31 Dec 2024 08:52:36
Manu will need money shortly to pay off Amorim so how about a cheeky bid for Mainoo as back up for Grav? Not as silly as it sounds though not even Brexit Jim is that stupid - or is he looking at what he's done so far!
31 Dec 2024 09:17:34
Why mainoo has done nothing to earn a move to a big club.
31 Dec 2024 09:18:32
There’s not a single player in their squad who would improve ours, and I include Mainoo in that. I’ve seen little from him to suggest he’s ever going to be a ‘great’ player, just lots of hype.
31 Dec 2024 09:24:26
He’s fell off a cliff him. Only young so his form was due a dip, but I don’t think I’d take any of that squad.
31 Dec 2024 09:40:34
I'm sure Brexit Jim will raise the money by sacking more junior staff and cutting the club's charitable donations some more.
31 Dec 2024 09:48:00
Mainoo is not an upgrade on Jones or Elliott. I repeatedly called out United fans for overhyping him last season and just got called bitter. Facts are that the comparisons to Pirlo, Seedorf and Zidane were all ridiculously premature. He was a teenager who had a handful of good games and scored a couple of good goals. They were just so desperate for a light in a period of darkness that they would latch on to anything. This season he can’t consistently get in the team ahead of Eriksen or Casemiro which says it all.
31 Dec 2024 09:49:02
@LFC8 - I can't remember if I said it or just thought it, but what's happened to Mainoo is infinitely predictable after the expectations of single handedly carrying a club the size of United were heaped on him. He's only 19.
Very few players do an Owen or a Fowler where the come through at a top club, impress as a teenager and stay good for at least a few years without a dip anywhere. And that the two examples that first came to my mind had injury problems, peaked before they were 25 and were basically done at the top level in their early 30s says a lot. It's part of why I warn about treating the likes of Bradley and Quansah as if they're the finished article.
31 Dec 2024 10:09:46
They will have to have a clear out.
Maybe Zirkzee could be an opportunistic buy for us.
{Ed014's Note - sarcasm at its finest Rigsby! ??
31 Dec 2024 10:55:51
Completely agree SomethingRed. Young talented players usually have a drop off. Not always but those are the unique ones as you said.
Not sure about booing that Kid off, Zirksee or whatever he’s called. Not his fault the manger is playing 5 at the back and 2 defensive midfielders at home against Newcastle ?.
{Ed001's Note - it is his fault he turned up at the start of the season nearly 2 stone overweight though. He is lazy.}
31 Dec 2024 11:43:17
Im so glad you guys share the same thoughts as I am. Mainoo is a full international, and Elliott not even 1 cap! Jones had his only coz a few others pulled out.
31 Dec 2024 11:54:10
Scholars, Giggs and Beckham were exceptionally good at a young age and didn’t have a dip in form. It doesn’t help any kid at United being compared to the class of 92. That said Mainoo seemed to have potential but hasn’t kicked on since his adventures in Sir Waistcoat’s Euro adventure.
31 Dec 2024 11:56:37
Err @1jj, that's going to be a big fat No on Mainoo. esp. being lazy and turning up overweight to preseason already at 19? Yeah, Utd are welcome to him.
31 Dec 2024 12:19:01
WDW3 - I did think of the "class of 92" afterwards alright (as well as Gerrard, but he didn't really kick off until he was 20 or 21). But they're a well noted exception, and they came through within a couple of seasons of each other which might have helped.
31 Dec 2024 12:40:25
Thing with Mainoo is . he looks a decent player but is still a teenager . back in the day the managers like Fergie would have protected him from the spotlight by not letting him play for England when he'd barely played for United.
31 Dec 2024 12:43:28
How does a professional footballer in his early twenties turn up for preseason two stone overweight?
31 Dec 2024 13:22:58
1) Eating loads of bargain buckets with gravy and fries from kfc.
2) Sitting on the sofa playing various video games for long periods of time.
3) Visiting his parents and can't resist mom's cooking.
4) Maybe he's just a lazy bas****.
5) Looked at the rest of the manc squad and thought they don't care why should I.
Happy New year to you all.
{Ed001's Note - it was Zirkzee not Mainoo I was talking about turning up overweight. Defo not Mainoo. He is a good pro who is much better than most of you seem to realise.}
31 Dec 2024 13:59:39
Babbity Rabbity as I live in Belgium, I'll have a chat with now retired Eden Hazard to determine how that works since he came to his first preseason as a new signing at RM 7 kilo's overweight. Pretty sure he can offer us some perspective on the topic.
I'll keep you posted.
31 Dec 2024 14:00:46
Ah, okay Ed. So it was Zirkzee, then. Thanks.
31 Dec 2024 14:33:53
I would take Mainoo tbf (hypothetically) as he’s a great midfielder. That being said, never going to happen in a month of Sundays.
As for the Elliot caps point, Harvey plays in a very well stocked position for England which makes it incredibly difficult to get England caps. Whereas we are very light at 6 so Mainoo is more likely to get opportunities.
Not fair to compare them as they’re very different players.
31 Dec 2024 14:46:15
Mainoo is quality. can't compare him to giggs or Beckham because they were brought into a team that had it together and had good older pros in. You can't throw a youngster into that circus and expect them to outperform the dross there. I'd take him in a heartbeat but he's united through and through so no chance he'd move to us.
31 Dec 2024 15:04:25
Mainoo excellent player imo. Probably played too much last season when utd in dire straits and desperate for any sort of win at times and now the envitable downturn in form and few injuries creeping in. Not unlike what happened with lfc and bajectic.
31 Dec 2024 15:10:47
I remember Firmino turning up to pre-season massively overweight and was called “Blobby Firmino”.
Worked his ass off in training and was like a racing snake come the start of the season.
Only happened the once as I remember.
31 Dec 2024 16:21:36
It takes a lot for me to like a Utd player but Mainoo looks a very good youngster I’d take him in a heartbeat.
The rest of that squad are woeful and wouldn’t make our bench.
I’ve never understood why people rave about Bruno Fernandes he’s a shocking player. If I was their manager he would be the first to go.
31 Dec 2024 16:41:13
Fernandes stats show that he creates lots of chances and he usually gets assists and goals.
But strangely when watching him he never passes the eye test and does look like he doesn’t bring a lot to the party.
He would look like a fish out of water in our team.
31 Dec 2024 16:43:58
Fernandes has ability Beckers. Scores about 15 a season from midfield which is pretty good.
But he's a petulant little knob and him being captain is a joke. So likewise, I probably would bin him off first if I was running that club.
31 Dec 2024 18:53:53
I could still see Fernandes and Mainoo in our midfield.
Gravenberch has proved all my expectations of him wrong but I still think we need something more in there.
As unlikeable as he is, Bruno Fernandes is a very good footballer.
I wish he wasn't but he is.
31 Dec 2024 21:37:25
I think Mainoo could be a really good player but if he does kick on it won’t be at United. It’s too much to expect a kid on his own to carry a team of overpaid wasters.