Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

[Jim Beam]

I honestly thought after ETH the cult of the manager would finally be over. And yet here we are, a few months down the line, 8 defeats in the last 12 PL games. Just let that sink in for a second, 8 defeats in 12 games. Just 3 wins. As a Manchester United manager. And you still have people defending it, making excuses, saying it’s expected etc etc

Yeah, it is absolutely amazing after all these years that we are still in the same mindset.

 

[Castia]

I mean, the guy’s here now so he should be making the most of what he has - and what he wanted to do before taking on the job can’t really be explanation nor justification for 14 points out of 42 in the prem. Even if he felt he needed preseason + players to implement his style, he’s been here longer than what a pre-season period is, and has time to assess what’s available to him in terms of players.

It’s hard to implement into training mid season there’s not that many training sessions when clubs are playing 2-3 games a week. He was hired for playing a certain way and he’s not been backed, for him to change we should have hired elsewhere it was a pointless appointment

It’s obviously not been good enough and in all honesty with this weeks injuries it’s probably not going to improve much before the summer. Do they sack him and look even more incompetent than they already do? Or do we plan for the summer and try to properly implement a system he was hired to play? I’d go for the latter this job isn’t about the short term the club needs a massive overhaul

 

[RedIan]

The premier league season is a write off but we have to ensure we get some points on the table and avoid slipping further down into the relegation places. We are still very much in 2 cups.
I want to see midfield tightened up, id play Ugarte and Collyer as a midfield pair to tighten things up..
Bruno back as a 10. And give chido a chance to see if he can do it at the higher level, he cant score any less than hojlund and zirkzee.

 

[VP89]

The context wasn't the same though. The fact that Obi came on at all makes it more daring than all the other debuts you mentioned except for maybe Macheda.

He came on at 2-3 mins to go and didn't touch the ball. It felt worse than not putting him on all together to be honest, I don't get the thinking behind it.

It means amorim was saving him for some impact and fecked it up.

 

[2 man midfield]

Could be from the championship up the way it's going

If we went down I think he would get the sack, which would sort of defeat the purpose of getting him in mid season. We should’ve just gone with an interim then Ruben in the summer if we weren’t prepared to sit through them learning this system.

Not that I agree with it, I think he’s been far too stubborn for his own good. Many of these players won’t even be here to play it if Ruben stays for a couple of years.

 

[tomaldinho1]

I honestly thought after ETH the cult of the manager would finally be over. And yet here we are, a few months down the line, 8 defeats in the last 12 PL games. Just let that sink in for a second, 8 defeats in 12 games. Just 3 wins. As a Manchester United manager. And you still have people defending it, making excuses, saying it’s expected etc etc

I don’t care how many bad cards you’ve been dealt or how unfair it is…that is simply unacceptable.

I think those who refuse to consider (that is all people need to be open to) the possibility of him simply not being good enough are just extremely vocal ETH critics who jumped far too quickly on Amorim as some kind of saviour out of desperation and now feel entitled to back him apparently no matter what. Most seem to understand he needs to turn this round or he’s sacked by summer.

 

[UnofficialDevil]

I can't believe we are 15th in the league.
Unbelievable.

 

[Fooza]

I honestly thought after ETH the cult of the manager would finally be over. And yet here we are, a few months down the line, 8 defeats in the last 12 PL games. Just let that sink in for a second, 8 defeats in 12 games. Just 3 wins. As a Manchester United manager. And you still have people defending it, making excuses, saying it’s expected etc etc

I don’t care how many bad cards you’ve been dealt or how unfair it is…that is simply unacceptable.

But then you bring in another manager, and if it ends up being the same results, you'll keep sacking every few months?

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

It may seem like deja vu, but it is extremely important that Amorim is judged fairly and not singularly held responsible for the mess we're in right now. Context is important - ignoring it is what has led us to this mess in the first place.

Injuries, formation, motivation, tactics - they are all issues, but I think they're all secondary. More than 50% of our issues are because we don't have goalscorers in this squad, simple as that.

