Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

I have a sneaky feeling that if Gareth Southgate had come in and played five at the back with these results, he wouldn’t be seeing so much patience from these fans.

I’m in agreement with you that any new manager should be able to show a big improvement with what he has before we should be handing them massive war chests again to “build their own team”.
We’ve made that mistake so many times but at least this manager appears to understand in his pressers that results will win him in time & results only.
In general, no manager should be allowed to “build his own team” or “buy his own players”. We need players who suit the club strategy irrespective of who’s the current manager, which in turn means we need managers who are compatible and on board with the club strategy. I thought we’d all learned as much from ETH’s reign but evidently not, considering the amount of posters who want us to spend a fortune on specialized players for a niche system.
 
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He doesn't. He's stated recently that he has only one idea.
Well, that's not good.

He's never played any other system in his coaching career? It's like even if there were crazy injuries in our squad and we needed to just draw a tough away game in order to progress in the EL, he'd stick to his one idea.

That could be admirable or silly depending on the outcome.
 
This is why he was a bad appointment, he only has 1 idea which wont work with our current squad and even if we somehow find money to buy the players that'll make it work what happens when it gets found out and stops working again?
A lot of managers only have one idea. As a profile, Amorim is no different to Klopp or Guardiola in the sense that they have a very clear and defined way in which they see the game. You can tweak certain things within the system, but largely, the idea stays the same.
 

Catman behind Amorim.
I have played watched and coached football for 60 years and have three top-footballing sons all captains of their teams. I have supported @ManUtd since Denis Law signed for the Reds in 1962. So I know a thing or two about the game and about United. I know that United will be back that's for sure. I know they've got the right coach. I know they've got the wrong owners too . Above all I know that more than half the players in the current squad are not fit to wear the shirt. I know we have signed players on exorbitant fees (Denis cost the equivalent of £3million today) and that we pay ludicrous salaries to players who would struggle almost anywhere else. I know I felt ashamed today. And embarrassed. And yet I know I will still be there right behind them in the next game. Football, bloody hell
 
So what's your minimum expectation for Amorim this season? Blank cheque? As long as no relegation all well and good. Next season we give him 300m to spend? Also, we need to give him 3 years?
The minimum expectation this season is to have seen a vast improvement in the way the play before the end of the season (with or without much movement in January). I would expect to see more structure and familiarity with the formation by then. I’d expect us to finish around 9-10th.

We shouldn’t be giving ANY manager £300m … we should be buying players as a club, not like the mess we embarked on with ETH.
 
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Well, that's not good.

He's never played any other system in his coaching career? It's like even if there were crazy injuries in our squad and we needed to just draw a tough away game in order to progress in the EL, he'd stick to his one idea.

That could be admirable or silly depending on the outcome.
Largely, no. He may have played with a back four once or twice in his career to date. Would need a Sporting fan to confirm. In the situation you describe, he would stick to his system but he could tweak certain elements of it to make it more pragmatic/even counter attacking if necessary.
 

Catman behind Amorim.


"Would you like me to be the cat?"

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Largely, no. He may have played with a back four once or twice in his career to date. Would need a Sporting fan to confirm. In the situation you describe, he would stick to his system but he could tweak certain elements of it to make it more pragmatic/even counter attacking if necessary.
The 2 games I attended it seemed like a WB would occasionally drop back and change the formation but largely was a 343 from what I’ve seen
 
I'd say that's a little hasty.

Losing to Brighton and Fulham is a very real possibility. At the moment, both are better than us.

André Villas-Boas did not meet expectations and lacked consistent success in his EPL managerial roles after performing well in a smaller league. I would prefer to cut our losses early if he cannot defeat three teams with weaker squads.
 
The 2 games I attended it seemed like a WB would occasionally drop back and change the formation but largely was a 343 from what I’ve seen
Yeah, the wing-backs are hugely important. The 'one idea' schtick may pinpoint Amorim as limited, but there are many different nuances and variations within his system that in reality make him a lot more than one dimensional.
 
