Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

[El Jefe]

I blame a lot of today on the players but he made some huge errors today. Malacia is useless, he was better off getting a lad from the youth team and giving them a chance. Taking Ugarte off when Mainoo was having a stinker was a bad sub and we pretty much lost the game when that was done.

He must know the mountain of a task he has at this club and needs to realise that many of these players are beyond help.

The first thing we need to do is stop fecking conceding set pieces. Were pretty much giving teams a 1 goal handicap at this point.

 

[Leftback99]

If you actually look at these last 9 matches, if we can somehow sort out our set piece defending and bring it back to the average goals conceded percentage, we'd actually be in a far better off situation.

How are we so bad when we constantly have the likes of Maguire, De Ligt etc. in the team who are tall players.

Because it's 2 players.

Most of the rest are useless in the air for set pieces Martinez, Bruno, Amad, Malacia, Mainoo, Ugarte, Garnacho are all short and physically weak.

The other big guys we do have (Zirkzee, Hojlund) are pathetic in the air.

 

[Sandikan]

It’s going to be crap again after this and many more times. Everyone was happy to accept this in theory but can’t take it when it actually happens.

Everyone knew there would be bad times ahead yes. But narrow defeats here and there.

Not losing most games and getting drilled 3-0 at home by bloody Bournemouth, after a 4 goal smashing at Tottenham midweek.

Imagine if we had last year's injury problems on top!

 

[Nickosaur]

Genuinely, the last few games have been very very bad.

We have regressed massively from not giving up chances to leaking goals anyhowly.
Amorim needs to steady the ship and be ruthless. The fall off is coming up ETH style.

Leaking 17 goals in less than 1 month is shocking...

Yer man Licha is a huge reason we've let in 17 goals.

 

[Ichabod Ferguson]

Genuinely, the last few games have been very very bad.

We have regressed massively from not giving up chances to leaking goals anyhowly.
Amorim needs to steady the ship and be ruthless. The fall off is coming up ETH style.

Leaking 17 goals in less than 1 month is shocking...

Some of you just need to preface your posts with 'i don't actually watch the games, but I saw the scoreline and...'.

 

[Godfather]

Because it's 2 players.

Most of the rest are useless in the air for set pieces Martinez, Bruno, Amad, Malacia, Mainoo, Ugarte, Garnacho are all short and physically weak.

The other big guys we do have (Zirkzee, Hojlund) are pathetic in the air.

Our best midfielder is a beast in the air but sits on the bench for some reason

 

[Sandikan]

I blame a lot of today on the players but he made some huge errors today. Malacia is useless, he was better off getting a lad from the youth team and giving them a chance. Taking Ugarte off when Mainoo was having a stinker was a bad sub and we pretty much lost the game when that was done.

He must know the mountain of a task he has at this club and needs to realise that many of these players are beyond help.

The first thing we need to do is stop fecking conceding set pieces. Were pretty much giving teams a 1 goal handicap at this point.

Ugarte was booked and is very little benefit to a team desperate for a goal. So the logic goes.

But agree on the set pieces. Didn't the commentator say something like 42% of our goals against are set pieces!?
Not that I even thought that first one was a free kick.

 

[Toshey]

Amorim is great coach with horrible team.

I just can't get my head around what happened in the summer. Out of all available strikers worldwide you decide to spends tons of money on... fecking Zirkzee!

We need to get rid of Malacia, Zirkzee, Dalot, Casemiro, Shaw, Mount, Martinez, Maguire, Bayindir, Antony, Rashford..... And Bruno should be stripped off captaincy.

 

[Sandikan]

Some of you just need to preface your posts with 'i don't actually watch the games, but I saw the scoreline and...'.

I watched it, and yes we missed some chances. But while I thought we were unlucky to be behind at half time, it'd take some real one eyed delusion to suggest we didn't deserve to lose.

 

[manfish7]

Spurs fan here, I come in peace.

I’m really intrigued reading a lot of your comments on Amorim after that loss.

I feel like Man.U are in / have been in such a similar situation to Spurs the last 5-6 years or basically since Fergie retired.

The obvious difference is that you guys have won it all and even the last 10 years which have been rocky you’ve picked up what 4-5 trophies under Jose and Ten Haag.

What I’m really intrigued about is the identity of Man.U as a club and your playing style and how and why that might be effecting your views on managers ever since Ferguson.

Ferguson (GOAT) did so much for Man.U in terms of trophies and success but he also engrained that famous attacking 4-4-1-1 style, fast wingers, direct fast attacking play, strikers who can score, teams who fight and battle until Fergie time, quality attacking football but also teams who battled and fought and intimated opponents.

