Yet again, as fans of Man United, we find ourselves in a state of confusion. The decisions that are being made at the top don’t seem coherent. The people ‘best in class’ as we were made to believe have made mistake after mistake since Ten Hag. But leave that be.
What I want to focus on is really the appointment of Amorim and his eventual sacking a few days ago.
Why Amorim?
The first question that came to the minds of fans was why were we appointing a manager who plays with a back three when every other manager who has been at the club has played with 4?
The problem was there for everyone to see.
- The squad would need to be overhauled massively in order to fit in with the new manager’s football philosophy.
- The club did not have the money for the overhaul.
- And changing the formation mid-season would be a massive challenge.
So, when the leadership decided on bringing Amorim mid-season, they were ultimately accepting those facts. Clearly, the had a plan to get him signings in the summer, right?
Well, slightly in the affirmative. While the club was able to overhaul the attack, the midfield and defense were left as is. A putrid mess that seems to never get properly addressed over the past decade. But I will come to that later.
So, United kick off the new season, and the same issues arise. The goalkeeper is not good enough. The club scramble in the dying days of the transfer window and bring in Lammens, a young, barely experienced, but good goalkeeper. For a moment, the defense improved and we stopped conceding from set-pieces. Everything was great now, right?
A big fat NO!
The midfield is rubbish! Who would have thought?
It didn’t take long for a familiar problem to rear its ugly head. Since Jose Mourinho, the club has brought in Matic and Casemiro to play the Defensive Midfield role for United.
Before Casemiro, we had the infamous Fred and McTominay. None of them were DM’s but were forced to play the holding role as the club splurged tens of millions on vanity players like Ronaldo and Varane to boost shirt sales.
It has been close to a decade without a proper DM. A defensive midfielder who was not on their last legs. A player who could play 2 games a week without huffin’ and puffin’ as if they are running a marathon in steel boots.
And here we are yet again, in the year 2026, with the same problem. The same problem that has led to the sacking of another manager.
Sacking Amorim
So, a manager is appointed, told he is part of a 3-year project and told he would be backed with signings for his formation. Midway through his first proper season, the leadership realize that “Ooops! We probably need a lot of money to build this squad, don’t we? We can’t do it!”
Suddenly, the news hitting the webs is that the leadership wants Amorim to be flexible with his formation. Maybe play a back four.
The manager reluctantly accepts but he needs a left-winger for the formation. There is a market opportunity with Semenyo not interested in signing a new deal at Bournemouth. Semenyo chooses Man City instead.
However, the news coming out is that the club will not be pursuing other signings this January window. No Semenyo alternative. No DM’s. Not even a loan signing to beef up the defense.
Amorim then explodes. He calls out the lack of transfer activity and mentions the Director of Football by name. Predictably, the club chooses the easy way out and implodes the so-called 3-year process.
Carrick, the Interim Head Coach.
Now we find ourselves back to square one, but this time with an interim, you know, because we don’t want to repeat old mistakes? We are also reverting to a back 4, with forwards who were brought in for a 3-4-3 formation.
What happens to Cunha? Mbeumo? Amad?
We still have the same midfielders, Casemiro, Mainoo and Ugarte. None of them have the legs to cover the midfield. Ugarte has pathetic technical ability. Casemiro lacks defensive discipline. Mainoo is a liability in defense.
What miracles will Carrick perform without midfield signings?
And if the club signs a midfielder for him, why couldn’t they do the same for the head coach whose 3-year process we had to have faith in?
So many questions and no real answers. But one thing that is very clear ... we need to sack Jason Wilcox.
I mean, what the hell is he on demanding Champions League qualification from the interim manager with this pathetic squad? That is a sackable offense on its own.