too much for him even though he had just got done dominating City in a cup final. Ends up having a great tournament. Outplaying Rice, Bellingham and Foden.

Now people think he should be behind Casemiro in the pecking order as he won't fit Amorim's system. Just gets done outplaying City. Again.

It's time to accept that he's good enough right now.
The nuances of the game beyond "is he a 10 or an 8" have to be taken into account to appreciate what he does.
 
Tottenham 4:3 Man Utd New
Really good sub appearance I thought. Back to looking like himself. Really like the potential between him Ugarte
 
Grew as the game went on after he was brought on, hopefully he can stay injury free and get some games under his belt.
 
He's not been a bright shining star this season, but today he showed some incredibly good close control and turning - star qualities. When he finds the right role he will be very good.