Regarding the midfield I think that is a player issue. Someone like Ugarte makes a huge difference and he would probably work well with Mainoo, but our other midfielders are lacking. I would expect Amorim to prioritize the midfield together with the LWB the coming windows.
Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) review both the Everton and Bodø/Glimt victories at Old Trafford. Listen to the guys discuss 2 wins and 7 goals in the last week, analyse of the Amorim formation, focus on Amad and how he is playing, and also take a look at Hojlund, Rashford & Zirkzee – who starts v Arsenal?
Ten Hag could not play his football with even a single injury in the entire squad apparently. He needed every players available and in top form.
People are starting to realize how much of a nonsense all these excuses really were, and it’s only going to become more and more apparent.
It also keeps the squad happy, hungry and motivated. You don't want players disgruntled because they're not getting gametime, and you don't want regulars to get too comfortable knowing someone else won't get a chance to take their spot.
I think for now, through till the winter break Casemiro + Ugarte might have to be his solution in the middle. The issue I think is that, everyone else needs to comfortably learn their defensive positions (wingbacks + 2 AMs) on the defensive transition. So while they're learning, its sensible to just give them a bit more help in the middle. You can then soon move to a more expansive midfield set up
So happy to see all the ETH lovers seeing the light and finally embracing change after making a case for an oaf for 18+ months.Positive goal difference! Entertaining football! Squad rotation!
God speed, my friend. It's a brave new world!
We actually have a better GD than CityPositive goal difference! Entertaining football! Squad rotation!
This is an insane stat.We actually have a better GD than City
Agreed. I mean right now, he has given every player a chance, most of them in positions they favour as well. The fact that Zirkzee, Rashford, Garnacho and Hojlund all scored so far, it gives them a drive. They know they will get minutes.
You can see some players are going to play more, Bruno, Amad, Mazroui are the players I think are first names on the team sheet, then it depends on player fitness.
He wants players to use up the energy to press, he makes changes to inject a different dimension early on in games.
I think Casemiro / Mainoo both lack legs in the midfield area, it is something we need to sort out in January... may even be a higher priority than LWB.
Great guy. Him acknowledging Ruud van Nisterlrooy for giving Amad the opportunity and confidence during his time as interim coach is purely genius. Him also saying Amad is helping him now is also great to hear . ETH gave many opportunities to players that weren't performing week in week out. Yet as soon as Amad has a bad match, he benches him for weeks, yet he continues giving opportunities to players that wasn't performing even though we weren't winning matches.
100%, I remember feeling like we were the favourite in just about every game, maybe not necessarily against the big European clubs or Arsenal, but just about everything else.
I don't mind people expecting the team to win most games when we're in a good place. I just can't abide the overboard negativity when a team manage to finish a couple of counter attacks like during the week, or we miss a few chances and fail to score five or six against a limited team. Football matches are competitive by nature and it's not going to be easy all the time.
What you say in your last paragraph is absolutely true, City fans in particular are unbelievable in their criticism of the players that have broken records and won so much for them when something doesn't quite got to plan. Same with Villa, what Emery has achieved with them is unbelievable given where they were, and I've seen some of their fans really going over the top now they've hit a tough spell.
I'd hate for our fans to be like that although I guess it is inevitable.
It would have been easy for Ruben to 'big up' a 4-0 win in his first home league game. He didn't.
Impressed.
Impressed.
Oh
Always maintained that charisma/ability to rotate has been as important as coaching skills. Fortunately this lad and his team seem to have the lot.
It’s very early days but I’m extremely optimistic. One of my main concerns was whether he was too nice and if he could handle our dressing room but it’s clear to me now he is quite a steely character.
The main question now is whether he has the squad to compete but early signs are that he can take them up a level or two - just hope injuries don’t feck us over.
It’s very early days but I’m extremely optimistic. One of my main concerns was whether he was too nice and if he could handle our dressing room but it’s clear to me now he is quite a steely character.
The main question now is whether he has the squad to compete but early signs are that he can take them up a level or two - just hope injuries don’t feck us over.
