What should be the minimum expectation for Amorim this season?

If he could make us look like a football team it would be a good start.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
Pretty much this. I don't think we have the personnel to get top 4 anyways right now barring Amad turning into Foden for us and Hojlund making huge improvements, so I'll go with the above criteria and a solid run in Europa.

Would like to see some youth experimentation too in the new system since many of the current players don't seem to fit great.
Click to expand...
This and this. Promote more youth and make the old farts benchwarmers. Youth with hunger always beat the old slow and uninterested.
 
Nogho said:
This and this. Promote more youth and make the old farts benchwarmers. Youth with hunger always beat the old slow and uninterested.
Click to expand...

Yeah we have a lot of interesting youngsters coming through soon, and clear holes in the current squad. With this year being mostly about developing/progressing/evaluating, it seems like an easy decision to run a few of the bright ones out there and see how they cope. Amass being the most obvious one to start.
 
Just let him work with the players and assess the fitness and abilities, see who needs to go and build a playing style.

Start as he means to go on and long term we benefit instead of some salvage job or resorting to counter attack, don't accommodate limited players or those that aren't up to it each week. If a big name needs to go then so be it, get a technical and fitter player in that's not yet high profile, make the stars like we used to with the mentality to win each game.

The goal is to win the League and European Cup each year. Every player running out there next season should have the mindset we're going out to win the league and we need to win this game today. If we end up not out the top 3 for many years that is the bonus, not aiming for top 4 and putting in a game each month and maybe in four years we can stumble on a league challenge, we won't get the momentum or mentality that way.
 
Last edited:
Implementing and improvement in results and performances alongside a visible workable style.

You would like to think that would bring a push for European places as a minimum in the league.

Cups are a lottery generally so not overly concerned with what happens there. But you would like to think we could go reasonably deep with good draws.
 
A top six finish would be good enough for me, along with gradually improving our football on the pitch. Even if we slip down to 8th, as long as we're showing some form of improvement on the pitch it doesn't matter right now. The cups are a lottery, I wouldn't have any expectations there until next season when he had a better grip on the squad.
 
Rojofiam said:
How the tune has changed from when 90% of this forum attacked Ole for saying that mickey mouse cups don't necessarily mean real progression. Too many flip-floppers
Click to expand...

Probably the same people who have been saying that we've been having better seasons than Arsenal recently and that a cup and slipping down the league is better than finishing second.
 
Rojofiam said:
I think a lot of people misunderstood his point, some maybe deliberately too
Click to expand...
Agreed. Ole was very obviously correct in what he said. The idiots mocked him for supposedly 'not wanting to win trophies'. I believe some of the misunderstanding was deliberate. Some revelled in shitting on Ole at the time. It was the cool thing to do.
 
Not setting any particular 'minimum' expectations as it's as much about what we can see happening in terms of the long term as what actually happens short term.

But he's got much of the season left, and we're still in all the competitions, so I'd like to hope we can see a style of play developing and get a good idea of which players will work and which won't. And if while doing that we can manage to get enough positive results to either finish in a respectable league position or win another cup competition - ideally the EL - then that would be a great achievement.

I'll accept inconsistent performances / results, that might cost us any trophies this season, so long as we are seeing that a positive long term improvement looks like being achieved. I guess the latter has to be the minimum expectation, really. Not demanding huge improvement short term, but I'm hoping to see positive signs of the 'short term pain, long term gain' talk being accurate.
 
Remember the geese said:
Agreed. Ole was very obviously correct in what he said. The idiots mocked him for supposedly 'not wanting to win trophies'. I believe some of the misunderstanding was deliberate. Some revelled in shitting on Ole at the time. It was the cool thing to do.
Click to expand...
I found it quite strange how much more people shit on Ole than Ten Hag during their respective tenures given the former is a club hero and had us playing better football and getting better results over the majority of his tenure than the latter. I guess it came down to credentials? Still weird how much more loyalty Ten Hag inspired from some sections of the fan base.
 
Stick to his principles.
Coach the team gradually whittling away the cant or wont change for the better, players.
Have us playing and winning in his style by at least March/April, to the end of the season.
Position doesnt matter if he is showing by seasons end he can take us forward with a winning mentality and a competent team for next season.
A top 4 place or a cup is a bonus.
 
Valencia Shin Crosses said:
I found it quite strange how much more people shit on Ole than Ten Hag during their respective tenures given the former is a club hero and had us playing better football and getting better results over the majority of his tenure than the latter. I guess it came down to credentials? Still weird how much more loyalty Ten Hag inspired from some sections of the fan base.
Click to expand...
Agreed. Fine margins when it came to missing out on a trophy or two during Ole's tenure also. I find it incredible that Ole hasn't been back managing again in the Premier League. It isn't a fair reflection of the job that he did here. Perception is a funny thing.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Honestly, I'll take just not being shit.

