Graeme Souness hasn’t been afraid to criticise Manchester United players over the years.
Souness spent six years as a Liverpool player and wore the captain’s armband for three seasons, so you don’t have to be a genius to determine where his allegiances lie.
The 71-year-old tore into Paul Pogba during his time at Old Trafford and some accused him of not being an objective pundit. The lengths that Souness went to criticise Pogba generated headlines and he was at it again when slamming Lisandro Martinez in his first months at United.
Souness said Martinez wasn’t good on the ball when that’s one of the defender’s finest attributes, so he has form for being wide of the mark and rubbing fans up the wrong way.
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That’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise to read Souness’ comments on Kobbie Mainoo, which have gone down like a lead balloon among United supporters on social media.
Souness appears on a podcast with Simon Jordan and Troy Deeney – make your own judgment on that panel – and they recently delved into what had gone wrong for England.
Mainoo was a point of discussion and Souness suggested he lacks understanding of his role. “I think he’s really good on the ball, he’s very talented on the ball,” he said. “But he doesn’t fully understand the position. He wanders, he empties the middle of the field too readily.
“I watched him against Iceland [when England were defeated in their last Euro 2024 warm-up game at Wembley] and he was getting thrown to the left and thrown to the right.
“He came on as a substitute when holding onto a 1-0 lead [against Serbia] and the first thing he did was chase down the goalkeeper and try to put him under pressure. It’s naivety, he’s still learning the game.”
Souness is right that Mainoo is still learning because he’s 19 years old and there isn’t a player at that age who isn’t – but the remainder of his comments were wrong.
After enjoying an exceptional season for United, Mainoo was deservedly included in England’s squad for Euro 2024 and brought balance to the midfield after the Three Lions’ unconvincing start.
Trent Alexander-Arnold started against Serbia and was dropped, Conor Gallagher started against Denmark and was hooked on 56 minutes and Mainoo started the final group game against Slovakia. Alexander-Arnold and Gallagher were unable to retain their midfield roles, but Mainoo subsequently started against Switzerland, the Netherlands and Spain.
After England’s semi-final victory against the Dutch, Gareth Southgate was asked about Mainoo’s impact and told reporters: “I think all of his performances have been exceptional, especially when you consider his age. We haven’t really had a player like him until now.
“It makes such a difference when your midfield players can receive [the ball] pressed and turn with the ball so easily and comfortably. It looks simple when he does it, but it isn’t simple.
“But I thought him and Phil popping up in spaces, Jude [Bellingham]… our movement was really good. That caused a lot of problems and forced them to adapt how they were without the ball.”
Describing Mainoo as the type of player England ‘haven’t had until now’ was the ultimate compliment and that wouldn’t be true if he didn’t understand his position, as Souness suggested.
It’s also laughable that Souness picked up on Mainoo closing down Serbia’s goalkeeper in the first group game. He was substituted onto the pitch with just four minutes to play and there was a lengthy list of others who were actually responsible for that underwhelming display.
The criticism of England’s performances is fair – they didn’t play pretty football despite making the final – but Mainoo made the team better when he played, not worse.
England’s midfield was a problem before Mainoo’s introduction to the starting line-up and he helped address that issue. He would admit he found it difficult in the final against a Spain side who are masterful in possession, but every player in an England shirt suffered in Berlin.
Mainoo has the quality to play for England for the next decade and you’re not able to achieve that without understanding your position. That’s why Souness’ comments were daft.
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