Is this the end for Ruben Amorim?
Will this weekend’s game against Sunderland on Saturday be the Portugese’s last?
The weekend’s painful defeat to Brentford represented two, maybe three steps back for Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, once again illustrating the team’s inconsistency, vulnerability and inability to string results together.
It was the latest horror show in a long list that has been compiled over Amorim’s 33 PL games in charge so far and one that asked the question; how long can this continue?
So, is this the end for Ruben? Or can he save himself still?
The case for Amorim’s defence opens with the conclusion from a previous blog - he simply has not been supported enough in terms of squad turnover to expect much difference from last season.
This still holds true and, if he is relieved of his duties in the near future, is a stain on messrs Berrada, Wilcox & co. The goalkeeper, defence and the midfield was left totally unaddressed (sans Lammens) and when the engine room is wrong, it doesn’t matter if it’s got a Ferrari badge wrapped around it, it’s going to go bang.
Still, you’d have to argue that a top manager would be able to improve players and get more out of them over time. Many of those in the squad now are seemingly going backwards. Ugarte, Dalot, Shaw, Maguire, Bruno, Casemiro… and more… are not getting better.
Being asked to play in positions and roles that do not suit them certainly is not helping their cause - Bruno is not a midfielder in a two, Shaw is not a left sided centre back, Dalot is not a right wing back.
Let me be clear though; the fact United play 3-4-3 is not the reason we’re struggling - look at how great Palace are playing it - the players selected to play in those positions, and the roles they’re asked to fulfill, however, are.
In truth, if Amorim was to select the players most suited to the positions, he’d likely be left with:
Lammens/Bayindir
Yoro, De Ligt, Heaven
No-one, Mainoo, Casemiro, Dorgu
Mbeumo, Sesko, Bruno/Cunha
And therein lies the problem - to play this system with the players that suit the specific roles best, you’re left with no right wing back, two teenagers at the back, a 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo covered by an immobile 33-year-old Casemiro, an inexperienced goalkeeper, left wing back and centre forward, and Bruno or Cunha on the bench.
No wonder Amorim is putting square pegs in round holes - the squad balance and makeup is a total mess.
Of course, you could also argue that, despite the obvious problems, we have actually seen some improvements - the team is, in isolation, looking more threatening. Much has been made of the ‘xG’ jump and the potential the new signings are showing - it’s undoubtedly a more accomplished front three than we saw last season.
However, we’re not converting the chances we create and we’re still making apocalyptically poor decisions. Even after a summer’s work and the bedding in period for the new signings, we’re missing chance after chance after chance.
While it’s not Amorim’s fault directly, the lack of confidence and the feeling of pure terror jump out at you in every single game. This is a team uncertain in what they are doing, what they are being asked to do, and a team fearful of the backlash when it doesn’t work.
That’s why so many players make so many mistakes, that’s why everything good is sporadic.
As I covered in a previous blog, the mental side of things cannot be underestimated. There is real scar tissue in this squad that will not go away and it renders all confidence or momentum so fleeting.
The answer to this is giving the players some comfort and solidity for now - a shape they know, or at least a more secure way of playing. Well, before you can ship them out that is.
Carl Anka puts it best: it feels like this system and ‘idea’ requires so much to go right for United to score, but so little to go wrong for it to collapse and United concede. It simply cannot be this way, it will not work.
Ruben MUST change the personnel he is selecting in his system, or change the way United play.
The players are clearly better suited to a 4-2-3-1, or a 4-3-3, and even though we know he doesn’t want to change his ‘idea’, something has to give now.
The very best managers adapt to the game around them, cover up their team’s deficiencies and maximise their strengths. Amorim has to start doing this, or he’s done for.
A start would be to drop those consistently making errors that are costing the team: Bayindir, Shaw, Maguire, Dalot, Ugarte are all names who continue to fail on the pitch and there must be accountability for this. Why there seems to be an acceptance of repeated poor performance is beyond me.
Bruno is also perilously close to that list as of now, but his ability to create something from nothing and his drive are too valuable to this team. He does, however, need to be moved from his current position to one of the #10 slots, where his huge defensive deficiencies are not as easily exposed.
However, even if Amorim does some of these things, tweaks the way he wants to play and wins at Old Trafford on Saturday, the questions will still remain.
There are still concerns that extend to Amorim himself and his style of management. Despite seemingly being steadfastly nailed to the cause and clearly working hard to try and fix this spluttering outfit, his body language on match days is a worry.
Being emotional isn’t an issue per se, but not showing the strength to watch a penalty or the visual leadership to rally a team that is quite clearly so fragile at times, gives plenty of cause for concern in terms of Amorim’s ability to carry out this huge task, or even his awareness in terms of what his players need from him.
When a team is so clearly struggling, they need a strong, steadfast presence to provide reassurance, encouragement and belief. Those things are not what I’m seeing from Ruben on the touchline right now, and his young staff aren’t seeming to provide that either.
Of course, we have no idea what goes on behind the scenes and there may be a large focus on all these things, but this team needs a head coach who is constantly doling out advice and guidance on the sideline, especially when it’s obvious that they’re finding it very difficult to carry out the tasks he asks of them.
It could well be that he’s simply out of his depth as it stands and is learning on the job, but United are simply not allowed the time to help him do that. Every defeat ramps up the pressure and the narrative sours further until it’s inevitable a change will be made - we’ve seen it so many times before and with far more experienced bosses than Amorim.
All things considered, the answer is yes, Amorim can save himself.
I don’t believe the power brokers at the club want to make a change - it will reflect badly on them if they do. Not only that, I think they are fully behind a project they know requires time and a lot of change.
But in all honesty, judged by everything we’ve seen so far, I don’t think Amorim will last much longer. Or, to rephrase, I don’t believe that he will budge from his principles and ideas and it will be his undoing.
And that leaves us back on the merry-go-round that United were so desperate to get off. Where would we go from there?
That’s a question for another piece…
