Ruben Amorim - Manchester United Head Coach

[The Mitcher]

We shouldn't ever be handing a coach/manager a transfer budget ever again. The sporting management will be the ones choosing targets, hopefully they can pick targets that are able to operate in multiple systems

We don't let managers have that power anymore, it's why he's called head coach. I do wish fans of this club actually do keep in touch with basic stuff like this.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Thank you. This is all about moving on from accepting perennial top 4 finishes at best with shitty counterattacking football. It’s short term pain for long term gain.

Thanks for missing the point. Well done.

 

[Westerkerk]

I’d give him another season to see what transpires. The most worrying thing for me is you can have every excuse under the sun, but his first match was Ipswich away which was a godawful performance, and I’ve really not seen much if anything in terms of improvement since

 

[silvercre]

After every bad result this thread is fun of cynical people who didn't want him or don't like him for some reason.
It's so funy to read, people tripping over each other who will sound smarter in why he's bad and why his formation won't work.

But the reality is this team has no goals in them. Hojlund and Garnacho, can't rely on them. Called it two months ago, that this team would be better with a competent striker.

Also former players (legends even) always dissing is not really helpful is it?

 

[Blood Mage]

This place is absolutely deluded at times. A lot of people can’t see the reality of a situation even when it’s bashing them right in the bollocks.

They just never want to admit a manager might not be up to it. There's always something else to blame.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I accept that it could get better do you accept that it might not also

No. Because I see clear progress in us reducing the chasm of a knowledge gap. Plus our recent recruitment under INEOS has given me hope we will recruit even better going forward. Most folks are too blinded by the results column to see it.

 

[The Hilton]

Wasn't a fan of taking Amass off, thought he was our only decent player.

He was an 18 year old who was being physically bullied by one of the most physically dominant teams in the league.

On top of that, Dorgu came on for him and completed more passes with a higher success rate in around half the time.

The substitution made complete sense, there was nothing to be gained leaving Amass out to the wolves, his confidence could have been crushed.

 

[2 man midfield]

He’s bought in one player - and we had to give away half the available forwards in the squad to get him. I think it’s only fair we give him a pre season and a couple of windows.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

Realistically how much do you see him getting with a EL win? And further more how much do you reckon he'll need to spend to make this team resemble that of a team?

The transfer window is going to have to be near perfect for next year to be any better than what we're seeing week in, week out.

Thier biggest obstacle is themselves. Last year team would have walked this EL run. It's actually very easy if united were even anywhere near good at all. But I'm not too confident tbh. But our play style matches up well against the non PL teams. I'm hoping Rangers pull something off to avoid Athletic.

And foe the second part Ruben will need about 250m easily to actually get us back to being good. We need Oshimen for experience, not another bloody youngster. We now need a new GK that wasn't on the list until last week, a RWB, CB, AM, and a CM. That'll take ages to fill out given our current financial difficulties

 

[Garethw]

They just never want to admit a manager might not be up to it. There's always something else to blame.

I want nothing more than for him to be a massive success here, but my eyes are not deceiving me. This is diabolical. It is worse than anything I’ve seen post Fergie.

The trouble is on here if you don’t accept failure and mediocrity from the manager then you get labelled a hater.

 

[Garethw]

Thier biggest obstacle is themselves. Last year team would have walked this EL run. It's actually very easy if united were even anywhere near good at all. But I'm not too confident tbh. But our play style matches up well against the non PL teams. I'm hoping Rangers pull something off to avoid Athletic.

And foe the second part Ruben will need about 250m easily to actually get us back to being good. We need Oshimen for experience, not another bloody youngster. We now need a new GK that wasn't on the list until last week, a RWB, CB, AM, and a CM. That'll take ages to fill out given our current financial difficulties

He’ll need an elite level left wing back too.

 

[TwoSheds]

He was an 18 year old who was being physically bullied by one of the most physically dominant teams in the league.

On top of that, Dorgu came on for him and completed more passes with a higher success rate in around half the time.

The substitution made complete sense, there was nothing to be gained leaving Amass out to the wolves, his confidence could have been crushed.

Dorgu was fecking shit and Amass was doing fine. He made a bit of a mess of one of their goals but overall he can be proud of himself. The team was all over the place 2nd half and for me it's not a coincidence, Dorgu wasn't focused at all.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

There's always a convenient excuse.

I don't think people are lining up in their droves to lap up this bullshit anymore, not after falling for it with Ten Hag.

