Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

[Footyislife]

Why criticize him? I don't think people realize how risky and dangerous it is to switch to a new philosophy, manager mid-season, without the proper squad to run that system, and then conduct open heart surgery on squad depth at the same time in the most competitive league in the world. INEOS wants to rush change from point A to point B without any regard for short term risks and we're seeing how bad that is short term. Will we get to our best version faster? Who knows, but definitely wouldn't do it this way. Sadly I don't got a few billions to play football manager in real life and hire the smartest people to fix this. So as a fan just watching with silent hope.

Issue with ETH is he couldn't define what he needed & execute it to run his system. We ended up with a lot of money spend, a bad squad, and manager who tinkered his strategy to make things work but it wasn't a great strategy. Why show patience all summer with him knowing this and then go full throttle on change suddenly makes no sense to me. Maybe there's internal alignment of Glazers and Football Operations leaders they instilled? Who knows.

But not ideal as this will only make the transition worse as the financial constraints of finishing in the bottom half combined with our profitability issues will only handicap us for seasons to come unless you can somehow inject more cash.

 

[RedSky]

The squad in 22/23 was worse than this one, yet Erik finished 3rd.

No fecking way is it.

 

[Tallis]

I see the point in Maz jumping in and out of midfield to make a midfield 3.

But that is only if the wingbacks are creating so much that you can justify losing one man in the middle to offset playing two in midfield. And that also requires the 10s to be coming back and getting behind the ball. Zirkzee was playing more like a second striker from the 442 days yesterday and Garnacho a left winger.

The "wingbacks", to my eyes are not doing anything that a regular premier league full back wouldn't be doing. They are not playing with any kind of freedom, safe in the knowledge that they have 3 at the back to cover for them.

So that leaves Maz looking rather confused at times as he doesnt know when to step up or drop. As a defender, it must be counter intuitive for him to step into midfield to pick up a man when he can see his right back and opposition runners going the other way.....

I just think that when this system has not been fully figured out, while the players are not the right fit, when there is injury crisis and there is a massive lack of form, then it may be time to go back to basics.

For the last 20 games he has been driving the car while trying to change the tyres. Its not working so I feel it is time to do something where the players can just play and not be bogged down with too many tactical thoughts. We know they are not the smartest lot.

I thought it was great that he was sticking with his system at first because he could see who could and couldn't cut it, but i dont think anyone, including Amorim, thought it would be this bad. The PL is over, we wont get relegated (i dont think) but we need to find form in the hope of winning the Europa to back door into the CL. That would give him tens of millions more to spend.

And people say that if he changes now, then players will lose all respect. I think he loses more respect by losing more games.

With the injury crisis he has an excuse / reason to change to a different system to cover the midfield deficiencies.

Pick up 3421 again over the summer with an off season and hopefully some good acquisitions.

Its a tough one but I am in the camp of not changing it. There is no evidence that Amorim can do any better with 4-2-3-1. And secondly, we were not doing much better when we were playing with that formation under ETH. We are arguably worse off because we don't have Rashford and Amad, two players we had available when ETH was there. He should do changes though within the formation - how high is the defensive line, Bruno's position etc.

 

[hobbers]

The squad in 22/23 was worse than this one, yet Erik finished 3rd. I do think you are right though, it will be hard to finish fourth next season. Stranger things have happened though.

Claiming last seasons squad was weaker than this one was stupid enough. Now the squad which featured peak level Casemiro, Eriksen, Martinez, Varane and Rashford was weaker than this one?

 

[zenith]

I'm sorry but there can be no excuse why a coach is in charge of a Manchester United team that is in 15th position in mid February. I accept the squad is shambles but it is not nearly as bad as freaking 15th position. Amorim needs to get his shit in order because the team is still full of internationals that should be performing way better. I can accept top 10, hell even the occasional dip into the bottom half as we look to restructure but surely not rotting there since when we have been.

I really hope the coach is also made to feel under as much pressure as the players and squad are for this level of performance.

 

[Red in STL]

Things that have nothing to do with the system:

1. Onana flapping at crosses and producing a howler once every two games and putting our team behind
2. Fernandes' inability to make 5 yard passes + lack of discipline with the tasks of his position
3. Casemiro being slower than McConnell
4. Our strikers' inability to finish

These players were doing exactly the same things under EtH and stinking up the place in a 433. As for Dorgu, he's been good as wingback on both sides in the two (two!) games he has played. Talk about having patience.

People really need to learn how to watch football. Neville and co are polluting fan minds.

