Ruben Amorim is willing to die on his 3-4-3 hill and he’s dying alright. Every Lost Dressing Room cliche was applicable for 70 minutes against Everton before a late show that if anything provides further proof of his failings.
“David Moyes is doing a better job than me, it’s quite simple,” Amorim said ahead of the game. A grim reality for Manchester United fans, who have watched their former much-maligned manager give Everton the sort of lift they had hoped Amorim would give United.
The reverse fixture saw United claim a 4-0 victory over the Sean Dyche-led Everton at the start of December, but that game was the extent of the New Manager Bounce under Amorim, who insisted after his second Premier League game in charge that “Everton controlled the game” in what was “far from a perfect performance” in a bid to temper expectations that have eroded autonomously and spectacularly in the meantime.
There’s mitigation for what Amorim has described as his “crazy” struggles in three months in charge that’s seen United win four and lose eight of 15 Premier League games to drop to 15th, below Everton, who have surged away from the relegation zone under Moyes.
It’s not Amorim’s fault that he’s been handed an average group of players and a complex dressing room, or that he’s been tasked with implementing his methods on a not-fit-for-purpose squad mid-season. This is indeed a “very hard job” and the fans are aware of that.
They admire his brutal honesty and chant his name in the knowledge that things were always likely to get worse before they hopefully get better under a manager with such a specific style that he’s unwilling to tweak for short-term gains. There’s an acceptance that this mess isn’t his doing, both from the fans and the media, who enjoy the consistent headlines he continues to provide in charismatic interviews. He’s the guy holding the bomb as it goes off. But no-one expected the damage to be quite this catastrophic.
A Goodison Park still shaking from the Merseyside derby was always going to be a horrible place to go for United, and they didn’t look just overawed but genuinely terrified, as the famously circumspect Toffees smelled blood, pressed high and had the visitors collectively sh*tting themselves by delivering simple balls into the box as the home fans roared in appreciation.
There were five Manchester United touches, five opportunities to clear the ball, before Beto continued his extraordinary improvement under Moyes – that’s now five goals in four games for him – to put Everton ahead after the corner pinball in the 18th minute.
It was awful defending from United that provided incontestable evidence of the staggering difference in energy and desire between the two teams which was again very apparent as Abdoulaye Doucoure doubled the hosts’ lead.
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It was a lovely move from Everton, started by Doucoure deep in his own half, featuring a delightful through ball from Jesper Lindstrøm, who was very good throughout, an excellent first-time pass from Beto, a tidy touch from Jack Harrison to get his shot away, and a brilliant leap from Doucoure after a lung-busting run to beat both Harry Maguire and Andre Onana to the ball.
But it was terrible again from United, whose midfielders predictably failed to track their men as one pass saw Everton handed a four-on-two chance to score that Doucoure gobbled up while Red Devils players in similar positions stood and watched. They were passive, as they were all game, in one of the most insipid performances by any Premier League side we can remember.
It’s not just that United keep failing to win games of football, they’re getting worse. And while we don’t really expect Ipswich to win enough points to claw the Red Devils into the relegation zone, after 70 minutes of this game we wondered whether we were being kind in predicting as many as six points under Amorim in the remainder of the season.
Let’s be really clear about this, United deserved less than nothing from this game. We’re not sure a team will feel more hard done by to have dropped two points this season than Everton here. United scored two goals courtesy of two moments of quality from two very expensive and clearly very talented footballers, which if anything is another blot on Amorim’s copybook rather than a feather in his cap.
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How can Manuel Ugarte do something like that having looked like a child among men in this game? That’s on Amorim. Just like it’s on Amorim to not start Alejandro Garnacho. We shouldn’t be hailing his substitution but criticising his decision not to put him in the starting lineup.
It’s hard to imagine any great improvement while Amorim sticks to his 3-4-3 guns, but it’s a hill he’s willing to die on. He’s claimed the system is flexible, but we’ve seen no evidence of that other than him fielding players out of position, and sympathy over him not having the players to suit the system is dwindling.
They’ve quite simply got to win football matches, and we’re way past the point of respecting Amorim sticking to his philosophy, with a row back from his position of this being The Only Way his Manchester United team will play football worth the embarrassment as it’s also the only way it currently looks like he can keep his job at the club.
Because any Lost Dressing Room cliche was applicable for the majority of this game. They’ve Stopped Running For Him. They’ve Downed Tools. And while there isn’t a manager alive or dead who could get this Manchester United squad challenging for major honours, there are hundreds, thousands even, who would have won more than the 15 points in 15 Premier League games that they’ve managed under Amorim. Yer da would give it a good go.
He confirmed this week that he didn’t want the job mid-season, but faced with a now or never ultimatum from CEO Omar Berrada, Amorim felt he couldn’t turn it down. He says he’s not regretting it, but he looked genuinely ill on the touchline while watching proceedings at Goodison Park.
They won’t do it, they’ve made their bed and are lying on the ill-fitting sheets covered in grime, but sacking Amorim would be a kindness, to him, the players, the fans and the shareholders. They should have made an interim appointment to provide a buffer between the old regime and the new one, to give Amorim every chance of success rather than making him live through a season in which his reputation is being sullied while the players lose trust in his process.
