Mainoo ‘almost Maguire levels of slow’ as loan now best option for Man Utd | OneFootball

Why don’t Manchester United try Kobbie Mainoo as a 10? If not, send him out on loan to a club like Napoli.

We also have some mails on Arsenal and Tottenham. Watch Man Utd v Bournemouth and mail us at theeditor@football365.com

Time for Man Utd to set Mainoo free…

I wrote in nearly a year ago now talking about the futures of United’s young players after stories were leaked of how INEOS would consider selling these talents to fund a rebuild. Regarding Kobbie Mainoo my opinion was;

Unfortunately I think we’ve reached that point where Mainoo leaving, albeit on loan, is best for all parties.

I understand why Amorim is reluctant to play Kobbie in the midfield pivot. He is almost Maguire levels of slow and too often have opposition players simply glided past him through the middle. The work demanded of the two midfielders is beyond what Mainoo can offer, fair enough.

What I fail to understand is why he’s not at least getting some minutes as one of the 10s. Mainoo excels in the small spaces, his control and dribbling are fantastic, he can beat a few men then shoot, or pass well enough to create a shooting chance for a team mate, or simply rotate his position to drag away a defender. This is the essence of what Cunha is tasked with in Amorim’s system.

Cunha has only played 63% of the available league minutes so far and decent chunks of that in the striker role. So really that left 10 position has been available for about half the games so far and Mainoo hasn’t been played there once. It’s kind of baffling really. Mount has had a few good games and I’m pleased about that but even Zirkzee is getting more minutes at the moment and he’s been consistently bad.

If there was some personal thing, or disciplinary issue then we’d know about it. Amorim has not been hesitant in publicly revealing such things previously. He seemingly just does not rate him. Whatever Amorim looks for in his players, that one indescribable quality which makes us like people, he doesn’t see in Mainoo.

A loan away to Napoli seems like a great option at the moment. Let him go and play, rekindle his development in a league where his qualities should shine. Then in the summer we’ll see, perhaps the manager changes his mind. That feels unlikely though and so if Amorim continues in the job then a sale would be the only realistic option.

Some fans will never forgive the manager if that is the case and they shouldn’t. There is very little which emotionally connects us with our football clubs anymore. A prodigiously talented local lad coming through the club’s academy to score the deciding goal in an FA Cup final is just about as good as it can get. Keeping that player from the fans is bad enough, selling him would be tragic. Dave, Manchester (writing before the Bournemouth game so perhaps I’ve poked fate sufficiently and Kobbie comes on to score the winner)

Man Utd fan gets weirdly angry before match

Amorim needs to shut the f*** up and start winning games, stop naming and shaming our own players for no rhyme or reason other than to justify his own stupidity. Stop talking, start winning. All he has done since coming to United is talk a big game with zero follow up in results.

Throwing the academy players under the bus by naming names, when not even asked to name anyone, and still adamant over his own stupid useless formation while always trying to weasle and talk his way out of one disaster after another.

I don’t care if we win or lose against Bournemouth tonight, this level of utter negligence, stupidity and profound dumbness is reaching a breaking point. I have supported every United manager since Fergie till the day they were sacked, no questions asked, even LVG & ETH. But never has one manager been so hellbent on randomly just putting down his own players for no actual reason. When others did it at least there was an agenda to either motivate them or throw them out of the team.

Amorim makes some of the worst subs in the game, persisted with Ugarte & Dalot when the 3 academy players he names are much better than those two on any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

So again I say to you Mr. Amorim. Shut the f*** up, do your job, or get the f*** out. Please do not speak sh*t in public about the youth team players where the U21 team is 2nd in the table, Amass is the club’s player of the month (November) & Toby Collyer is out with a goddamn injury. You would know all of this if you cared to check in rather than talk sh*t in a random press con.

None of them are talking in the press about how one clown is still unable to win 3 games in a row and unable to win against relegation fodder. So show them the same respect and again, kindly, shut the f**k up.

Thanks, Aman

Can Tommy Frank burn inside?

I didn’t think we’d be here already. Cracked Spurs badges and Top 10 next Spurs manager articles but fair’s fair, the football is dross and the natives are understandably getting very restless.

Frank is making a real pig’s ear of this. I have some sympathy but nothing about his decision-making looks like he understands the task. Playing PSG and Man City in August was a curse. It allowed him to slip into the Thomas Frank brand of football early.