Watch Neville's podcast after this match, he might not be right all the time but he was spot on about this game

 

[Red in STL]

I'm sorry but there can be no excuse why a coach is in charge of a Manchester United team that is in 15th position in mid February. I accept the squad is shambles but it is not nearly as bad as freaking 15th position. Amorim needs to get his shit in order because the team is still full of internationals that should be performing way better. I can accept top 10, hell even the occasional dip into the bottom half as we look to restructure but surely not rotting there since when we have been.

I really hope the coach is also made to feel under as much pressure as the players and squad are for this level of performance.

You might wanna check SAF's early years at United, although he didn't finish 15th, he did finish 13th with a -1 GD having finished 11th in 2 of the previous 3 seasons

 

[redDNA]

I am now having doubts, he has been making basic errors in his set up.

I think teams have been pinning our wingbacks and he cant fix it,this a very simple tactical problem that even an unlicensed coach can fix.

His lack if flexibility is also a concern, I have not seen him sub of the cbs for an attacker/Midfielder when chasing games.

Giving him money to spend in summer is very risky,especially giving that his system is special. We have not learnt from ETH

 

[appleman]

Things that have nothing to do with the system:

1. Onana flapping at crosses and producing a howler once every two games and putting our team behind
2. Fernandes' inability to make 5 yard passes + lack of discipline with the tasks of his position
3. Casemiro being slower than McConnell
4. Our strikers' inability to finish

These players were doing exactly the same things under EtH and stinking up the place in a 433. As for Dorgu, he's been good as wingback on both sides in the two (two!) games he has played. Talk about having patience.

People really need to learn how to watch football. Neville and co are polluting fan minds.

But (part of) the system is

1. Pushing opponents into crossing areas if that's one of your vulnerable areas based on the team at your current disposal.
2. Putting (someone like) Bruno in a 2-man midfield as basically your single playmaker instead of putting another (type of) player there or altering/changing your system to cater to the needs of your players, instead of wishful thinking that Bruno suddenly evolves into a person with composure.
3. Basically the same as point 2, if your midfield doesn't have the skills for a 2-man job, either change to a system that uses the skills they have instead of building on ones they don't. Ronaldo worked terrifically as RM when he was young, but now you wouldn't even risk him at LW in the Saudi league. But at CF he can still do a good job in a system that fits someone at his current state, style and level.
4. If your strikers can't open their ketchup bottle it might be an idea to not play a system where only one is fully up top with the other as a midfielder. Either push them more up front and build a system that takes more risk going forward, or don't build a system where only a few players go forward hoping they magically find their form in brief moments of getting reached by their buddies.

Changing a system won't get you back to Hojlund's scoring run, Zirkzee's stellar support striker performances, Amad to dribble more effectively, Bruno to figure out what a string of short passes is, Dalot to be more consistent in his performances, Onana to regain his composure from his Ajax and Inter CL runs, etc etc, but while a system is far from everything, it is a way to build a team and to synchronize them by building on their strengths and around their weaknesses as much as possible (besides improving on both of those if that's an option). Especially with an experimental system like this, it's very naive to build a system on wishful thinking. Amad on RWB/RM, even RAM, showed there might be something to this system, just like those early Maz-RCB games did. But it also showed Hojlund making runs that aren't seen, or him building a string of confidence killer misses. It showed us a defensive buildup falling apart when Martinez gets injured right after adjusting to LCB's responsibilities and positioning. There is merit to sticking to your plan, but there's also merit and power to daring to change your mind, especially when afraid it might make people think you're weak. When will we get past the era of stubbornness being confused for resilience? It's not like changing some things means you can't try building toward your dream isn't possible anymore, if anything it means you might consider something besides delusion.

 

[oddiebor89]

People need to remember this set of players are the one who almost lost to coventry, no coaches will thrive with this set of players, sacking him will be disastrous especially in this time of the season, new coach will do "steady the ship" protocols and played counter attack, im okay with counter attacks but its the same cycle again and again. i still have faith for amorim, he didnt have any backings from the board as if right now. i think the damning decision is to go after him in the middle of the season, should be next summer or this season summer.

 

[roseguy64]

I don’t know how many managers were going to have to sack for some on here to realize that chopping and changing is not going to fix our issues. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. This is decades worth mismanagement and recruitment errors that we’re trying to rectify. It simply cannot just disappear. Back the manager ffs.

The only manager I've ever blindly backed was Fergie. He deserved it.