#	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Liverpool	25	18	6	1	60	24	36	60
2	Man City	25	13	5	7	52	35	17	44
3	Arsenal	25	15	8	2	51	22	29	53
4	Tottenham	25	9	3	13	49	37	12	30
5	Chelsea	25	12	7	6	47	34	13	43
6	Bournemouth	25	12	7	6	44	29	15	43
7	Brentford	25	10	4	11	43	42	1	34
8	Newcastle	25	12	5	8	42	33	9	41
9	Nottm Forest	25	14	5	6	41	29	12	47
10	Fulham	25	10	9	6	38	33	5	39
11	Brighton	25	9	10	6	38	38	0	37
12	Aston Villa	25	10	8	7	35	38	-3	38
13	Wolves	25	5	4	16	35	54	-19	19
14	Crystal Palace	25	7	9	9	29	32	-3	30
15	West Ham	25	7	6	12	29	47	-18	27
16	Man Utd	25	8	5	12	28	35	-7	29
17	Everton	25	7	9	9	27	31	-4	30
18	Leicester	25	4	5	16	25	55	-30	17
19	Ipswich	25	3	8	14	23	50	-27	17
20	Southampton	25	2	3	20	19	57	-38	9

The league table, sorted by Goals scored - we're 16th in that list. 16th, and deservedly so - Amad was topping both the PL goals (6) and top PL assists (6) tables for United - and he's out for the season now. What can you expect Amorim to do when Hojlund, Zirkzee, and Garnacho collectively have 8G/2A to show for almost 3600 minutes of PL football? That's the front line collectively scoring a single goal once every 5 games.

Gyokeres has 22 league goals this season alone, scoring every 78 minutes this season. Last season, he had 29G/10A in the league. Sure, apples and oranges - no idea if he could have done that in the PL. Sure, we won't have a Gyokeres in this squad, but you have to feel for the man, and the sheer extent to which he has been crippled by our senior management.

We simply don't know how good Amorim is - he could be good, or he could be poor. There's no way of knowing, yet - he needs to have at least 2-3 players in (including an established goalscorer) before he's judged. All we know is that he's been set up to fail terribly by decisions made before his arrival, and the financial state of this club. We can only hope that we get to (a) raise money by letting Sancho, Rashford, Antony all go this summer, along with a few players on a free, and (b) we invest that money much better than we have in the last decade. Otherwise, Amorim will be sacked before we find out if he's actually any good.

 

[Dominant]

These sheeps worshipping a manager who has done feck all to deserve anything will still be backing him if he relegates us. Totally delusional.

Yeah, it is absolutely amazing after all these years that we are still in the same mindset.

 

[Oscar Bonavena]

I honestly thought after ETH the cult of the manager would finally be over. And yet here we are, a few months down the line, 8 defeats in the last 12 PL games. Just let that sink in for a second, 8 defeats in 12 games. Just 3 wins. As a Manchester United manager. And you still have people defending it, making excuses, saying it’s expected etc etc

I don’t care how many bad cards you’ve been dealt or how unfair it is…that is simply unacceptable.

Are you saying pull the trigger now before it gets worse?

 

[Thom Merrilin]

He came on at 2-3 mins to go and didn't touch the ball. It felt worse than not putting him on all together to be honest, I don't get the thinking behind it.

It means amorim was saving him for some impact and fecked it up.

Yeah I agree, I don't think he should've brought him on at all.

 

[pocco]

I totally get the posts about “cult of the manager” and defending poor results etc. But the one thing I can stomach even less right now if sacking another manager already and giving these toss pot players another chance. If they don’t already feel untouchable and play like there’s zero consequence, they certainly will if that happens

Whilst I get the fans turning on Amorim, these fecking players need to feel the heat too. Honestly they boil my piss they’re so incompetently shite.

 

[TheGame]

I honestly thought after ETH the cult of the manager would finally be over. And yet here we are, a few months down the line, 8 defeats in the last 12 PL games. Just let that sink in for a second, 8 defeats in 12 games. Just 3 wins. As a Manchester United manager. And you still have people defending it, making excuses, saying it’s expected etc etc

I don’t care how many bad cards you’ve been dealt or how unfair it is…that is simply unacceptable.

