Kobbie Mainoo has been brought back into the Manchester United side after being left out in the cold by former manager, Ruben Amorim. Under the Portuguese head coach, Mainoo didn’t start a league game this season. Since Michael Carrick has come in as interim coach, Mainoo has started and played every minute in all five games.
The system change suits his style, and he’s perfect for Carrick’s system, and the statistics show why it didn’t work under Amorim.
Kobbie Mainoo Shines Under Carrick but Didn’t Fit In Under Amorim
Mainoo Flourishes Under Carrick
Kobbie Mainoo has played more minutes under United’s interim coach in five games than he did in 12 games under Amorim this season, 450 minutes in comparison to 311.
Mainoo’s style and Carrick’s system go hand in hand. He’s allowed to play in the #8 role, roaming forward and joining the attack more often, without much thought of defence. One of the reasons this works is because Casemiro has returned to form and is playing his role as a defensive shield as well as he ever has in a United shirt.
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It shows in Mainoo’s output, doubling his assists for the season under Carrick. He was unlucky not to record a third but was denied by a marginal offside against West Ham.
Given the change in formation, it was assumed that Mainoo’s defensive work would have increased. Carrick’s 4-2-3-1 system has removed a centre-back and could have exposed Mainoo’s defensive frailties; however, that hasn’t come to fruition due to the excellent recent form Casemiro has shown.
The Stats Supporting Mainoo’s Uptick in Form
The young Englishman has an average rating of 7.05 across the last five games, and in Carrick’s midfield three, he is performing strongly. He’s shown fantastic composure on the ball, been the player to link the defence to the attack and has been accurate and active in doing so.
Kobbie Mainoo’s passing output has always been high, but under Carrick, it’s particularly strong. Under Amorim in the league, Mainoo completed an average of 12.54 passes per game; under Carrick, he’s averaged 56.40. These aren’t just side-to-side passes back to the defenders, either. Under Amorim, Mainoo completed just six key passes, whereas with Carrick in charge, he already has seven. It is worth noting that starting and playing more does skew the statistics slightly; however, there’s no denying that he’s performing better.
His pass accuracy in the past five games is 92%, showing that he’s being more considered when passing the ball, leaving the more risky, eccentric passes to his captain, Bruno Fernandes.
His style is perfect as a ball progressor and is a great fit for the style that Michael Carrick wants to play.
Read More: Kobbie Mainoo on the brink of an England recall
The Amorim Struggle for Mainoo
As has been well documented, Ruben Amorim played Bruno Fernandes out of position in a deeper midfield role, consequently benching Mainoo. When rotating the team, Manuel Ugarte was preferred over Mainoo. The Uruguayan played 694 minutes under Amorim, compared to 311 of Mainoo.
The defensive statistics highlight why this may have been the case. Ugarte vastly outperforms Mainoo in all defensive statistics, providing more cover for Amorim’s defence compared to Mainoo.
The assumption is that Mainoo’s defensive work was the reason that it didn’t work under Amorim. During the past five matches, Mainoo’s successful defensive actions per 90 minutes sit at just 4.30. Compare that to a man, who Manchester United are looking at bringing into the club, Carlos Baleba, it’s almost half, as Baleba averages 10 defensive actions per 90.
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Mainoo also has just 3.20 defensive duels per 90, whereas Baleba has 6.90. This highlights that he isn’t involved in much of Manchester United’s defensive work, which is potentially one reason it never clicked for Mainoo under Amorim. The former Sporting Lisbon boss needs his players to work within his system and needs his midfielders to be defensively sound as his wide players attack. Mainoo isn’t that type of player.
Although these stats suggest a huge hole in Kobbie Mainoo’s game and one that could hold him back from being an all-time great, Manchester United fans in particular shouldn’t worry. United legend, Paul Scholes, was notoriously poor in the tackle but went on to make 718 appearances for the Reds, the majority of which came in central midfield. If Kobbie Mainoo can have half the career Scholes did, he’ll play a huge role in Manchester United’s rebuild.
Featured Image Credit:
IMAGO / Sportimage
