Fortunes have yet to improve under the new manager, who delivered some much-needed home truths after another damaging defeat Ruben Amorim...
Fortunes have yet to improve under the new manager, who delivered some much-needed home truths after another damaging defeat
Ruben Amorim's honeymoon period at Manchester United is already over. The Red Devils followed up a humbling 2-0 loss at Arsenal with a 3-2 home defeat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, which leaves them 13th in the Premier League table - the club's lowest position after 15 games since the 1986-87 season.
In the build-up to the Forest game, INEOS chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe sat down for a wide-ranging interview with the esteemed 'United We Stand' fanzine', admitting that the club "has become mediocre".
United's minority shareholder added: "There is major change to come to achieve elite status."
United practically gifted all three points to Forest with a litany of unforgivable errors. Amorim has been a breath of fresh air since his arrival at Old Trafford, but it doesn't matter how much he innovates from a tactical perspective if the players are not good enough to execute his plan.
Shooting themselves in the foot
Forest hadn't won at Old Trafford in 30 years, but found themselves 1-0 up inside two minutes thanks to a thunderous Nikola Milenkovic header. United failed to learn their lesson after conceding from two set-pieces at Emirates Stadium last Wednesday, with Elliot Anderson's out-swinging corner perfectly flighted to the near post for Milenkovic, who comfortably beat the 5ft 9in Lisandro Martinez to the ball. It was a mistake to have Martinez marking Milenkovic, but the Argentine didn't even jump, and his attempt to push the Forest defender was half-hearted at best.
The hosts managed to get in at the break level after Rasmus Hojlund finished off a flowing team move, only to shoot themselves in the foot once again at the start of the second half. Bruno Fernandes gave the ball away in his own half with a poor flicked pass that fell straight to Callum Hudson-Odoi, and the former Chelsea winger then laid it off for Morgan Gibbs-White on the edge of the box. Gibbs-White's subsequent shot was slightly scuffed and straight down the throat of Andre Onana, and yet somehow the United goalkeeper let it slip past him.
Forest's third goal was arguably the worst of the lot, though. It came just seven minutes later, with United again unable to deal with a ball into the box, this time from Gibbs-White. Chris Wood rose highest to nod back across goal, and at first it looked like a formality that one of Matthijs de Ligt, Onana or Martinez would deal with the danger. However, they all inexplicably stood and watched as the ball slowly found its way into the net off the post.
Fernandes reduced the deficit with an excellent strike on the hour mark, but Forest were able to hang on for the win, and United could have no complaints. Amorim is fighting a losing battle at the moment because basic individual mistakes are still costing the Red Devils dearly.
No fix for lack of collective quality
Amorim is not a man who minces his words. The Portuguese was honest about United's shortcomings after opening his reign with a draw and two wins, and back-to-back defeats did not prompt him to go on the defensive.
"Not a lot of quality, heart, we tried," Amorim told reporters after the Forest loss. "We suffered two goals and then went forward without a lot of thinking. We have to address that, but it’s a long journey. It’s not individual, it’s all the team, we suffered three goals in two games from set-pieces, we spent a lot of time there, but we have to do better. We have to do better in all of these matches."
Pressed on his mindset after such a testing start to life in the Premier League, Amorim replied: "I had this period at Sporting and if you are a little experienced in football, this happens with a lot of clubs and we have to manage to continue to do the same things and improving the team because this will turn around. We need time and to continue to work in the same way every day."
There is no permanent fix for a lack of collective quality, though. United are keeping hold of the ball a lot better, but they're not creating enough chances and the defence is still crumbling when put under pressure. Amorim is kidding himself if he really believes the current squad can eventually develop a consistent streak.
Opposite of 'mad dogs'
Amorim's "not a lot of heart" admission was the most worrying, though, especially after he'd warned his players last week they need to "run like mad dogs" to enjoy any real success in the Premier League. Star names falling well short of the minimum standard for effort has been the main theme of the miserable post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at Old Trafford, and that is the first thing that has to change.
