Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

I'm starting to get concerned by his lack of pragmatism. He's inherited a terrible squad and has limited options for wingbacks and CMs, but appears to be very stubborn. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt but he's definitely raising eyebrows with some of his decisions
 
It really highlights the drawbacks of this system, even with the best of plans it will still feel like you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage for the midfield battle right away.
People don't want to accept but it's a system issue. Same as we had with ETH ( 4141). Crowd the attack was for ETH. Now for Amorim is crowd the defence.

Another thing.. Amorim has binned off our 2 attacking outlet players, in Rashford and Garnacho.
Since City game, we haven't scored a goal.

Even on City game one goal was a penalty and the other ball over the top goal. Same ball over the top as Garnacho goal against City in FA Cup final. From Dalot in FA Cup.

The system or Amorim himself, has negated the little attacking ability we had. We are too defensive ( 6 pure defenders,, GK added there) add 1 defensive midfielder.. That's 7 defensive players.
Add EPL midfield demands ( we play with 2 midfielders) its suicide.
Add we have a young attack, who are lonely at the top

Now you can see why we are the poorest team in form since turn of the month.

Amorim has won only 2 LEAGUE games since he came here. If people believe it's something else not the way we setup is the problem then nothing much can be explained.
 
We were fecked the moment Ineos decided to keep Ten Hag in place, Amorim was getting a bit of itchy feet seeing who he talked to in the summer but he made massive blunder agreeing to come here and doing so midseason with little to no hope of serious reinforcements early on.

People forget that finishing 8th serious flattered our performances and underlying stats. We could and should have lost the first game of that season away to Wolves and many more games. Posters look at past performances and previous reputations and think we have a top tier squad - newsflash, we don't.

Some of the losses are unacceptable but we shouldn't overlook the individual and silly errors being made by players who cost millions. We should also accept the fact that other clubs have done a better job than us in squad building - forget the reputations, the fees and the wages; they are only that high because we were the only idiots willing to pay them. Who else would have paid 80m for Antony or gave Casemiro 350k per week?
This is not a relegation form team in terms of the playing squad. But that is what Amorim has turned us into. And he won't change a thing. Nice guy but he is acting irrationally.
 
The crazy thing is a rebuild will cost another 500-600m. RIGHT AFTER we’ve supposedly completed the last rebuild under ten hag.

It’s mental. A bit disappointing that management didn’t select a manager that has a style which would suit our current crop of players. I thought that was the point in having that sporting hierarchy.

I do hope we back Amorim but it’s going to be yet another expensive rebuild if his 3-4-3 doesn’t work.
 
It can actually happen.
The only thing stopping it would be a magical discovery of form. We have half a season to figure it out and get to 40 points, but if this were, say, Game Week 28, we’d surely be going down. People are overloading the miracle wagon thinking several of Rashford, Garnacho, Amad, Højlund, are going to stumble into a patch of goals whilst at the same time our defense remembers that whole thing about jumping no longer being illegal.
 
The crazy thing is a rebuild will cost another 500-600m. RIGHT AFTER we’ve supposedly completed the last rebuild under ten hag.

It’s mental. A bit disappointing that management didn’t select a manager that has a style which would suit our current crop of players. I thought that was the point in having that sporting hierarchy.

I do hope we back Amorim but it’s going to be yet another expensive rebuild if his 3-4-3 doesn’t work.
Im hoping not. Wilcox, Berrada and Vivell should be experienced and hopefully wont get fleeced. Lets see though.
 
Again, top where?

What sustainable success has either of the three achieved?

Even Leicester won the league playing Counter attacking "ball over the top to Vardy" football.
Even Pellegrini and Mancini won the league.
Even over the cliff Mourinho did.

Well, Conte and Tuchel have been successful virtually everywhere they've gone. Conte has won league titles with the clubs you would expect him to, and currently has Napoli joint 1st. Tuchel arguably overachieved with Chelsea during the height of the Liverpool- City rivalry. Nagelsmann has probably flattered to deceive more often than the others but is still one of the top managerial prospects in the game.

It's not "sustained" success in the sense of Pep and Klopp because they've not stayed at clubs for the length of time those managers have. But that's not down to tactics in my opinion, that's more in-line with modern football culture. Finding managers that stick at one club for nearly a decade is increasingly unlikely.

