Agreed… But he wasn’t quite at world status when bought, he had still only flashed potential to then.
VVD and Alisson?
Yes, but he was a Liverpool supporter.
Neither were ever world class.
Ali yes… VVD was just a prem premium in price. He has evolved into the best ever defender in the EPL but wasn’t at the time.
3 Likes
That would be a great appointment.
Fuck.
Jaysus, Rashford to wolves is an odd one.
The mirror has it too. Must be true.
Kobbie Mainoo, Man Utd’s 18-year-old playing like a seasoned pro
Kobbie Mainoo is 18 years of age. Hours after Sunday’s full-time whistle, while the smiles are still broad and emotion is still high, that fact still beggars belief.
Manchester United had just beaten Liverpool 4-3 in an FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford, the winning goal coming in the final minute of an extra-time period during which central midfielders were playing in their back line while the side’s centre-backs were up the pitch chasing goals.
But before all of this gleeful chaos started, before sense and reason got thrown out of the window and these moments of inexplicable, indescribable, wish-you-could-bottle-this-sensation joy occurred, United needed a calm head. They needed a mature presence to set the table before everyone got to enjoy the footballing feast.
That came from Mainoo, who played for 80 minutes in the tie and was behind many of his side’s best moves in normal time. There was a moment early in the first half when he smuggled the ball past Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai before bursting past Joe Gomez as he crossed the halfway line.
There was another in the second half, when he looked to receive the ball a little inside his own half as Wataru Endo tried charging through his back. Endo is 31 years old, captains Japan’s national team and has a veteran’s awareness and experience; as he looked to pressure Mainoo, he moved his upper body to block off the United youngster from turning left, poking his right foot out in an attempt to nick the ball if he tried to turn in the opposite direction. It was the sort of defensive pincer movement that prompts many a player to cough up possession in a panic.
go-deeper
GO DEEPER
The making of Kobbie Mainoo, United’s ‘special’ teenage talent
Mainoo escaped by feinting a turn left before dropping his right shoulder and backing into Endo. As his upper body eked out a yard of space in front of him, his right foot protected the ball. To make sure he had recycled possession safely out of the way of an approaching Harvey Elliott, he then backheeled the ball from his right foot into the path of his left before knocking it back to his stronger foot and playing a pass back to Harry Maguire.
This is the joy of watching Mainoo, a player full of audacious chops and moments of close control but who uses them in a functional manner. Mainoo doesn’t nutmeg a defender to embarrass the fella. He is simply looking to get from point A to point B in the best way possible.
At an age when it would be easy to get carried away, Mainoo has an appreciation for the slower moments. He knows when to move but also when to stand still and let the opponent’s movement be his own undoing. He is a rare figure in United’s 2023-24 squad; someone who takes a scalpel, rather than a sledgehammer, to defences.
Yes, United were 2-1 down when Mainoo was substituted, but he received a standing ovation as he began to walk off the pitch as more than 70,000 fans wished to paint him as a gallant hero in what looked like ending as a noble defeat. But just before he took his seat, the midfielder appealed to the home crowd to make more noise; if he couldn’t drive his team to success on the field anymore, he was going to ask those around him to take up the mantle.
He is a teenager who plays with the calmness of a 28-year-old veteran and seemingly has the emotional intelligence of a man older still than that. He is “The Next Big Thing” emerging at a club who pride themselves on nurturing and developing future big things.
Mainoo has been one of the positives in United’s difficult season (Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
England do not make midfielders like Mainoo too frequently; players of his talent tend to be gradually pushed further up the pitch so they can affect games with goals and assists. Still, the only thing that gets football fans more excited than a young player doing good things now is what that player might do in the future if everything goes “right”.
Gary Neville has said he plays “like a Manchester City player”. Rio Ferdinand has said he reminds him of Clarence Seedorf. Ian Wright has asked whether he should be in the senior England squad for this summer’s European Championship. The hype machine is here and it would like clarity on a player with a touch over 20 senior appearances to his name this season. Will he be a defensive midfielder in the style of Michael Carrick? Does his close-control dribbling mean he should be given a box-to-box role similar to the one Paul Scholes played for United in the 1990s?
Ultimately, it will fall to Mainoo to show us who he is.
He is a prodigy only beginning to get a feel for his potential at this level, and he will develop further as he matures physically. He will grow parts of his game as he looks to evolve in this ever-changing sport.
An older Mainoo, with a more focused long-range shot, will put opposition teams on the back foot whenever the ball falls to the edge of their penalty area. A Mainoo more experienced in aerial duels will make him a frightening prospect around the centre circle.
He is already someone who elevates the performances of those around him, but he will need complementary team-mates to maximise his potential. Having an athletic, ball-winning defensive midfielder alongside could see him evolve into the type of midfield controller his club and country have needed for a decade.
Progress is not linear but, for now, Mainoo is a galvanising force for one of the biggest football clubs in the world.
Mainoo looked really good at times on Sunday, what’s his best position though?
Man City probably though he’d be on the bench.
1 Like
Chuckle
Are we going to accept blatant racism on the forum now as well?
Mate you use the phrase “towel heads” with abandon
4 Likes
Very rare you see a united fan decry racism
https://twitter.com/deadlinedaylive/status/1772361721807557072?s=46
I wonder is sir Jim reading my posts.