Ruben Amorim | 2025-26

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bond19821982 said:
Missed both preseason games . Has anything changed from last season? Genuine question.
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Mostly minor details on how we press and build up. Slightly better intensity, players looking a bit leaner and quicker. Better personnel / system fit (Cunha vs Garnacho).

Some interesting questions still about who plays at CM. Overall nothing revolutionary but marginally better in most ways.
 
bond19821982 said:
Missed both preseason games . Has anything changed from last season? Genuine question.
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Leeds game - no changes from last season, was a very worrying game but also we had Chido upfront, collyer as the 10.

West Ham game where we started what I think might be close to our first PL team, we looked sharper off the ball. You can see when you have Ugarte type player, he can get across the pitch quicker and cuts out fires, compared to Casemiro who is very slow.

Unfortunately, our mid block still looked poor, teams can still pop the ball around in the middle of the park too easily, which needs to be addressed.

We looked better building up from the back, having Mainoo and Cunha helped as they can receive the ball back to goal really well.

We just need to see more improvement going forward and get ready for the season.
 
Teja said:
Where do you see the possession stats for this game? I had the sense generally we had more of the ball than West Ham for the first 65 but could be wrong.
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Stats were shown at halftime and full time and West Ham had the bulk of possession both times. Livescores has it at 57/43 both in the first and second halves. That accords with what I recall, with West Ham knocking it around quite nicely but with us pouncing on some errors to hit them in transition.
 
Doracle said:
Stats were shown at halftime and full time and West Ham had the bulk of possession both times. Livescores has it at 57/43 both in the first and second halves. That accords with what I recall, with West Ham knocking it around quite nicely but with us pouncing on some errors to hit them in transition.
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Interesting... if we pounced on the errors, they weren't knocking it around that well?

Potter loves to keep the ball, if you're keeping the ball and not doing anything with it... does it matter?
 
From what I remember, West Ham’s possession was the kind of possession that United are often criticised for, i.e., in their own half
 
Posh Red said:
From what I remember, West Ham’s possession was the kind of possession that United are often criticised for, i.e., in their own half
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If our opposition does it it means they’re good, if we do it it means we’re bad - please keep up mate
 
Posh Red said:
From what I remember, West Ham’s possession was the kind of possession that United are often criticised for, i.e., in their own half
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The criticism is surely for United knocking it around whilst the opposition gets set and then punting it long when we run out of ideas? No one surely is complaining generally about maintaining possession.

West Ham’s play was clearly flawed. They gave it away far more often than they will want to be doing when the season proper starts. However, you could see what they were trying to do and they did cut through our press a few times. They also maintained that style when their subs came on, whereas our second string looked a bit of a mess.
 
romufc said:
Leeds game - no changes from last season, was a very worrying game but also we had Chido upfront, collyer as the 10.

West Ham game where we started what I think might be close to our first PL team, we looked sharper off the ball. You can see when you have Ugarte type player, he can get across the pitch quicker and cuts out fires, compared to Casemiro who is very slow.

Unfortunately, our mid block still looked poor, teams can still pop the ball around in the middle of the park too easily, which needs to be addressed.

We looked better building up from the back, having Mainoo and Cunha helped as they can receive the ball back to goal really well.

We just need to see more improvement going forward and get ready for the season.
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Teja said:
Mostly minor details on how we press and build up. Slightly better intensity, players looking a bit leaner and quicker. Better personnel / system fit (Cunha vs Garnacho).

Some interesting questions still about who plays at CM. Overall nothing revolutionary but marginally better in most ways
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Cheers. So basically no big improvements unless the personnel was the issue last year.
 
West Ham didn't control that game, at least not until the substitutes came on and United lost any rhythm.

Not been in the thread since the game and shocked to see arguments that they did.

Pointless possession in mostly untreatening zones, being dictated to by United out of possession is not control.
 
Drainy said:
West Ham didn't control that game, at least not until the substitutes came on and United lost any rhythm.

Not been in the thread since the game and shocked to see arguments that they did.

Pointless possession in mostly untreatening zones, being dictated to by United out of possession is not control.
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Agreed. I often wonder what people are watching or if I’ve got it wrong so posts like this restore my confidence that I’m not going mad. They are.
 