Where I do think there's an argument against 343 (or whatever shape 3 at the back takes) here is simply due to the level of the players we have. We can't score goals or keep clean sheets playing this way, and that only leads to one outcome. Amorim needs to stop being so naive and swallow some pride for the time being. It's right we play his way down the line but these lot can barely manage 442. It's a truly terrible squad.
 
I'm starting to get concerned by his lack of pragmatism. He's inherited a terrible squad and has limited options for wingbacks and CMs, but appears to be very stubborn. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt but he's definitely raising eyebrows with some of his decisions

I thought the opposite after the Zirkzee sub last night. He left out Mainoo, who has been in very poor form, but he made a huge difference when he came on. I liked how he made a decision early and changed things.
 
He has been brought in for his style of play, he would have told the higher ups that he sticks to this no matter what and they would have agreed.

The problem is not Amorim, he sets the team up and gives them a plan. The players have to stick to it.

You can see his frustration in plain sight, the players are not doing what he wants and also utterly failing to do the basics correctly, like pass a ball...

Any coach or manager coming here would have the same issues, the same toxic rubbish to deal with. Too many people with experience in the game have commented, directly or indirectly what the problems are.

Some individuals need to go, we all know who and once this happens the HEALING process can start.

We are exactly where we deserve to be right now, we get beat because other teams play better and want it more, that last point is pretty important.
 
People don't want to accept but it's a system issue. Same as we had with ETH ( 4141). Crowd the attack was for ETH. Now for Amorim is crowd the defence.

Another thing.. Amorim has binned off our 2 attacking outlet players, in Rashford and Garnacho.
Since City game, we haven't scored a goal.

Even on City game one goal was a penalty and the other ball over the top goal. Same ball over the top as Garnacho goal against City in FA Cup final. From Dalot in FA Cup.

The system or Amorim himself, has negated the little attacking ability we had. We are too defensive ( 6 pure defenders,, GK added there) add 1 defensive midfielder.. That's 7 defensive players.
Add EPL midfield demands ( we play with 2 midfielders) its suicide.
Add we have a young attack, who are lonely at the top

Now you can see why we are the poorest team in form since turn of the month.

Amorim has won only 2 LEAGUE games since he came here. If people believe it's something else not the way we setup is the problem then nothing much can be explained.
It’s not surprising we instantly looked more competent in the midfield area once Mainoo was subbed in then we at least matched Newcastle on numbers (less so on legs / quality) but we ended up hooking a striker meaning we essentially play one extra defender in place of an attacking player which will obviously lead to a real struggle offensively no matter how good of the players we have in the team.
 
Im hoping not. Wilcox, Berrada and Vivell should be experienced and hopefully wont get fleeced. Lets see though.
Even if we manage to negotiate good fees, we basically need to replace almost entire squad before we can challenge for titles. We maybe have 2-3 players that could play a role in a successful team, that's still going to be a huge outlay before we get there.

However, we should already be decent/good with 3-4 crucial signings - basically a couple of full backs, a midfielder and a proper striker and things should start taking shape. As hopeless as our defenders have been, we have to be able to put something together there with the talent of de Ligt, Maguire, Mazraoui and Yoro.
 
Even if we manage to negotiate good fees, we basically need to replace almost entire squad before we can challenge for titles. We maybe have 2-3 players that could play a role in a successful team, that's still going to be a huge outlay before we get there.

However, we should already be decent/good with 3-4 crucial signings - basically a couple of full backs, a midfielder and a proper striker and things should start taking shape. As hopeless as our defenders have been, we have to be able to put something together there with the talent of de Ligt, Maguire, Mazraoui and Yoro.
I agree we are off a title challenge by a couple of big windows, but in one major summer we can bring in a LWB, Striker, CM and 10,Or at least 3 of those positions, and it should be transformative.
 
Even if we manage to negotiate good fees, we basically need to replace almost entire squad before we can challenge for titles. We maybe have 2-3 players that could play a role in a successful team, that's still going to be a huge outlay before we get there.

However, we should already be decent/good with 3-4 crucial signings - basically a couple of full backs, a midfielder and a proper striker and things should start taking shape. As hopeless as our defenders have been, we have to be able to put something together there with the talent of de Ligt, Maguire, Mazraoui and Yoro.
As much as we are the worst team in the league right now, I think the whole mess is addressable with a couple of good signings, guys with strong characters who galvanise other people around them.
 