I think Amorim on paper seems a good manager and it’s such early days and the middle of the season so really hard and possibly unfair to judge him so soon, however my concern for you guys is that I don’t think Man.U fans will ever particularly be truly content and happy with a manager who plays 5 at the back / 3-4-3 as to me that just isn’t Manchester United’s identity.

Ruud with his 4-2-3-1 a modern day version of Fergie’s 4-4-2 smashed it in the few games he was in charge, I also felt whilst he wasn’t experienced or good enough, Man.U fans seemed happiest with Ole Solskjaer as manager since Fergie left.

I feel in a way this is similar to Tottenham whereby our club has always been built on a tradition of entertaining attacking football, before 1992 we actually won a reasonable amount but regardless our identity was push and run pass and move and flair players, which is why our most liked managers in modern times are: Jol, Redknapp, Poch and now Ange.

Whilst arguably ‘world class’ managers like Jose and comparably here like Conte (defensive 3-4-3) and Nuno, were imo an absolutely terrible fit for our club, our fans were never ever going to take to any of them or their style of play etc and for me that is my fear for Man.U under Amorim, not if he is a good coach or not, he may or may not be but I just don’t think a 3-4-3 manager suits Man.U and so there is far less patience with the fans than if you had say Ruud or a more experienced manager who recruited players and tried to get Man.U playing the type of football your club identity has been based on before Fergie and during Fergies era.

Interested to get your take on this.

Also thank you for all those years your stopped Arsenal and Chelsea winning the league, especially Arsenal, absolutely loved it when Roy Keane and the lads rocked up and Highbury and John O’Shea, Ronaldo and co smashed them 2-4 etc.

 

[DevilRed]

Everyone knew there would be bad times ahead yes. But narrow defeats here and there.

Not losing most games and getting drilled 3-0 at home by bloody Bournemouth, after a 4 goal smashing at Tottenham midweek.

Imagine if we had last year's injury problems on top!

Its ok though. Some of the caf thinks he still needs time to get his "system" across to the players. Even after getting obliterated by bournemouth at home.

Insane how much standards have dropped here.

If it isn't working by Feb/March, then we need to be identifying the next manager and moving on.

 

[Redfrog]

If he starts Bruno and Dalot every game we going no where . Dalot isn’t a defender or a midfielder no idea what he brings in the team , Bruno isn’t a number 8 or 9 or 6 .

We have bigger problems then this two.

 

[baskinginthesun]

How is it clueless, we are playing awful football and being thrashed at home by teams we should be beating easilly while conceeding a lot more goals than we were under ETH.

We were much better in the games under Ruud than we have been in a few of the games under Ruben Amorim

I think you're forgetting that Bournemouth are currently 5th. They are on a great run of form and are extremely hard to beat. Give some respect to the opposition. Nottingham Forrest are 4th as well.

Conversely, this is a new system with a new style. We were crap, yes but, it's all new and its all a bit muddled right now as Amorim is implementing his system. This isnt a game where the result should be taken for granted.

 

[Camilo]

At this rate he'll be gone by the summer. He better get things going quickly.

 

[Licha-Vidic]

Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It's really hard especially if you saw the game. We concede one foul and then a goal. We were winning second balls and creating chances. We conceded a penalty and then the third goal. It was really hard for the fans. We have to go again next game.

"We have a lot of situations where they managed to score a little bit similar to Tottenham. It's really hard on everyone in the stadium. We have to fight this moment.

"We have to maintain the calm when you suffer a goal. It was similar in the last match. The players need to understand the game has different moments.

"I always expected [job to be tough], especially in these busy months. We are ready to face the challenge."

On Rashford for Boxing Day: "It depends, we will see."

Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim: "It's hard to push for two, three wins and we are trying. This game was hard on us. We suffered again on set-pieces and we were a bit nervous, I felt it in the stadium. The penalty and another goal are really hard here. We tried to score s noome goals but it was a tough match so let's move on.

"If you look at the game, we were not conceding anything before the first goal, we had opportunities. If we manage to score the first goal then the game should be different. We want to score but we are too nervous. We have to fight this.

"After the penalty, we need to control the game better because we know this situation is really hard. We have to control better this moment.

"We have to focus on the job and not what you feel in the stadium. It's the only way I know how to focus my players. We have to suffer again but we will try to win. We will do it until the end."

 

[Solius]

Everyone knew there would be bad times ahead yes. But narrow defeats here and there.

Not losing most games and getting drilled 3-0 at home by bloody Bournemouth, after a 4 goal smashing at Tottenham midweek.

Imagine if we had last year's injury problems on top!

Context is key. Spurs scored 4 from like 0.7 xG and three of the goals were absolute freaks. With the first two today there’s very little to mitigate that without much time on the training pitch.

