Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

Weak squad essentially and some players who should never have been near the side!

The season he joined that finished 11th was basically the same team that won the FA Cup and won the first 10 games of the previous season and finished 4th, that was basically the team that finished 2nd the next year, afer that it went downhill for 2 seasons finishing 11th and 13th but winning the FA Cup which triggered the start of the success
Was that also when he was trying to get rid of the drinkers and changing the culture?
 
We just spent £14 million sacking Ten Hag and his staff. Repeating that operation on Amorim 6 months later is not going to make our financial situation any better.

That's only true if you believe that the next manager can't improve the performances. The financial situation rely a lot on prize and broadcast revenues, keeping the wrong manager will cost you more money than sacking him.
 
That's only true if you believe that the next manager can't improve the performances. The financial situation rely a lot on prize and broadcast revenues, keeping the wrong manager will cost you more money than sacking him.
Possibly, but I don't believe he has had enough time to judge and to be honest if they sack him they should also sack whoever had the main say in hiring him (Berreda?) because hiring a coach that requires such massive change and knowing you can't afford that change is pure incompetence .
 
yes but we have also been picked off at home by almost everyone. The problem we have is we cannot concede a goal because, we cannot score goals.

We barely score well crafted goals under Amorim, they are coming from the high press or second balls of set pieces. That is the most worrying thing for me, our chance creation is so low that we just cannot concede a goal.
That’s a worry for me too. I can’t remember the last quality and constructed goal we scored.
 
Was that also when he was trying to get rid of the drinkers and changing the culture?
Yes though not all the drinkers left, Bryan Robson was one of those who stayed

It was a strange time because we had some really good players but we also had some that really weren't, on balance I'd say we under-performed after the 2nd place finish, we should have been better with the players we had than we were
 
Possibly, but I don't believe he has had enough time to judge and to be honest if they sack him they should also sack whoever had the main say in hiring him (Berreda?) because hiring a coach that requires such massive change and knowing you can't afford that change is pure incompetence .

That's a different point and I tend to disagree because people make mistakes, especially in sport. There isn't a single successful club that doesn't have a blunder on his record, just look at the past 15 years every single top club has had one or multiple big misjudgements. The most important thing isn't to pretend to be flawless but to recognize your mistakes quickly and fix them as quickly. Now the question is whether Amorim is a mistake, if he is the club need to act and replace him and if they believe that he isn't then they can give him more time.
 
That's a different point and I tend to disagree because people make mistakes, especially in sport. There isn't a single successful club that doesn't have a blunder on his record, just look at the past 15 years every single top club has had one or multiple big misjudgements. The most important thing isn't to pretend to be flawless but to recognize your mistakes quickly and fix them as quickly. Now the question is whether Amorim is a mistake, if he is the club need to act and replace him and if they believe that he isn't then they can give him more time.
The mistakes at this club have been profound. That said many people have already lost their jobs both at management level and now regular workers with all the redundancies so that is the result of 15 years of incompetence (the rot started before Ferguson left). We are the furthest thing from flawless you can imagine and arguably the worst run football club in the world.

We have gone from Disneyland and "We can do things other clubs can only dream of" to supposedly being close bankruptcy. Whether this is the external message they want to portray to negotiate a better position in transfers ("We're broke we can only afford X!") or the reality only time will tell.

Regarding Amorim specifically I don't think the body of evidence is big enough to say whether a mistake has been made. It is not the same as the retaining Ten Hag scenario where over 2 years of evidence it was clear he wasn't the right guy and why his contract was extended is another mystery of incompetence that only our management could have rationalised.

In this case the new management who have just replaced the old management have come and said "this is our guy" and they will look even more incompetent than they already look if they don't back him and give him a preseason and part of next season to turn this around.
 
If you don’t think Pep, Klopp, Ancelotti, Simone, Luis Enrique, Conte don’t have a say in first team transfers, you are crazy. All of them have a veto or at very least input on transfers.