TheReligion said:
Agreed. I often wonder what people are watching or if I’ve got it wrong so posts like this restore my confidence that I’m not going mad. They are.
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Yeah West Ham gave it back again and again in the first half. We nicked it off them a number of times as well. They improved in the second half but were really poor in the first.
 
This season rises or falls with Ruben's coaching. I have advocated giving him more time to train and mold the squad. Now that he has that and some key influential players, I am expecting a miraculous transformation from last year.
 
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I feel management and players are behind the manager this season. We have gotten rid of part of the rot (exiting players). Hopefully the fans can get behind team and manager and be more positive. I am sure it will help the team play with more confidence.
 
moodyred said:
I feel management and players are behind the manager this season. We have gotten rid of part of the rot (exiting players). Hopefully the fans can get behind team and manager and be more positive. I am sure it will help the team play with more confidence.
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I feel the same.
It's a great opportunity to start from a blank slate. Amorim knows the squad and they know him. We've made a few decent purchases and I think there will be more. The calendar next year will allow for gradual team improvement through the training sessions that won't be only focused on recovery. Hopefully, new signings won't need much time to gel with the team. I also think that Mainoo will be like a new signing after the inevitable second season after a breakthrough and a summer with national team. Our back four is a decent mix of youth and experience. If the club can deliver a midfielder at the end of the transfer window using the money from the rejects, I am confident it will be a very pleasant season to watch.
 
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It does seem like they made sure that the right character is coming into the team. I believe that is behind his quote, we can not make mistakes with the signings. Meaning, he doesn't want bad apples coming in, or players not fully invested in the project.
 
Feel a lot more positive about Ruben after recent quotes. Making sure we get the right characters in is crucial, we’ve had so many cnuts over the years.

Also have high hopes a few younger players will develop significantly over the next season. Fully expect at least half of Yoro, Diego, Ugarte, Zirkzee, Mainoo, Cunha and Mbuemo to improve significantly on their last season.
 
Drainy said:
West Ham didn't control that game, at least not until the substitutes came on and United lost any rhythm.

Not been in the thread since the game and shocked to see arguments that they did.

Pointless possession in mostly untreatening zones, being dictated to by United out of possession is not control.
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These discussions always get me thinking about the game when O'Shea scored and we won 4-2. After the game the commentator said "Sir Alex Arsenal had the bulk of possession" (think it was 65-35, but could be wrong) and the old man said, "Aye, and we won 4-2". Possession is only important if it gets you a result.
 
wolvored said:
These discussions always get me thinking about the game when O'Shea scored and we won 4-2. After the game the commentator said "Sir Alex Arsenal had the bulk of possession" (think it was 65-35, but could be wrong) and the old man said, "Aye, and we won 4-2". Possession is only important if it gets you a result.
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Its not even the fact of the score!

United literally controlled the game out of possession in the first half when we didn't have the ball, and in possession when we did.

West Ham did better in the second, and definitely when we made changes but surely we're not judging how the team look based on 30 mins of a second string that had no rhythm
 
Lennon7 said:
Feel a lot more positive about Ruben after recent quotes. Making sure we get the right characters in is crucial, we’ve had so many cnuts over the years.

Also have high hopes a few younger players will develop significantly over the next season. Fully expect at least half of Yoro, Diego, Ugarte, Zirkzee, Mainoo, Cunha and Mbuemo to improve significantly on their last season.
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Three of them are new, so that's a tall order. It's a huge season for Zirkzee, Mainoo and Ugarte though.
 
We still haven't learned our lesson of continually indulging the manager. What is the point of having a structure and hierarchy above the manager that abdicates its duty?

We let previous managers, especially Ten Hag dictate our transfer policy and now we are indulging Amorim in his steadfast belief in playing 3-4-3, a system that is at odds with the current squad.

So what happens when the Amorim experiment fails?
 
Marcus said:
This season rises or falls with Ruben's coaching. I have advocated giving him more time to train and mold the squad. Now that he has that and some key influential players, I am expecting a miraculous transformation from last year.
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Coaching is one thing, but in-game tactics another. Thought he was very slow to react in that Europa final vs Spurs, and you simply cannot get away with being incompetent tactically unless you've a squad loaded with quality. Turning over teams in the Portuguese League is one thing, but facing tactically astute managers every week in the PL is a different animal.
 