Closest in terms of backing since him has been Ole. LVG and Mourinho around the same. Moyes and ETH lower than them.

Amorim fast falling to being on the rung of Moyes and ETH.

 

[zenith]

You might wanna check SAF's early years at United, although he didn't finish 15th, he did finish 13th with a -1 GD having finished 11th in 2 of the previous 3 seasons

Those were very different years and a very different United. The comparisons make no sense. All I'm saying is, the Coach as is responsible for this mess as the players are

 

[Insanity]

You don't seem to understand what I'm saying. I'm saying that sacking him between now and the end of the season would be madness - for so many reasons. Therefore there is far more to be gained by giving him and the team support between now then. I have never advocated giving someone time when they have shown nothing to warrant it, but 3 months is not very much time to judge someone on, particularly when that person's remit was demonstrably not to just 'steady the ship and finish as high as you can' however much you might want that to be the case.

Of course, his remit also includes getting results. He says it in every press conference he does that, "he just wants to win games right now". He is right too as winning games is important for the overall moral of the team. Also, it is a measure of progress. With the squad we have, if his ideas were getting across, then we should be winning more than 28% of our games. League position is not important this season, but shit performances and results are not good either.

Who told you that's not his remit? You think that they gave him the job and said, "Go on Ruben, lose as many games as you wish?"

Also, I read the forum regularly and besides may be one or two among the thousands of posters who post here would have mentioned sacking him. However, since it's the internet do we have to pick what a negligible minority is saying and take umbrage at that?

 

[Toshey]

Ragnick said we needed open heart surgery, but we decided to cut out the heart completely.

We failed to upgrade on De Gea, Ronaldo. Martial. Pogba. AWB. Fred. McTominay. Actually we failed to upgrade any position! It's actually INSANE!

We have nobody even close to the level of talent Greenwood has.

And the only semi decent players we have are 80% academy products!

We spent a fortune on players of the same level or worse than what we had. Not a single elite level signing.


People are so frustrated by our current "form" that they forget how much damage ETH has done. And already forget how
Insanely lucky he was in so many games. Including the fact that last season had us 14th on all statistics and we managed to scrape 8th through dum luck.

 

[Licha-Vidic]

Oh yeah we played poorly for sure. I disagree that we played with a flat back 5 though. You can look at the average positions and its much more of a back three. Also, there were plenty of times where Mazraoui stepped into midfield to form a 4231 shape when Bruno pressed high. The formation is just numbers on a page, the reality in game is often much more fluid than people on here make out.

This is how we play in large parts. Its visible in every game.




You can see how easy it is to play against us.

 

[Insanity]

Ragnick said we needed open heart surgery, but we decided to cut out the heart completely.

We failed to upgrade on De Gea, Ronaldo. Martial. Pogba. AWB. Fred. McTominay. Actually we failed to upgrade any position! It's actually INSANE!

We have nobody even close to the level of talent Greenwood has.

And the only semi decent players we have are 80% academy products!

We spent a fortune on players of the same level or worse than what we had. Not a single elite level signing.


People are so frustrated by our current "form" that they forget how much damage ETH has done. And already forget how
Insanely lucky he was in so many games. Including the fact that last season had us 14th on all statistics and we managed to scrape 8th through dum luck.

So heartening to see that you have finally accepted the damage ETH has done. Because, unless I am severely mistaken, I can do a simple search and unearth multiple generic posts where you would chastise anyone who would question ETH.

 

[Toshey]

So heartening to see that you have finally accepted the damage ETH has done. Because, unless I am severely mistaken, I can do a simple search and unearth multiple generic posts where you would chastise anyone who would question ETH.

Not gonna lie, got sucked into the FA cup hype.

 

[MUEricTheKing]

That is just one of many...

So much Space for Spurs. Maz doent know to hold in the line or come out to his man.

Time and again, the bodies are just in the wrong area of the field.