And actually I can accept being shit if its due to a commitment to a playing in a certain style/way that will bear fruit in the long run
Click to expand...
+1

Zero expectations on results, fully investing in the future. We have had incoming managers try maximize short term success and compromize long term principles and all of them failed.

Feck that. Let us be shit, results-wise, until next season if there is clear long term plan. I am fine with short term pains, even totally open to it, so that we can break the viscous cycle of mediocrity and changing managers every 2.5 years
 
ifightdragons said:
To drop players who simply aren't good enough. Start with Rashford and Bruno.

That would make him the first manager since Fergie who actually made some big decisions that would make a real difference.

Ten Hag dropped Ronaldo, which many will argue was a big decision. In all honesty I don't think Ronaldo wanted to play for this awful team, so he effectively forced a move.
Click to expand...
Bringing Ronaldo back was an absolutely horrible decision. It was sentimental and irrational. It was never going to work and cost Ole his job, even though it was clearly not his decision

Ronaldo was way past his prime and abilities we needed from him. He wanted to be a goal scoring focal point, a passenger otherwise and we simply didnt have a team that could afford it
 
We are still "just" 6 points from top 4, so I still expect United to finish in top or at least coming close to top 4.
 
His style of play should be absolutely clear by season's end, even if its poorly practised by some players unsuited to it. Id take some losses where we look like a team with a system, over a shapeless, confusing scraped win.

A cup would be fantastic, looking at the teams in the europa we really should be aiming to go far but we should at least not be going out with a whimper.

Given how close the table is, we should be engaged with a battle for top 4 until seasons end.
 
I highly doubt we’d win a cup this season. Top 6 place would be an excellent achievement and a proper style of play. Wish we had hired Amorim right after the FA Cup win. That lack of foresight may have set us back a season or 2 if you take into account available transfer windows.
 
Performance levels need to start heading in the right direction. The reality is if you start playing more consistently and playing decent football the results can only follow. I’d take 8th if we began a run where it looks like we can see a bigger picture forming.
 
Create a team we can be proud of on the pitch.

That would mean a team that works hard, gives their all. All in a system that works

The results will come with reps of the above.
 
26 games to play. 6 points from top 4. A misson not so impossible.
 
Annihilate Now! said:
Honestly, I'll take just not being shit.

And actually I can accept being shit if its due to a commitment to a playing in a certain style/way that will bear fruit in the long run
Click to expand...
Agreed. I have no expectations or requirements and he can do what he wants.
 
Same as it was for Ten Hag. Evidence that we are building a solid foundation and a playing system that will eventually see us consistently dominating matches. Get that right first and worry about trophies later.

Ten Hag couldn't do it despite winning a couple of cups. Hopefully Amorim can.
 
I mean get the team looking like a decent Prem Side for starters.
Top 8.
Quarters of EL.

Anything else is kind of a failure but there's always next year. I'm really not feeling most of these players. I think Bruno, Amad, Garnacho, Martinez, Mazroui, and Onana can work (at least for top 4). Not sure about Ugarte, De Ligt or Mainoo at this point. The rest nah. So i'm not expecting miracles. Yoro should be good but haven't' seen him play really.
 
Getting the players fitter, stronger, faster and a system on the pitch that you can see progress.

At this point I dont care about results or league position. We've got to get back to basics so we can build a successful team for next season. Success ultimately is making us competitive again, a team that everyone respects and knows is going to give 100%.

If he can't do that inside 12 months then he'll fail like all his predecessors. It's as simple as that.
 
Maybe it's just that I am desperate for this one to be successful after repeated failures these past 12 seasons but I am quietly confident that he is going to eventually come good for us. I know talk is cheap and you have to walk the talk. I have been thoroughly impressed with what he has sold us so far. I have watched all his post-match interviews multiple times and they have made me believe in him. He immediately won me over when he said that he can try to win games this season by playing other ways but then next season we'll be at the place again. It is important for him to implement a system that he believes in for sustained long term success. We can keep going through the same cycle chasing a top 4 spot in order to not lose the Adidas money or for the CL money. However, if we want to get back to the top again we'll have to go suffer through this period where the results might be up and down.

I think we'll have a lot of surprises in-store for us the rest of the season. We all have our ideas on which players will work and who won't work in his system, but I am think we'll have some surprises. Some players that we think are duds are going to come out shinning and some who we think will shine will come out looking like duds.

I would have put expectations for league or cup finishes if the club brought him in the summer, gave him the preseason and a transfer window. Right now, I don't have any expectations regarding the results. The only thing I want to see is us building an identity. A team that knows what's it doing on the pitch. A team which can find solutions on the field. A team that is moving towards looking like a coherent unit. Results are secondary. They are going to come with time. It's very important for us to become a football team first from a team of individuals that we have been for quite a while.
 
