Ruben Amorim’s troubles as Manchester United manager have been spelt out by a source at the club and with damning new details emerging about the Portuguese’s state of mind as he battles to overcome intense speculation he is soon face the sack at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have started the new campaign in bleak form and currently languishing in 14th place in the Premier League and showing no real signs of improvement after last season’s dismal 15th-placed finish – the lowest in the history of the competition. And despite spending some £200m this summer on new recruits, there are few signs that things will improve for the better any time soon for Manchester United.
Just under a year into the hotseat, Amorim now has the single worst record of any permanent manager to have taken charge of the Old Trafford club since World War II.
Those staggering statistics belie a manager not just down on his luck but one who is struggling to implement his ideas and get his vision across to his expensively assembled squad.
As a result, it’s little surprise to see speculation rising that United are now casting their net out to potential replacements. And while the official line coming out of the club is that the Portuguese will be given time to prove himself and judgement will be held off until the season’s end, their ongoing struggles to get results are, understandably, of serious concern to the board.
Off the back of that, our reporter Fraser Fletcher revealed on Monday that, in the corridors of power at Old Trafford, whispers of uncertainty are growing louder, with the Portuguese tactician seemingly buckling under mounting pressure.
Insiders acknowledge that the squad lacks the personnel to execute his rigid 3-4-2-1 formation effectively – defensive frailties and midfield imbalances have been glaring and came to the fore yet again on Saturday during a frustrating 3-1 setback at Brentford.
Yet, this hasn’t quelled rising frustrations.
A source at United exclusively told TEAMtalk: “He [Amorim] looks knackered, he knows it’s not working.”
In light of Fletcher’s report, a new update has now come to the fore about the struggles of the 40-year-old – and the Portuguese is now a shadow of the manager who bounced in at Old Trafford some 11 months ago….
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Amorim a ‘ghost’ as more details emerge of Man Utd manager’s struggles
Now, according to CentreDevils, a United-centric website, Amorim is described as a “lonely man” within the club as he struggles to get to internalise their ongoing struggles and as he wrestles to get the best from his players.
The report, from the widely-known Sully, states that the United boss “often walks away from the team” in training and, after losses, he “sometimes sits on his own and doesn’t speak to anyone.”
The report further states: “One source feels the job has broken him mentally and he looks like a ghost of his former self from when he first joined.”
In another damaging claim, it’s revealed the atmosphere within United is “one of the lowest it has been in a long time.”
United would have to pay out a £12million fee to fire Amorim if axed before his first anniversary at the helm, while would also be due hefty compensation if removed some time after that.
Understandably, that is something the board are not too keen to do, though everything is now under review, given they are continuing to drop points and lose games that they really feel they should be winning.
TEAMtalk correspondent Dean Jones revealed on September 15 that Amorim’s public displays of negativity in interviews have also caused unease behind the scenes, too.
Claims that he “felt like quitting” after the Grimsby Town debacle in the Carabao Cup did not go down well with the board.
And his constant refusal to change from the 3-4-2-1 formation he is wedded to has not just caused alarm but more the way he has challenged the board in response to it by stating “not even the Pope” would convince him to change, and that if the club don’t like it ‘then they remove the manager’.
However, improvements continue to elude him and in the wake of Saturday’s defeat at the Gtech Stadium, Amorim insisted: “I am never concerned about my job – I am not that kind of guy.
“It is not my decision. I will do the best I can every minute I am here.”
What are the pundits saying about Amorim?
In the wake of their struggles, several pundits have now started to question where United go next as they weigh up the sacking of Amorim.
Former striker Wayne Rooney feels the soul has been removed from United, stating: “I am not seeing anything which is giving me any confidence, there needs to be big changes in my opinion.
“Manager, players, whatever that is. Whatever it takes to get Manchester United back.”
United are now winless in their last eight Premier League away games and Rooney added: “There needs to be a clear message from the owners.
“Whether that is the Glazers, [minority owner] Sir Jim Ratcliffe, there has to be a message of where this club is going. At the minute we are all sitting there waiting for it to crumble.
“The culture of that football club has gone. I see it on a daily basis. I see staff losing jobs, people walking out of jobs.
“I’ve got two kids [in the academy] at that football club and I really hope this doesn’t affect what they’re doing. What I’m seeing at that football club is not Manchester United.”
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, meanwhile, told NBC Sports’ Rebecca Lowe: “I am very worried, Rebecca; there is no point in me sitting here and saying I’m not.
“The levels of performance, the results and the substitutions yesterday. I saw something at the end of the Grimsby game that they lost in the Carabao Cup a couple of weeks ago, which was Mason Mount ending up at left wing-back.
“We admire managers who are stubborn and resilient around their system, we want them to stick to their plan, but when you have Mason Mount playing at left-back, you are going to look pretty stupid.
“It has happened twice now and it can’t happen. The first time I thought it was unforgivable and yesterday it happened again.
“He changes his back three and his back five every single game and the performances and the results are just unacceptable.
“I’m really, really worried. I would never go on television, as I know how difficult a manager’s job can be, and say a manager should be sacked, but I suspect the hierarchy at Manchester United are going to want to see a turnaround.”
Those views are also echoed by Alan Shearer, when speaking on Match of the Day: “Ruben Amorim is under massive pressure.
“I think the hierarchy have made so many errors since coming to the club, they can’t be seen to have made another in appointing this manager. I think he is very fortunate.”
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown noted: “They don’t look good enough. You then look at it and he only has a win percentage 1% more than Graham Potter, who has been sacked. How is he still in the job?
“If he was 12 months after Ferguson, this would have been done weeks ago.”
Ashley Williams, who played for Everton and Wales in his career, has openly called for the Red Devils to sack Amorim.
Williams said on BBC Final Score: “I don’t want to say they change manager, but how long can this continue? It seems to be every week that we’re talking about it.
“I’m a fan of managers who have a style and stick to it. That isn’t working. You have to adapt.
“I don’t see where Manchester United go with this unless they change manager.”
More on Amorim: Glaser debate irks pundit; Spanish media back Xavi
Meanwhile, with United reported to be looking at would-be replacements for Amorim in the dugout, a report on Monday revealed that the club has been alerted by the tempting opportunity they have to land Andoni Iraola – though a raid on Bournemouth for the Spaniard is likely to wait for two big reasons.
Elsewhere, the Spanish media have responded to Fabrizio Romano’s claim that former Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez would love to replace Amorim in the United hotseat, with the reliable journalist also naming an Italian as one of the candidates to take over at Old Trafford.
And finally, a European football expert has been shocked by a claim from United fan and talkSPORT presenter Hugh Woozencroft that Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is not good enough to replace Amorim at Old Trafford, with the name of a former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager also being thrown into the mix.