Amorim surely is a good coach but if you bring him in he needs the chance to get the right players for his system. He took over mid-season and tries to find out which players of the current squad could be good enough for his ideas. While long-term this total reset (if we really see it) might be a good thing but the PL is so unforgiving that his stubbornness gets us into short-term trouble.
The idea probably was that the season has anyway already been a write-off in November and Amorim gets a lot of time to lay the basis for his ideas and has 2 transfer windows to transform the squad. However, we are getting in big trouble so we need to get some results.
Anfield has the potential to become another massive pummeling.
 
I thought the opposite after the Zirkzee sub last night. He left out Mainoo, who has been in very poor form, but he made a huge difference when he came on. I liked how he made a decision early and changed things.
In a setting the building on fire and then calling the fire department sort of way.
 
the issue for me is how close 17th is to 18th. Leicester and Ipswich might win a few in a row and suddenly we’re 1-2 points of relegation without any momentum. It can happen. And once this team is relegated it’s basically game over.
That’s way I’m with those who want to steady the ship for a while. Play to the players’ strength until we’re out in the clear.
Ignoring the possibility of ending the season in 18th-19th place. Then it will become relevant.
If we're within 3 points of relegation with 6 games to go, then I'll be concerned.

Right now, I consider the prospect of relegation so wildly unlikely that it has no bearing on my thinking.
 
In a setting the building on fire and then calling the fire department sort of way.

The midfield of Casemiro and Eriksen was a mistake, but his hands were really tied with his options there. No Ugarte, no Bruno, Mainoo playing an absolute stinker in his last game. What would he have been able to do if he went with Casemiro and Mainoo and we still concede 2 or 3 goals in that first half? He would have nowhere to go then.

We've known for a while that Zirkzee can't play the role up top in a way that we need, but there have been question marks about him playing behind the striker, which would give us some usage for him. Fans have also been asking for this. He tried it, and changed it when it didn't work. The options available to him are very limited and very poor. The building was already on fire before he even got there.
 
If we continue this sort of form for the rest of the season, we will seriously be in a relegation scrap.

We all know the players are shite, but he needs to find a way to stop losing so many games with these players. What was he thinking playing Casemiro & Eriksen together? It was obvious what the outcome would be. He needs to adapt, or we might be looking for a new manager in March/April to keep us in the league.

What a truly pathetic crop of players we have. They should be ashamed.
 
The midfield of Casemiro and Eriksen was a mistake, but his hands were really tied with his options there. No Ugarte, no Bruno, Mainoo playing an absolute stinker in his last game. What would he have been able to do if he went with Casemiro and Mainoo and we still concede 2 or 3 goals in that first half? He would have nowhere to go then.

We've known for a while that Zirkzee can't play the role up top in a way that we need, but there have been question marks about him playing behind the striker, which would give us some usage for him. Fans have also been asking for this. He tried it, and changed it when it didn't work. The options available to him are very limited and very poor. The building was already on fire before he even got there.
That set up was beyond delusional, especially as he’s had 11 games to see what this bunch is like.
 
But that's a ridiculous argument. Your point is "they're only high up the table because they win games"
No. The context is that you called these games difficult fixtures because Forest are 3rd (effectively, assuming Arsenal win the next game), Bournemouth are 6th (actually 7th) and Newcastle are 5th, today.

I'm pointing that they weren't in these positions when we played them. We had every chance to be above at least Bournemouth by now.
 
That is a wild sentence. I want a boss like you.
Actually we do have to think like that at work all the time. I work for a company who sell high value solutions with a long and complex sales cycle. If we judged salespeople only on their results, we'd fire 99% of them after 12-months.

Amorim came into a situation that everybody, and I mean everybody (it was unanimous) agreed was almost impossible. I haven't given him a free pass, check my posts. I have been critical of his team selection and his substitutions.

What I won't be critical of, until this time next year, are his system or his coaching ability - because there's simply absolutely no meaningful Data / evidence to assess either on.
 
He gets a final "free pass" against the dippers on Sunday, as they would beat us anyway. But after that, at least in the league, results will have to pick up. If not, he might be toast around Feb. I hear Sporting is looking for a coach...
 
The league position is laughable but fast forward a month, no European football or FA Cup, and then fast forward to next season even less games all together means only a small squad required.

Amorim and INEOS should be planning for next season. Ignore the drama and media circus, it’s all just entertainment at the end of the day.
 