People think that the sporting director / head of recruitment operate in a silo and get no pushback from the “head coach”, but that is bullshit. You can bet that the sporting director has bonuses tied to KPIs (academy players graduating to the first team, direct first team transfer appearances, etc.)

Reorganization doesn’t automatically bring about organizational competency, no more than changing back to a 4-2-3-1 would catapult us up to winning the league. We’re an incompetent club right now, and INEOS has yet to prove they are better stewards of Manchester United than the Glazers. That’s a fact if we are judging on results alone.

The greatest amount of stability we have had post SAF was with Ole, and that’s a fact. I’m not saying we sack Amorim, but these trendy managers have objectively failed so far. Formations are not the problem, nor are they the answer.
« Do you want Mbappé Carlo ? »
« Who is that guy ? »
« You know one of the best player in the World. »
« Ah, Yeah, I will take him, we only won the CL last year, maybe he can help, thanks. »
 
Yes though not all the drinkers left, Bryan Robson was one of those who stayed

It was a strange time because we had some really good players but we also had some that really weren't, on balance I'd say we under-performed after the 2nd place finish, we should have been better with the players we had than we were

Robson was given the opportunity to stay, I think he was one who made a genuine effort to change his approach. Also, SAF could not afford to lose him at that time. The likes of McGrath and Whiteside struggled with injury anyway, do they were easier targets.

I remember Kevin Moran on the radio saying SAF told him he wasn't needed, because he was too old and too short to play CB for him. SAF went and signed Mal Donaghy who was only a year younger and shorter than he was. He just wanted him gone.
 
Bored of Amorim already. Complete ideologue who will hide behind the "system" and eventually will blame the players once he goes. Don't like his face and don't trust him.

United is such a mess. The club desperately needs to let go of the past, starting with a new stadium and letting go of Fergusonism. The talking heads on all the boring podcasts harping on about personalities and back in our day etc don't help either.
 
Bored of Amorim already. Complete ideologue who will hide behind the "system" and eventually will blame the players once he goes. Don't like his face and don't trust him.

United is such a mess. The club desperately needs to let go of the past, starting with a new stadium and letting go of Fergusonism. The talking heads on all the boring podcasts harping on about personalities and back in our day etc don't help either.
Van Gaal face was the best.
 
The mistakes at this club have been profound. That said many people have already lost their jobs both at management level and now regular workers with all the redundancies so that is the result of 15 years of incompetence (the rot started before Ferguson left). We are the furthest thing from flawless you can imagine and arguably the worst run football club in the world.

We have gone from Disneyland and "We can do things other clubs can only dream of" to supposedly being close bankruptcy. Whether this is the external message they want to portray to negotiate a better position in transfers ("We're broke we can only afford X!") or the reality only time will tell.

Regarding Amorim specifically I don't think the body of evidence is big enough to say whether a mistake has been made. It is not the same as the retaining Ten Hag scenario where over 2 years of evidence it was clear he wasn't the right guy and why his contract was extended is another mystery of incompetence that only our management could have rationalised.

In this case the new management who have just replaced the old management have come and said "this is our guy" and they will look even more incompetent than they already look if they don't back him and give him a preseason and part of next season to turn this around.

All of that is beside the point. You made a point about the financial situation of the club and I stated that the point you made is only correct if you believe that Amorim is going to do a better or comparable job to any successor because the hard fact is that the financial situation is tied to our performances in the league and in continental cups. Forget about Amorim or United, the financial repercussion of sacking a manager isn't really about his compensation and more about how much the club could gain with better performances, as an illustration in the PL alone last season Everton(15th) got 19m less money than United(8th) when it comes to merit payments. The gap is larger with continental competitions and higher rankings and it easily covers any losses that you made when you sacked your manager.