Have to agree, been way too many excuses being rolled out. Even Moyes has come in and got Everton going.

 

[TheGame]

He could have brought some of the youngsters on today. Players were tiring, it was a missed opportunity to have them there and not even feature. Heaven and Obi (pointless to give him 3 mins only).

 

[Woziak]

Our club is a poisoned chalice at the moment, so it would be entirely understandable and unsurprising if someone like Iraola wanted to stay at Bournemouth instead of coming to us.

No it wouldn’t he’ll get more out of international players that currently play for United in a high energy 433 system.

An Iraola man united team in the summer would look like this after maybe 3/4 signings.

*J Trafford(GK)

Mazroui (RB)
MDL (RCB)
L Yoro(LCB)
P Dorgu(LB)

M Ugarte (DM)
Bruno (AM)
*Ederson (CM)

Amad (RW)
*L Delap(CF)
*A Semenyo(LW)

I bet that team finishes top 6/7 effortless with Iraola as coach, he would also work well with our youth and either sort Rashford and Garnaucho out or sell them. Zirkzee would also have a chance of improving under Iraola.

 

[Bojan11]

I honestly thought after ETH the cult of the manager would finally be over. And yet here we are, a few months down the line, 8 defeats in the last 12 PL games. Just let that sink in for a second, 8 defeats in 12 games. Just 3 wins. As a Manchester United manager. And you still have people defending it, making excuses, saying it’s expected etc etc

I don’t care how many bad cards you’ve been dealt or how unfair it is…that is simply unacceptable.

He would be packing his bags at any other club in Europe, I am not even talking about the big boys. Roma and Sporting both made management changes during the season and quickly realised it wasn’t the right move.

This nonsense that Amorim needs 11 new players, is just the type that was spewed for ETH. We are not signing 11 new players, so he needs to get the best out of the current lot and he currently is not.

 

[flameinthesun]

It may seem like deja vu, but it is extremely important that Amorim is judged fairly and not singularly held responsible for the mess we're in right now. Context is important - ignoring it is what has led us to this mess in the first place.

Injuries, formation, motivation, tactics - they are all issues, but I think they're all secondary. More than 50% of our issues are because we don't have goalscorers in this squad, simple as that.

#	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Liverpool	25	18	6	1	60	24	36	60
2	Man City	25	13	5	7	52	35	17	44
3	Arsenal	25	15	8	2	51	22	29	53
4	Tottenham	25	9	3	13	49	37	12	30
5	Chelsea	25	12	7	6	47	34	13	43
6	Bournemouth	25	12	7	6	44	29	15	43
7	Brentford	25	10	4	11	43	42	1	34
8	Newcastle	25	12	5	8	42	33	9	41
9	Nottm Forest	25	14	5	6	41	29	12	47
10	Fulham	25	10	9	6	38	33	5	39
11	Brighton	25	9	10	6	38	38	0	37
12	Aston Villa	25	10	8	7	35	38	-3	38
13	Wolves	25	5	4	16	35	54	-19	19
14	Crystal Palace	25	7	9	9	29	32	-3	30
15	West Ham	25	7	6	12	29	47	-18	27
16	Man Utd	25	8	5	12	28	35	-7	29
17	Everton	25	7	9	9	27	31	-4	30
18	Leicester	25	4	5	16	25	55	-30	17
19	Ipswich	25	3	8	14	23	50	-27	17
20	Southampton	25	2	3	20	19	57	-38	9

The league table, sorted by Goals scored - we're 16th in that list. 16th, and deservedly so - Amad was topping both the PL goals (6) and top PL assists (6) tables for United - and he's out for the season now. What can you expect Amorim to do when Hojlund, Zirkzee, and Garnacho collectively have 8G/2A to show for almost 3600 minutes of PL football? That's the front line collectively scoring a single goal once every 5 games.

