Time's Up - Why Amorim has to go

The merry go round continues at Manchester United. Prior to Sir Alex Ferguson, three straight managers were afforded over 200 games to prove themselves. Since Ferguson retired, five managers have tried and five have failed, all in under 200 games.

Current manager, Ruben Amorim has had just 47 games and has the worst post-war win ratio at just 36.17% of any United boss.

The young Portuguese manager joined the club (earlier than he wanted to), boasting an impressive win ratio of 73.9% throughout his time at three previous Portuguese clubs. On top of that, he won two Primeira Liga titles with his exciting 3-4-3 formation, getting players like Viktor Gyokeres from playing for Championship football for Coventry to scoring week in week out in the Champions League.

Since joining The Red Devils, however, Amorim has been a polarising figure in the dugout, but for the wrong reasons. He described his team as "probably the worst in history" after a loss to Brighton last season. He's been key in getting so-called 'toxic' players out of the club with Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all being shipped out of the club and ostracised when at the club, a step forward in comparison to past managers.

There are several reasons why Amorim's time is up at Old Trafford, but realistically, there may not be many better options out there...

Tactics

One of the things that worried United fans instantly was Amorim's system. Previous manager, Erik Ten Haag, played 4-3-3, a formation that the players were used to, knew how to play and were suited for.

Amorim is stubborn in keeping to his 3-4-3 formation and not adapting, regardless of personnel and irrespective of what the game needs. Despite clearly not having the personnel to play his system, he won't change or adapt, nor has he shown the ability to do so.

It's a system that works. There is no denying it. Inter Milan reached the Champions League final last year using that same system. However, with the players available, it doesn't work for Amorim.

Manchester United constantly get swamped in the midfield as the centre-backs are resistant in stepping into the midfield. We'll come to the personnel that he chooses later.

Amorim seems tactically stubborn

A slow start was to be expected. You're asking players to play a system they aren't familiar with and be expected to be tactically savvy instantly. Fans knew that he needed a prolonged period of time to be able to fully understand their new roles, which was why pre-season was so important.

Since pre-season, however, little has changed. Players are still being caught out of position, are unaware of where their teammates are and are often not where they're expected to be. It makes players look incapable and tactically unaware.

Transfers and Player Profiles

Amorim has had to deal with a host of player issues. As previously mentioned, the players who suit Amorim's system simply don't exist on the Manchester United roster. He's often stuck with one arm tied behind his back, with INEOS and the Glazer family denying some of the players Amorim wanted. Ollie Watkins, Liam Delap and Carlos Baleba come to mind.

Goalkeepers

Gone are the days of Peter Schmeichel, Edwin Van der Sar or David de Gea. The Reds are experiencing difficult times in the net. It feels more like we're experiencing a Fabian Barthez, Roy Carroll, Tim Howard era, rather than the golden age of reliable goalkeepers.

Fabian Barthez never made it at United

Andre Onana was woeful. Off the back of a solid performance in the Champions League final in 2023, he joined United with a lot of hype. Performances, constant mistakes and high profile errors led to doubts about his ability, to the point that he was dropped by Amorim and replaced by Altay Bayindir, someone who was equally unreliable.

United decided to sign Senne Lammens, an unproven young goalkeeper without an international cap to his name. Granted, he doesn't always get the final say on players, however, in the last transfer window, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Emi Martinez and Mike Maignan were all available.

Defenders

Manchester United need two wing-backs for Amorim's system. This season Amorim has tried Dalot, Mazraoui and Amad Diallo at right wing back, none of whom have worked. At left wing back, Patrick Dorgu and Dalot have been rotated, again with little success. The issue with the wide defenders at the moment is that they're not skilled enough at playing the position. Dalot and Mazraoui aren't good enough in an attacking sense, whereas Amad is too attacking-minded and negatively overloads attacking areas.

Amad Diallo isn't a right wing back

Luke Shaw has been poor this season in his left centre back role, and why Ayden Heaven hasn't been given a chance is unknown. Lisandro Martinez is set to return from injury before Christmas; however, the profile of all of Manchester United's centre-backs are out and out centre-backs, rather than centre-backs that suit the system.

Midfielders

Sit tight, here comes the key issue. Captain Bruno Fernandes is currently being played as a holding midfielder, a position he has no idea how to play due to being too positionally ill-disciplined. There is no doubt that his passing range is amazing, but his flaws in the position shine brighter than his positives. He is currently in the worst form of his professional career and has been at fault for multiple goals conceded this season.

Bruno Fernandes is tactically unaware as defensive midfielder

Of his 199 Manchester United games, Fernandes has played deeper now than he ever has. According to TransferMarkt, Fernandes has played 154 games at attacking midfield, a position where he has excelled. He's notched 99 goals for United, of which 55 have come when he's played further forward. He's an attacking player; it's as simple as that.

Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo are all more than capable of playing the holding midfield position and Amorim's stubbornness in playing Bruno there will likely cost him his job.

The issue is, however, that United are stacked in the attacking midfield position. New signings Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo, along with Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee are all most comfortable in the attacking midfield position as the #10. These six men are fighting for two positions and having spent £127 million on Cunha and Mbuemo, there's pressure to play both men. This is arguably why Amorim is trying to shoehorn Fernandes into the deeper midfield role. Even with an injury to Cunha, Amorim is still playing Fernandes deep despite clear flaws.

Forwards

Another key issue is Manchester United's forwards. Rasmus Hojlund didn't perform well under Amorim last season, scoring an average of one goal every 336 minutes. For context, he scored an average of one goal every 189 minutes for Atalanta. This led to him being loaned out to Napoli.

The big summer striker signing, Benjamin Sesko has already failed to impress. Granted, he's only played 282 minutes, however, he's looked tactically unaware and has only had five shots, of which one has been on target, holding an xG of 0.4%. In comparison, new strikers to the league in Gyokeres for Arsenal and Ekitike for Liverpool have performed much better. Gyokeres has had six shots on target, scoring three goals with an xG of 2.1. Ekitike has had seven shots on target, scoring two goals with an xG of 1.7. Both men far outperform Sesko and both men are players that Amorim looked to bring into United.

Benjamin Sesko is yet to hit the ground running at United

Outside of Sesko, Amorim has tried Mason Mount at false nine and is yet to give Chido Obi any minutes this season. United would have massively benefitted from bringing in an experienced striker to take some of the pressure off of Sesko, however, all of the hopes and dreams of United's goal scoring form sit solely on the 22 year olds shoulders.

Stubbornness is the Killer

The key thing that will get Ruben Amorim the sack from Manchester United (which would cost them a reported £12 million if he's relieved of his duties within the first year of his contract) is his stubbornness.

His tactics have already been highlighted as a big issue. Granted, it's noble to stick to his guns and not change his philosophy, but he needs to adapt if he is to keep his job. If matches call for a change, make them. The players have to adapt to the 'new system', but Amorim isn't willing to adapt to the league in which he's managing.

His football isn't entertaining. In the Premier League during his tenure, Manchester United have scored 36 goals in 31 games. Not only that, but he's conceded 49 goals, a goal difference of -13.

Under Ferguson, fans would go into every game believing they would win, play entertaining football and dominate the opposition. Under Amorim, not a single match fills fans with confidence. This was accentuated at the end of last season with a run of eight games without a win, including just two draws. Fans are growing tired of attending Old Trafford without hope. The seasonal woes were topped off with a loss in the Europa League final to Tottenham, eradicating United's only hope at European football.

It's time to adapt or leave Amorim. Oh, and it's better not to mention Grimsby away in the League Cup.