Weaker squads? Our squad is absolutely chalked full of shit
Let's remember that Brighton beat us at OT the last two seasons.

And we needed extra time goals the past two seasons from Bruno and Garnacho to beat Fulham away.

How much silverware do Southampton, Brighton, and Fulham have combined over the last few seasons? Did any of these clubs finish above us last season?
 
André Villas-Boas did not meet expectations and lacked consistent success in his EPL managerial roles after performing well in a smaller league. I would prefer to cut our losses early if he cannot defeat three teams with weaker squads.
He inherited an Ancelotti side that had finished 2nd, and the season before that had won the League and FA Cup double. Hardly the same as the steaming turd of a squad that Ten Hag had left on Amorim's welcome mat.
 
When you employ Amorim, you employ Amorim's one idea. That is irrespective of how many of the current players it suits. Just my view that relegation isn't happening. Three wins from 19 games will likely be enough.
Relegation is as likely as United suddenly going on an unbeaten streak currently.

I have no issues with Amorim trying to implement his plan, just it's evidently not working so could do with some adapting to turn things around in terms of results.
Else relegation will be a very very real possibility instead of an outside chance.
 
André Villas-Boas did not meet expectations and lacked consistent success in his EPL managerial roles after performing well in a smaller league. I would prefer to cut our losses early if he cannot defeat three teams with weaker squads.
The situation with AVB was a bit different IIRC. He showed strong tactical nous early on, but didn't have the man management / people skills to handle Chelsea's squad full of strong personalities. He lost the dressing room quickly, got sacked, and his career never really recovered from that.
 
Ahhh let’s compare last seasons squad with our current squad and form.

Mctominay is the only key difference.

He inherited an Ancelotti side that had finished 2nd, and the season before that had won the League and FA Cup double. Hardly the same as the steaming turd of a squad that Ten Hag had left on Amorim's welcome mat.

Ten Hag won two trophies and got Champions League football out of this steaming turd of a squad.

Completely the wrong approach unfortunately.

If only Palace had stuck with De Boer.
 
Relegation is as likely as United suddenly going on an unbeaten streak currently.

I have no issues with Amorim trying to implement his plan, just it's evidently not working so could do with some adapting to turn things around in terms of results.
Else relegation will be a very very real possibility instead of an outside chance.
Depends how long a streak I guess.

What would constitute "adapting"? What does he need to sacrifice that would lead to better results? I feel that he's managing the team the only way he knows how.
 
He should be sacked if we don't get at least six points from Southampton, Brighton, and Fulham.
Fulham and Brighton have been playing a consistent style of football for years now and been troubling all of the top sides. There’s quite a few players in the Fulham squad that would improve our system.

Only the Southampton game would be a big shock if we didn’t win.
 
The "one idea" thing has become a little lost in translation I fear. It's more about principles of play than it is strictly formation.
 
The situation with AVB was a bit different IIRC. He showed strong tactical nous early on, but didn't have the man management / people skills to handle Chelsea's squad full of strong personalities. He lost the dressing room quickly, got sacked, and his career never really recovered from that.

Success in smaller leagues does not necessarily translate to success in larger leagues. The job might just be too big for him.


Fulham and Brighton have been playing a consistent style of football for years now and been troubling all of the top sides. There’s quite a few players in the Fulham squad that would improve our system.

Only the Southampton game would be a big shock if we didn’t win.

Fulham and Brighton finished below United last season, so the idea that their teams are better than United's contradicts the notion that ETH was a bad manager.


Wow, you're really negative about Amorim. Obviously from his point of view, the timing of his arrival wasn't great, as he alluded to previously. Even so, alarming lack of patience on your part.
I haven't seen anything positive so far. If he turns it around, I will admit I was wrong.
 
