04 May 2026 10:12:39
At the end of March, and despite being a huge fan of Mainoo, I posted the following about him.
'Watching the England hame and it pains me to say it, but Mainoo is not the player he was'.
'I've been a huge fan and so want him to do well but there is something missing'.
'Can he pick it up? I really don't know'.
I'm glad to say I didn't need to worry. He has really stepped it up this last month and is starting to look like the player who broke through.
Yesterday he ranked 1st for completed passes, posssession won, and ground covered, and of course, he scored the winner.
I know Cas has been great, but he doesn't cover the ground which sometimes exposes us in the middle as we only play 2. If we can buy legs this summer we may see Mainoo shine even more.
04 May 2026 12:05:57
I've always said it. An exceptional talent that was almost discarded by previous management. 21, doing what he is doing in centre midfield, it's incredible.
The questions over his athleticism and the things that were perceived he couldn't/didn't do stemmed from a manager's answers in a press conference and insistence on not picking him. Baffling.
His ability to pick the ball from deep, play out in intricate places, and his athleticism on and off the ball result in him driving with the ball, intercepting the ball, and making vital tackles.
A lot of people were made to believe something that just didn't exist, and, thankfully, Carrick is there now because he wanted a loan and the club were ready to sell him at one point.
Crazy!!!!
04 May 2026 12:32:20
I agree, Angel, although he has taken some time to reach this level, hopefully he can push on even further.
04 May 2026 12:35:31
Agreed, he has been quality on and off the ball since he has come back into the team.
If we can get an Anderson/Tonali/Tchouameni as our 1st choice midfielder, in combination with Mainoo, we could definitely level up the team.
04 May 2026 13:18:42
Angel, he was puffed after 60 minutes in multiple games. It wasn't a fiction. It's great to see he has addressed it, but this constant changing of history to suit whatever agenda a few of you have doesn't alter what we all could see.
And the numbers showed this. Mainoo dropped off in sprints, recoveries, and several other aspects in those games. That's why he wasn't trusted to start games.
Ajh said it right. It took him time to get to where he is now. And it's great to see.
04 May 2026 13:54:11
Mainoo is doing terrific. Mbeumo has had his form decline, along with Amad, as the season has gone on. Cunha has improved, lots of fluctuations. Players gel with certain managers quicker than others, and perform better for some managers than others.
Mainoo and Amorim did not see eye to eye, hairband, all the time. Fergie rvn Fergie Stam Pep Ibra Klopp Coutinho all seemed crazy decisions, but life goes on. If your face doesn't fit, that's ok, but it doesn't mean they are bad players.
04 May 2026 14:32:25
I had my doubts too. He has thankfully rammed my doubts down my throat. The moustachioed hipster told us he couldn't play in the same side as Bruno. Bloody hell, we were gaslit for 18 months.
04 May 2026 15:00:43
DonRed, changing of history? The irony. ?
I think being called out publicly, not being trusted had a lot to do with his "drop-off". He is trusted now and it is showing in his performances.
04 May 2026 15:05:59
Irony, really?! Crack a book and look up the definition.
04 May 2026 15:11:36
Angel, you seem to just evaluate without context. Mainoo has a couple of injuries that hampered him. There were reasons he may not have been able to perform. Several noises came out of the club that suggested that was the case.
I've said before that I felt he should have been trusted more, but to just deny flat out that Kobbie wasn't at full power and deny that he was struggling after 60 minutes of games is just getting silly.
04 May 2026 15:35:57
He picked up so much, it's been great, can't have been easy knowing the manager clearly did not like him... Saying that, he still needs to work on strength and pace, that's all he is lacking, atm... Hopefully that will come over the summer.
Still need an experienced cb with pace and an experienced striker with pace...
along with the midfield as we know...
Sesko still got lots to learn, and it would be ridiculous going into next season with just him; Mbeumo is not the answer centrally. So, get an experienced striker in, and Sesko can learn from him too, because Sesko will struggle against CL defenders.
04 May 2026 15:37:34
He wasn't at full power, but that doesn't excuse his treatment. Whatever Amorim may have got right, he got this one wrong.
04 May 2026 15:51:21
DonRed, he was close to leaving the club. It was an incredible mistake by RA.
04 May 2026 16:01:54
Maybe RA will help to make Mainoo's career. He had everything very quick and easy, and certainly was not the same player that burst into the scene.
Yesterday, on 86 minutes, Mainoo was caught upfield (after supporting an attack) as Liverpool broke on us. He sprinted back like he was on double speed to everyone else, and got back into dcm position to cover Casemiro, who was out at rightback, making a tackle covering Dalot.
He was not doing that before.
He was floating around the pitch, covering ground, but not max sprints in last 90 mins. Maybe he grew into his body, became stronger? But he was far more physical and influential yesterday than he was a year ago. He can be a top player, he needs to keep these standards up and I think he will.
We still need 2 starting midfielders as a minimum this summer, and another first team player to make 4 genuine rotation CMs.
04 May 2026 17:12:30
Angel, he was close but that was a mistake by his agent. He clearly has learned a lot over the past year. Ok, you don't like Amorim. Fine. But not everything is this black or white. Context agnostic, no hindsight required reasoning you seem to attribute. I would've been extremely disappointed if Kobbie had left, but more in him listening to poor advice than anything else.
I don't feel I need to repeat it, but I will. Amorim made a mistake in not playing him more. But that does not mean it was a mistake to start Bruno in the middle, given Kobbie's physical issues and Martinez injury. I believed, as soon as Licha returned, RA should've pushed Bruno further up and started Mainoo in the middle. But that wasn't for very many games.
04 May 2026 19:07:50
DonRed, I'm not sure what you're not getting. RA didn't like him.
We get it, you loved him.
It wasn't a mistake to start Bruno in CM. I mean, come on, man, it clearly was. What are you on about? ? Kobbie's physical issues. ?
04 May 2026 19:47:21
Nope, I didn't. I saw what he was doing, and I saw the pros and the cons. I also see those now, but I've articulated the issues with setting up as a counter-attacking side and the limitations that presents, and with struggling to evaluate Carrick, as several of the results have not corresponded to the underlying performance.
That isn't loving RA by any stretch. What I intensely dislike is the constant pushing of things as facts when they are nothing of the sort.
I won't even respond to that last part. As you just look silly with that sort of complete discounting of the actual context at the time.
05 May 2026 01:27:16
I always believed in Mainoo and never had second thoughts. At the same time, I knew it would take some time, because, let's be honest, he was half the player he is now off the ball. He is (and always has been) excellent with the ball and in tight space, but off the ball his body language wasn't good, and he didn't try really hard; he was like a luxury player who didn't do the dirty job, similar to Martial, Ozil, etc. I don't mean he did it on purpose, maybe he just couldn't run so much.
Now he runs like a mad dog sometimes, the urgency in his movements is X2, and the difference from the Amorim era is crystal clear.
So I would say he didn't play for Amorim because he wasn't good enough, especially for his system. And as much as I like Kobe (and I really like him, from his days at the academy), if he wanted to leave it's up to him. To play for our club is not a given because you have talent; talent is not enough. You must earn it. Thankfully he earned it and plays. No one knows if he would have stayed with Amorim, only guessing, but I think RA rated him; I just think that he must improve some aspects of his game.
05 May 2026 17:24:24
How the hell can you say RA rated Mainoo... Jeez, I would hate to be the person that RA don't like!!!
05 May 2026 20:41:42
I am sure he did. He just thought that Mainoo was not ready and must improve, and he did improve.