"No good team is ever a good team without hard work. Manchester United are 13th in the league and their running stats, their distance covered, is 16th in the league," club legend Gary Neville said after covering the Forest defeat for NBC Sports. "You don’t deserve anything if you’re being outrun every single week. To me, the worst thing that can be said about you is that you’re not a hard-working player or you’re not a hard-working team."
There are a select few who are almost certain to keep letting Amorim down, just as they did Ten Hag, Ralf Rangnick, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho. It will be almost impossible for Amorim to oversee significant progress until he clears out the bulk of the deadwood, especially if he persists with his high-octane 3-4-3 system.
The disruptors & stragglers
Marcus Rashford certainly falls into the disruptive bracket, despite scoring three goals in his first two starts under Amorim. He's a streaky forward who only delivers when he feels like it, and brings everyone else down with his body language and general behaviour when things are not going well.
The same criticism could be levelled at Alejandro Garnacho, who has bags of potential but lets his head drop too easily, and too often uses social media as an outlet for his frustration. Club captain Fernandes is also guilty of letting his emotions get the best of him. He leads by example with his general play, but regular displays of petulance bring down the mood of the whole team. Transferring all three men out of the club would be far too extreme, but a spot in Amorim's first-choice lineup shouldn't be guaranteed for any of them until their attitudes improve.
And then we come to the spectacularly average crop: players who either don't have what it takes to represent a club the size of United or no longer have a burning passion for the game. Some still play week in, week out, like Diogo Dalot, while others are seemingly content to keep draining the club's wage budget without making any meaningful contribution, namely £85 million ($108m) flop Antony, a well-past-his-peak Casemiro, injury-plagued Luke Shaw and the woefully limited Victor Lindelof.
Amorim hampered by poor transfer calls
Amorim is paying the price for the poor recruitment decisions made at Old Trafford in the last couple of years. United spent over £200m ($255m) in the summer transfer window alone on De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro and Manuel Ugarte, after Ten Hag was handed his ill-fated contract extension.
According to ESPN, De Ligt was the only one of those signings that Ten Hag pushed for, with Ashworth the man behind the other four deals, which may be one of the reasons the Englishman was shown the door. Mazraoui has been the sole success story; teenage defender Yoro has only just returned from an injury he sustained in pre-season, Ugarte has been in and out of the team and former Bologna striker Zirkzee has scored just three goals in 21 appearances.
The arrivals from 2023 are still scratching around for form, too. Mason Mount has yet to prove he is fit enough to play multiple matches per week, while Hojlund is still a very raw centre forward who seems to be missing a ruthless edge. Onana has made great strides forward after a tough debut season, but as we saw against Forest and Arsenal, he's still prone to simple mistakes.
Even Martinez, fondly dubbed 'The Butcher' by fans after an encouraging start to his United career, has become something of a liability in more recent times. How can anyone be judging Amorim when he walked into such a mess? The ex-Sporting boss would have to be a miracle worker to get an instant tune out of this group of misfits.
What's next?
Amorim has been described as an "intelligent and thoughtful" coach by Ratcliffe, which is undeniably true. The 39-year-old is also a confident, magnetic character who demands the maximum from his team, and he's already stamping his mark at Old Trafford in difficult circumstances.
But United will remain "mediocre" until Amorim is allowed to rebuild the squad in his own image. That process ideally needs to begin in January if the Red Devils are to have any hope of finishing in the top seven come May.
Amorim will smell an upset, though, because City appear to be in decline, and if his team can cut out the mistakes and pull it off, the situation will look much rosier. The Red Devils are set to wrap up their 2024 Premier League schedule with favourable home games against Bournemouth and Newcastle, with a trip to relegation-fighting Wolves wedged in between.
United's season may still be salvageable when the winter transfer window opens, and Amorim is a manager worth backing to the hilt.
No comments