 

[Sandikan]

Amorim is great coach with horrible team.

I just can't get my head around what happened in the summer. Out of all available strikers worldwide you decide to spends tons of money on... fecking Zirkzee!

We need to get rid of Malacia, Zirkzee, Dalot, Casemiro, Shaw, Mount, Martinez, Maguire, Bayindir, Antony, Rashford..... And Bruno should be stripped off captaincy.

We've been here before.
Just when we're starting to get over the DVB, Mount, Antony signings, which were absolutely inexplicable, we made an even more duffer of a signing.
I can only imagine whatever "scout" watched him saw him on an absolute perfect day and thought that was his usual.

 

[Berbasbullet]

Its ok though. Some of the caf thinks he still needs time to get his "system" across to the players. Even after getting obliterated by bournemouth at home.

Insane how much standards have dropped here.

If it isn't working by Feb/March, then we need to be identifying the next manager and moving on.

Shouting standards and replacing the manager every 5 minutes isn’t going to win you anything either.

 

[Denis79]

As someone still unsure about him, I don't know how he's getting all this blame. United have been better at every metric except scoring goals and all the goals have been from very dumb mistakes.

Agree. I don't expect much with the mediocre squad left by ETH.

 

[Judas]

Its ok though. Some of the caf thinks he still needs time to get his "system" across to the players. Even after getting obliterated by bournemouth at home.

Insane how much standards have dropped here.

If it isn't working by Feb/March, then we need to be identifying the next manager and moving on.

Modern football fan in a nutshell. People who think so stupidly deserve to watch us be bad forever.

 

[hellhunter]

Context is key. Spurs scored 4 from like 0.7 xG and three of the goals were absolute freaks. With the first two today there’s very little to mitigate that without much time on the training pitch.

We lost by one goal in the cup at WHL. Hardy apocalyptic

 

[Licha-Vidic]

Yer man Licha is a huge reason we've let in 17 goals.

Sadly yes. The defensive structure we had in Ruud and first Amorim games has evaporated. We are back to leaking goals.

 

[Solius]

We lost by one goal in the cup at WHL. Hardy apocalyptic

Exactly. People are so dramatic.

 

[Raoul]

He’s playing without a goal scoring striker and a few players who shouldn’t be playing for United. Onana, Zirkzee, Malacia , and Rashford are definitely gone in the summer imo.

 

[Escobar]

I blame a lot of today on the players but he made some huge errors today. Malacia is useless, he was better off getting a lad from the youth team and giving them a chance. Taking Ugarte off when Mainoo was having a stinker was a bad sub and we pretty much lost the game when that was done.

He must know the mountain of a task he has at this club and needs to realise that many of these players are beyond help.

The first thing we need to do is stop fecking conceding set pieces. Were pretty much giving teams a 1 goal handicap at this point.

I agree in general today was the first loss that was largely on him. But the drama her is just stupid and our squad is absolutely shit

 

[DevilRed]

Modern football fan in a nutshell. People who think so stupidly deserve to watch us be bad forever.

Its how every other club in the world operates.

We are the only ones who would back a manager that finished 8th with another 200m in a summer window.

Now thats negligence.

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

Its ok though. Some of the caf thinks he still needs time to get his "system" across to the players. Even after getting obliterated by bournemouth at home.

Insane how much standards have dropped here.

If it isn't working by Feb/March, then we need to be identifying the next manager and moving on.

Feck right off with this shite!

 

[hellhunter]

Its how every other club in the world operates.

We are the only ones who would back a manager that finished 8th with another 200m in a summer window.

Now thats negligence.

Guess where Klopp finished his first season at Liverpool?

 

[Ichabod Ferguson]

I watched it, and yes we missed some chances. But while I thought we were unlucky to be behind at half time, it'd take some real one eyed delusion to suggest we didn't deserve to lose.

Any team that gives the gifts we gave today deserves to lose, but any poster that suggests, as the one I replied to did, that today was a game where the opposition created chances against us easily is talking out of their backside.

The focus of any ire should be on how inexplicably we gave up 3 goals despite the opposition creating absolutely feck all of note and any one suggesting that it had more to do with them than us is trying to fit what they just watched to a narrative they already had.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

He's got the worst squad we've ever had at his disposal through no fault of his own... This will take time, a lot of time.

 

[Judas]

Its how every other club in the world operates.

We are the only ones who would back a manager that finished 8th with another 200m in a summer window.

Now thats negligence.

Am I defending the decision to keep ten Hag? No. Throwing your toys out of the pram and wanting this Bloke out early next year without him even getting a summer is beyond spoilt idiot baby thinking.

