Paul Scholes Slams Ruben Amorim for Dismissing Man Utd's Struggling Star with Laughter
Ruben Amorim seemed to chuckle at the suggestion that Kobbie Mainoo might have helped Manchester United secure victory against West Ham United on Thursday evening, prompting an expletive-filled reaction from former club legend Paul Scholes.
Diogo Dalot had put Amorim's team ahead just before the hour mark, but West Ham's equalizer with seven minutes remaining resulted in a 1-1 draw. This marked the second consecutive home match where United struggled to generate chances and find the net, following their 1-0 defeat to Everton at Old Trafford earlier this month.
This represents an offensive decline for a United squad that had scored two or more goals in five straight Premier League matches between October 4 and November 8.
Amorim indicated afterward that United lacked sufficient attacking alternatives to win loose balls. "We had additional players to deploy in attack? Who? Who would provide more offensive threat?" he posed rhetorically to the assembled media.
When Kobbie Mainoo's name was suggested as an answer, Amorim was observed laughing and responded: "It concerned the loose ball and I was anxious about Matheus [Cunha], I understand Bruno [Fernandes] entered the penalty area effectively, Mason Mount is operating in his natural role, they were attempting to pressure us, Bryan [Mbeumo] possesses significant speed to try winning possession in one counter-attack, so that was my thinking."
Mainoo remained unused throughout the match and has found regular playing time elusive this entire campaign.
"I view him as a first-team player like the others," Amorim maintained. "I simply must make decisions and ultimately, it hasn't been Kobbie. Moving forward, I'm uncertain. Once again, I consistently think similarly about Casemiro. [He] wasn't featuring and then he plays.
"I simply want to secure victories. I'm indifferent about who's playing."
Mainoo 'Is Being Ruined'
Manchester United icon Scholes objected to Amorim's remarks regarding Mainoo, stating in a furious social media message that the 20-year-old "likely" needs to depart Old Trafford for his career's benefit.
"Nonsense!" Scholes declared. "The youngster is being destroyed, sitting out in a squad that cannot dominate a football match. Despise watching academy graduates depart but it's likely optimal for him now, this has gone too far."
Dalot Admits Man Utd Failed to Control West Ham Draw
When Mainoo emerged under Erik ten Hag near the conclusion of 2023, subsequently playing a crucial part for England at Euro 2024, it was his composure with possession and maturity for such a young player—still only 18 then—that had observers raving about his ability and prospects.
A failure to dictate matches from the center should be precisely the type of issue a player with his attributes could address.
Goal scorer Dalot acknowledged that United's failure to claim all three points against West Ham stemmed from insufficient control after taking the advantage.
"Leading 1-0 with 30 minutes remaining, I believe we must manage the match far better," he informed Sky Sports. "Particularly at Old Trafford. We cannot become as nervous as we did following the goal. We were perhaps slightly more careless with ball retention.
"We controlled the match at that point," he continued. "That's the answer we must discover. It could be multiple factors. It shouldn't occur like this because you're battling 60 minutes to net a goal and when it happens you should continue the same approach, with even greater control, extended possession so we can be commanding. Especially the sequence leading to the corner we conceded—that's the type of situation we must prevent, particularly against teams proficient on the break.
"We must examine ourselves—I believe it's more our responsibility than credit to West Ham."