Graeme Souness Is Wrong About Kobbie Mainoo

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It’s not the first time Graeme Souness has been wrong about a central midfielder from Manchester United, and if he continues to get airtime on mainstream programmes, it won’t be the last. Souness has a long history of having a severely worrying vendetta against former United academy graduate Paul Pogba, and another Carrington graduate recently caught a stray from the Scottish midfielder on Simon Jordan’s show.

Souness Wrong On Mainoo

Souness also made some incredulous claims on the show, including suggesting a midfielder should not be good at running with the ball. Every single action of a midfielder should be a pass, and any number six who can run with the ball into space at pace is out of their depth. This is according to the man who said Luka Modric is a five-a-side player who wasn’t good enough for Real Madrid.

To suggest Kobbie Mainoo, who played in a double pivot with a 34-year-old Casemiro last season and played a part in one of the best runs of form in the entire Premier League campaign, “empties” the midfield doesn’t even make sense. Mainoo is positionally disciplined. His defensive work is one of the most underrated attributes the 21-year-old possesses, and his constant availability on the ball for teams is invaluable on the pitch.

It seems like baseless punditry. The buzzword epidemic strikes again. Why are these pundits never pressed to explain the one word analystic statements they throw towards players? Does Souness watch Adam Wharton week in, week out to be sure he doesn’t empty the midfield more than Mainoo? Playing in a Palace side that finished 15th in the division?

Souness makes a statement about Wharton being better than Mainoo, but doesn’t say why? Why is he better? You can’t just say Mainoo empties the midfield and then swiftly pivot to Adam Wharton because you’re unsure of how to explain the point you have just made?

The issue with Mainoo realistically stems from the fact he’s not a central midfielder England are used to producing. The 21-year-old feels more like a La Masia player than someone to come from Manchester United’s training ground, and that comes with its own issues in a country not used to producing that ilk of footballer. Mainoo would likely be a major asset in the Spanish national team, perhaps not starting but definitely playing a pivotal role as deputy for a Pedri or a Fabian Ruiz.

England Needed More Football – Tuchel

England manager Thomas Tuchel even declared after they were knocked out of the competition that his side needed to play more football, even though he had one of the best pure footballers in the country on the bench. Why not use him? How did Jordan Henderson, at his age and after his season, with the attributes he brings, warrant an appearance over Kobbie Mainoo?

All through his development, Kobbie’s biggest issue was his physicality. He’s not the quickest physically, but mentally it’s clear he’s a class above almost anyone in the England setup in a central midfield position. Souness has won trophies and, in his own right, is clearly a fantastic, world-class, legendary footballer for Scotland and Liverpool, but that doesn’t mean his word is gospel.

If his word was gospel, how is he calling Luka Modric a five-a-side player? Why is Paul Pogba expected to get four assists a game but Florian Wirtz is allowed an adjustment period in Premier League football? And how can we suggest someone who played Ali Dia in a Premier League game knows everything there is to know about the game?

Kobbie Mainoo does not “empty” the midfield. His performances for United and England previously on the biggest stages pay homage to that. I’m sure Michael Carrick, who won the same amount of English league titles as Souness in arguably a much more difficult era of football, knows a thing or two about playing in central midfield.

Carrick has profiled Mainoo in that area of the pitch alongside an ageing Casemiro and an extremely attacking Bruno Fernandes and got performances from him that had him nominated for Young Player of the Year.

That’s a Casemiro, by the way, that Souness once labelled a “Steady Eddie”. A midfielder who has won everything there is to win twice and then some, in one of the greatest midfields ever assembled in the beautiful game, is only a Steady Eddie. If Mainoo is managing to shine in a double pivot alongside that player, he must be doing something right, no?

Many will forget, but it’s not the first time Souness has criticised Mainoo. In England’s Euro 2024 defeat to Spain, he suggested Mainoo did not understand his position. The Scottish pundit has a habit of doubling down on things, as he also previously suggested Declan Rice was a centre-back. Waiting many years as Rice slowly became one of the best midfielders on earth, only to peddle that narrative again after England lost to Argentina.

An Argentina team who were outplayed by Cape Verde, and played off the park for large parts against Egypt. It’s a results-based analysis, which is the most basic form. To suggest a midfielder shouldn’t be good at running with the ball is a pathetic claim. The notion that a midfielder runs with the ball because they don’t have a clear picture in their head is truly baffling. Just because Rodri plays one way and he’s viewed as the best does not automatically mean that is the only way of playing in central midfield.

N’Golo Kante is the polar opposite of Rodri, and yet he’s one of the greatest midfielders of his generation. There are different variations of midfielders. Rodri can do things Declan Rice can’t, and vice versa. Souness should be aware of that.

Manchester United have a potential world-class talent on their hands in Kobbie Mainoo, and nothing Graeme Souness says or does will change that.