While leaving Post match conference, he said "we can win against Arsenal you know", that is what I like to see from a UTD manager.
He is giving chances to everyone, making players responsible to fight back (Rashford), arm around (Mount), giving Maz the credit and playing them in right positions(Zirkzee), experimenting Amad as a wing back, quietly phasing out Case/Eriksen/Antony.....Ruben played it well so far.
He won me over when he said previous managers played under SAF shadow rather in his spirit..well said!
He looks like someone understands players strengths and play it accordingly which is a very good news for youngsters in academy too.
Looks like he doesn't even need a big big budget as he can maximise the players output
You think its too early but I am confident we could finally turn the corner with a manager like Ruben at the helm.
He is giving chances to everyone, making players responsible to fight back (Rashford), arm around (Mount), giving Maz the credit and playing them in right positions(Zirkzee), experimenting Amad as a wing back, quietly phasing out Case/Eriksen/Antony.....Ruben played it well so far.
He won me over when he said previous managers played under SAF shadow rather in his spirit..well said!
He looks like someone understands players strengths and play it accordingly which is a very good news for youngsters in academy too.
Looks like he doesn't even need a big big budget as he can maximise the players output
You think its too early but I am confident we could finally turn the corner with a manager like Ruben at the helm.
He is definitely a steely character, he wont let the dressing room walk over him.
This is the required start, show the hierarchy he can handle the job and get a few results.
It would have been so easy for him to come in and stick with a winning team, most managers do, if a ST scores a brace in mid week, most managers start that player on the weekend.
Instead, he has realised these players are a. Not fit enough b. Injury prone. We all know Ten Hag ran certain players to the ground... Zirkzee wouldn't start if Rasmus is fit.
Seing 6 changes and us playing the style is my biggest take away from that game.
Excellent post, comes to midfield I think it will come! He looks like someone who doesn't stick to something for a long if it doesnt work out.
He started Eriksen/Case against Ipswich and Case/Mainoo (not fully fit) against Everton which was not the best combo.
Once he starts with his best Ugarte and fit Mainoo or Bruno we could see lot of difference.
The most important thing for me was, in first half Mainoo was playing ETH way(passing back and running forward) in the second half it was changed to Ruben's system/style(I am sure Ruben might have a word or 2 in half time). Imagine if Mainoo gets some more training sessions and few more games our midfield becomes insanely better.
He said Rasmus didnt play because his game doesn't suit against Everton defence(in those lines), Looks like it was more tactical than resting him.
I like that too as he is giving more importance to tactics/system rather player names.It is so refreshing to hear his interviews but I wish he is not too open in interviews.
I totally agree your line about 6 changes without impacting the style..That is the best thing happening right now.
Agreed, he does see what doesn't work. I think Eriksen is done under his system, do not see where he fits in without having the running power.
I did notice Mainoo, he was not on the same wave length, I saw him drop into the back 3 which is a Ten Hag tactic, Mazroui kept telling him, No, get away into your position.
Second half he went more in like with Casemiro but it shows how much players have to learn the system.
I really like how he's setting us up. This formation suits wide attackers, because the inside channel attacker means the wingback doesn't get isolated. The opposition fullback has 2 people to think about, and they're usually going to go with the danger that's closer to goal, the inside right, which will leave lots of room for the wide attacker. We saw that with the third goal, Everton's full back follows Rashford into a central area and leaves Amad wide open. Then all it needs is a tidy ball into space and he's away. Left wing back is going to be a problem, not least because it makes it easier for the opposition to stop us if the know all the attacking is coming down the right side. But the principle seems solid.
Main issue with the formation is that the defence doesn't look comfortable yet. In possession, they look ok, but out of possession there's a hesitancy that I think is going to cost us more than a few times this season. They're too easily pulled around. There really isn't any shortcut to this, it'll take time for the team to understand where everyone needs to be.
Main issue with the formation is that the defence doesn't look comfortable yet. In possession, they look ok, but out of possession there's a hesitancy that I think is going to cost us more than a few times this season. They're too easily pulled around. There really isn't any shortcut to this, it'll take time for the team to understand where everyone needs to be.
