Amorim sack now inevitable after ‘barely a footballer’ off the bench

Ruben Amorim has very few defenders among Manchester United fans after yet another defeat at Manchester City.

He is coming under fire for decisions on Kobbie Mainoo, Harry Maguire and that damned formation.

We also have a non-Manchester Mailbox that focuses on Florian Wirtz and you can find that here.

Send your views on all subjects to theeditor@football365.com

We start with a rare Amorim defence

Four games into the season, against 2 of the Big 6, no reason to panic just about now. There were signs of promise against Man City, but ultimately the defense let the team down. Amorim got the attackers and GK he wanted, but now needs to be backed in the window with the center backs and center midfielders he needs so that Captain Bruno can play higher up. That is when we will see Amorim’s plans falling into place.

Against Arsenal, United really should have won, and if not for the referee interrupting Captain Bruno’s penalty routine (which he still hasn’t apologized for), United would have won 3 out of 4, and be 2nd or 3rd. Please continue to keep faith with Amorim and I believe with a few key signings in Jan (defender and center mid), United would fly up the table and compete for top 4 without any European distractions.

To all United fans, please be patient, Ferguson took awhile to start winning, and the manager and the club need you to stand behind them right now.
Royston Soh (not Amorim, I swear)

READ: 16 Conclusions from Man City 3-0 Man Utd: Haaland, Foden, Doku joy, but more grim United misery

And then it’s all pretty much Amorim out

Honestly Amorim is most likely out of his depth, not necessarily his fault given the club toxicity and lack of ambition, but he’s way too inexperienced and looks like a lost puppy dog half the time.

He keeps hinting that he wants to get sacked with the press, which makes you think he regrets moving from Sporting, but also makes you think he’s just gone to United for a big fat payout too. Way too open and honest with the press and his ego is probably going to get him sacked soon. Why did he come in the first place given he’s so inexperienced?

He is working with some appalling players though that are just bottling some league games week by week, over and over again, but he’s gotta coach them to find some form of improvement. I don’t have much sympathy for him in the fact he’s starting Shaw each match, but doesn’t start Mainoo or Heaven. The team needs some bloody energy, and he starts Casemiro and Shaw most matches who are the opposite of fitness and energy. I can’t get my head around how he’s starting Shaw, especially after the Europa League loss last year. Martinez is needed but unfortunately made of biscuits.

Amorim has averaged a point a game in the Premier League since he arrived. 31 points in 31 games is highly concerning and just overall really crap. Are we gonna sack another manager midway through the season? He should change formation and drop some big names from the lineup if he wants to see some form of change, as it’s looking worse and worse rather than slightly improvements.

Oh and well done to United for signing another inexperienced striker. The fact that Sesko and Zirksee are United’s two number 9 strikers is actually so bad. Hoijland will smash it at Napoli under Conte given he is gonna be managed properly, and honestly we are probably gonna finish between 12th to 15th in the league again. An incompetent team will a scared manager, what a great combination!
Rami, Dubai (Times under Ole don’t look so bad now do they?)

Here’s the Premier League table since Ruben Amorim’s appointment:

…Ditch the 3-5-2 nonsense. These guys are confused about the formation. The team is too porous.

4-5-1 is sluggish but helps to cover defensive flaws. Cos apart from flashes of brilliance most of the time they are all over the place.

Thank goodness, Onana is gone. At least for now. Between Byandir and the new kid I hope they slug it out.

That said. We could try a 4-5-1 formation starting at the back with Shaw Yoro De Ligt Dalot. It’s not like we have much options anyway.

Play Ugarte as holding 4, Casemiro pivoting between 4 and Central but not straying too far while moving forward to support Fernandes occasionally.

Fernandes can then run and be free to be creative while others do the dirty work.

Cunha at the left side of the midfield and Amad right. They are fast and ambitious too. Since Cunha is injured switch Fernandes to that role.

Start Mainoo behind Mbeumo.

I don’t see why we let Garnacho go. Keep Sesko on the bench. He can always come in at second half. No one is delivering any proper ball his way just yet.

I felt Watkins was the better option to Sesko. He is not as clinical as Sesko but can be forceful up front. I hope in January we get a premier league striker than can muscle his way into forcing a goal. If we are still attractive to players by then.

At least, try something different. Instead of forcing these guys to play a formation they are obviously clueless about.

It is hard to see what we are rebuilding.
Victor Enite

…To City fans who think Foden is back and they’re back in form – it’s only Man Utd. You score one against them and they fall over.

Man Utd need to sack Amorim immediately. Even RVN got this team (without this year’s new signings) to play a lot better. Why play with a two man midfield if you’re constantly getting run over.

The great Fergie also moved over to using three in midfield when a lot of teams in Europe were using that to not get overrun in midfield. And of course to help Keane’s aging legs. Nothing wrong with ensuring the midfield is setup strong to control the game better. Most managers will get a lot more out of this team with a midfield trio of Casemiro/ Ugarte / Mainoo; Mount/Cunha/Fernandes can be back ups for the Mainoo position. Put a defensive midfielder with legs from the academy as a backup to Casemiro/Uagrte. Surely it can’t be worse than this.

