Manchester United continue to find new lows in the Premier League after giving fans hope, with the latest coming in the form of shared points against Wolves at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim’s tactical setup and selections confounded expectations in the worst possible way, as a Wolves side who haven’t won in the league yet somehow emerged as the better team.
From subbing Joshua Zirkzee off at half-time to not rolling the dice on more attackers, the game was a throwback to the worst of Amorim after shoots of positivity recently, at least in the attack.
Who was Manchester United’s most DISAPPOINTING player vs Wolves?
The worst among them was so bad that it convinced Gary Neville that United were doomed due to what he saw after just 30 seconds.
Gary Neville baffled by Ruben Amorim’s decision
“Baffled by Ruben Amorim” is becoming a worrying trend at Old Trafford among Man Utd fans, and Neville can add his name to that list.
After some thrilling attacking performances in recent games were punctuated with a gritty defensive win against Newcastle, the hope was that United were cracking both ends of the pitch finally.
However, Amorim took the team backward against Wolves, trying to be too smart for his own good by fixing what wasn’t broken.
What wasn’t broken was Patrick Dorgu thriving further forward against Newcastle, but he was back at left wing-back in that poor back-three formation.
Neville could not believe Amorim made that call, and knew within 30 seconds that this would be a bad performance.
He said (speaking on Sky): “Dorgu was so good on the right wing against Newcastle. He just looked free, he could cut inside on his left foot. He looked more inventive. He looked more like a wide player.
“So I was struggling with it from 30 seconds. I didn’t want to start that sort of negativity after 30 seconds but let’s be clear, after five minutes, I thought that’s not going to work all night. This is going to be a bad performance.”
Patrick Dorgu call was just the tip of the iceberg
Amorim’s decision to shift Dorgu from a position he shone in was certainly baffling, but the worrying part is that it wasn’t even his worst.
From taking off goalscorer Joshua Zirkzee based on flawed logic, to setting Jack Fletcher up to fail (again!) by deploying him in a deeper role, it looked like the players played with one hand tied behind their backs due to the manager.
The real reason why Ruben Amorim subbed off Man Utd striker Joshua Zirkzee against Wolves… 🤔👀
Did Ruben Amorim make a major mistake taking Joshua Zirkzee off? 😩 Should Benjamin Sesko come off instead of Zirkzee? Let us know YOUR verdict! ✍️
The two dropped points here weren’t a consequence of the players taking the opposition lightly or a lack of effort.
It was simply a manager not using the resources at his disposal efficiently and trying to be too smart for his own good.
Amorim ended up playing right into the hands of the worst side in the division this season. Those shoots of positivity are looking like another mirage right now.
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