How to Introduce a Youngster - The Ole Way

A thread on Ole's careful & measured introduction of Mason Greenwood to senior football and how it has shaped his meteoric rise.

A THREAD

Before we dive in, let's look at Greenwood's standard stats

- 42 Appearances
- 20 Starts
- 2107 minutes
- 16 Goals
- 3 Assists

2107 mins in 42 apps = avg 50 mins/game
20 starts out of 42 apps = only 48% were starts

As is evident he has been slowly blooded into the side by Ole.

But these numbers don't tell the whole story. For that we have to break it up further.

Total Apps: 42 | Starts: 20 | Mins: 2107

In PL
Apps: 27 | Starts: 8 | Mins/Game: 37.4
Goals: 9 | Assists: 1

In Cups
Apps: 15 | Starts: 12 | Mins/Game: 73.1
Goals: 7 | Assists: 2

United have played 53 games this season with Mason making an appearance in 42 of them.

In the PL Mason has missed just 7 out of the 34 games while in the cups he's just just 4 out of the 19 games.

Even though he has played regularly, Ole has looked after his progress carefully.

Now let's try to breakdown how Ole handled Mason's starts.

Total Apps: 42 | Starts: 20
First 10 apps: 3 starts
Next 10 apps: 5 starts
Next 10 apps: 5 starts
Last 12 apps: 7 starts

As the season progressed Ole started giving Mason more starts.

Ole was careful with giving Mason starts but he was just as careful giving him minutes.

Total Minutes: 2107 | Apps: 42
First 10 apps: 395 mins
Next 10 apps: 504 mins
Next 10 apps: 561 mins
Next 12 apps: 647 mins

Again as the season progressed he started playing more.

His first 5 starts were against Astana, Rochdale, AZ, Partizan & Astana again. He scored 3 goals & an assist in these 5

His first start vs a PL side came vs Spurs in Dec which was also his 17th app of the season, Ole had played him 16 times before he started against a PL side.

Ole also made sure Mason played tougher opposition for longer as the season progressed. His PL minutes got better while his cups mins went down as seen below.

First 10 Games
109 PL mins in 7 games
286 Cup Mins in 3 games

Next 10 Games
144 PL mins in 6 games
360 Cup mins in 4 games

Next 10 Games
238 PL mins in 6 games
323 Cup mins in 4 games

Last 12 Games
519 PL mins in 8 games
128 Cup Games in 4 games

As he played more vs better sides through the season, his end product also grew in the same line.

First 10 apps:
0 Goals in PL | 2 Goals in Cup

Next 10 apps:
2 Goals in PL | 3 Goals in Cup

Next 10 apps:
2 Goals in PL | 1 Goal in Cup

Last 12 apps:
5 Goals in PL | 1 in Cup

By starting him slow Ole gave him the perfect pathway to success. Nothing say this better than this:

In his first 12 apps Mason started just 4 games. He scored in all 4 of them. The only 4 scored in that time. The 4 were all smaller sides but the confidence he got was immense.

The graph of his introduction is a carefully choreographed upward tick. What this tells us is that Ole had a clear plan for Greenwood this season.

Let's take a look at the key points of this plan

- Play him as often as you can (41 apps/53 games)

- Introduce him slowly vs PL sides while giving him more minutes against weaker cup sides

- Start him against weaker side so that he can gain confidence

- Give him just enough rest to not burn out but not enough to lose touch

Such mentoring & nurturing, making sure the player stays confident, sharp & fit is the reason why Greenwood has blossomed. Ole has shown us he's a master of youth.

We should be grateful that we have a manager who looks into the club for improvement rather than outside it.