If you insist on playing five on the back (to provide width), play 5-3-2. Play Cunha/Sesko/Fernandes/Mbuemo in the best combinations upfront. Don’t mean to tell a professional manager what to do cause I don’t know much really but ffs do something else! Us Man Utd fans are desperate (maybe not all but most I guess).

What does Luke Shaw do if it’s not crossing with his left foot (his best asset). What is the point of having Mainoo on the bench? What did Heaven do wrong to not get back into the team immediately. He looked really good as a left CB. Why is Bayandir still in goal? What more proof do you need that he’s not good enough? Lisandro Martinez looked probably the worst since he signed as a left CB in a back three. He was caught away from goal far too often. Even Ten Haag was better than this.

Project 2028 seems to be to get this team relegated. City has paid Berrada to make this mess worse it seems. Why does Ratcliff talk so much in the press. Learn from the Liverpool owners and shut the f*** up and keep a low profile. Don’t talk about things you can’t do. This team isn’t that bad. There is enough quality to compete at the top. Do United have a sports psychologist? Maybe start with the manager and coach some stability. He’s like a child and saying I’ll accept if I’m sacked is so defensive. It’s not courageous or honest really. I was expecting to get sacked anyway – he’ll say.

Sorry for the rant but I’m so desperate for this team to play better. Forget about challenge for anything but just play better. Please don’t get a new manager who cannot get the best out of these players before starting the process again. That should be the most important requirement for the next manager. Please bring some joy back.
Angad, MUFC, Canada

READ: 16 Conclusions from Man City 3-0 Man Utd: Haaland, Foden, Doku joy, but more grim United misery

…Ruben Amorim actually thinks “I’m not going to change my ways” is a virtue. I’m getting to believe he’s not sticking to his guns because he believes in it. He’s sticking to it because he’s afraid to leave his comfort zone.
Olatunji A. Aworetan

…- That definitely is Amorim gone. He should simply be let go for bringing on Maguire for Yoro who then went on to give the ball away and couldn’t catch Haaland for the third goal. That he brought him on when we were taking a corner shows his mentality at this point. Why Yoro when the other 2 CBs – De Ligt and Shaw, could have easily been withdrawn given they were at fault for the first 2 goals.

– Why bring on Mainoo after we concede 2 goals and move Bruno forward? Why not start him as it was clearly visible he’s better than the other Midfield options we have. Is he worse than Ugarte and Case that he doesn’t merit a start?

– The best formation is the one that yields results. Play 343, 352, 3412, 532, 541, heck play 10 behind the ball but get results. He should have been let go during the international break. I like him I still believe he will do wonders somewhere else where there is less pressure. He simply hasn’t adapted to the league. 8 wins from 31 games is just unbelievable.

– People who back him and pointing to the summer transfer window that we didn’t get a midfielder should understand that even with Baleba or any other midfielder, Ruben is not going to get the right results. Still he will expect Dorgu or any wingback for that matter to be the man to create all our chances.

– He will(should) go during the next Intl’ break. The longer he stays the worse it is for our league position as it is with fear that we as fans approach every game. The only winnable fixture in the upcoming games is Sunderland at home as far as I see. By then we could’ve lost or not won in 3 on the bounce.

I’m sorry but I just don’t see Amorim turning things around for us. It’s just that his benchmark is too low that 2 wins on the bounce will be a turnaround as far as his tenure is concerned.
Vasanthan Coimbatore, TN, India

This is a mid-table Man Utd side

While this game still plays out, I thought I’d also throw in some interesting stats Sky Sports popped up. United are in the top three (and in some cases outright top) for some key attacking play such as touches in the opponent box and shots on target. Unfortunately they are also top 3 for most shooting chances conceded.

No one ever won anything without a decent defence, and defence starts in midfield.

Another for the very long list of reasons why Bruno can’t play CM if we ever hope to be successful, along with classic ball watching for the first half goal. It’s not his fault, he’s not defensively aware. So don’t pick him there FGS. Mainoo eventually comes on and immediately makes a better more defensively aware partnership with Ugarte, while making driving runs. Who’d have thunk.

Shaw is also not a regular CB, a fill-in at best. If he can’t play LWB, then get rid or keep as cover. He’s a capable tackler and passer but he switches off and always has. Just play Heaven or Fredricson. Give them minutes to develop. As for Maguire, he remains barely a footballer. He’d be embarrassed in the Championship. 2 chances given up in 12 minutes after coming on fresh. Impressive work! It is quite funny watching him try to run though. I’ve seen grannies move faster at bingo.

At least Mbeumo looks handy. I feel sorry for the guy. Sesko too, who inevitably lacked service while taking up good positions.

Modelling of the season based on current set up and players suggested that the best we’ll do is 9th and worst 11th. Literally couldn’t get more midtable. No club with aspirations should accept that and no amount of “trust the process” should change that.
Badwolf