It was after Manchester United’s first game of the season against West Ham that manager Ruben Amorim let his guard down on Koby Mainu.
Mainu remained on the bench throughout United’s 1-1 draw with relegation-threatened Hammers at Old Trafford in December. Amorim decided to make Lisandro Martinez the final substitute for Luke Shaw, who was aiming for the winner.
When asked why he left the 20-year-old on the bench, United’s manager at the time replied: “You always ask me the same thing.”
“I understand what you’re saying. You love Coby. He’ll start for England, but that doesn’t mean I have to put Coby on when I don’t feel he should.”
The comment, “You love Koby,” felt personal. In Amorim’s mind, there was a rationale for why he rarely used Mainu, which the media asked him many times.
That assessment was off the mark.
Not that the media loved Mainu. That meant they had long understood the positive benefits he would bring to the team.
Judging by the 25,000 likes on X’s social media post during Saturday’s 2-0 win over Tottenham, Amorim’s stance on Mainu looked more ridiculous with each passing game, and a huge number of fans saw it too.
Fans also couldn’t understand why the academy-bred midfielder had not started a single Premier League game this season before Amorim’s departure.
Amorim’s first substitute, Darren Fletcher, introduced Maynou for the final 16 minutes of last month’s draw with Burnley, ditching three central defenders to allow for an extra player in the center of the pitch.
The midfielder started in the ensuing FA Cup match against Brighton and held his place in all four games of Michael Carrick’s short reign as manager.
Against Tottenham, Mainu latched onto a short corner from Bruno Fernandes and raced across goal before sending a deft pass with the inside of his right foot to the edge of the penalty area for Brian Mbeumo to open the scoring.
Asked afterwards whether Mainu was back to the level of his breakthrough season in 2023-24, when he scored in the FA Cup final and started for England in the Euro final defeat to Spain, Carrick said: “Yes, there is no doubt about it.”
Some people still don’t understand.
At first glance, seven goals and five assists in 90 first-team appearances doesn’t seem like much.
But that’s not the point. Mainu is an all-round midfielder with a great sense of how the game is going.
That was true of Carrick himself 20 years ago. That was why Sir Alex Ferguson brought him north from Tottenham.
Carrick himself explained the subtleties of a ‘great pass’ when chatting to his brother Graham for the Football Association before leaving United in 2018.
“In many cases, execution is probably the easiest option,” he says.
“It’s about being prepared for it, getting your body position right, understanding the context of the game, knowing the risks and rewards.
“Even if it’s a 3-yard pass, you’re giving the ball to someone to do something right away. If you have to touch it and then touch it again to get it, that’s not a great pass.
“I have to decide what my next pass should be and my passing angle should be correct.
“If that’s what the next part looks like in your head, that’s a great passing grade.”