STOP PRESS: Kobbie Mainoo ‘spotted’ wearing Man City colours

Kobbie Mainoo has reached the level of stardom where he is papped outside a restaurant and the Mail make a story out of him wearing blue…
Spirit in the sky (blue)
The only thing that is really disappointing Mediawatch about this phenomenal headline on MailOnline…
What might have been!? Man United star Kobbie Mainoo spotted out for dinner with friends wearing a sky blue jacket, years after rivals Man City tried to poach the teenage midfielder
..is that they did not refer to Mainoo wearing said sky blue jacket just years after Man City tried to poach him. Trick missed.
Actually, we have a second gripe: Where are the CAPITALS? We would have gone with JACKET. Or POACH. But we might just be hungry.
Otherwise, this is textbook stuff. How do you make a story out of a man going to dinner with his friends, and steadfastly refusing to behave badly for the cameras? You say he has been ‘spotted’ (must be bad) wearing the colours of their ‘bitter rivals’.
As an aside, if Mainoo was wearing red, would he be showing his loyalty to Manchester United or would he have been ‘spotted’ wearing the colours of their other ‘bitter rivals’? Can he wear green? Is there any Plymouth beef?
Mainoo trained with Man City as a child (did he wear his hood up, we wonder), and now he has ‘offered a glimpse of what they are missing when he was pictured in a sky blue jacket on Wednesday as he enjoyed dinner at The Ivy in Manchester city centre with his friends’.
Because what they are missing is a man in a varsity jacket that’s not even sky blue, but sapphire blue (thanks, Google Lens).
We’re still disappointed in the lack of ‘just years’ but there is some redemption here…
His trip into town for dinner came just three days after he produced another moment of magic for United, as he scored a stunning goal in their 2-2 draw against title-chasing Liverpool.
‘Just three days’! Obviously he should have waited longer. What’s the optimal time to wait for a meal after scoring a goal? Is there a scale?
This has obviously been written by a beginner as there is no fluff about how much the most expensive meal costs at The Ivy (rib-eye, £36.95), but this is pure gold:
His connection with the fans suggests he has no intention of going anywhere, despite growing up in Stockport, which has become a hotbed for talent at City.
Phil Foden hails from the same town, and is now thriving in Pep Guardiola’s team, but Mainoo opted to go down a different path.
By the same criteria, you know where else has become a ‘hotbed of talent’ for City? Oslo.
But we digress. We are moving away from the ‘story’: that a man went out to dinner and wore a jacket.
Klopp press!
Possibly the biggest story of 2024 is the imminent departure of Jurgen Klopp from Liverpool. You might have heard about it.
But what you haven’t heard is what Jurgen Klopp will do next. Until now.
We clearly missed this news on Wednesday but it seems – according to the Mirror at least, and who wouldn’t trust the Mirror? – that Klopp has ‘confirmed his post-Liverpool plans ahead of departure at end of season’.
It’s right there. Not only has he ‘confirmed’ these plans, but he has ‘explained what he will do once he steps down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season’.
This is big. And we’re kind of surprised that Felix Keith has broken the news. We would have put money on Paul Joyce or Dominic King.
Klopp has been linked with the Germany national team job, but has always insisted he will take time out of the game before deciding what to do next. He said his decision had been taken because he was “running out of energy” and made it clear he wouldn’t speak about his future plans for the remainder of the campaign.
Exactly. Until now. Stop stalling, Keith man, let’s hear it…
But speaking in a press conference ahead of Liverpool Europa League quarter-final first leg against Atalanta on Thursday, he did let something slip.
Sounds juicy as f***. He must be kicking himself.
Asked whether he dreamed of coaching in Serie A, Klopp replied: “The only Italian thing I know is Italian food. At this moment I don’t plan a further career as a manager. Ask me in a year’s time, but now I don’t plan anything.”
Woah. We expected an anti-climax but it turns out that Klopp has indeed ‘confirmed’ his plans…to not have any plans.
How bloody careless to ‘let that slip’.
READ: Five Sporting players Ruben Amorim should bring with him to Liverpool
Pulling your legacy
Elsewhere on the Mirror, who never knowingly undersell a Liverpool story…
Mohamed Salah appears concerned about his Liverpool legacy as Anfield career winds down
Does he appear concerned about his Liverpool legacy or did he answer a question – four days ago – about whether this Liverpool side need to win another title?
Answers on a postcard marked ‘easiest quiz ever’ to the usual address.
Plead plead me
‘Rodri pleads with Guardiola to stop picking him and warns ‘it’s not healthy” would be a belting headline from The Sun if a) Rodri had actually ‘pleaded’ with anybody and b) Rodri had not said “it’s not healthy” about eight months ago.
Other than that, it’s an absolutely belting story from Dave Kidd, who really should know better. We’re not blaming him for the headline, but he did presumably write that ‘RODRI has pleaded with Pep Guardiola to give him a rest as the Manchester City star battles against burnout’.
Here are Rodri’s actual quotes: “I do need a rest. Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust but rest is something we are planning.”
If that’s a ‘plea’, we’re not sure how Kidd would characterise a small child asking for a snack an hour after tea-time.
The Guardian say he ‘admits’ he needs a rest, while the BBC goes with ‘says’, almost as though that’s exactly what happened.