Premier League: United seek a new leader but are no closer to success
Ruben Amorim who was sacked as head coach of Manchester United, after 14 months at the job. Picture: Martin Rickett/PA Wire
And so, another one bites the dust. Just 14 short months after Erik ten Hag was passed his lunch wrapped in a P45, his replacement Ruben Amorim was shown the door at Manchester United.
Ten Hag was given 18 months and a couple of transfer windows to right the good ship United. Amorim was barely given over a year and just one (limited) summer transfer window. And it was United’s failure to do any significant business in that window that proved too much for the Portuguese manager and his outspoken remarks towards the ownership after last Sunday’s 1-1 draw, away to Leeds, that really meant the end of his tenure at Old Trafford.
To be fair, Amorim’s time has not been stellar compared to United’s illustrious history. But he had the side in sixth place just three points away from a Champions League spot. He took United to a Europa League final and had just been voted Manager of the Month by the league for November.
It should also be remembered that Amorim was the only manager in the Premier League in the last five seasons to bag a win away both at Anfield and The Etihad Stadium. Results that usually stand well to a United manager’s reputation.
Yet United framed the dismissal as a performance related issue in their statement: "With Manchester United sitting sixth in the Premier League, the club’s leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change.
"This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish.
"The club would like to thank Ruben for his contribution to the club and wishes him well for the future.” And so, the 10th manager since Alex Ferguson departed in 2013 has left the Theatre of Dreams and most United fans would agree they are no closer to finding Ferguson’s replacement and certainly no closer to replicating his success.
It is generally accepted that Amorim is hard-working expert of the game at a tactical, technical, and even cultural level. Criticism of him usually surrounds his dogmatic stance to his formation of back three of 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 and refusal to use the traditional flat back four. It relies on a big midfield pivot and fluid attack but often gets caught out in the counterattack in its narrow defence. He has also been criticised for fitting players into positions (mostly midfield) he wants them in, rather than the position they are familiar with or comfortable playing. His continued reliance on using countryman Bruno Fernades as his midfield general denying Kobbie Mainoo playing time in the position which the club hierarchy bought him for led to tension between Amorim and the club’s director of football and chief executive that came to a head at the weekend.
The fans mostly wanted to give Amorim more time, even if there were a few Amorim-out trolls. So, his dismissal is seen to have little to do with his performance, whatever the club statement said and more to do with Amorim’s remarks against the United hierarchy at the Leeds game press conference.
When asked about his job security after the Leeds draw, a clearly irritated Amorim told United’s scouting department and director of football, Jason Wilcox, “to do their job”.
It was a public rebuke of Wilcox and club chief executive Omar Berrada that in hindsight may have been inadvisable for Amorim. Or was it the inevitable coming to a head of the background battles that seems to have plagued every United manager, over the past decade, and the club ownership of the Glaziers and more recently the INEOS-Jim Ratcliffe directorship of the club?
In such a fight there is always only one winner and that’s the ownership. It’s their club after all. But it’s leaving the fans, the true owners of any club — as they do the spending — wondering if the true problem at United is not the long litany of managers but rather with the function of the club’s ownership?
Either way, Amorim is now gone, and he has the consolation of leaving with his reputation intact and a reported £12m in compensation, which will salve a lot of the pain.
Club stalwart Darren Fletcher stepped in as caretaker for the disappointing draw away to Burnley on Wednesday. Either Ole Gunnar Solskjær or/and Michael Carrick look set to be the interim manager until the end of the season.
So, who are the favourites to replace Amorim long term? Former Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi and recently fired Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca (manager of the month October) are among those on the replacement list. From an Irish point of view, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has been mentioned, as has Porto coach Francesco Farioli, Fulham’s Marco Silva, and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola. But the bookies’ favourite is Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, whose surname will at least work well with Glazier ownership moniker. Glasner has done wonders at Palace bringing them their first major trophy with the FA Cup and with-it European football. But the Austrian may have taken Palace as far as they can go, he is out of contract come the summer and may already be looking the next challenge. And at United, what a challenge he would have.
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