Pressure is mounting on Ruben Amorim at Man Utd this season and there is one issue that is driving a wedge between the head coach and the club's fans.
Ruben Amorim and Kobbie Mainoo
Ruben Amorim's lack of faith in Kobbie Mainoo is frustrating United fans
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There have been boos to greet the final whistle at the end of the last two games at Old Trafford and it feels like Bonnie Tyler's 'It’s a Heartache’ hasn't been heard quite as often in Manchester United ends recently, but it would be stretching it to say matchgoers have lost faith in Ruben Amorim just yet.
It's clear concerns at the lack of progress are growing and the momentum built up a month ago has again been replaced by introspection, but United fans are generally reluctant to turn on a manager. They didn't really turn on Erik ten Hag in stadiums and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only properly got abuse on his final day in charge after a 4-1 defeat at Watford. Amorim hasn't had anything like that yet.
But from his adherence to a system that isn't working to concerns over a playing style that is hardly thrilling to watch, the pubs around the ground will be ablaze with fans who aren't convinced at what they are seeing. The issue that might finally drive a wedge between supporters and Amorim is a player we get barely to see, however. Kobbie Mainoo has managed just 171 minutes in the Premier League this season and as the weeks have gone by, Amorim's faith in him seems to decline.
There is a similar precedent towards the end of Solskjaer's reign, when fans used his refusal to play Donny van de Beek as a stick to beat him with. The difference is that Solskjaer was right and Van de Beek hadn't shown enough for United, and never would do. With Mainoo, the feeling is different.
Fans have already seen what the gifted 20-year-old can do. He burst onto the scene in 2023/24, has played in a major tournament final, scored some brilliant goals for United and been at the heart of an FA Cup final win against Manchester City. But now he is the last option in midfield for Amorim, the break glass in case of emergency player on the bench, and even then, Amorim would rather look elsewhere.
With United needing a goal against West Ham on Thursday, the Portuguese head coach opted for Lisandro Martinez as his fifth and final substitute. It left Mainoo kicking his heels again, but it was clear to everyone else inside Old Trafford that he was the more likely source of a goal.
To compound matters, Mainoo is the Stockport-born United fan who is the current poster boy of an academy being turned into a cash machine rather than a source of first-team footballers. Supporters are baffled at his lack of involvement and angry at Amorim's approach to homegrown players.
It won't have helped matters that Amorim was so dismissive of Mainoo in his press conference ahead of facing Wolves this weekend. He gave the impression there were very few scenarios in which he would play the youngster and was clearly sick of being asked about him.
Mainoo has no option but to pursue a loan move next month. His development is stalling for a lack of first-team football and whatever it is Amorim and his coaches are trying to improve in training, the approach clearly isn't working.
But if Mainoo moves to the continent for six months and starts lighting up games again with his wonderful close control, ability to manipulate the ball near the box and find space in tight situations, the frustration at Amorim's approach to him will only grow.
If United were flying under the 40-year-old, then this would be less of an issue. Supporters would still be frustrated, but they would be willing to trust Amorim and let it slide for now. But they are not flying. They are going nowhere at the moment.
United would have no interest in letting Mainoo leave permanently in January and the midfielder wouldn't want to. He wants to make it at Old Trafford and right now he is probably looking at it and thinking he is far more likely to last the course than Amorim.
The former Sporting boss is under pressure and his refusal to give Mainoo a chance is only raising the stakes. It might be the issue that finally sees patience snap for many fans.