Manchester United’s Manager Merry-Go-Round Continues

As I sit and write this piece, I’m wearing Manchester United’s 2002-2003 blue third shirt, accentuated with the classic Nike tick, accompanied by the Vodafone sponsor striking through the middle of the shirt.

For context, when The Red Devils wore this shirt, they were coming off the back of seven Premier League titles since the Premier League’s inception in 1992. Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, had been at the helm for 16 years. We were just four years removed from the failed takeover from Rupert Murdoch, something I recently found out my father was influential in through the ‘Shareholders United Against Murdoch’ group. All was, seemingly, well.

Since Sir Alex stepped away from the club in 2013, we have been witness to a merry-go-round of managers. In 12 years. Manchester United have had 11 managers, including interim and caretaker managers. It’s also trending in the wrong direction, with managers getting ‘backed’ in the transfer window less and also being given less time in charge.

With the exception of David Moyes, who was the manager immediately after Ferguson and, of course, not including interim or caretaker bosses, the most recent manager, Ruben Amorim, has had the shortest tenure. After just 63 games, Amorim has been relieved of his duties as ‘head coach’, with a win rate of just 38.1%. Only the innovator, Ralf Rangnick, had a lower win percentage post-Ferguson.

Some have described Amorim’s sacking as a waste of two years. The former Sporting Lisbon man entered Old Trafford with a lot of promise. Rumours swirled that Manchester City were interested in him, but United swooped in and gained his signature. He switched from a 4-2-3-1 formation to his preferred 3-4-2-1, focusing on wing-backs and having centre-backs move into midfield, despite seemingly not having the players to do so. This led to Amorim relying on his countryman and United’s captain, Bruno Fernandes, to fill in as a deep midfielder, something that he isn’t equipped to do.

Was it Amorim’s tactical stubbornness, his reluctance to conform or his lack of support that cost him his job?

The Ineos Cycle and Transfer Horror

Minority shareholders, Ineos are known for their successes in the world of professional cycling. Perhaps they took their experience in cycling and transition into the world of football literally, with the cycle of managers becoming frequent. Since their takeover of the club, Sir Jim Radcliffe and co backed former manager Erik Ten Hag, only to sack him months later. They then gave the job to Amorim, who was sent to the gallows of Old Trafford this week.

One of the issues of the Amorim era was his lack of support in the transfer market. His style requires specialists in specific positions, something that United didn’t have when Amorim came into the squad and that they haven't provided him in subsequent transfer windows.

In the January transfer window after his appointment, Amorim was provided with Patrick Dorgu. The Dane had made 57 appearances for a struggling Leece team in Serie A. He wasn’t proven, took a while to adapt to the Premier League and is, without a doubt, not a finished product, but a project.

The summer transfer window, on the face of it, saw Amorim being backed. He got a new goalkeeper, two new number 10s and a new striker. It’s when you dig deeper into these signings that is where the issues become apparent. It’s worth noting that both Bryan Mbuemo and Matheus Cunha were great signings. Both are Premier League proven, borderline world-class class and reliable. The only question is, did United need two new number 10s?

The goalkeeper, Senne Lammens, has transformed the way that Manchester United play and is a huge upgrade on Andre Onana, however, like Dorgu is a work in progress. At just 23 is one for the future and arguably should have been signed as a #2, working underneath a more experienced goalkeeper. Emi Martinez was the goalkeeper that Amorim wanted, however, the board couldn’t provide him enough funds to do the deal. The World Cup winning goalkeeper wanted the move, had spoken to the United head coach, had the personality to succeed at United… but it wasn’t meant to be.

As for a new striker, Manchester United shelled out almost £74million for RB Leipzig’s, Benjamin Sesko. It was no secret that Sesko wasn’t Amorim’s choice. He wanted Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins. Premier League proven, England international and a player that, importantly, was wanted by the Portuguese coach. Viktor Gyokeres was also on his wish list, as was Hugo Ekitike. Instead, the board attempted to get Ipswich’s Liam Delap, who instead decided Chelsea would be his destination. Sesko was a board appointment, not a manager one. It’s clear to see that Sesko hasn’t fitted Amorim’s system, struggling massively thusfar and despite suffering an injury, has featured just 17 times, scoring twice with an xG of 3.9.

