Manchester United 1-1 West Ham match highlights and reaction
Man Utd let another lead slip as they drew 1-1 with West Ham United in the Premier League this week.
Ruben Amorim was passionate in the reasons why Kobbie Mainoo has not started a Premier League match this season. Whatever his reasons, they don't draw much sympathy when the academy graduate is also being overlooked so often from the bench.
Manchester United made five substitutions during their 1-1 draw with West Ham United on Thursday night. Mainoo was not one of them. Manuel Ugarte was. Amorim has suggested Mainoo is not training well enough to warrant a starting role and it is also true that he has not played that well even when he has been given a chance this season. The counter-argument is that several others haven't played well either, but have still been given regular minutes.
The other argument is that Mainoo is in direct competition with Bruno Fernandes for a starting role. The club captain is rarely unavailable, so opportunities are naturally limited. However, there is still room to play both him and Mainoo at the same time, with one of them utilised in an attacking midfield role and the other in a more traditional central position.
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United much worse with Ugarte
There has been a lot of talk this season about how good Manchester United have been with Casemiro on the pitch. The flipside is how bad they have been when Manuel Ugarte has been on it instead.
Kobbie Mainoo can have no complaints that he has been behind Bruno Fernandes in the pecking order this season, but he has every right to feel aggrieved by the fact he is continuously overlooked in favour of Ugarte to change matches. That was the case once again on Thursday night.
United have conceded 14 of their 23 goals this season when Ugarte is on the pitch. He has played 417 minutes across all competitions (359 minutes in regular time plus added time in matches), which means United concede a goal on average every 30 minutes he is on the pitch. The only time United have not conceded a goal when he has played this season is when he replaced Casemiro for the final minutes of their 2-0 home win over Sunderland. That was also the only time they have kept a clean sheet in any match this campaign.
It is true that Mainoo still has plenty of work to do himself defensively, but it is hard to accept that criticism when he isn't even being given the chance to work on it. Amorim will no doubt point towards training ground performances, but surely it is his duty as United head coach to nurture the untapped potential of their talented academy graduate.
United are in the market for two midfielders next summer and know they might need to break their club-record transfer fee to sign an elite option like Elliot Anderson or Adam Wharton. It might be even more costly if they don't make the most of the midfielder they already have, who has the potential to become elite.
Mainoo is expected to ask to leave the club on loan again next month. If that happens, there will be even more pressure on Ugarte to perform. He hasn't done nearly enough yet.
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