Ruben Amorim didn’t particularly like Kobbie Mainoo’s style of play or how Manchester United laid out the red carpet for their great talent. We saw at Sporting how Amorim brought up one teenager after the other in the starting eleven, but Mainoo was not a player to bet on. It went so far as Paul Scholes recommending the 20-year-old to “give a shit” about Man Utd and sign for Chelsea. How wrong Amorim was becomes clear when Michael Carrick takes a completely different approach.
Erik ten Hag opened the door of playing time for Mainoo, but the academy player was given a lot of responsibility very early on. Amorim did the opposite and pushed the midfielder onto the sales list. Carrick does the only right thing.
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“There is no doubt about Kobbie’s qualities and what he can contribute. I think he’s still so young, so we have to be careful not to put too much responsibility on his shoulders. He is still learning the game. It’s easy to think that he’s much older and more experienced than he actually is. We know he’s confident with the ball and I’m sure he’ll continue to develop, but at the same time we have to be patient and not expect too much from him,” Carrick told TNT Sports.
Full confidence, but the 20-year-old must be given time and patience to develop. This happens in the match arena, not on the bench. It’s not just Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt who believe Amorim’s total lack of understanding of Mainoo’s potential and development needs in the match arena and a 20-year-old pushing for exit, is one of United’s biggest blunders over the past year.
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Now things are being cleaned up with Carrick at the helm.