There is literally nothing convenient about actual facts. Facts like the same folks who were lining up to decry Ten Hags tactics, our squad and recruitment are now pretending to have absolute amnesia about why this club was struggling in the first place. On top of a blatant refusal to understand that an utter uprooting of the football direction and tactics mid season was alway going to likely make those struggles even more prounced. Not reduced rapidly. So much for "not buying into bullshit"

 

[ElDiabloRojo]

Still think he is castrated by the corruption of ETHs transfer activity.

Antony, Onana, Mount, Hojlund, Malacia, Bayindir etc etc

A bunch of flops, weak, unfit, clueless 2nd tier players on long term massive salaries.

 

[sdb4884]

He's inherited the shittest United squad in recent memory. He hasn't helped himself with his stubbornness over tactics and selection but he'll be judged better over next season once he gets players he wants to fit his system and style.

 

[thisisnottaken1]

He gets until the end of the season to turn things around. If he can’t then he absolutely doesn’t deserve another season.

The idea that a Manchester United manager ‘deserves’ a transfer window or another season with a 28% win record over 3/4 of a season is absolutely absurd.

I can absolutely guarantee you if we’d hired Southgate or Potter and they had the exact same results no one would be arguing for them to stay. In fact the meltdown would be absolutely insane by now.

The only reason Amorim is getting away with it so far is because he’s a good looking, confident guy, who speaks very well. People are letting that cloud their judgement.

People have actually allowed themselves to be gaslit into believing this squad is no better than bottom half of the league. It’s ridiculous. Go back to the pre-season predictions and see how many people thought we’d be finishing 14th/15th, I’m pretty confident there won’t be a single one.

The job of the manager is to make his team better than the sum of its parts, Amorim is doing the complete opposite. He’s taken an average team and made it an awful one.

Southgate and Potter would have gotten those results by playing the same systems that have been played by every manager since - one that gets champions league football at best but nothing further. We need to move on from that. We CANNOT hire any more managers whose ceiling is top 4.

Thanks for missing the point. Well done.

I didn’t miss any point. The knee jerk opposition to him is fecking ridiculous. We would be better off if we hired mediocre managers like Frank, Iraola, Pochettino, or Silva? We’d probably be about 4th to 8th, but that would be their absolute ceiling and we would still be stuck in the same cycle in which we’ve been since 2013. Amorim is trying to get us out of that, but far too many people seem to be too impatient. We cannot simply settle on a mid-table manger whose ceiling is top four. We are Manchester United, we cannot debase ourselves by hiring managers who aren’t good enough.

 

[maniak]

There's little evidence of that whatsoever. He has been shown up badly in this league so far. We've looked alright in the pedestrian Europa League and that's it.

He turned a Sporting team in shambles, hadn't won a title for 20 years, into a very competitive team that played great football. Every year the quality of football improved as he managed to get more players he wanted and ship out over rated players.

I believe he can do the same for united, so hopefully you sack him and continue the manager merry go round.

 

[TwoSheds]

Southgate and Potter would have gotten those results by playing the same systems that have been played by every manager since - one that gets champions league football at best but nothing further. We need to move on from that. We CANNOT hire any more managers whose ceiling is top 4.

I didn’t miss any point. The knee jerk opposition to him is fecking ridiculous. We would be better off if we hired mediocre managers like Frank, Iraola, Pochettino, or Silva? We’d probably be about 4th to 8th, but that would be their absolute ceiling and we would still be stuck in the same cycle in which we’ve been since 2013. Amorim is trying to get us out of that, but far too many people seem to be too impatient. We cannot simply settle on a mid-table manger whose ceiling is top four. We are Manchester United, we cannot debase ourselves by hiring managers who aren’t good enough.

Iraola is not mediocre at all.

 

[MaxZorin]

Just needs a pre season and another window apparently.

This place is absolutely deluded at times. A lot of people can’t see the reality of a situation even when it’s bashing them right in the bollocks.

They just never want to admit a manager might not be up to it. There's always something else to blame.

Who would you three like as his replacement?

A name, preferably, rather than an explanation. Practical suggestions only.

There is literally nothing convenient about actual facts. Facts like the same folks who were lining up to decry Ten Hags tactics, our squad and recruitment are now pretending to have absolute amnesia about why this club was struggling in the first place. On top of a blatant refusal to understand that an utter uprooting of the football direction and tactics mid season was alway going to likely make those struggles even more prounced. Not reduced rapidly. So much for "not buying into bullshit"

It does feel as though there is a strong, pro-Qatar commentariat who love to watch us fail if inly to prove the sanctity of their viewpoint. Get 'that sheikh' in and buy whatever we want.