Probably doesn't help that when you inherit a team that struggles to score that you then make it even harder for them to score or create chances by taking out an attacker and playing an extra defender.

 

[Leftback99]

It may seem like deja vu, but it is extremely important that Amorim is judged fairly and not singularly held responsible for the mess we're in right now. Context is important - ignoring it is what has led us to this mess in the first place.

Injuries, formation, motivation, tactics - they are all issues, but I think they're all secondary. More than 50% of our issues are because we don't have goalscorers in this squad, simple as that.

#	TEAM	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	PTS
1	Liverpool	25	18	6	1	60	24	36	60
2	Man City	25	13	5	7	52	35	17	44
3	Arsenal	25	15	8	2	51	22	29	53
4	Tottenham	25	9	3	13	49	37	12	30
5	Chelsea	25	12	7	6	47	34	13	43
6	Bournemouth	25	12	7	6	44	29	15	43
7	Brentford	25	10	4	11	43	42	1	34
8	Newcastle	25	12	5	8	42	33	9	41
9	Nottm Forest	25	14	5	6	41	29	12	47
10	Fulham	25	10	9	6	38	33	5	39
11	Brighton	25	9	10	6	38	38	0	37
12	Aston Villa	25	10	8	7	35	38	-3	38
13	Wolves	25	5	4	16	35	54	-19	19
14	Crystal Palace	25	7	9	9	29	32	-3	30
15	West Ham	25	7	6	12	29	47	-18	27
16	Man Utd	25	8	5	12	28	35	-7	29
17	Everton	25	7	9	9	27	31	-4	30
18	Leicester	25	4	5	16	25	55	-30	17
19	Ipswich	25	3	8	14	23	50	-27	17
20	Southampton	25	2	3	20	19	57	-38	9

The league table, sorted by Goals scored - we're 16th in that list. 16th, and deservedly so - Amad was topping both the PL goals (6) and top PL assists (6) tables for United - and he's out for the season now. What can you expect Amorim to do when Hojlund, Zirkzee, and Garnacho collectively have 8G/2A to show for almost 3600 minutes of PL football? That's the front line collectively scoring a single goal once every 5 games.

Which is all the more frustrating that it was entirely predictable by just bringing in Zirkzee in the summer, while selling McTominay who was one of our only goal threats.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

I totally get the posts about “cult of the manager” and defending poor results etc. But the one thing I can stomach even less right now if sacking another manager already and giving these toss pot players another chance. If they don’t already feel untouchable and play like there’s zero consequence, they certainly will if that happens

Whilst I get the fans turning on Amorim, these fecking players need to feel the heat too. Honestly they boil my piss they’re so incompetently shite.

It is which players, some only came in this season, is it the ones that came in last season, the ones who were here under Ole?

 

[Bojan11]

I totally get the posts about “cult of the manager” and defending poor results etc. But the one thing I can stomach even less right now if sacking another manager already and giving these toss pot players another chance. If they don’t already feel untouchable and play like there’s zero consequence, they certainly will if that happens

Whilst I get the fans turning on Amorim, these fecking players need to feel the heat too. Honestly they boil my piss they’re so incompetently shite.

Most the players will be here next season. We are not going to do a Forest or Chelsea like turn over. There isn’t any money for that. So maybe get a manager that’s going to get the best out of them?

 

[friendlytramp]

We were 1 nil down mate, not 1 nil up,

We needed a goal.

Chido Obi should have been given atleast 15/20 minutes ffs.

He’s not ready though, on the bench out of necessity and Hojlund more likely to score.

 

[T_Model101]

He’s not ready though, on the bench out of necessity and Hojlund more likely to score.

Exactly, I give the manager the benefit of the doubt, if he thinks these youth players aren't necessarily ready.
The nightmare scenario today would have been him making 5 subs, all for 17/18 year olds and 1 or 2 of them either missing massive chances or costing us a goal

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

Probably doesn't help that when you inherit a team that struggles to score that you then make it even harder for them to score or create chances by taking out an attacker and playing an extra defender.