It wont work with this manager. No insight obviously, but 2 in the middle wont work. Speaks well though to be fair
 
BrilliantOrange said:
I really think he should think about structurally implementing his 343 formation with a false 9, especially if we dont get a new striker. With Cunha and Mbeumo around them I think both Zirkzee and Bruno could be a really good fit for the false 9 position. It would also solve the problem of where to fit Bruno and trying to make him work as part of the double pivot.
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But you know he is absolutely not ever, never, going to go to a conventional formation, it's wingbacks or die.
 
Stig said:
But you know he is absolutely not ever, never, going to go to a conventional formation, it's wingbacks or die.
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Wingbacks and a false 9 arent mutually exclusive right.. They can go together.. But you are probably right any change apart from his default formation is too much to ask..
 
Two things Ruben needs to do to placate caf: stop using the word suffering and ask the team to line up as 433 before the whistle. Nothing will really change for the team itself, but a lot of people in here will calm down.
 
bond19821982 said:
Missed both preseason games . Has anything changed from last season? Genuine question.
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Cunha has been a big improvement. Last season it seemed everyone just looked to give the ball to Bruno. Cunha is aggressive, was good at pressuring when we didn't have the ball, and looks to make things happen on his own (i.e., not waiting for permission from Bruno). Ugarte had one of his best games (against terrible opposition), and looks like a new man. Dorgu had people in the game thread really excited but I personally didn't witness anything special. Players seem to be settled a bit more, but overall:

--- the negatives are mostly unchanged from last season. Despite personnel on the team sheet, however we are playing as a team is not giving us the advantage. I noted a few times in the game where our central 2 pushed up, we lost the ball, and a simple pass took them and the other 3 players ahead of them right out. The way we were set up, our wingbacks suddenly dropped into a straight line with the CBs, making 5 flat across the back when only 2 West Ham players were advancing with the ball. Also happened with 3 WH players. In my view, someone should have stepped up and slowed down, challenged, diverted the attacker. Instead, the WH players played through us and got past us and would have been a dangerous situation but Yoro raced back and did a Wan-Bissaka style lunging tackle.

We were unbalanced and Amad did not see much of the ball, but did find himself running into acres of space the few times someone tried to pass it to him.

So basically what everyone already predicted: Cunha is a big presence and will be good for us, we have too many #10s, and no striker. We didn't see Onana play, so we kind of put that (his wild unpredictability) out of mind for now.

We have half a team now. If we continue to buy players, maybe Amorim's ideas will work. That means striker, central midfielder, a wingback (and a new keeper as more of a wish). It's what everyone has been saying all along: buy the new manager a new team and they will do better, at least temporarily, but that's also the same problem we've been having with the past few managers.
 
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giggs-beckham said:
It wont work with this manager. No insight obviously, but 2 in the middle wont work. Speaks well though to be fair
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Worked with Fergie in a 4-4-2/4-2-4. Any system in the world can work if you’ve got the correct profile of player playing each role. 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 haven’t exactly been great for us either under previous managers..
 
Amorim is showing that he was right when he said he needed time on the training pitch and a fully committed squad. He’ll be cooking next season.
 
So far in the US our press and counter press had looked completely different and miles better. We are waiting for the central centre back to play the ball wide and then we press them down one side of the pitch and it's worked really well. When Amorim first arrived you could tell the players didn't really get it with everyone going man to man.

Notice how high up the pitch we are now as well, we have the confidence to really squeeze the opposition up the field and it's having a knock on effect in possession as well. The passing is quicker and we are doing tight turns first time to turn the other team around rather than pass it back and let them drop.
Cunha and Amad have both been fantastic at getting on the turn while being tightly marked.

So far so good.
 
DJ_21 said:
Amorim is showing that he was right when he said he needed time on the training pitch and a fully committed squad. He’ll be cooking next season.
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I hope so but I also worry that we are still fragile and lose confidence as soon as we concede
 
Escobar said:
I hope so but I also worry that we are still fragile and lose confidence as soon as we concede
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Hopefully we’ll start seeing us score the first goal a lot more rather than having to chase a goal from a losing position. If we can find that clinical edge and put teams away then even better
 
DJ_21 said:
Definitely trying to impress and be golden boy. He’ll be injured before the start of the season.
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Maybe he'll pick up a nice big stock of ozempic on his US travels to keep him trim during the season
 
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