My point being that if you have good reason to not believe in your manager than the financially prudent move is to sack him, it's not to give him more time and back him up. What you are suggesting has merit from a Football standpoint but it is not financially sound, not with the way money is made in Football. Also no decision should be based on how it makes a previous decision look like, that kind of mindset only serves your ego for a minute but it's not good for the club or yourself.
 
Robson was given the opportunity to stay, I think he was one who made a genuine effort to change his approach. Also, SAF could not afford to lose him at that time. The likes of McGrath and Whiteside struggled with injury anyway, do they were easier targets.

I remember Kevin Moran on the radio saying SAF told him he wasn't needed, because he was too old and too short to play CB for him. SAF went and signed Mal Donaghy who was only a year younger and shorter than he was. He just wanted him gone.
TBH I'm not entirely sure whether Robbo changed his ways that much, I used to see hm and Peter Reid out on the sauce at Benny's/Robson's Piano Bar which he co-owned pretty regularly - I lived round there in thse days but I can't recall exactly what years I would have seen them

Never understood the Mal Donaghy signing, it made no sense at all!
 
Ipswich
Fulham
Sociedad


Feels like a really big week ahead. Bit nervous about tonight actually ...and I really shouldn't be saying that for a home fixture against Ipswich but that's where we are these days.
 
Agreed. Should have pulled the plug after that Bayern Munich result in December. Ar the very least after the 2-0 loss to West Ham a few weeks later. I remember getting so frustrated we stuck with him after that, just felt like the club was sitting on it's hands waiting for Summer to get rid of him then we bloody kept him and backed him with a further €200m. Genius football decisions all round.
I get why he wasn't sacked during last season because of the ownership situation. But there was zero excuse to back him in the summer.

Murtough had brought him in but at that point didn't likely have the authority to sack him with Arnold and himself facing the chop.
 
Quick note: it should be up to Manchester United (more specifically the executives appointed by the ownership and the ownership itself by way of funding) to convince the players that Manchester United wants to come to Manchester United. Emphasis on Manchester United, not on the manager-of-the-hour. That is how it should be. That is how it is at Real Madrid, for example. The club signs players. Managers are asked to get the best out of the players at their disposal. Even someone as great and accomplished as Ancelotti has to toe the line, at the end of the day. Those who can't fulfill certain objectives and/or can't toe the line are sent packing. Those who flash early warning signs are sent packing post-haste (like Lopetegui or Benítez, who were relieved of their duties in a few months). This is one way of promoting continuity at the club (via the principal decision-making apparatus comprised of the director of football, technical director, head scout, lead analyst, chief executive and what have you). As opposed to see-sawing every time a new manager is appointed and recklessly letting them “build the team that they want” to put their stamp on the club over multiple transfer windows (with the club's own hard-earned money). Lessons need to be learned and our approach needs to change. Now more than ever, given the overwhelming impact of Erik ten Hag's miscalculations (which have brought the club to its knees, from a sporting standpoint and from an economic standpoint).
Agreed. ETH got way too much leeway in getting the players he wanted which lead to us getting a crocked Mount and an underwhelming Antony after we'd already decided to end negotiations for him.
We can't let that happen again. As with Branthwaite last summer, if we have alternatives go for them unless it's a player on the levels of Kane, Salah, Mbappe, etc.
 
Genuinely nice guy. Spends time with the fans even though we’re in bad form and I’m sure he needs as much match preparation as possible.
 
TBH I'm not entirely sure whether Robbo changed his ways that much, I used to see hm and Peter Reid out on the sauce at Benny's/Robson's Piano Bar which he co-owned pretty regularly - I lived round there in thse days but I can't recall exactly what years I would have seen them

Never understood the Mal Donaghy signing, it made no sense at all!


Robbo had a 2 day rule apparently. Never drank 2 days before a game.


I remember a few years ago he said Ole should take the lads down the pub for a team bonding session, let them get drunk and air their grievances and let them sort their own shit out.
 
Was there a gun to his head? Or was his family held captive that they forced his hand? he could have said no thanks.

