Does Ruben Amorim want to be sacked by Manchester United?
Ruben Amorim has always been a surprisingly blunt manager of Manchester United but his comments after their latest embarrassment may hint at a change of mindset from the former Sporting boss.
United conspired to go 2-0 down to League Two Grimsby Town only to give their fans a small sliver of hope by pushing the game to penalties. Football being the relentless source of punishment that it is made United fans sit through – and the rest of us delight in – 26 penalties that resulted in £65m Bryan Mbeumo missing the decisive kick, all while Amorim sat alone with his head down in the dugout.
The whole night was an examination of how far a man can be bent before he breaks. 300 days on from his appointment, the Amorim in front of the cameras sure looks the same as the one that arrived, but his whole demeanour has changed.
Back in November, Amorim’s first interview came with Gary Neville on Sky, the biggest of free hits for the new United boss. He was smiling, no bags under his eyes, making jokes about Manchester providing the perfect conditions to train in.
The 39-year-old at the time spoke of a dream for the club, the return to Fergie’s United. He said there was a connection with the club, even laughing about how much media he has had to do. Now that media has become a near-daily examination of a sinking ship.
A few months after he was unveiled as United boss, his tone began to shift. Talks of dreams had become admissions that this crop of players may be the worst in the 147-year history of the club.
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“We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United,” he said after a 3-1 defeat against Brighton in January. “I know you want headlines but I am saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go: your headlines.
“Imagine what this is for a fan of Manchester United, imagine what this is for me. We are getting a new coach who is losing more than the last coach. I have full knowledge of that. I am not going to change [his 3-4-3 system], no matter what. I know we can succeed but we need to survive this moment. I am not naive. We need to survive now.”
Even then, it was an alarming admission – one that made United fans put their heads in their hands and the rest of the world laugh at the latest episode of the Old Trafford soap opera. The reason as to why it was so shocking is that managers do not tend to point the finger at themselves so often – just look at Amorim’s Portuguese compatriot Jose Mourinho.
The man who was once where Amorim is now was a master of deflecting blame. Referees, star players not performing, even medical staff have all been put in Jose’s spotlight, long before he admitted he had anything to do with the problem. Sir Alex was the same, as are countless other managers.
Amorim, meanwhile, was happy to make himself public enemy no.1.
But even in that admission, Amorim’s pronoun choice was key. “We are the worst team.” “We need to survive now.” “We can succeed”.
That theme was not unique to the Brighton game either. In March, Sir Jim Ratcliffe called some of the players “not good enough and probably overpaid”, clearly pointing the gun at the squad. Amorim decided to step in front of the bullet.
“I think if we are being honest, everybody – me and the players – we are underperforming this season, so we can change that,” Amorim said.
Amorim’s first season in charge ended with the calamity of losing the Europa League final to a Tottenham side that finished 17th, in a battle of managers wedded to their idea (it’s who we are mate).
Ange paid with his job, Amorim may have sensed he was safe, for now.
His words as the white-and-blue confetti fell were notable. Amorim defended himself but said he still believed he was the best man for the job, going as far as saying he would walk away without compensation should the board wish to get rid. A decision that would have cost his bank balance around £11.9m.
“In this moment, I’m not going to be here defending myself,” he said, looking a lot more beleaguered than when he first arrived. “It’s not my style, I cannot do it. It’s really hard for me.
“I have nothing to show to the fans to say, I am going to improve because of this, I will not do that. In this moment, it is faith. Let’s see.
“I’m always open, if the board and the fans feel I am not the right guy I will go in the next day without any conversation of compensation.
“Yes, I am confident I am still the guy, more than the beginning.
“I know the patience of the fans is going to be really short in the next season but I guarantee you I will not quit. I will not go away, I am really confident.
“I’m not worried about that. If they (the club) say ‘Ruben, it is better to change’ I will leave the next day with no compensation.
“I rely so much on my confidence I am not worried about that. The biggest pain is to lose the game and lose this final, not to give something to the fans and my players.
“I am really confident with myself and I will continue to do my job if the board wants me.”
The board did want him, backing him with a summer spend of almost £300m in transfers but even if the opening game against Arsenal provided hope, subsequent matches make it feel like last season all over again.
Losing to Grimsby, a town with a population smaller than Old Trafford’s capacity and one which Amorim would perhaps not even have heard of before the draw was made, may well have been the last straw – not for the United hierarchy but for Amorim himself.
For the first time, Amorim pointed the fingers at the players, saying they “spoke really loud today about what they want.”
“Everything [was wrong]. The way we started the game, we were not even here. When everything is so important in our club, everything that happened – it’s a problem in our club. We should do so much better. I just have to say sorry to our fans. I felt my players spoke really loud today about what they want.
“In the penalties, the feeling is the same. I think football was really fair today – the best team won.
“That is more than a result. That is the biggest problem in the team. I think it was really clear today. I would like to say very smart things and very important things but I have nothing to say.
“At half-time, I said: ‘We have 45 minutes to try to win the game.’ In the first half, I told them that they were speaking really loud to me – I understand what you are doing, what I am seeing. Let’s try to change that in the last 45 minutes.”
His demeanour was also far removed from his first arrival in Manchester. With Neville, he sat with broad shoulders, smiling and looking Neville in the eyes. In an interview with ITV after the game, Amorim is hunched over, looking down and barely making eye contact. Crucially as well, he spoke of “the limit” as if referring to his own ability to move on from another lacklustre display.
“You cannot change everything in one summer. You need to win games. You need to not show this kind of performance.
“I think this is a little bit the limit. I think something has to change. In this moment, we need to focus on the weekend and then we have time to think.
“If we don’t show up, something has to change, and you’re not going to change 22 players again. We need to be different and that is the job of the coach and you can see that nothing changed.”
Notably, there was also no mention of walking away without his £11.9m…
It may have been something said in the heat of the moment, but Grimsby away may be looked back upon as the defining moment of Amorim’s tenure, the time when he realised that the faces and players can change but there is something about modern era United that is rotten.
He has a team that either doesn’t understand or doesn’t want to understand his tactics. He has problems with the goalkeeper. He has five players very publicly in the bomb squad with only one having secured a loan move away. He has an academy graduate favourite that he doesn’t rate. He has the brightest of spotlights on him with a long line of ex-players and pundits waiting to be the latest to stick the knife in.
To become a manager, you have to have quite the ego, which is why they so rarely walk away. Well, that and the compensation.
There is always the belief that no matter how bad it is, things can still be saved but Amorim’s comments on Wednesday for the first time looked like someone not ready to be jumped but one hoping to be pushed.
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