Online Reporter
Fletcher had not played for the first team but his presence extended United’s run of having an academy player in every matchday squad to 4,333 games.
Ruben Amorim was adamant he would never end that record that dates back to October 1937, and he was more committed than given credit for.
Amorim gave debuts to Fletcher, Shea Lacey, Harry Amass, Tyler Fredricson and Bendito Mantato. But his mismanagement of Kobbie Mainoo overshadows those opportunities.
Mainoo was unavailable through injury at Spurs but would have been on the bench if fit.
United’s resurgence began not just with the return of Michael Carrick but the return of Mainoo to the starting XI for the Manchester derby in January. It was his first Premier League start in eight months.
Carrick boasts a record of 13 wins in 19 games as United head coach but consider the three they have lost: Mainoo came off before Newcastle scored their winner in March, was out injured for the 2-1 defeat to Leeds and emerged in the 67th minute with Hull 2-0 up this month.
Whenever Mainoo is not there, United suffer. With him back in midfield against Ipswich Town, United were back on crowdpleasing form.
Few United players in the current squad have an outright chant, so Bruno Fernandes tends to raise the decibel levels through his impacts and chantable name. Mainoo does have a chant, to the Billy Ocean song Love Really Hurts Without You: “Mainoo, United can’t play without you, United can’t play without you, And it’s breaking my heart when you don’t start, Mainoo, United can’t play without you.”
It got a lengthy airing during the second half on Sunday. The lyrics reference Mainoo’s peripheral role under Amorim but could also apply to the handful of occasions he has not lined up under Carrick.
When Erik ten Hag first clapped eyes on Mainoo in the United under-21s four years ago, he felt he was in his comfort zone and needed to be more dominant. Ten Hag once complained that he could not play the way his Ajax side played at United but Mainoo defies that. The 21-year-old is Ten Hag’s legacy at his former club.
Mainoo’s shimmy and fleet of foot to play Matheus Cunha through to win United their penalty against Ipswich was a piece of play from the Ajax academy.
At his post-match press conference, Carrick was asked how Mainoo could develop: “On today’s performance, not much, really!
“I thought he was pretty much all-around very, very good for a first start back.
“We kind of managed him a little bit (returning from the World Cup), and we’ve got good midfielders, so it’s trying to make the best of the combinations.
“I understand Bruno will get a lot of credit today, and he deserves that as well, but I thought Kobbie was immense in the middle of the pitch for us and underpinned the performance of the team.”
Two academy talents starting for United has been a rarity but Mainoo and Marcus Rashford both walked out of the Old Trafford tunnel against Ipswich. Rashford’s Instagram account described a “beautiful day”.
The tone has changed from May, when Rashford said: “I’m not a magician. If I was, I would stay (at Barcelona).”
Since Barcelona passed on the option to buy Rashford, player and parent club have played nice.
Amorim’s sacking paved the way for an armistice and Carrick’s history with Rashford has made his return to the United fold serene.
Unlike Kevin Pietersen’s with England in 2012, this is not a reintegration through gritted teeth.
Rashford has allies in the dressing room and on the coaching staff at his boyhood club. It is in his interests to perform ahead of another European Championship and World Cup. – Sun