I was the first thing a wrote when I saw the lineup. We are 2 against 3 in midfield and with Casemiro and Bruno. One have suddenly lost his legs, I’ve never seen a player age that fast. And the other one I the most undisciplined player I’ve seen playing for United. Bruno has his moments of pure class but you can’t trust him. He wouldn’t play like that and have that body language under Sir Alex or any other class manager.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

But (part of) the system is

1. Pushing opponents into crossing areas if that's one of your vulnerable areas based on the team at your current disposal.
2. Putting (someone like) Bruno in a 2-man midfield as basically your single playmaker instead of putting another (type of) player there or altering/changing your system to cater to the needs of your players, instead of wishful thinking that Bruno suddenly evolves into a person with composure.
3. Basically the same as point 2, if your midfield doesn't have the skills for a 2-man job, either change to a system that uses the skills they have instead of building on ones they don't. Ronaldo worked terrifically as RM when he was young, but now you wouldn't even risk him at LW in the Saudi league. But at CF he can still do a good job in a system that fits someone at his current state, style and level.
4. If your strikers can't open their ketchup bottle it might be an idea to not play a system where only one is fully up top with the other as a midfielder. Either push them more up front and build a system that takes more risk going forward, or don't build a system where only a few players go forward hoping they magically find their form in brief moments of getting reached by their buddies.

Changing a system won't get you back to Hojlund's scoring run, Zirkzee's stellar support striker performances, Amad to dribble more effectively, Bruno to figure out what a string of short passes is, Dalot to be more consistent in his performances, Onana to regain his composure from his Ajax and Inter CL runs, etc etc, but while a system is far from everything, it is a way to build a team and to synchronize them by building on their strengths and around their weaknesses as much as possible (besides improving on both of those if that's an option). Especially with an experimental system like this, it's very naive to build a system on wishful thinking. Amad on RWB/RM, even RAM, showed there might be something to this system, just like those early Maz-RCB games did. But it also showed Hojlund making runs that aren't seen, or him building a string of confidence killer misses. It showed us a defensive buildup falling apart when Martinez gets injured right after adjusting to LCB's responsibilities and positioning. There is merit to sticking to your plan, but there's also merit and power to daring to change your mind, especially when afraid it might make people think you're weak. When will we get past the era of stubbornness being confused for resilience? It's not like changing some things means you can't try building toward your dream isn't possible anymore, if anything it means you might consider something besides delusion.

Good post. Amorim has chosen 343 as the hill he wants to die on, but is that because he truly believes it’s the only way to play, or is it it’s the only way he himself knows how to play?

 

[SonOfFergie]

It was actually a long time ago that I read on here that our players are top 4 material.

Amorim will get at least until May to prove himself, but it will not be easy to support him after that if this continues. I see no progress which makes me lose faith in him by the week. He has shown almost nothing at United.

Amorim will get at least until Christmas 2025 and if situation will not be catastrophic then until at least summer of 2026 to give him at least two summer windows and start of 2026 season. So buckle up and enjoy the ride. It was boring when United was winning every game. Now you never know what you will get so you get much more entertainment value.

 

[DWelbz19]

We’ll lose more than 13 quite comfortably. We’re on course for what, 17-18?

 

[Lentwood]

Things that have nothing to do with the system:

1. Onana flapping at crosses and producing a howler once every two games and putting our team behind
2. Fernandes' inability to make 5 yard passes + lack of discipline with the tasks of his position
3. Casemiro being slower than McConnell
4. Our strikers' inability to finish

These players were doing exactly the same things under EtH and stinking up the place in a 433. As for Dorgu, he's been good as wingback on both sides in the two (two!) games he has played. Talk about having patience.

People really need to learn how to watch football. Neville and co are polluting fan minds.

This is why I don't like Neville commentating on our games. He has the tactical acumen of a pot of Robinson's jelly and spends the entire game whingeing - so it poisons the minds of the fans watching.

Take the Spurs game...moaning on about the shape and Bruno having to cover the left-wing position...it was obvious to every man and his dog, but what was he suggesting Amorim actually DO about it?

We had one fit CM player, and that player is about as mobile as a slug in tar. Likewise, Bruno is a trier, but he's not exactly quick across the ground, and Zirkzee is starting to show some qualities, but he's not a defensively-minded player, or a midfield player.

Maguire and De Ligt are slow, so we can't squeeze up the pitch further to help cover gaps...so again, what's the solution?

We must have the slowest team in the PL, and that's a big part of why we're easy to play through

 

[SonOfFergie]

The timeframe in your post was the last 5-10 years.

How many / which of our first team players were around 5 years ago? What about 10 years ago?

Think you'll come to find not a lot of them. We've turned over the squad multiple times.

True not many players who joined Manchester United between 2015 and 2020 and their current status as of 2025. Would be more appropriate to highlight the dross we bought.

2015-2016 Season
Anthony Martial (2015) – Left the club in 2024.
Matteo Darmian (2015) – Left in 2019.
Memphis Depay (2015) – Left in 2017.
Morgan Schneiderlin (2015) – Left in 2017.
Bastian Schweinsteiger (2015) – Left in 2017.
Sergio Romero (2015) – Left in 2021.

