Jim Ratcliffe’s blind faith in Ruben Amorim’s Man Utd is based on hope more than reality
Ruben Amorim must have hoped that an international break after back-to-back home victories meant he was spared a few days of speculation about his future, but Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s insistence on being the most outspoken owner in the Premier League has once again brought his job security into question.
Ratcliffe, appearing on The Times’ Business podcast, said the Portuguese boss needs to demonstrate he is a “great coach over three years” even if he “has not had the best of seasons” and while patience shown by an owner is a welcome change in the world of modern football, there has been little to suggest Amorim warrants such loyalty.
To put it into context, if Amorim had now been at United for three years, it would make him the fifth-longest-serving manager in the Premier League, just ahead of Unai Emery. And the current Aston Villa boss is a sign that in the modern game, you simply don’t get to three years without real progress.
Emery took Aston Villa to Europe after Steven Gerrard looked like he may take them down. Eddie Howe did similar at Newcastle. Marco Silva has guided Fulham up from the Championship and made them a steady Premier League side.
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Ratcliffe described Arteta’s opening years at Arsenal as “miserable”, no doubt ‘informed’ by their back-to-back eighth-placed finishes, but crucially, there were signs of progress even in the early days.
Emery’s stint at Arsenal was characterised by throwing away leads and gifting opposition goals; Arteta’s 18 clean sheets in his first 50 games demonstrate where he improved Arsenal the most.
When Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool, they too had a leaking defence. When Brendan Rodgers was sacked following a 1-1 draw at Goodison, Liverpool had a -2 goal difference, conceding 1.25 goals every game. In Klopp’s first 50 games, he brought that down to 1.02 and kept it there for his whole Liverpool tenure.
For both Arsenal and Liverpool, there were clear signs of progress from a playing style aspect, and soon the results began to follow. Arteta may have finished eighth in both of his opening seasons, but he achieved five more points in his second campaign and Ratcliffe’s “miserable” assessment ignores their FA Cup win in 2020.
In 2021/22, the Gunners rose to fifth and their big leap came in 2022/23 when they reached second in Arteta’s third full season in charge. Liverpool also came in eighth in Klopp’s first season and in the following year, they were up to fourth.
Meanwhile, Manchester United have shown very little signs of any progress, either from a points or playing style perspective.
Amorim’s predecessor Erik ten Hag averaged 1.84 points per game with 1.83 goals scored per game and 1.41 conceded. Amorim meanwhile may have a better scoring record at 1.94 per game, but they also concede a lot more at 1.9 per game. His points per game is also 1.38, 0.46 less than Ten Hag. And that was ‘miserable’.
The former Sporting boss may not have had the full season with the squad but Amorim took a side that was 14th and pushed them one spot lower to 15th.
Then there is the tactical reluctance. His devotion to 3-4-2-1 is unbreakable, so much so that not even the Pope could convince him otherwise, and in his 50 games for United, on only five occasions have the team not lined up like that. And even then it was a 3-4-3.
A devotion to a philosophy is nothing new and not inherently bad for a football manager, but you need only look at the way Pep Guardiola has changed his system over the years to keep up with changing trends.
When he arrived at City in 2016, only three players were taller than 1.9m, two of them goalkeepers. Now, that number is at six. Over the years we have seen changes like inverting full-backs, a move away from 4-3-3 towards a 4-2-2-2 when in possession and more from Guardiola. His first season had many saying he could not cope with English football after a couple of hammerings, but mid-season tweaks meant they went unbeaten in the last eight games of the year.
Guardiola was of course helped by City’s spending, but it is not as if United have not splashed the cash either. The key difference is that City’s signings fixed obvious holes in the team, while United have still been left with gaping chasms, mainly in midfield.
Amorim has dug his own grave and Ratcliffe has pinned his colours to the mast of what may well be a sinking ship.
The man in charge of United’s football operations often likes to portray himself as a fan, one that used to stand on the terraces, more than your typical Premier League owner, and this desire for patience may be him harking back to days of yore, but if you’re backing a dead horse for 11 months or three years, it is still not going to be winning any races.
Amorim may well come good and United may well start winning titles again, but there has been very little evidence to suggest that, and Ratcliffe’s dedication for now seems more based on hope than it is on the reality playing out in front of him.
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