 

[Blood Mage]

How many more free hits until the board has a word with him about trying something different? These kinds of results are just not acceptable even for a coach who's just got his foot through the door.

He needs a convincing win at Wolves next week.

 

[sepulturite]

Its ok though. Some of the caf thinks he still needs time to get his "system" across to the players. Even after getting obliterated by bournemouth at home.

Insane how much standards have dropped here.

If it isn't working by Feb/March, then we need to be identifying the next manager and moving on.

Absolutely clueless

 

[Redfrog]

It’s not as bad as the results suggest. We are playing much better.
We just don’t have the firepower to finish chances and you could not blame Amorim to have inherited such a weird attack. We don’t even have a proper striker while throwing 110 millions in the process. The recrutement had been garbage.

The goals we conced are either on set pieces or because of a brain fart.

The team is just not good enough.

 

[Insanity]

xG is not a BS stat.. but interpreting it after a single game is pointless. I think xG tells a story after 15, 20, 30 games or so.

For example, if yoh toss a coin, the expected probability is 50:50 for heads or tails. If you guess tails and heads come up, is the coin rigged? Course not, you just need a bigger sample.

If we had a higher xG than Bournemouth and didn't win, unlike the overly simplistic example above, it does tell us something. But we should really be looking at xG, xA over a longer stretch of games.

If on a probabilistic basis, as in, if we create chances that shoud result in 50 goals, but we only score 35, then that's clearly a problem. Same for xA. I would hazard a guess we underperform our xG by a decent %, and also have a higher goals conceded than our xA. Now you probably don't need xG and xA to know we have too many individual mistakes at the back and we aren't ruthless up front, but there's certainly some value to take in drilling down to those stats.

Who are the main culprits? What flanks does our xA underperformance come from.. etc etc?

You are probably correct. And thanks for point it out. I am sure it has long-term uses.

However anyone extrapolating it to deduct that we were good or "deserved something" from this game is simply an idiot, imo. You couldn't have watched that game and came out thinking we could have got something out it. We were poor and sloppy for the first 30 minutes. Then did reasonably well in the last 15 and should have scored. Then start of the second half we are lethargic again. Then they scored two and the game was pretty much done at that point. Most teams would sit back and try to defend that lead away from home against a "big" team.

The performance wasn't good. Simply brandishing some stats isn't going to change that.

We lost, it's okay, it's still early in Ruben's regime and we all knew it's going to be a roller-coaster. Unfortunately, this type of game is Christmas come early for some folks who want to trot out the same old bullshit cliches that they have been forever and shut any discussion of it.

 

[Chipper]

Not particularly impressed so far.

The rotation, the awful set piece defending, and outside of today since it has been brought up - not much xG or chance creation other than when teams give us a helping hand through mistakes.

Hoped for a bit more than what we've seen.

 

[Judas]

I’d be tempted to say try a youngster striker from the academy honestly, because the ones we’ve currently got are failing massively. There’s just so many issues to work on.

 

[Solius]

How many more free hits until the board has a word with him about trying something different? These kinds of results are just not acceptable even for a coach who's just got his foot through the door.

What’s the point in trying something different? This is his system. He’s shown it works. No point chasing short term results to the detriment of long term. He needs to figure out who can play this and who can’t. He needs to drill in the movements to the players who can.

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Its ok though. Some of the caf thinks he still needs time to get his "system" across to the players. Even after getting obliterated by bournemouth at home.

Insane how much standards have dropped here.

If it isn't working by Feb/March, then we need to be identifying the next manager and moving on.

Convinced majority of you lot have 0 clue what you're watching week to week

 

[CasaStreets]

Two games? Its 9 games into his tenure. But according to you he needs much more than that to know his best 11 players to pick which is beyond laughable. But enjoy the losses as the rotation continues.

Do you know our best available 11? With certainty? I sure don’t.

I’m pretty sure it doesn’t include Mainoo, and confident it doesn’t include Malacia and Zirkzee, but you’re acting like there is some obvious, known ‘best 11’ at all times in all systems. But his rationale for all the decisions is understandable:

- Dalot not playing great at LWB, so testing him on his favored right side and putting in Malacia to allow for that
- Zirkzee improved us last time out off the bench, so giving him a run-out is not ludicrous. Hojlund is the better player for me but let’s not pretend he’s consistent
- Mainoo I won’t defend (vs Casemiro or Eriksen) but he seems rated so I guess other people would agree

Despite all of that, we still outperformed them (xG, shots, corners, possession, territory, etc). Comes down to poor finishing and individual errors. So again, everything you’re saying just feels like a knee-jerk and hyperbolic.