2016-2017 Season
Eric Bailly (2016) – Left in 2023.
Zlatan Ibrahimović (2016) – Left in 2018.
Paul Pogba (2016) – Left in 2022.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (2016) – Left in 2018.

2017-2018 Season
Victor Lindelöf (2017) – Still at the club.
Romelu Lukaku (2017) – Left in 2019.
Nemanja Matić (2017) – Left in 2022.
Alexis Sánchez (2018) – Left in 2020.

2018-2019 Season
Diogo Dalot (2018) – Still at the club.
Fred (2018) – Left in 2023.
Lee Grant (2018) – Retired in 2022.

2019-2020 Season
Harry Maguire (2019) – Still at the club.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka (2019) – Still at the club.
Daniel James (2019) – Left in 2021.
Bruno Fernandes (2020) – Still at the club.

Still at Manchester United (2025)
Victor Lindelöf
Diogo Dalot
Harry Maguire
Bruno Fernandes

5 seasons of dross.
Martial at the club 9 years
Aaron Wan-Bissaka - 5 years at the club
Currently on Loan Marcus Rashford also overstayed welcome

And not to mention out of 5 transfer windows only three players still at the club providing any sort of value.

Last 5 years don't look any better:

2020-2021 Season
Donny van de Beek (2020) – Struggled for game time, currently on loan.
Edinson Cavani (2020) – Left in 2022.
Alex Telles (2020) – Left in 2023.
Facundo Pellistri (2020) – Loaned out multiple times, future uncertain.
Amad Diallo (2021) – Still at the club but not a regular starter.

2021-2022 Season
Jadon Sancho (2021) – Currently on loan at Borussia Dortmund.
Raphaël Varane (2021) – Left in 2024.
Cristiano Ronaldo (2021) – Left in 2022.
Tom Heaton (2021) – Still at the club as a backup goalkeeper.

2022-2023 Season
Tyrell Malacia (2022) – Still at the club, but struggling with injuries.
Lisandro Martínez (2022) – Key player, still at the club.
Christian Eriksen (2022) – Still at the club, but not a regular starter.
Casemiro (2022) – Still at the club, but aging.
Antony (2022) – Still at the club, but struggling for form.

2023-2024 Season
André Onana (2023) – Current first-choice goalkeeper.
Rasmus Højlund (2023) – Key player, still at the club.
Mason Mount (2023) – Still at the club, but struggling with injuries.
Sofyan Amrabat (2023, loan) – Loan ended, returned to Fiorentina.

2024-2025 Season (Recent Signings)
Matthijs de Ligt (2024) – Key defender, still at the club.
Noussair Mazraoui (2024) – New signing, still at the club.
Leny Yoro (2024) – Young defender, still at the club.
Patrick Dorgu (2024) – New signing, still at the club.
Manuel Ugarte (2024) – Key midfielder, still at the club.
Joshua Zirkzee (2024) – Forward, still at the club.

Still at Manchester United (2025)
Lisandro Martínez
Tyrell Malacia
Casemiro
Antony
André Onana
Rasmus Højlund
Mason Mount

Matthijs de Ligt
Noussair Mazraoui
Leny Yoro
Patrick Dorgu
Manuel Ugarte
Joshua Zirkzee

Currently on Loan (2025)
Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund)
Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa)
Donny van de Beek (Loaned out)

So out of Lisandro and Onana and the last batch from 2024 where the jury is still out also horrendous return on investment with some high earners (Casemiro, Sancho, Antony, Mount) still costing us dearly to this point in time.

 

[Buster15]

We’ll lose more than 13 quite comfortably. We’re on course for what, 17-18?

There are people who would absolutely be delighted for United to be relegated but I am certainly not one of them.
But after sacking Ten Hag, I also didn't expect it to be as bad as it is now.

As fans of the club, all we can realistically hope for is that this is as bad as it will get and there will be a steady improvement over the next few years.

