Manchester United have lost three out of five games this new season, and have already exited the Carabao Cup while lying in 14th position in the Premier League table.
All the pre-season positivity seems to have evaporated, and familiar questions continue to be asked of Ruben Amorim, who seems to have no answer currently.
A lot of those questions seem to be around his preferred 3-4-3 formation, and how that has hindered the Red Devils. The head coach remains adamant that he will not change, and if results do not improve, something will have to change at Old Trafford.
For now, INEOS seem to be intent on backing their man, but rumours continue to swirl surrounding the club’s hunt for a successor.
Maguire on formation
Harry Maguire, one of the stalwarts in the team, was asked by Sky Sports about the Portuguese tactician’s system and whether it actually has played a part in the team’s dismal run of form since November last year.
The Englishman refused to attack his coach, instead revealing that it is the players who have let Amorim down in the big moments of games.
“I think the formation is an easy one to go at, because we’re playing something a little bit different to everybody else. For me, it just became an easy one to go at when the results don’t work.
“It’s an easy one to go at when the results don’t work” 🗣️
Harry Maguire says the formation is not the problem for Manchester United 👇 pic.twitter.com/03PmBlIhVc
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 19, 2025
“The formation has been fine. Like I said, box to box we been pretty comfortable in every game. Tactically we’ve been comfortable in every game, it’s gotta be down to the players. The players got to take their moments, they got to make the difference in those moments.
“I think this season, the first 4 games we just haven’t done them “moments” well enough. And like I said, we haven’t defended in our box well enough in the big moments. Every time the opposing team comes near the box, it ends up in the back of the net. Which is something we need to work on.
“But I think the formation is just an easy one to dig out because we’ve not been winning football matches. The formation is NOT a set formation, everyone says “3” or “5” but in a lot of phases of the game, we play a back 4.
“We’ve been happy since the manager come in. It’s an easy one to dig out, but it’s down to the players to execute. And if you’re a good player, you can play in ANY formation.”
Players have let down Amorim, not the system
There is certainly some evidence to back up his words. United dominated Arsenal in the first game of the new Premier League season, only for the attackers to fail to score while goalkeeper Altay Bayindir had a shocker in goal.
Even against Fulham, the 20-time English league champions could have been out of sight within the first half itself but for profligacy when it mattered.
In the Manchester derby, the backline, including Leny Yoro and Luke Shaw had a game to forget. But the team is certainly running out of time and excuses.
Something will have to give, and hopefully, like Harry Maguire said, the players can produce on the pitch if they want Amorim to stay at Old Trafford.
Feature image Matt McNulty 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
