Worse than the Glazers: why INEOS shot themselves in the foot with ruthless Amorim sacking – opinion

Day turns to night, spring follows winter, and Manchester United have sacked their head coach. The announcement this morning as grimly predictable as it was a bolt from the blue. But in truth, Ruben Amorim has been wilfully operating in the twilight zone ever since his pig-headed decision not to continue with four at the back after the system earned his side three impressive points against Newcastle United. The turning point that wasn’t The Portuguese’s tenure at Old Trafford was one long, slowly breaking false dawn, but that Boxing Day win felt at the time like a bolt of lightning. Amorim, the 3-4-3 evangelist, had done the improbable and changed his system, deploying a back four for the first time at United. He even brought Tyrell Malacia on. With football’s collective jaw on the floor, the Magpies had to resort to some dark arts to rally themselves, but it didn’t work. United took the lead and held on through an absurd rendition of an attack vs. defence training drill in the second half to pick up what should have been a watershed victory. Three points with four at the back – a brave new future loomed, and the second half of the season looked set to be led by a man belated ready to compromise where necessary. Pendulum swinging But Amorim’s reversion to three at the back for the following game, a desultory 1-1 draw at home to rock-bottom Wolverhampton Wanderers, felt like a head coach playing chicken with a board whose patience was wearing thin. It was footballing nihilism played out under the Old Trafford lights, the Portuguese turning his back on progress and shuffling back into the self-flagellation which will be the pervading memory of his time at the club. Acrimony reigned once again and a beleaguered fanbase saw in the new year in low spirits, faith in the Amorim project wavering more than ever but still tangibly, almost inexplicably, there. Then the pendulum swung once more with a hard-fought draw taken from Elland Road thanks to one of the better performances of the season. A strong showing indeed and, with the end of AFCON in sight and some positive injury updates, the outlook was bright – until it all blew up in a blaze of press conference soundbites and a power struggle with only one winner. Never enough time But what if it hadn’t. Amorim leaves United with the club in sixth place and three points off fourth, generating the highest xG per 90 in the division (as per FootyStats at time of writing). Things could be, and have been, much worse. Last season’s weakness is this campaign’s strength, with the Red Devils uncharacteristically clinical from set pieces. The signs of progress are everywhere, but so too are the signs of it not happening quickly enough. Given enough time and patience, Amorim’s United could have been back at the top table in the next few years. Scale up the improvement over the last 12 months over the course of several more campaigns, each summer spending some £200m to fix a problem area, and glory would have returned. A bridge too far United certainly have the budget for that, but not the stomach; particularly when their man is badmouthing the hierarchy in front of the press, a principled figure to the end. INEOS look more ridiculous than ever, sacking a head coach they publicly backed barely a month ago, while Amorim’s self-sabotage has condemned him to being just another ‘what if’ in United’s post-Fergie era – albeit the most tantalising. His stats may be the worst, but his potential was the highest. The simple fact is that the idea of the Portuguese leading United back to the top was always intoxicating. It wouldn’t be Arne Slot winning the league with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, it would have been a visionary young coach building a team – and Manchester United itself – in his image to conquer all. Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.