Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United, The Storm Before The Rainbow
Manchester United are falling into a sense of freefall again, and it feels like an all too familiar sight over the last two decades. Ruben Amorim has come into the club with a monster of a task on his hands, and if the last two games are any indicator to him of the trials and tribulations that are to come in the dugout of this famous club, it’s going to be a long road back to the top.
The team Amorim has come into is in disarray, physically as well as mentally. There seems to be a mental block when players walk onto the hallowed turf at Old Trafford, and it seeps through to the new guard as well as the old. A summer of hope has quickly turned to a December to dismember, and with the Manchester derby coming up next week, United are staring down the barrel of three consecutive Premier League defeats in a row.
Modern fan impatience, Amorim’s issue:
An issue with the modern fan is the reluctance to take a chance on riding out the storm. That instant dopamine that has plagued our society more and more in years gone by requires a manager to hit the ground running immediately, with no context for just how big of a task they have on their hands.
Amorim has spoken recently about the importance of playing down Manchester United’s recent results and focusing on their performances. The Portuguese coach highlighted a lot of issues in the wins, especially against Everton, that gave him reason for concern, not for celebration. Those worries and issues have come to the fore in the last two games, as United struggled to impose themselves on Arsenal or Nottingham Forest, with both sides being clearly more effective in what they were aiming to do than the side from Manchester.
Many would be better off writing off this season for the club in regards to where they finish and just focusing on the level of performance rising with the implementation of a clear way of playing in between that. United are not getting Europe; it does not take a genius to point that out, but they could set themselves up for an interesting campaign next year if they fight through the teething pains it takes to become an elite side. Chelsea had their time in the darkness and are now slowly but surely forcing themselves into the light. United are hopeful to be on a similar trajectory, with one of the most exciting young coaches on the planet behind them to try and force those issues.
Commercial issues for the manager:
Fans get overexcited. Amorim’s 4-0 demolition of Guardiola’s Manchester City had people screaming that the messiah had stepped onto the shores of Manchester piccadilly, spawned from beyond to come and drag a sleeping giant from the ashes of failure. But the true reality is Amorim put a solid tactical display on against one of the worst Manchester City sides in the last decade. Any team with physical attributes centrally can take this Guardiola side for a long uncomfortable ride, and Amorim’s side did just that.
The task at United is different. The commercial club that has been more focused on success from a business perspective than a football one for the last number of years, with fans hopeful of a change under INEOS. Amorim has been shown the commercial side of things early on in his United career, with an interview nearly every day since his arrival plaguing his abilities to focus solely on the success of his football team, as the media try and eat him and pick him apart bit by bit for their own personal joys.
Rest assured, the media interviewing Ruben Amorim every single day to provide content for their social media platforms will be the same ones picking him apart in a couple of months time if he does not start winning games again at United. This is their cycle. Slating Manchester United managers is their bread and butter, and they will likely never stop. They are like brainless flesh-eating zombies, except the media in England survive by feeding on negativity instead of flesh.
Physical flooring:
The issue with this United side is the fact they are arguably less physically capable than that Manchester City side. The team is not imposing, bar Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire. They lack true raw pace, with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho losing a yard in recent seasons, and they lack the ability to track back like “mad dogs,” as Amorim put it. A manager can’t turn water into wine. Ruben Amorim cannot make players that are not physical into physical monsters. You either have that attribute or you don’t, and of course it can be worked on, but not every player can reach the level of physicality needed to get Manchester United to that next level.
Individually, this Manchester United team is full of ridiculous talent from top to bottom, but as a collective, they do not play with enough intensity to win games consistently in the Premier League. If you were to place a number of these players across the Premier League as individuals, they would be unlikely to struggle as much as they do at United, but the collective lack of physicality means every time they step out to play for the club, the team as a whole looks a long way off the pace.
Upcoming windows will be interesting for United. Seeing who stays and who goes will be harsh considering a lot of players are fan favorites, but it might be time for some of those who are fan favourites to sever ties and move forward. Following in Scott McTominay’s footsteps might be the move for a lot of the current squad, as he’s shown that Manchester United could be the problem.
It will be a while before this football club challenges again, so until then, ride out the storm and trust in the processes of Ruben Amorim.
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