United did not win a Premier League game with a 4 goal margin under Erik ten Hag. Ruben Amorim has done it in his first game at home
He understands the player’s strengths and weaknesses in a way Ten Hag never did in 2.5 years and he’s only been here 3 weeks.
ETH was foolish, he consistently put players in positions where they could struggle. Amorim’s reasoning for playing Zirkzee ahead of Hojlund yesterday was high level management.
You can tell he watched a shit load of our games prior to joining and already knew what changes he had in store for each player. Nothing like when the clown Moyes joined and when asked about Chicharito said “they tell me here he’s a good player”.
Even for the players like Dalot, Amad, Mazraoui and Bruno that are playing really different roles. He has belief in them that they can do what he wants.
ETH was foolish, he consistently put players in positions where they could struggle. Amorim’s reasoning for playing Zirkzee ahead of Hojlund yesterday was high level management.
You can tell he watched a shit load of our games prior to joining and already knew what changes he had in store for each player. Nothing like when the clown Moyes joined and when asked about Chicharito said “they tell me here he’s a good player”.
Even for the players like Dalot, Amad, Mazraoui and Bruno that are playing really different roles. He has belief in them that they can do what he wants.
Exactly. The problem we had was Ten Hag had a system and just put players to play in the system, regardless of their strengths and weaknesses.
This is what I have been impressed the most by Ruben. He comes out and talks about players strengths and weaknesses. He spoke about Rasmus not being the fit for this game because Everton CB's want a fight, so he decided, we dont need a fight, instead play Zirkzee as a 9.5 and disrupt the back line.
This is because he has options, I would like to see us have more options in midfield so he can fix our midfield that seems to be a massive problem at the moment.
Everyone talked about stubbornness and what not but the fact he plays the same formation but varying systems show his intelligence as a coach. He also plays players that compliment each other, whilst trying to get the squad fit.
I agree. A new top quality LWB first, then replace Casemiro and Eriksen.
Hopefully, Obi-Martin comes through soon, to ease our goal-scoring concerns aswell.
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Indeed. They're all staying on ignore though.
I’m happy we are scoring goals but we’ve played three really poor teams. 2 of them scored against us and two of the matches were at home. We looked very poor away against Ipswich which is fair enough for his first game. Everton looked quite dangerous in the first half and more likely to make something happen through their play until we forced a mistake. I wouldn’t say against the run of play but it was fine margins up to that point especially with us being at home.
I am a happy camper right now as I just want us to be winning and playing for each other as a team. I can see there is a fight there that wasn’t there previously, the players are working harder for each other. Amad has been our best player. I think we already have the quality in the squad to be a top 4 team but injuries a soft midfield and player morale has constantly derailed us over the years. I’ll be interested to see if (a) important players are finally fit for longer than a few games at a time and can hit peak form again and (b) how they react once we hit a few snags and big names get dropped or persisted with even when they aren’t doing so well and people are looking to pass the buck.
Don’t get me wrong I want to be optimistic. RA seems like a classy fella and I’m fascinated to see how we do against a much better team this week. A draw where we work really hard for each other would be lovely. A smash and grab win would be back to the old Fergie style. We’ve been missing that majorly. You need an almost perfect team to go to city or arsenal or lots of CL teams and just play your own game totally on your own terms and come away with anything. We need to be compact and dogged and counter with real conviction. It’s going to take us years to develop a team that can go toe to toe without getting outfoxed. In the meantime 100% effort and graft and getting the most out of what we currently have is the name of the game and something ETH couldn’t seem to maintain
He wasn’t wrong, we scored the first goal in a key moment when we lost control in midfield with players giving the ball away too easily, after we scored Everton had to come out and it left more space to run onto that suited some of our attacking players.
Agreed. Whilst there is so much to be optimistic about, we have seen this dance before. We cannot be fooled with results this time around.
That was a very poor first half performance against Everton, there were numerous nearly moments for them. I recall them going through on goal a few times but made the wrong decision, I saw numerous times our midfield was dominated in the first 30 minutes where they kept playing in between the lines.
If we play like that against Arsenal, unfortunately, we could hold 4/5 goals against us.