No. The context is that you called these games difficult fixtures because Forest are 3rd (effectively, assuming Arsenal win the next game), Bournemouth are 6th (actually 7th) and Newcastle are 5th, today.

I'm pointing that they weren't in these positions when we played them. We had every chance to be above at least Bournemouth by now.
But we're at the midpoint of the season, not a few games in. Everybody has played everybody once. Your position in the table is a reflection of all of your performances and results to this point - not one game against us
 
That said I bet he realises the lack of goals can't go on and at least one of them switches to a winger.

The fact is, I think everyone attempting to argue with me here actually agrees that we simply cannot continue playing 3 CBs and two fullbacks so the debate is a little bizarre.
People are attempting to remove blame from the manager whilst they also agree we need to change the wingbacks.
 
The fact is, I think everyone attempting to argue with me here actually agrees that we simply cannot continue playing 3 CBs and two fullbacks so the debate is a little bizarre.
People are attempting to remove blame from the manager whilst they also agree we need to change the wingbacks.
I don’t think anyone is disagreeing with the idea of using wingers rather than fullbacks.

More you calling the manager a coward.

An Anfield would you want Garnacho or Rashford at LWB against Salah. Or to try Antony there for the first time?

I don’t think its cowardice to think not. Overly pragmatic maybe.
 
Starting Casemiro and Eriksen midfield with Zirkzee and Amad in front of them is all on him obviously. We were better from 35th minute when sub was made.

We wouldn’t be having results this bad if we stuck with 4-2-3-1. Hopefully there will be a long term gain because as much as I expected us to struggle, you’d think we’d at least win every other game, not lose 4 in a row. It could be 6 in a row counting Spurs and then Arsenal in the Fa Cup.

He’s got trust from the club and the fans but 2nd half of the season will have to get (at least slightly) better.
 
It’s mental. A bit disappointing that management didn’t select a manager that has a style which would suit our current crop of players. I thought that was the point in having that sporting hierarchy.

That depends on how you look at it. Do you want one of the most exciting managers in the world who requires a squad overhaul or do you want to try and find a manager that can get a tune out of your mess of a squad assembled poorly and hope that somehow that works a miracle.

Like it or not, to be winning the PL and other competitions these days you need exceptional players and an brilliant manager. Who would we have got that did anything more than OK with this set of players. Its fundamentally a mess of a squad with numerous issues. The goals come largely from our wingers, one of which barely seem to care about football and the other was going down the standard United path of being overhyped and indulged to the detriment of building a team.

When was the last time we had a functioning squad at United? You know, where everything works in unison. Where the forwards work and play for each other and help the midfield. Where we aren't relying of little moments of brilliance and outside of that we beat teams because we just have far better players than them.

The sporting hierarchy has been there for very little time and I am more than happy to back Amorim for a few seasons. My only fear is that if it doesn't workout we have another team that is very specialised and limits the pool of managers that would come in and hit the ground running.

He will be given the season and a summer as long as we aren't actually likely to get relegated.
 
This is not a relegation form team in terms of the playing squad. But that is what Amorim has turned us into. And he won't change a thing. Nice guy but he is acting irrationally.
This was always what a Ten Hag team looked like, that's why he indulged Bruno, Garnacho and Rashford because they could always buy him an undeserved goal. We are blaming the system but where are the basics like simple 5 yard passes, contesting for 2nd balls and challenging crosses? These point to a rotten and unfocused dressing room.

Someone can come in, do an Ole and play to their strengths but we will be back here the moment more is demanded. How long should we stay a counter attacking team whilst teams spending less than us can build sustainable systems?

Another thing is you are all sanitizing individual errors that should be unacceptable at this level. Onana letting a direct corner in, Maz giving away a silly penalty right after half time when we are already a goal down, consistently failing to score gilt edged chances and failing to string five passes together or a striker failing to make the ball stick at this level, Garnacho ignoring team mates for simple passes and people losing their shit when the manager takes corrective action.

Where else are things like these accepted and this is possibly the best paid squad in the world.

Now I am not saying Amorim is infallible but he is a new guy and is possibly shocked at the depths some of these players are able to shamelessly sink to. He will learn, I'm sure he now regrets trusting a lot in this bunch but in a rut like this he can't exactly go to Anfield and field Collyer and Amass, can he?