Still think he is castrated by the corruption of ETHs transfer activity.

Antony, Onana, Mount, Hojlund, Malacia, Bayindir etc etc

A bunch of flops, weak, unfit, clueless 2nd tier players on long term massive salaries.

The pressure it puts on Ineos to get it right is crazy. No excuses for Ineos, though. They do have to get it right.

He turned a Sporting team in shambles, hadn't won a title for 20 years, into a very competitive team that played great football. Every year the quality of football improved as he managed to get more players he wanted and ship out over rated players.

I believe he can do the same for united, so hopefully you sack him and continue the manager merry go round.

I just hope you appreciate it isn't 'every United fan' who wants him sacked and gets angrier and angrier when replacements flop.

 

[Blood Mage]

2 league wins in the last two and half months - Ipswich and Leicester.

It’s not been good

Feck even I didn't realise it had been that bad. I don't realistically see how he turns this around without us spending 1 billion in the summer.

 

[RedRocket9908]

We are Manchester United, we cannot debase ourselves by hiring managers who aren’t good enough.

We already have a manager that isnt good enough, he has shown that he cant get a tune out of these players and its clear we will need to spend a huge amount of money for him to succeed.

 

[maniak]

I just hope you appreciate it isn't 'every United fan' who wants him sacked and gets angrier and angrier when replacements flop.

I know. If I were a united fan I'd be unhappy but understand he really had no time to start building the team he wants.

 

[thisisnottaken1]

We already have a manager that isnt good enough, he has shown that he cant get a tune out of these players and its clear we will need to spend a huge amount of money for him to succeed.

So we should replace him wish somebody who is mediocre? A mid-table premier league manager who won’t be able to get us back to premier league contention?

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I wouldn't describe finishing 10th as a miracle personally.

Fair enough.
I would though. With the knowledge gap, a team that was already struggling terribly in a formation it was bought to operate I . Plus inherited goal scoring issues. It was always going to be a tough ask for an entire 360 degree change in football tactics and direction to lift the club without significant recruitment in Jan. Which was impossible to do. There is zero doubt in my mind too many fans are asking for way too much way too soon.....

I haven't made my mind up on Amorim yet I think he needs more time. And I'd like to see what he does with this squad after a preseason and several additions.

But I don’t think people are being unreasonable if they think we should have been doing at least marginally better than we have done since November. The injuries certainly haven't helped though.

I believe they absolutely are. The team was not only struggling when Amorim took over. It has had a chasm of knowledge gap to over come, with constant injury robbing it of key personnel at wrong momments with no significant reinforcement in January. Whilst losing the likes of Rashford. With minimal time on the traininng ground to repair it.

 

[thisisnottaken1]

I know. If I were a united fan I'd be unhappy but understand he really had no time to start building the team he wants.

Your views are a lot more measured than those of many others in this thread.

 

[RedRocket9908]

So we should replace him wish somebody who is mediocre? A mid-table premier league manager who won’t be able to get us back to premier league contention?

We should replace him with someone who can get a tune out of the players we've got as Ruben has shown he cant do that and we dont have the money to buy all the players he is going to need to be successful

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Southgate and Potter would have gotten those results by playing the same systems that have been played by every manager since - one that gets champions league football at best but nothing further. We need to move on from that. We CANNOT hire any more managers whose ceiling is top 4.

I didn’t miss any point. The knee jerk opposition to him is fecking ridiculous. We would be better off if we hired mediocre managers like Frank, Iraola, Pochettino, or Silva? We’d probably be about 4th to 8th, but that would be their absolute ceiling and we would still be stuck in the same cycle in which we’ve been since 2013. Amorim is trying to get us out of that, but far too many people seem to be too impatient. We cannot simply settle on a mid-table manger whose ceiling is top four. We are Manchester United, we cannot debase ourselves by hiring managers who aren’t good enough.

I see.
Its infact I who missed your point entirely. My bad.

 

[Blood Mage]

So we should replace him wish somebody who is mediocre? A mid-table premier league manager who won’t be able to get us back to premier league contention?

Maybe we do need to acknowledge that we're a mid-table team at best for now and hire a manager who can stabilise us rather than drag us into a relegation scrap which this one nearly did.

 

[thisisnottaken1]

Maybe we do need to acknowledge that we're a mid-table team at best for now and hire a manager who can stabilise us rather than drag us into a relegation scrap which this one nearly did.