Faith, maybe the millions of ££ they are paying him.

Its totally silly to say, oh Ruben didnt want to come mid season, so we should not judge him at all.. He is head coach, he wont tell them who he needs, the club will buy the players.
Agree about the he didn't want to come thing. Yes it was the better decision for him to come in the summer but no one forced him to make the move.

He was naive. He should have backed himself and believed that he would have been able to get another big club to come in for him. Looks like Liverpool and West Ham ending their interest in him last summer spooked him. Now or never was not a realistic threat. Look at how often Mbappe spurned Real Madrid but they still signed him because he knew he was him.
 
His recent quotes linking the talk of redundancies to our on the field performances are absurd.

For a start, our current financial situation is down to the Glazers and the debt they have saddled us with, coupled with suicidal mismanagement of every aspect of the club (especially transfers and contracts) - also enabled by the Glazers.

The poor results hardly help, missing out on CL money etc. but it's hardly the key factor. Besides, even if it was does he think this is the best way to get a tune out of the players?

I really want him to succeed but he needs to learn to better how to handle the media. What seemed like a strength (his honest or transparency or however you want to frame it) is actually one of his biggest weaknesses as a man manager.
 
Agree about the he didn't want to come thing. Yes it was the better decision for him to come in the summer but no one forced him to make the move.

He was naive. He should have backed himself and believed that he would have been able to get another big club to come in for him. Looks like Liverpool and West Ham ending their interest in him last summer spooked him. Now or never was not a realistic threat. Look at how often Mbappe spurned Real Madrid but they still signed him because he knew he was him.
Agreed, or he should have called our bluff and not been strong-armed - we almost certainly would have waited for him. Who else did we have lined up?

Or how about maybe he and the club could have come to an agreement for him to take over at the end of the season? It's astonishing that both parties thought a mid season takeover would have been anything but a disaster.
 
:lol:
Even players in league 1 or 2 score goals, whenever they are. So it doesn't mean much.

Last Italian team to win UCL was in 2010. Some 15 years ago. In that period only 3 times has Italian team be in UCL final.

In that same 15 year period, there has been 2 English finals ( Spurs vs Liverpool, City vs Chelsea. ) thats is 4 times alone. In comparison 9 times has EPL teams been in UCL finals since 2010



Italian league is not up there anymore. Premier League is very very competitive
I'm not debating the quality of England vs Italy really. The point was how crap Serie A is that Lukaku and McTominay are doing well there yet both of those players performed well in England so it's a ridiculous point anyway. They were good players in England and also good players in Italy.
 
Ive seen him perform for us and Portugal. Think he's lost at the moment.
He's not performed for us for over a year.

Sick and tired of these types of players who just go on extended low patches. I look at his up and down form in a United shirt and see part of the problem.
 
He's not performed for us for over a year.

Sick and tired of these types of players who just go on extended low patches. I look at his up and down form in a United shirt and see part of the problem.
He's not singled out though, all players at United are not playing to their level. Literally everyone currently is playing below their ability. It speaks to me of a much deeper issue.

Mazraoui looked like a potential signing of the season, has completely faded away under Amorim. Bruno is quite good, but nowhere near the talisman he is for Portugal, magical. Everything is down here.
 
He's not singled out though, all players at United are not playing to their level. Literally everyone currently is playing below their ability. It speaks to me of a much deeper issue.

Mazraoui looked like a potential signing of the season, has completely faded away under Amorim. Bruno is quite good, but nowhere near the talisman he is for Portugal, magical. Everything is down here.
Maz as a third center back has been fine consistently. He's just not a wingback and he never was.

Hojlund was never at the right level and the rest is about where we expect. They're either burnt out or not good enough. Dalot is an example of the latter.
 
Hes starting to remind me of Van Gaal a bit and that's not a good thing! I don't understand how he is still playing this system and not changing things.
LVG was a bit of a nut job but a very successful one: 3 time champions league finalist (winner with Ajax) and league titles and trophies in 4 different leagues. One of our most dominant displays at Anfield and other big results under his management plus the FA cup, Amorim doesn’t even compare.
 