Spence like a lot of the team was having a hideous game yesterday. He didn’t do anything in the first half to suggest he was going to get better in the second. Davies was actually a good shout. But that’s a change to be made at half time along with some tweaks to a moribund attack. You’re probably going to get a lot of letters about this, but Davies and Paulhina coming on at 2 – 0 down is madness. A lot of fans want this to work out – they don’t want another manager, but those substitutions are impossible to understand.

Luckily, Spence mugged him off again. Which means he’s going to have to bare his teeth. Frank has hit rock bottom, but he’s not dead and buried. Spence can’t play on Saturday if Frank wants to be taken seriously. He talks about burning inside, but I don’t see any fire in his belly. He has a pragmatic style of football and a pragmatic personality. Romero seems to like him. Others think he’s a doughnut. Those that think he’s a doughnut need to be dealt with. There’s also the small matter of the football getting better and him settling on a system that works against an improving LFC but learning that he can’t be everyone’s mate is his biggest challenge.

Two choices – either he throws Spence under the bus – no one’s going to use it on LinkedIn as a way to motivate teams, but it might buy him some respect and time. Or he goes full Pacino in ‘Any Given Sunday’, pours his heart out and tells them he doesn’t like the face he sees in the mirror anymore. Either is fine. Either will show he’s burning inside…but it’s now time to mean it.

Cheers Andrew, Woodford Green

No Arsenal crisis

Arsenal beat Brugge away with a much changed team, did actually beat Wolves on Saturday after losing in heartbreaking fashion the week before and are still top of the league and Champions League, aren’t they? Or have I just made that up?

I’ve never seen so much negative coverage over a team doing well, coping with injuries and WINNING games.

A few seasons ago, Arsenal drew 3-3 with Southampton at home in a similar fashion to the Wolves game on Saturday. These games can happen. The difference is, this time round, Arsenal dusted themselves off and went again and got the winner. In a period where it’s a game every few days, it’s the points, not the performances, that matter.

Arsenal may not win the league (I’m not sure why you have to say, in December, why any team definitely will or will not win a 38 game competition played over 10 months) but I find it utterly bizarre short term-ism that every result is defining…and the negative reaction to a positive result is just mind-boggling.

It seems to be seeping into this site’s writing as well with Dave Tickner’s article about the match and not being able to decide whether the Wolves results is a ‘hallmark of champions’ moment or if Arsenal are blowing it. It’s one game Dave. A few weeks ago, other writers were falling over themselves to crown Arsenal the champions. Now the discourse has changed. And yes, I understand the point of having different writers is to have different opinions and there shouldn’t be a ‘company line’ as that would be boring. But rational perspective should also be applied. Otherwise, you’re going to need to start ‘Mediawatching’ yourselves! Stewart

Blame Arteta, not Gyokeres

What do you mean trying to spite Gyokeres’ efforts?? Tell me one striker that Osama Bin Teta has done well with, apart from Emery’s Auba – who is still banging by the way at 36!!!

This man was an average player and is as a coach!! He can’t coach attack!! Too predictable!

How can you rubbish a striker who is consistently unserviced?? Whose fault that a defender (Timber) comes in to take his spot to head the ball (twice now in crucial moments) in an attacking phase of play, not a setpiece??

It’s sad you’re seeing everything that has played out in the last 4 years play out again, and the new striker is who you single out for scapegoating, instead of the manager that plays Taliban football. Drainer Ice

PS. They’ve not beaten any of the top 5 teams of last season (bar Newcastle). So much for being the “best team in the world”!! No wonder we are the most hated fanbase in the world! Hubris!! The grand delusions we possess!!!

Arsenal and the bottle job

Holy Moly, Imagine playing worst team the league has ever seen and can’t score at home against them plus needed own goals to got the 3 points. Some called it champions’ luck but I will set the record straight and tell Arsenal fan to brace up for another disappointed season with so much promising start.

You need to banished that Emery demon that is haunting your sweet dreams and lastly is the question to Arsenal fans, if Emery top Arteta in the league or worst case scenario he won the league which is very slim. Did you continue to trust the process? Mudashiru LFC Ibadan (I knew to find your own Klopp is not easy but Rodgers must be sacked if you want to progress to another level)

A short rant about xG

Anyone who say Rogers’ second yesterday, would have seen an in=form player, given space to shoot and score from 25 yards out. Cracker of a goal.

The xG on this was 0.02. So xG felt that a professional forward running onto a ball in aces of space would only likely score 2 out of a 100 times. Absolute horseshit. How this has become stat is beyond me. Paul

In 1998 AIK won the Swedish division scoring the least goals in the entire league, 26 goals in 25 games. I’ve been trying to recreate this for over 20 years on Football Manager and it’s impossible. Nick Wilde