This is why the Arsenal game is quite intriguing for many reasons. a. How will he set up? to take on Arsenal in 90 minutes b. Will we press as high or be pragmatic. c. Did he watch how Arsenal can hurt his style? 5-2 v Sporting.
I hope he looks at all those factors and shows us how good of a tactician he is.
He dropped Hojlund cause he's not good enough simple as in this moment of time. Don't let the two goals against Bodo fool you. Its great to see him getting the best out of Rashford who seems to be fitting his system perfectly. Rashford will be our mains striker this season which I'm happy with if he keeps on performing. Rashford even as a striker is miles ahead of Hojlund. Zirkzee isn't a striker and found the perfect role for him in the match yesterday. I am actually impressed with Amorim getting the best allready out of the players. We can discard the Ipswich game with the players getting used to his system.
Such a poor narrative.
It’s refreshing to have a manager that doesn’t need a single individual out of 129,000 professional players in order to implement a style of play.
Wrong.
One goal in 8 premier league appearances this season says different. He's a very average and limited player at this moment in time and hopefully continues to develop and Rashford will be our main striker this season. Do people think he's going to start Hojlund over Rashford in all honesty with Rashfords current form as striker? Rashford will be our number one striker this season with Hojlund getting some europa league games and cup games and maybe some home games against lower league opposition until he develops more and come on in the 70th minute when the game is done and dusted.. At the current moment in time he's not good enough to lead the line week in week out but hopefully he continues to develop and becomes the player united need.
Is it my opinion that Rashford should be leading the line instead of Hojlund winding people up the wrong way or? Are people not happy that Amorim is getting the best out of Rashford allready and is the player we want to see week in week out? Rashford seems to fit his system perfectly.
Under ETH I would say Rashford should not be leading the line but under Amorim he is the perfect player for the posistion.
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How is this nicknamed allowed?its explicit
Just sang "She is the One" by Robbie Williams, changing the lyrics to "He is the one" Mever been happier at the local karaoke, except for my friends eyes being like
Ha! clearly do not like to listen to the manager instead make up your own narrative?
After Ipswich, he mentioned Rashford struggling in the 9 and said he will find another position, 2 games after that he has tried him in the 10.
Using Ten Hag's games is a bit unfair as the whole team was poor. Surely you know that too.
Right and how many Rashford had this season before yesterday? Or even last season?
I'm laughing at your ridiculous, made-up narrative that he's already getting the best out of Rashford, especially when the other guy you're criticizing also scored a brace in his first start under the new coach. Not to mention, Amorim clearly stated that Højlund was tired by the end of that game and was simply rotating the squad. But yea he was dropped alright.
We have a new manager and Rashford seems to be fitting his tactics and setup perfectly. Under ETH I would say no way. The brace he scored is against a bloomin Norweigan team, lets not get carried away.
Are you not excited that Amorim is getting the best out of Rashford which ETH couldn't do, lets start Hojlund up there and continue to be a mid table team not able to score so. Who do you think will start against Arsenal in all honesty Rashford or Hojlund?
Nobody knows yet. For all we know he’s resting Rasmus for Arsenal. Or Rashford and Rasmus both play. I do think the team he plays against Arsenal will be quite telling. What’s really nice is that all these guys are now on 2 goals plus since he came in and look to know where the goal is again and where their teammates are when they are in a better position to score. I personally think Rasmus and Mount will play against Arsenal along with Amad as they all press hard and force the issue. It’s a good headache for the manager to have. He can keep everyone fresh and hungry, we’ve majorly been missing that for years.
Amorim literally said he doesn't suit a 9 role. You are just making shit up. Hojlund has played one full game under this manager and scored twice.
Yeah he is a very likable person.
I agree he needs to keep the players onside, we all know this group can be overly emotional at times.
I do hope the topic of heavy defeats has been discussed already as a 5-0 or even worse could derail Amorim's rebuild for sure. A few loses is no big deal, but with the recent history I feel keeping defeats as close as possible will help keep the players onboard. A heavy defeat and suddenly old habits will reappear (is my worry)