The debate on formation has been done to death, so won't go into it any further. If the club expected flexibility to make the most of the situation from their new manager, they hired the wrong guy. He's been clear about what he will do from day one, if we are not okay with it, we should have addressed it before asking him to join mid-season with 0 transfer budget. That's not on Amorim, that's on INEOS.

 

[McLvnsMuse]

No it wouldn’t he’ll get more out of international players that currently play for United in a high energy 433 system.

An Iraola man united team in the summer would look like this after maybe 3/4 signings.

*J Trafford(GK)

Mazroui (RB)
MDL (RCB)
L Yoro(LCB)
P Dorgu(LB)

M Ugarte (DM)
Bruno (AM)
*Ederson (CM)

Amad (RW)
*L Delap(CF)
*A Semenyo(LW)

I bet that team finishes top 6/7 effortless with Iraola as coach, he would also work well with our youth and either sort Rashford and Garnaucho out or sell them. Zirkzee would also have a chance of improving under Iraola.

Another flavor of the month manager. Even worse, this one hasn’t won anything except Redcafe style points l.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Shocking really, to be sat on the bench for 90 minutes and not even get on the pitch. Guess Amorim must think he's too mentally weak, frail and not ready for the level of a Premier League game.

But enough about Victor Lindelof...

 

[stevoc]

It’s hard to implement into training mid season there’s not that many training sessions when clubs are playing 2-3 games a week. He was hired for playing a certain way and he’s not been backed, for him to change we should have hired elsewhere it was a pointless appointment

It’s obviously not been good enough and in all honesty with this weeks injuries it’s probably not going to improve much before the summer. Do they sack him and look even more incompetent than they already do? Or do we plan for the summer and try to properly implement a system he was hired to play? I’d go for the latter this job isn’t about the short term the club needs a massive overhaul

How so?

Did anyone including Amorim expect a transfer bonanza in the January window considering the club is now skint?

 

[Xtal]

The premier league season is a write off but we have to ensure we get some points on the table and avoid slipping further down into the relegation places. We are still very much in 2 cups.
I want to see midfield tightened up, id play Ugarte and Collyer as a midfield pair to tighten things up..
Bruno back as a 10. And give chido a chance to see if he can do it at the higher level, he cant score any less than hojlund and zirkzee.

You made an important point, play Bruno in his position. Rather than a 343, please play 352. Put Bruno in the hole, play two base CMs/DMs behind him. A 343 totally throws the team off balance, however Amorim has vowed never to change his ways, he's chosen to stick with what he believes in even if it isn't working. I think Amorim is making an average team poorer, our players are better than 15th. It's sad really.

 

[Big Ben Foster]

How so?

Did anyone including Amorim expect a transfer bonanza in the January window comnsidering the club is now skint?

There are still people here who somehow think we'll spend ~£200m net in the summer.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

I totally get the posts about “cult of the manager” and defending poor results etc. But the one thing I can stomach even less right now if sacking another manager already and giving these toss pot players another chance. If they don’t already feel untouchable and play like there’s zero consequence, they certainly will if that happens

Whilst I get the fans turning on Amorim, these fecking players need to feel the heat too. Honestly they boil my piss they’re so incompetently shite.

It's a valid argument, but it can't become a cop out for the manager. There are 8.2 billion people on this planet and, if Amorim got the sack tomorrow, you would struggle to find someone who would deem the decision not in the least unjustifiable. He's currently doing much worse than Potter at Chelsea. We would he laughing our arses off, if this was happening at Liverpool.

 

[Livewire1974]

He is a bluffer. His amazing system is a copy of the Pep Ticka Tacka Barca side, which had some of the best players in history.

 

[Cathy Ferguson]

He would be packing his bags at any other club in Europe, I am not even talking about the big boys. Roma and Sporting both made management changes during the season and quickly realised it wasn’t the right move.

This nonsense that Amorim needs 11 new players, is just the type that was spewed for ETH. We are not signing 11 new players, so he needs to get the best out of the current lot and he currently is not.

