Manchester United fell to defeat on Sunday afternoon as Ruben Amorim suffered a 4-1 loss at Newcastle United.
Manchester United went into the international break in decent form, having drawn against Arsenal and beaten both Real Sociedad and Leicester City.
We feared that United’s momentum would be broken, and results have been a mixed bag since returning to action.
United failed to score against Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, taking just one point from those two games.
Thursday night saw United draw 2-2 with Lyon, but only a late Andre Onana error saw United leave France without a victory.
Ruben Amorim may now be focused on the Europa League, but United’s 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United on Sunday was a terrible showing.
Roy Keane on Ruben Amorim
Teenager Harry Amass made his first Premier League start for United, whilst Andre Onana was left out in favour of Altay Bayindir.
Amorim may have felt that Patrick Dorgu needed a rest ahead of facing Lyon this week, putting all of his focus on the Europa League.
We can understand that focus, but any heavy United defeat in the Premier League will spark a real inquest.
Former United captain Roy Keane told Sky Sports that he was unhappy with the way in which United lost the game, giving up cheap goals in the second half.
Keane added that he simply must point the finger at United players because they have been losing far too many Premier League games.
The Irishman even feels that Amorim and his coaching staff have been caught out by the difficulty of the Premier League, starting with his very first game at Ipswich Town.
Keane thinks that Amorim is just stunned by how bad his United squad really is, despite doing his homework on the players at his disposal before he arrived.
“Nobody likes to lose games, of course not, but sometimes it’s the way you lose. It’s the way they gave up some of the goals in the second half,” said Keane.
“They have lost 14 league games, and they lost 14 last season, so that’s why you have to point your finger at this group of players. The only defence I have is that a lot of them are still new to the Premier Leagu,e and the manager is new to the Premier League.
“I think the manager is scratching his head. I bet he cannot believe how bad the United team is. He obviously can’t say that, and he’s talking about recruitment this summer, but this group of players, the mistakes they are making, they can’t seem to get around the pitch, there’s no power in the team. I think there’s some players who can run, but they don’t want to run; that’s another worry.
“I think the Premier League has caught this manager and his coaching staff out. Even his first game, that we covered, was down at Ipswich, and Ipswich drew with them, and Ipswich probably could have won it near the end. I bet you he was thinking ‘this is tough’. I know people do their homework, but I think he has gone in there, and I think he’s been shocked about how bad this group of players are,” he added.
Manchester United legends are on the same page
Keane’s comments sound very familiar.
Just days ago, Paul Scholes suggested that Amorim doesn’t like the United squad at all, even if he can’t publicly say that.
Keane suggested similar, believing that Amorim is keeping his true feelings on the United squad inside.
United legends appear to be noticing that Amorim may be outwardly defending his squad and focusing on improving them, but privately knows he needs better players.
United’s recruitment is absolutely key, especially with a limited budget at Amorim’s disposal.
This rebuild may take a few windows, but United at least need to bring in players Amorim can depend on for next season and beyond.
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