Ruben Amorim emulated the great Sir Alex Ferguson on Sunday when he won his first Manchester derby in his maiden attempt as his side completed a stunning late comeback against Pep Guardiola’s side.
Manchester City had taken the lead in the first half and were leading till the 87th minute before a Bruno Fernandes spot-kick and Amad Diallo’s composed finish sent the away end crazy.
The win was even more special as the team went head-to-head with City in terms of possession instead of a counter-attacking approach as has been the norm in the recent past.
The Red Devils were in control for the most part with the win coming despite Amorim dropping his top scorers Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho for the encounter.
Wilcox supports Amorim
The former Sporting Lisbon revealed that training performances and the duo’s off-field behaviour played a part behind the bold call.
“It’s important to say why: was not a disciplinary thing. Next week, next game, new life, they are fighting for their places.
“But for me, it’s important: the performance in training, the performance in game, the way you dress, the way you eat, the way you engage with teammates, the way you push your teammates, everything is important in our context in the beginning of something when we want to change a lot of things.”
As per The Athletic‘s Laurie Whitwell, Technical director Jason Wilcox, who has taken control since Dan Ashworth’s departure, signed off on the decision to drop both attackers, which shows INEOS and the coach are on the same boat.
“Jason Wilcox was sat in between today [Dave] Brailsford and Sir Jim Ratcliffe today, which I thought was maybe notable.
“Obviously, Dan Ashworth has departed. It feels like Jason Wilcox will take up more of that kind of responsibility. He’s the one at the training ground every day, watching training every day.
“So I’d be amazed if they hadn’t had a conversation, Ruben Amorin and Jason Wilcox between them, about this kind of situation,” Whitwell said on Talk of the Devils podcast.
Player power needs to be checked
For far too long under the Glazers, player power has run rampant with the manager often undermined by the players with the club siding with them instead of the boss.
INEOS have a different perspective of things and it seems they are backing Amorim who is already improving standards at the club for the better.
The Mancunian’s poor on-field form and off-field demeanour have meant exit talks have intensified recently with the club open to a sale in January.
As for the Argentine, there has been talk of his brother being responsible for team leaks, something that Robert has denied categorically.
The head coach has spoken to the academy graduate regarding the matter and has been assured that the 20-year-old has had no part to play in this mess with investigations currently on.
Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