And then what? If we hire a mid-table coach, we are therefore accepting that we are a mid-table team and therefore don’t want to improve. It’ll show that we have thrown away all ambition. We need to have standards.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

I don't particularly love keeping all our possession among the back 3. Would be nice to have a system where we keep possession in midfield.

Well we haven't had a midfield capable of that since Herrera, Matic and Pogba were split.

 

[Garethw]

I know. If I were a united fan I'd be unhappy but understand he really had no time to start building the team he wants.

But this is the exact reason Liverpool rejected him. He wanted to rip up what was successful there and implement this useless 343 formation. Fortunately for the Scouse lot, their ownership structure was wise enough to walk away from him.

 

[McGrathsipan]

We should replace him with someone who can get a tune out of the players we've got as Ruben has shown he cant do that and we dont have the money to buy all the players he is going to need to be successful

Define a tune?

The players we've got are exactly where they deserve.

 

[RedRocket9908]

Define a tune?

The players we've got are exactly where they deserve.

They arnt, this squad is better than where they are

 

[thisisnottaken1]

But this is the exact reason Liverpool rejected him. He wanted to rip up what was successful there and implement this useless 343 formation. Fortunately for the Scouse lot, their ownership structure was wise enough to walk away from him.

If we had hired Slot, he would have looked just as out of his depth as EtH. Slot is succeeding because Klopp left him a great squad.

 

[thisisnottaken1]

They arnt, this squad is better than where they are

Is it feck

 

[RedRocket9908]

If we had hired Slot, he would have looked just as out of his depth as EtH. Slot is succeeding because Klopp left him a great squad.

Slot is succeding because Salah is having an insane season

 

[thisisnottaken1]

Slot is succeding because Salah is having an insane season

Exactly. And none of our players are anywhere near as good as Salah.

 

[Superunknown]

Overall I agree, but that is all a part of giving a manager the benefit of a full season and summer transfer window to set up their squad in a way that suits their preferred tactics and coaching. It wouldn't have mattered who was managing us this year, we were never going to be good with players like Hojlund and Zirkzee as our primary goal scoring threats.

I agree that it's difficult to judge him given that he's come part-way through a season with players going, and it's a real hodgepodge of a squad. But, there are no guarantees that he's ever going to get all or even most of the players he's going to need to fully maximise his tactics and intentions...whatever they may be.

We can talk about who the strikers should be, but all I saw today were, at times, all 11 players at times behind the ball, with us camped in our own box for large portions of that game. We had two real opportunities in that first half, which was that lovely move that resulted in the Zirkzee chance, and then the one we scored from. Aside from that, we could easily have been down at the break.

I've largely been Amorim-in for most of his time here and I fully understand that he's not got it easy. At the same time, the way we were playing today will just not do and we will not win many games playing this way. And, the crucial thing is that we haven't been winning many games this way. We spend too much of our time in our own half as whenever the opposition attack, we go from a back three to a back five...which almost always becomes a back seven with the two central midfielders dropping back, too. That only leaves three players to act as our outlets going the other way, and if they also drop back as they quite often do, that leaves us with nothing. When teams come onto us, we've got nothing to hit them back with. We're too reliant on our centre backs having the ball, to the point where we play ourselves into trouble from goal kicks or whenever we restart play with the keeper.

All I can see Amorim doing is largely the same thing with possibly better players. I say possibly because we don't know who is actually going to be coming in, as we don't know who the club are targeting. Our recruitment has been shite for the last decade (hence why we're in this mess) and I'm yet to be convinced that is going to be better. He has lost me a little after today due to the way we played, coupled with our lack of tenacity, mobility, doggedness, and the ease of which we make mistakes. I'm sure every other manager in the country would love to have prime Maldini, Pirlo, Zidane, Cruyff and Cantona in their squad, but they don't. Sometimes you've got to make do with what you have got and build from that, improving as you go. The manner in which we played that second half was terrible and just not acceptable. Think the fans will have a meltdown if we put in a performance like that on Thursday against Lyon.

 

[maniak]

But this is the exact reason Liverpool rejected him. He wanted to rip up what was successful there and implement this useless 343 formation. Fortunately for the Scouse lot, their ownership structure was wise enough to walk away from him.

He had success in portugal and managed to beat strong teams in europe with that formation. It was shaky at first in sporting, but once he got the players, they were excellent.

Liverpool is winning, so no need to change. United is a mess, so more room to shake things up.

 

[RedRocket9908]

Is it feck

Do you really believe this squad should be 14th in the Premier League with only 6 wins from their last 21 league games?