 

[Desert Eagle]

But (part of) the system is

1. Pushing opponents into crossing areas if that's one of your vulnerable areas based on the team at your current disposal.
2. Putting (someone like) Bruno in a 2-man midfield as basically your single playmaker instead of putting another (type of) player there or altering/changing your system to cater to the needs of your players, instead of wishful thinking that Bruno suddenly evolves into a person with composure.
3. Basically the same as point 2, if your midfield doesn't have the skills for a 2-man job, either change to a system that uses the skills they have instead of building on ones they don't. Ronaldo worked terrifically as RM when he was young, but now you wouldn't even risk him at LW in the Saudi league. But at CF he can still do a good job in a system that fits someone at his current state, style and level.
4. If your strikers can't open their ketchup bottle it might be an idea to not play a system where only one is fully up top with the other as a midfielder. Either push them more up front and build a system that takes more risk going forward, or don't build a system where only a few players go forward hoping they magically find their form in brief moments of getting reached by their buddies.

Changing a system won't get you back to Hojlund's scoring run, Zirkzee's stellar support striker performances, Amad to dribble more effectively, Bruno to figure out what a string of short passes is, Dalot to be more consistent in his performances, Onana to regain his composure from his Ajax and Inter CL runs, etc etc, but while a system is far from everything, it is a way to build a team and to synchronize them by building on their strengths and around their weaknesses as much as possible (besides improving on both of those if that's an option). Especially with an experimental system like this, it's very naive to build a system on wishful thinking. Amad on RWB/RM, even RAM, showed there might be something to this system, just like those early Maz-RCB games did. But it also showed Hojlund making runs that aren't seen, or him building a string of confidence killer misses. It showed us a defensive buildup falling apart when Martinez gets injured right after adjusting to LCB's responsibilities and positioning. There is merit to sticking to your plan, but there's also merit and power to daring to change your mind, especially when afraid it might make people think you're weak. When will we get past the era of stubbornness being confused for resilience? It's not like changing some things means you can't try building toward your dream isn't possible anymore, if anything it means you might consider something besides delusion.

Every system has it's inherent strengths and weaknesses however what you're essentially asking for is for Amorim to play an interim formation and then when he gets the players he needs, switch to his preferred formation. What Amorim is doing however is telling the players I have a particular style of play and you will adapt to me not the other way around. Like you said it took time for Martinez, Amad, Zirkzee etc to understand their roles in Amorims system and even now it seems the likes of Dalot, Bruno, Garnacho etc are still figuring it out. I'd rather suffer through this teething period if it means he has a clear picture going into next season what and who works where in his system. If like you suggest he just plays another version of 4-2-3-1 then it will just delay the time needed for the players to ultimately come to terms with what Amorim demands from the players in his formation.

Of course this doesn't mean he is without fault. I think the Casemiro Eriksen midfield was criminal and Bruno in the midfield two is not much better. Ultimately I think he should stick to his plan but make better small tweaks and adjustments in the mean time.

 

[pascell]

@SonOfFergie
Van de Beek and Pellistri have left on permanent transfers, whilst Antony and Malacia are out on loan.

 

[Xaviboy]

Can we not move away from having two no 10s.
Maybe play 2 CF instead. Move extra man back to make midfield 3, tighten that area up. Bruno has legs to get forward and back, get Ugarte and Manoo in.

I know becomes 5-3-2 but he could work on ensuring Dorgu and Dalot get forward as much as possible least with 3 man midfield more cover in there and not much gaps.

2 lads upfront gives us better options getting crosses in and 2 play off when attacking.

I know our CF options are rubbish but for mean time Hojlund and Zirzkee and maybe put Garnacho as option for CF.

 

[Gordon'sHill]

Every system has it's inherent strengths and weaknesses however what you're essentially asking for is for Amorim to play an interim formation and then when he gets the players he needs, switch to his preferred formation. What Amorim is doing however is telling the players I have a particular style of play and you will adapt to me not the other way around. Like you said it took time for Martinez, Amad, Zirkzee etc to understand their roles in Amorims system and even now it seems the likes of Dalot, Bruno, Garnacho etc are still figuring it out. I'd rather suffer through this teething period if it means he has a clear picture going into next season what and who works where in his system. If like you suggest he just plays another version of 4-2-3-1 then it will just delay the time needed for the players to ultimately come to terms with what Amorim demands from the players in his formation.

Of course this doesn't mean he is without fault. I think the Casemiro Eriksen midfield was criminal and Bruno in the midfield two is not much better. Ultimately I think he should stick to his plan but make better small tweaks and adjustments in the mean time.

The problem with Amorim is he has one system with one key element, which is to play with 3 CBs. No other top manager is so inflexible. Its a defensive and reactive formation, its not used by any other top teams in Europe. Its in theory 343 or something, but reality is it too readily becomes 5 at the back with 2 in midfield who are overrun. Different formation but same outcome as ETH. I am struggling to see this working in the PL. We we meant to be building a modern football structure, a key feature of which would be the owners dont dictate things. yet we sack Ashworth and the CEO, with no football backgrond, it seems sources a new manager with huge flaws. So its back to Woodward era again. The club is in a really bad state right now.