Beat the bigger teams with performances deserving of it. Show how high the ceiling can be if things click. Finish 10th in the league for all I care. It's all about building for next season.
 
JPRouve said:
Visible improvements in the quality of performances over the course of the season and by May we should be able to see a somewhat clear roadmap.
Click to expand...

This is what I want to see as well. Performances are what matter here. Once the performances are going in the right direction, the results will come. I am far more focused on how we play for the rest of this season.
 
As long as he's definitively building up towards his style I have almost zero expectations on the league front(short of relegation obviously).

But do expect us to go deep in Europe at the very least.
 
My expectations are that he sticks to his system and identifies who is compatible and shows those who are not the exit.

As for league position, that is not the be all and end all for me as long as we are not fighting for our lives.

What is very important though is that we see clear improvement in intensity and effort with more control over games. No more getting completely outplayed by lesser teams. We must also look like we can cut teams open at will, chance creation needs to be in line with a competent team. This to me will show progress that shows the methods are working.

If the above gains momentum quickly we could make a push for top 4 simply because everything is so open, one good 5-6 game winning streak could catapult us right in to the mix. This also leaves the cups wide open.
 
redshaw said:
Just let him work with the players and assess the fitness and abilities, see who needs to go and build a playing style.

Start as he means to go on and long term we benefit instead of some salvage job or resorting to counter attack, don't accommodate limited players or those that aren't up to it each week. If a big name needs to go then so be it, get a technical and fitter player in that's not yet high profile, make the stars like we used to with the mentality to win each game.

The goal is to win the League and European Cup each year. Every player running out there next season should have the mindset we're going out to win the league and we need to win this game today. If we end up not out the top 3 for many years that is the bonus, not aiming for top 4 and putting in a game each month and maybe in four years we can stumble on a league challenge, we won't get the momentum or mentality that way.
Click to expand...

This is the bloodymindedness that made less than vintage United sides win titles.
 
Competitive expectations are not fair, I don't think.

I expect him not betray his principles in order to grind out results, even if the team looks like shit for a while. This is what Ten Hag did and it cost him the job down the line. Take the pain and the heat but don't revert to degenerate football just to accommodate wasters.

No more blank slates and fifth chances. Get rid of those that don't cut it.
 
Get rid of the lazy entitled attitude.
Pin point the core players will be the backbone of your system and the position they are best utilized in.
Show us examples of your system working preferably against good teams away.
 
Hope he's just ruthless with the players. Either adapt to his football or get binned. We've spent too much time babysitting our players and trying to alter things to fit them.
Once the core players are identified and they gel well with the formation I'm hoping for a Top 6 finish with a deep run in europe.
 
Xeque_279 said:
Hope he's just ruthless with the players. Either adapt to his football or get binned. We've spent too much time babysitting our players and trying to alter things to fit them.
Once the core players are identified and they gel well with the formation I'm hoping for a Top 6 finish with a deep run in europe.
Click to expand...

I was about to write exactly this.

He comes with a reputation for not being afraid to cut big names, give unproven people a chance. It's the team over the superstars mentality I expect to see from him.

What I don't know is whether the club and the players contracts will support that happening. I wonder how many of them have minimum game time written into their contracts...
 
clean-sheet-culkin said:
I was about to write exactly this.

He comes with a reputation for not being afraid to cut big names, give unproven people a chance. It's the team over the superstars mentality I expect to see from him.

What I don't know is whether the club and the players contracts will support that happening. I wonder how many of them have minimum game time written into their contracts...
Click to expand...
I don't think that is the case to be honest. Erik was just very stubborn with his lineup, he used to be the same at Ajax too. I really hope he bloods in some youngsters too, had a really good track record of doing that at Sporting, however, that was kinda forced and much easier to do given how high the stakes are here.

Keep hearing so much about promising youth players, really hope to see more of them on the pitch!
 
Get enough of the team buying into the shape and philosophy, identify the weak parts and have us playing consistently against weaker teams I think should be expected.
 
To successfully implement his tactics and system despite the outcry that’ll come from shortsighted media and supporters, if there are mixed results. He cannot waiver from this, as he can then identify players who cannot cope or adjust to his demands.
 
Last edited:
Given the significant tactical shift and the weaknesses of the squad (weaknesses that, by most accounts, we cannot afford to address in January), I'd say the season is a write-off from a trophy/league position perspective. The remainder of this season is really just preparation for next season - the primary aims will be instilling the new philosophy, system and roles within the squad, identifying which players have a future at the club (and, obviously, which do not) and laying the groundwork for a squad refresh next summer. Results and performances will probably get worse before they get better, but as Amorim has already said, this is a risk that needs to be taken if we want to avoid finding ourselves in the same position in 12 months' time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.