Leeds loss proves importance of this “exceptional” United star, INEOS must let him explode next year – opinion

It’s too early to say whether the wheels finally came off the Michael Carrick train in Manchester United’s 2-1 humbling at home to Leeds United, but the signs were there. Performances have been wavering for a while and last month’s defeat at Newcastle United was in many ways overdue, but the leaden nature of the Leeds debacle in front of a dismayed home crowd felt like a turning point of the worst kind. Familiar problems The big disappointment was how the team slumped into old habits, both collectively and individually. Spirited last half-hour aside, United were outmuscled, outrun and outmanoeuvred. Nowhere was this regression clearer than in the soft underbelly of United’s midfield, Manuel Ugarte’s presence in place of the injured Kobbie Mainoo a sharp reminder of the excruciating lack of squad depth in that position. One knock to the young Englishman and Carrick’s only option was to reach for the cheerless Casemiro/Ugarte pivot which has been comprehensively found not to work. The Uruguay international ran hard and tackled strongly but his failings on the ball were a big reason why he had so much defensive work to do in the first place. His was a crucial role on the pitch for keeping control of the ball but he instead embraced darkness itself, welcoming chaos with open arms and loose passing. Mainoo missed Carrick’s United thrive in lawlessness, games stretched into extended counterattack vs counterattack contests. But constantly ceding the middle ground through listless, wasteful passing has no romanticism, it’s just bad football. The United way is not giving the ball away then chasing it back down only to give away again, rinsed and repeated for 90 minutes plus injury time. The lack of calm, sustained and progressive possession wasn’t all Ugarte’s fault, but as the stand-in for the metronomic Mainoo in that key position he inevitably shoulders much of the blame. Comparing the two players is an exercise in apples and oranges; the point isn’t that Mainoo is better than Ugarte, given that they do fundamentally different things, simply that United looked substantially worse without the 20-year-old quietly at the heart of things. Misunderstood The Carrington graduate is no longer universally loved by United’s fickle fanbase, but to understand Mainoo at this stage of his career is to understand that football isn’t just stats and numbers. They offer a metric but not the whole picture. The youngster is not having the explosive season many predicted, but the mitigating circumstances are colossal. He spent much of the Ruben Amorim era aggressively sidelined, to the point of wanting a United exit – hardly good preparation for an impactful finish to a season which realistically kicked off with his first full Premier League 90 in Carrick’s first game in charge. He is also just 20 years old and has been a media fascination. If you’re good enough you’re old enough, and intense scrutiny is part and parcel of being a Red Devil, but still. Have a little heart. Be realistic The criticisms levelled at Mainoo revolve around his lack of quantifiable attacking output and question marks over his ability to cover the ground required of a marquee player in the middle of a turbulent United side. That said, only Bruno Fernandes has provided more assists in all competitions than Mainoo’s three. Objectively three assists is underwhelming, but that his contribution here matches that of Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu illustrates the constricted ecosystem in which he is operating. To tackle the second point, the 20-year-old excels at the unobtrusive aspects of the game, knitting together play to enable his teammates to snatch headlines. He may not be a box-to-box terrier, but you can bet that if United sign one – a proper one, not a declining Casemiro – he will shine alongside them, subtly or otherwise. Not for nothing did former teammate and midfield master Christian Eriksen describe him as “exceptional” during their time together. His breakthrough season showed the formidable potential he wields, even in front of goal. He must be given the platform and patience to realise it, whether or not it looks good on a spreadsheet. Featured image Stu Forster via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.