The “long-term” project Ruben Amorim was brought for at Manchester United seems already too long for a section of the fanbase, including Gary Neville.
The latest hit to the project was executed by Tottenham Hotspur, earning their third win over Man Utd this season and the second over Ruben Amorim.
Owing to a freak injury nightmare in midfield coupled with the season-ending issue to Amad, it was a patched-up United XI that looked like it.
That’s a clear mitigating factor for Amorim because United still created enough to at least draw, if not win, but Gary Neville was particularly critical of the Man Utd manager for his handling of one player.
Gary Neville on Ruben Amorim’s use of Bruno Fernandes
When the teamsheet dropped and Casemiro was seen alongside Bruno Fernandes in midfield, the Man Utd fans were already fearing the worst.
That is because Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire were behind them, neither known for their rapid pace, leading to a recipe for disaster.
The disaster did ensue, as De Ligt and Maguire dropped back to cover the space behind them, and Fernandes advanced to create chances.
It left Casemiro on an island but worse still, Fernandes was left to function as the one-man attack and defence. He pressed three players out of possession and tried to create with the ball but looked knackered.
Neville said after the game that he was set up to fail by Amorim, stressing that your best players should always be put in positions to succeed.
He said: “Losing Amad meant he lost all the balance. Zirkzee played in the left pocket. The problem was Fernandes was asked to put in a big shift.
“Your best player has to trek out 50 yards, press the fullback, and then trek back in for the forward and leave Casemiro on his own. When he got the ball he was knackered. I just don’t think that’s right.”
Ruben Amorim in a no-win situation right now
While Neville’s criticism makes some sense and was clear to see while the game was happening, the reality is that Amorim is in a no-win situation.
He trusted his veterans to cope with the demands of the game which is understandable but then he gets criticised for not giving youth a chance.
If he gave the youth a chance and they get a baptism of fire, as he said after the game because the level jump is so high, then he gets criticised for not handling the development correctly.
Worse still, the youngster can take a huge mental hit by walking into a battering in a chaotic team. With the season a write-off, Amorim should ignore the outside noise and just focus on the next game.
It’s a cliche for a reason.
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