 

[Steve 007]

The sacking noise is getting bigger which for me is silly.

When you come into an already sinking ship you spend your time plugging holes. What needs to happen is that it’s taken off the road and repaired.

Give him time, stop moaning about systems and let’s see what happens next season. This season is a right off and has been since before he came in, that’s why we got him. We need serious surgery and a striker who can finish.

 

[Iker Quesadillas]

When you come into an already sinking ship you spend your time plugging holes. What needs to happen is that it’s taken off the road and repaired.

Sure.

But Manchester United cannot be "taken off the road and repaired." They still have to play the football matches. People pay for season tickets, they travel to support the team, they buy tickets for home matches, etc.

 

[Desert Eagle]

The problem with Amorim is he has one system with one key element, which is to play with 3 CBs. No other top manager is so inflexible. Its a defensive and reactive formation, its not used by any other top teams in Europe. Its in theory 343 or something, but reality is it too readily becomes 5 at the back with 2 in midfield who are overrun. Different formation but same outcome as ETH. I am struggling to see this working in the PL. We we meant to be building a modern football structure, a key feature of which would be the owners dont dictate things. yet we sack Ashworth and the CEO, with no football backgrond, it seems sources a new manager with huge flaws. So its back to Woodward era again. The club is in a really bad state right now.

It's not necessarily a defensive or reactive formation though the Sporting fans could probably give a better analysis than I could. It's a system that can work if given the right players as proven by his success against City and Arsenal in the CL. As long as we sign the right profile and quality of player ( physical, good intangibles and high iq) they will be useful assets even if Amorim fails and is sacked.

 

[Rajma]

Is the “system” now a replacement for “philosophy”?

 

[Devil81]

I'm going to the Ipswich game next week, if we lose to Everton at weekend I'm fully expecting the stadium energy to be at all time low.

If he loses both games I'd say he will lose him job or maybe even walk. I've been of the opinion no manager walks now due to the pay off but there have been a few things he's said that make me question if he might do it.

 

[Woziak]

No fecking way is it.

Let’s go through this ;

D De Gea better than A Onana - Yep
AWB better than Mazraoui - Debatable
Varane better than MDL - Yep
Prime shaw better than shaw 25 - Yep
Maguire 23 better than Maguire 25 - Nope
Martinez 23 better than Martinez 25 - Yep
Casemiro 23 better than Casemiro 25 - Yep
Malacia better than Dorgu - Nope
V Lindelof 23 better V Lindelof 25 - Nope
Dalot 23 better than Dalot 25 - Debatable
Bruno 23 better than Bruno 25 - Debatable
C Eriksen 23 better C Eriksen 25 - Yep
W Weghorst better R Hojlund - Debatable
A Martial better than J Zirkzee - Debatable
M Rashford 23 better M Rashford 25 - Yep
M Sabitzer better K Mainoo - Nope
Fred better M Ugarte - Yep
S Mctominay better M Mount - Yep
Garnaucho 23 better than Garnaucho 25 Debatble
Antony 23 better than Antony 25 - Yep
Sancho better than Amad - Nope
T Heaton better than A Bayinder - debatable
DVB better than T Collyer - Nope


As you can see it’s not as clear cut as many would think, the 22/23 squad had the Ronaldo problem for half a season. However it had Prime Casemiro, Eriksen and Varane as leaders with Bruno being more disciplined. It also had weghorst for half a season doing all Rashford’s running, players like Fred were great squad players chipping in with 13 goal involvements that season, Casemiro got 13 and Eriksen 12, Bruno 31 and Rashford 41 even Jadon Sancho got 11, Garnaucho from the bench got 9.

We don’t score goals from midfield in Amorim’s system, that’s why it won’t work in the EPL, he wants two destroyers that might get 2/3 goals all season and his front three if they don’t understand the system are static and predictable and easy to mark.

Simple question where are the goals coming from, especially when you ostracise attacking players that score you goals, Bruno is playing out of position and can not arrive late into the box to score because he’s being asked to play as a deep destroyer running around trying to cancel the other teams threat?

