Ruben Amorim has had a rotten start as Manchester United manager but still retains the support of ‘most players’, according to Manchester United expert Andy Mitten.
The founder of the United We Stand fanzine has impressive contacts within the club and he claims that Amorim enjoys ‘support from fans and from most players who welcomed his arrival, openness and enthusiasm’.
He does not mention the names of those who do not support Amorim but that usually means those players who are out of the first-team picture, with most reports suggesting Marcus Rashford, Antony, Christian Eriksen, Casemiro, Joshua Zirkzee and Victor Lindelof are all available for transfer.
The possibility of Amorim being sacked – despite him being high in the Sack Race – are probably slimmer than the possibility of them being relegated in 2025.
But even Mitten admits that Amorim ‘needs wins and no manager can continue to lose every week, especially at a giant club such as United’; being 14th in the Premier League table is unacceptable.
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Amorim has made it clear that he will not budge from his preferred formation, even though it is reaping really quite terrible results.
“Playing with three is more or less the same thing as playing with four,” he said.
“We can change the characteristics. If we play with Amad on the wing it could be a little bit different. We had some games that we were pressing 4-4-2 so I don’t see it that way. Of course, I didn’t choose the players specifically for that position but that I already knew.
“But I have to sell my idea if I’m going to change all the time it is going to be even worse. But I understand that they have a lot of difficulties because they spent two years playing one way and then they are playing another.
“With a lot of losses, it is really tough on them and you can feel it during the game. So even today when we tried to score and we are near to scoring, it was more from them then the organisation, so you can feel it, I can feel it. But I have to sell my idea. I don’t have another one.”
But pundits are turning on Amorim, with Danny Murphy writing in the Mail: ‘Most matches are won or lost in midfield. Managers have drilled that into players and it’s still the case today.
‘Few teams ask two players to go up against three when they aren’t equipped for the job and don’t get any help, so I found it bizarre Ruben Amorim did it against a side as athletic as Newcastle on Monday night.
‘I was at Old Trafford and could see the problem within a few minutes. By the time the Manchester United boss reacted, his team were 2-0 down and it was game over.
‘It was football suicide and unless Amorim changes either his system or the personnel, performances and results aren’t going to change – particularly worrying as United are down in 14th.’
