For the second Premier League season in a row, Bournemouth have rocked up to Old Trafford and thrashed Manchester United by three goals.
After the Manchester derby win last week, the mood around the club was buoyant but back-to-back defeats have shattered the confidence of the players again.
While these players have shown they are up for certain big games, consistency remains a huge issue which multiple managers have failed to address before Amorim.
The head coach’s 3-4-3 system is a new one for the players but it does work as seen from numerous games but whether he has the right personnel is a huge doubt.
Amorim lacks the personnel to play his 3-4-3 style
His system has wingbacks but the club’s options are severely lacking in that area with Tyrell Malacia failing to last more than one half in each of his three starts since returning from injury.
Diogo Dalot continues to disappoint, whether on the right or the left, and has hardly shown any real aptitude going forwards this season while Noussair Mazraoui had a rare poor game on Sunday.
Bruno Fernandes, a talisman for previous managers, does not seem to have a natural place in Amorim’s system. He is wasted as the left-side No 10 as the Portuguese is much more adept in central areas.
In midfield, he does not have the discipline to play a full half and his habit of resorting to Hollywood passes instead of keeping it simple is worrisome.
Big mistake to sub off Ugarte
Amorim was wrong to replace Manuel Ugarte in the second half in favour of keeping Kobbie Mainoo and pairing him with the skipper which left a lot of space for the Cherries to exploit.
While the Uruguayan might not possess the technical nous of the aforementioned duo, his fighting ability and ability to close down space in a jiffy was sorely missed as the Red Devils completely capitulated in the second half.
Amorim wanted to go attacking, a positive mindset to have, and hence the change as he hoped for an equaliser but the players let him down big time and he must realise that quite of his stars are simply not good enough.
The less said about the attacking areas the better. Both Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee are simply not good enough to start games on a regular basis for the 20-time English league champions.
They have potential but the club need someone to hit the ground running immediately and with Marcus Rashford out, it is clear that the head coach needs help up front.
Feature image Nathan Stirk 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