Amorim in the EPL is clueless, I love what he wants to be and how strong mentally he is but if he keeps losing, he won’t last til end of March so he has to make subtle changes to his own system and play 352 with a 3 man midfield and push his wing backs higher in a 352 system he could even play Garnaucho as a high left wing back. You would hope that Wilcox has already made this abundantly clear to the Coach as he’s the Technical Director?

He needs to pick this team when everyone is fit ;
A Bayinder , MDL, Maguire, L Yoro, P Dorgu, M Ugarte, T Collyer, Bruno, A Garnaucho , J Zirkzee, R Hojlund then use Casemiro and Eriksen from the bench to manage the game out in midfield, use Dalot and Mazraoui from the bench, they both need a rest right now, both must be in the Red Zone!

He needs to give Jack Morehouse, Jack Fletcher, Gabriele Biancheri, S Kone, Harry Amass and Chido minutes from the bench to freshen the squad up as well.

 

[Steve 007]

Sure.

But Manchester United cannot be "taken off the road and repaired." They still have to play the football matches. People pay for season tickets, they travel to support the team, they buy tickets for home matches, etc.

So we say sorry Amorim you didn’t work miracles, off you go?

 

[Woziak]

Every system has it's inherent strengths and weaknesses however what you're essentially asking for is for Amorim to play an interim formation and then when he gets the players he needs, switch to his preferred formation. What Amorim is doing however is telling the players I have a particular style of play and you will adapt to me not the other way around. Like you said it took time for Martinez, Amad, Zirkzee etc to understand their roles in Amorims system and even now it seems the likes of Dalot, Bruno, Garnacho etc are still figuring it out. I'd rather suffer through this teething period if it means he has a clear picture going into next season what and who works where in his system. If like you suggest he just plays another version of 4-2-3-1 then it will just delay the time needed for the players to ultimately come to terms with what Amorim demands from the players in his formation.

Of course this doesn't mean he is without fault. I think the Casemiro Eriksen midfield was criminal and Bruno in the midfield two is not much better. Ultimately I think he should stick to his plan but make better small tweaks and adjustments in the mean time.

He needs to play 352 or he’ll lose his job, it’s really that simple, Play Ugarte and Collyer or if only one is fit play S Kone and then Bruno slightly further advanced in a close three man midfield that are mobile, Garnaucho could play wing back with that protection then Zirkzee/Hojlund could form a twin striking partnership.

 

[Ayoba]

Knives are well and truely out in the media now. We all heard Nevilles comments about the formation on Sunday. Talksport were discussing Amorim's situation last night and once again this morning.

He really needs to start getting some wins now, otherwise its curtains. You simply cannot recover from so many defeats.

 

[Bobby_2024]

I agree that our players are not been great and it reflected on the results/goals in last few years,
I like Ruben and given time he could fix many problems but I would expect any Man UTD manager is bit flexible and stabilize the situation by getting some good results and build his ideas from there. I dont think we are this bad to lose 8 games out of 12 in league.

It is clear we are bit better when we have players like Martinez/Amad/Ugarte playing and we control the ball in better way but it all goes t1ts when they dont play, so definitely he need better players all over the pitch to implement his ideas so he has to adapt until he get some of them in summer

When we dont have proper wing backs or midfielders it will expose the gaps and make things easy for any team so I would like him to find a temp solution to stop this slump and kick on from summer by getting 4/5 right players

 

[Marcelinho87]

People need to remember this set of players are the one who almost lost to coventry, no coaches will thrive with this set of players, sacking him will be disastrous especially in this time of the season, new coach will do "steady the ship" protocols and played counter attack, im okay with counter attacks but its the same cycle again and again. i still have faith for amorim, he didnt have any backings from the board as if right now. i think the damning decision is to go after him in the middle of the season, should be next summer or this season summer.

Middle of the season made sense, had we brought him in the summer then it’s clean slates all around and this time next year we would have Rashford Antony etc here still doing what they do best

 

[Rolaholic]

So we're getting the patented 'dressing room leaks' again...

Now we wait for these awful players to inevitably get yet another manager sacked and be left to scrape the absolute bottom of the barrel for a successor this time since zero manager, worth their salt in the game and with an iota of self respect, will be signing up for this INEOS circus shitshow where they know they won't be backed, then blamed for not making miracles happen out of a mound of shit out of the same garbage players.

Can't wait for us to be sold on Gareth Southgate being our savior in a few weeks time...

All that bollocks about structure will be proven to be just that again, absolute bollocks like everything under our supposed best in class INEOS crew. Best in class yet only ever worth 6 months on the fecking job, absolute pretenders...