I find the idea that professional footballers can't adapt to a different formation baffling. They just aren't very good, be it 442, 4231 or 3421.

There are no goals in this team so we will always struggle even when we control possession/the game.
Me too.

There was a time when new manager bounce was new manager , squad mood improves and team results improves.

Now there’s a ridiculous amount of focus on Tactics by barstool managers. Football is a simple sport over complicated by faux analysis.

A manager who gets on with his players will do better than a quality manager who doesn’t , regardless of tactics. A manager with a quality personality will possibly do better than a manager with unbelievable knowledge and a bad personality.

You can find many examples of lessor managers doing well or ok with squads.

This idea that this squad is this bad and this is as good as it could be is nonsense. People wrapping themselves in knots trying to point out that 8th last season was effectively 15th or something is stupid gymnastics.

I think this squad could absolutely be in the mix for top 4 given how tight it is up there. But the club/managers decision to play my way or highway is a big part of the problem. I’m confident a manager could have come in and done better this season. I understand that this is the strategy and am ok with a longer term plan if this is seen as a better longer term solution, but don’t for a second believe the nonsense that this is absolutely the way the season was always gonna go.

I remember when you could see some teams regularly change formations , even have 2 in a game. Why is it so hard for modern footballers to apparently shift into a different one ? Sure they probably play in a different one for their international teams!!
 
Robbo had a 2 day rule apparently. Never drank 2 days before a game.


I remember a few years ago he said Ole should take the lads down the pub for a team bonding session, let them get drunk and air their grievances and let them sort their own shit out.
It's wine bars and nightclubs, a regular pub would be a hell of a culture shock to them L.O.L
 
My Dad's friend ran a pub around Wilmslow back in them days he used to get them all in drinking even in the 90's he used to get Keano and them lads in when they were able to have a few pints now and then
The drinking didn't stop until much later, however the '2-day rule" I think was observed by the vast majority which certainly wasn't the case in previous decades
 
So you don't know what the plan is, but chuck it out the window anyway?
I have no confidence there is a good plan based on how things are going.

I think the good plan went out the window and we did a reset with Amorim.
 
I'm not debating the quality of England vs Italy really. The point was how crap Serie A is that Lukaku and McTominay are doing well there yet both of those players performed well in England so it's a ridiculous point anyway. They were good players in England and also good players in Italy.
My debate was, Inter playing a 3 man defence with attacking power might be explained by the Italian league being not very strong. In that you can attack more because the opposition lacks world class attack.

Also this was my theory for Sporting being attacking in Portugal. In England balance is key, too attacking you will leak goals, you become defensive you wont win games.
 
So what’s Amorim style or system ? All our players are internationals and coming from decent teams . How hard is to teach them to play faster , not to pass backwards all the time etc
 
Fans are not the only ones who believe in the new manager bounce.
Change in tactical setup or not, I can hardly believe the directors foresaw this negative turn in results and performances.
If it continues, then I think it is a matter of Amorim keeping the dressing room. If the players lose faith in results possibly improving, then there is a "valid" reason to sack him even after promoting the long term view.

If there is no improvement in the tactical understanding and fluidity of play, then one has to wonder whether a full pre-season will help. Seeing as there is little chance of Amorim getting many new players. There will also be some injured players returning, but one would do best not to count them as not to jinx the already jinxed.
 
So what’s Amorim style or system ? All our players are internationals and coming from decent teams . How hard is to teach them to play faster , not to pass backwards all the time etc
Have you watched these players before Amorim?
 
It is entirely possible (id honestly say probable) that his formation just won’t ever work in the PL. his reluctance to have a plan B is no longer something to admire. The definition of insanity springs to mind with Amorim.
…. & yet two Premier League titles have been won using it.