Online ReporterDefeat to Tottenham Hotspur has left Manchester United 15th in the English Premier League table.
Blighted by injuries, playing poor football and lacking any quality across the pitch — it’s been a bruising start to life in the English top flight for Ruben Amorim.
The Portuguese head coach acknowledged it would take time for his side to play in his image, but with every passing game and every disappointing result, that claim looks to have been understated.
United are nowhere near the European places, let alone the title race that supporters are craving.
Right now, if you were to ask any Red, they’d take a top-half finish. Amorim’s side are just 12 points clear of the relegation zone, three places above the drop zone.
Amorim’s reputation as one of Europe’s brightest young coaches is taking a battering. But how much of that blame can he shoulder?
The 40-year-old was given a take-it-or-leave-it offer by Ineos, according to the man himself, as they looked for Erik ten Hag’s successor, though it might have said more about the state of the club had he turned them down, rather than trying to fix the current mire. It was a gamble from United’s owners too — one that is yet to pay off, and you could argue things have gotten worse.
With no money to invest in the squad in the recent January transfer window, combined with players on lofty wages who they’re unable to move on, it’s an ultimatum that, on the face of things, had little logic behind it. Clearly an ambitious and optimistic coach, he’ll be questioning that decision and is having to make do with the players at his disposal.
Even then, he was forced to name eight academy youngsters on the bench for the clash with Spurs, given their horrific injury crisis.
The injury to talisman Amad is the latest hammer blow.
That alone is somewhat indicative of the mess the club find itself in. A player deemed not good enough to start under Ten Hag has been one of United’s most consistent, stand-out performers.
The Ivorian is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, so who do they turn to now for inspiration? The options are few and far between.
Amorim has acknowledged the club could sack him if results don’t improve, but can Ineos afford to make such a call? The club’s ongoing battle with PSR won’t have been helped by the decision to award Ten Hag a new contract just months before sacking him, let alone the crazy transfer fees the club parted with to sign the likes of Antony.
Amorim’s hands have been well and truly tied.
A club the size of United’s needs direction, and that’s something that’s not currently on display.
Sure, the club are still in the FA Cup and Europa League, but would a triumph in one of those competitions be enough to completely write off the mess in the English Premier League?
A League Cup and FA Cup triumph was enough to keep Amorim’s predecessor in a job, but that only papered over the cracks. There needs to be a major overhaul at United this summer, who you’d like to think have enough to stay in the top flight, but football is a funny old game.
You simply can’t write off the second half of a season with an eye on the summer, without complacency creeping in. What would that say? — Skysports.