The straw that seemingly broke the camel’s back was the lack of a midfield signing. With Kobbie Mainoo and Fernandes out injured at the time of writing, Manchester United are reduced to just two senior midfield options, the ill-disciplined Casemiro and the out of form, Manuel Ugarte. Brighton’s Carlos Baleba was pursued in the summer, only to miss out on him. The Cameroonian’s form has fallen off this season, meaning that there is a chance that United dodged a bullet.

Amorim’s Tactical Stubbornness

There’s little denying that Amorim’s tactics were different to those that long term fans were used to. Fans hadn’t seen a ‘three at the back’ system since Louis Van Gaal some nine years previously. Van Gaal, however, had credibility on a global level. The Dutch managing giant was fluid, switching from a 3-5-2 to a 4-2-3-1 and sometimes a 4-1-4-1 when it was required.

Amorim played a different formation once throughout his 63 game tenure, a 4-2-3-1 against Newcastle on Boxing Day 2025. Ironically, it ended in a 1-0 win, however, the performance was far from convincing.

Rumours have swirled that Amorim trained players in a four at the back system, only to announce that he was reverting back to his original formation before kick off.

The ‘higher ups’ in Manchester United were known to be frustrated with the back three system used by Amorim. It’ worth remembering that they are the group that wanted Amorim, knowing his style and what flaws this may have come with.

Reluctance to Conform

Here is where the key issue for Amorim lies. He wasn’t a puppet that simply conformed to what was expected of him.

Ralf Rangnick explained, following his tenure at the helm of Old Trafford, that Manchester United needed 'open heart surgery’ in order to get back to the dizzy heights older fans are used to. Amorim took this on board, ripping up the script that was laid before him, kicking out fan favourite players and, towards the end of his tenure, clashing with the hierarchy.

Most notable of all of the players that are no longer at Manchester United is former #10, fan favourite and Manchester born, Marcus Rashford. First came a loan move to Aston Villa before returning and being loaned to Barcelona for the England international. Alejandro Garnacho’s time at Old Trafford ended on a sour note, despite playing consistently under Amorim last season. A lacklustre performance in the Europa League final defeat to Spurs saw Garnacho told to find another club. Social media posts and an overall poor attitude saw the Argentine star join Chelsea.

Jadon Sancho failed to impress, realising a loan move to Aston Villa this season and Brazil’s Antony was sold to Real Betis after a successful loan. Young striker, Rasmus Hojlund secured a loan move to Napoli after a poor season which saw him score four times in 32 league matches.

Academy prospect, Kobbie Mainoo has also been out of favour under Amorim, despite featuring regularly for England prior to the Portuguese manager coming to Old Trafford. Mainoo played 3142 minutes under Ten Hag and just 1747 under Amorim, losing his England place in the process.

Under a more malleable manager, Rashford would have likely stayed at the club, as would Garnacho. Mainoo would have been shoe-horned in and the manager would be the one to take the blame if they hadn't played well. Not under Amorim, whose steadfast belief of his own system and judgment won many fans over.

Ultimately, it’s a shame that Amorim wasn’t efficiently backed by the Manchester United hierarchy. They knew what to expect when he was hired. An alternative system to the norm that would require specialists. They couldn’t provide him with that, which ultimately led to his demise. Once he spoke out against the club's hierarchy following a 1-1 draw to Leeds United, the writing was on the wall.

It’s worth noting that his stubbornness and lack of willingness to adapt aren’t desirable traits, especially in a role that arguably has more eyes on it than any other role in world football.

Amorim is clearly a quality coach, so expect him to get another high-profile job soon, but one thing is for sure, Manchester United is a mess.