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I will stand behind Amorim for a year. That’s it. A year. It’s ‘silly’ I think to expect generational play from a squad that plays largely with lads that would struggle to find their way in any top 10 team in this league right now. I still like some things I see and I’m fairly certain we will try to eliminate some of the dross we have accumulated over the years.

Our top 4-5 earners are ridiculously bad at this game and it’s gonna take some effort to displace the likes of Case, Ericksen, Shaw, Marcus, Antony.

In retrospect, the transfers of Hojlund, Amad, Maz, Yoro are still positives but realistically speaking they should be coming into a core of good players. Instead they are joining a circus. They are young (not Maz) and have a high ceiling.

I am assuming that Ruben has received some reassurances that he will get at least 1 year and flexibility in the transfer market.
 
I hate to say it but I can actually see him getting fired before the end of the season. it feels like he and/or INEOS have totally lost the dressing room already. It’ll be interesting to see how low they’ll let us slide. I fully expect a 4/5-0 this wknd. Not even going to watch. It would be a good week to TC Salah if you play FPL. I expect our lot to just roll over
That's the spirit !
 
Fulham and Brighton finished below United last season, so the idea that their teams are better than United's contradicts the notion that ETH was a bad manager.
No it doesn’t. Ten Hag built a team to play on the transition. It wasn’t good enough to get us top four but slightly better than Brighton and Fulham.

It’s certainly not good enough to play the type of football Amorim plays which is more possession based. Fulham and Brighton play similar styles and have been for years, hence being better at it than our players at the moment.
Ten Hag won two trophies and got Champions League football out of this steaming turd of a squad.
You seem to accept the squad is shit so I’m not sure of your point.
 
Atleast giving him a year is pretty reasonable considering we appointed a young manager with a different play style altogether that we have never played.

If we just wanted a short term fix to give us bounce and immediate results then he was not a good appointment anyway. We should have gone to someone else.

Its long term vs short term. If start of next season is still same or bad then we should sack him but too put so much pressure so soon is crazy.
 
André Villas-Boas did not meet expectations and lacked consistent success in his EPL managerial roles after performing well in a smaller league. I would prefer to cut our losses early if he cannot defeat three teams with weaker squads.
Actually that's a valid point.


Villas-Boas signed a deal to become the new manager of Porto on 2 June 2010. Two months later, he won his first trophy as a manager when Porto defeated Benfica 2–0 to win the Portuguese Supercup.Villas-Boas went on to immense success with Porto, leading the team to an undefeated season in the Primeira Liga—only the second time this had ever been achieved—and winning the title by more than 20 points, having conceded only 13 goals all season. Villas-Boas went on to follow up this success by leading Porto to win both the Portuguese Cup and the UEFA Europa League, thus completing a treble in his first season in charge. By doing so, Villas-Boas became the third-youngest coach ever to win the Primeira Liga (behind Mihály Siska in 1939 and Juca in 1962) and the youngest manager ever to win a European competition, at the age of 33 years and 213 days. On 21 June 2011, Villas-Boas tendered his resignation as Porto manager.

Joined Chelsea sacked the same year.
 
I have every sympathy with your view. Amorim himself talked about the possibility of relegation being an issue during his last post match interview.
I think that was stupid of him.

How are you going to pump your team up and motivate them when they just heard you say that relegation is a possibility ? That isn't a motivational speech it's depressing.

It's like saying to the guys in the trenches, you might get killed when you go over the top, to try and get them to jump up and be motivated to stay alive. Poor from Amorin if you ask me.
 
Arsenal is a cup game. I think we will lose to Liverpool and beat Southampton, so 25 points from 21 games. Far from good, but not the doomsday picture you paint.

Do goals in the lineup mean the inclusion of Rashford and/or Garnacho?

I have absolutely zero confidence we’ll beat Southampton, but if we do and lose to Liverpool it’s 10 games for Amorim, with 10 points.
If we keep up playing 5 defenders I have a real feeling that might be 7 point from 10 and us looking in big trouble.