The real nonsense is the belief that 1-2 new players and a preseason will make a huge difference. I don't think so, we need many more players, which we can't afford. We average 1 p per game and Amorim can't really improve us. We are the new Everton.

 

[Xtal]

He would be packing his bags at any other club in Europe, I am not even talking about the big boys. Roma and Sporting both made management changes during the season and quickly realised it wasn’t the right move.

This nonsense that Amorim needs 11 new players, is just the type that was spewed for ETH. We are not signing 11 new players, so he needs to get the best out of the current lot and he currently is not.

I'm fully supporting you on this. We never going to buy 11 players for a manager who has decided to be unduly rigid. Dorgu has come in, he's also settled into that confusing 343 system. Antony has left and put in eye catching performances in Betis. I really hyped Amorim's coming, little did I know he'll be closer to another Vilas Boas instead of Mourinho. Sad.

 

[Adnan]

I agree. If we can finally sort that midfield out then it’ll make a big difference. The last time we had a semi functional midfield was 8 or so years ago under Jose. That’s criminal really for a club like us, and even then it wasn’t an ideal midfield.

Just two midfielders who can operate deeper will make a big difference imo. Players who can eat up ground out of possession whilst also having the ability to progress the ball vertically will make us a lot stronger and raise the level of the collective.

Unless they sort that out in midfield then it doesn't really matter who the coach is, it will not allow the club to progress towards the heights it should be aspiring to be at.

 

[C'est Moi Cantona]

We won't get relegated, but we could quite conceivably end up with less than 40 points, which would be a pretty amazing thing to happen.

 

[Hester_manc]

He is a bluffer. His amazing system is a copy of the Pep Ticka Tacka Barca side, which had some of the best players in history.

True, and ticka tacka is dead.

 

[SER19]

At this moment I have no optimism at all about the future. If there's a style of play being slowly implemented, I can't see it no matter how desperate I am to.

 

[NickSantigo]

He's needs a much better midfield because that's where the big problem is imo. Now the question is that do the INEOS team understand that or are they going to attempt to fix problems in the team that are being exacerbated by not having a functional midfield. That's a big worry for me.

The game today again highlighted our issues where our midfield just doesn't contribute anywhere near enough towards creating a cohesive playing style. The GK and backline can't pass the ball through midfield because we have players in midfield who struggle to receive on the half turn and also struggle to contain defensive transitions when space opens up. So what inevitably ended up happening was that we went long and bypassed trying to play through the central areas which makes us a very predictable team and it's a issue that's been happening for far too long. This can only be rectified by signing new players with the requisite attributes.

I'm fully behind Amorim eventhough I'm not a big fan of the formation. But when you have a weak midfield then it will create problems for any coach. So the summer transfer window will be a big one for Amorim and I hope he pushes for 4 players to come into the team. Personally I'd go for two midfielders, CB and a winger like Quenda if we have the money. I think two strong midfielders with the correct attributes in midfield would make us a lot more fluid as a team and it should see us score more goals due to having a stronger foundation centrally.

I'm inclined to agree with all of your signing suggestions except I think we badly need to replace our goalkeeper. I'd sign Quenda and two CMs like you suggest.
While I agree a CB needs to be signed I feel we need a goalkeeper before another CB.
Just wondering do you think we should persist with Onana?

 

[Deco10Legend]

So when do we get a Sack Watch?

 

[Dec9003]

I think those who refuse to consider (that is all people need to be open to) the possibility of him simply not being good enough are just extremely vocal ETH critics who jumped far too quickly on Amorim as some kind of saviour out of desperation and now feel entitled to back him apparently no matter what. Most seem to understand he needs to turn this round or he’s sacked by summer.

I don’t understand this though, out of the last three managers we’ve hired Ole has the most experience managing a team in one of the top 5 leagues. I liked Amorim a lot when he came in and I was a big critic of Ten Hag, but we’ve simply lost too many matches to have any sympathy for Amorim. If you could still score goals with a back 5, all teams would play it; they don’t.