Of all the changes Manchester United must make in the summer, finding a new manager could be top of them.
Ruben Amorim only took over a little over four months ago, but the only thing he has succeeded in doing is making United even worse than they were under Erik ten Hag. Ten Hag’s United were dreadful, but at least they won the FA and Carabao Cups in his two full seasons.
They also finished third in 2023 to qualify for the Champions League, although that feels a lifetime ago. Don’t get me wrong and the Dutchman had to go because he could not take United closer to glory in the two competitions that define success for them – the Champions League and the Premier League.
But Amorim has just accelerated their decline and Sir Jim Ratcliffe must be seriously wondering if he is the right man to be handed their transfer kitty in the summer. Every call Amorim made in January he got wrong.
He gave up on Marcus Rashford within a couple of weeks of taking over, making it impossible for United to sell him. Instead they offloaded him on loan to Aston Villa, where he has been reborn, looking as lethal as he was in 2022-23.
Amorim also bundled Antony out the door to Real Betis where the on-loan Brazilian has scored in three successive games and helped the Seville club beat Real Madrid on Saturday. Instead of buying a forward to boost United’s flagging firepower, he spent the cash on a new left wing-back, even though Patrick Dorgu has primarily been used on the right.
This caused some head-scratching, even in Dorgu’s native Denmark, and he is struggling to come to terms with the massive step up from Lecce at the wrong end of Serie A to United. He was sent off against Ipswich to sum up his difficult start to his United career.
Amorim seems to have underestimating managing United and it is one thing conquering Portugal with Sporting Lisbon, but an entirely different matter steering one of the biggest clubs in the world. He increasingly looks out of his depth and his lack of experience is clear.
He had to apologise after branding this United team as possibly the worst in their glorious history after they were humbled at home to Brighton. That claim would not have gone down well in the dressing room and that was one of 10 losses from his 24 games in charge, including six at home.
United are on course for a bottom-half finish and their worst league campaign since they finished 13th in 1990. That campaign was quickly forgotten as United won the FA Cup that May to begin Sir Alex Ferguson’s glorious reign.
Old Trafford has lost its fear factor and opposition sides love playing there, be it Liverpool, Tottenham, Bournemouth, Brighton, Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Fulham or Crystal Palace. Amorim has refused to adapt his 3-4-3 formation for the Premier League, even though he clearly doesn’t have the personnel to make it work.
Pep Guardiola changed English football and the emphasis is on attacking, flooding the midfield and dominating possession. United can’t do this with Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt lumbering about at the back and Amorim has not improved a single United player. Instead many, including Andre Onana and the non-scoring Rasmus Hojlund, are worse. So far, so bad for Amorim.