Ruben Amorim looks set to be the next man tasked with restoring Manchester United back to being a force in English football but in the short-term, the expectation is simple.
With the team languishing in 14th place in the league, Amorim just needs to be better than what Erik ten Hag is doing and if nothing else, that should happen by default since the underperformance is massive so far.
Amorim comes as a highly-rated manager who, at just 39, has an enviable list of accomplishments, especially with Sporting Lisbon.
Furthermore, restoring a giant to former glory is the exact challenge he had at Sporting too so the task will be the same at Old Trafford, just on a much bigger scale.
However, many before him have failed at it, including Ten Hag and Paul Scholes has made a comparison in the case of Amorim with the recently departed Dutchman.
Paul Scholes’ Erik ten Hag comparison for Ruben Amorim
Thrilling attacking football, upstaging the world football order, giving young players a chance, scoring goals for fun, and a stranglehold on the league.
Those are Ruben Amorim’s biggest achievements at Sporting but the same could be said for Erik ten Hag when he arrived from Ajax.
Scholes said Amorim’s arrival ‘could be exciting’ but tempered expectations, making a comparison to Ten Hag but said there’s one thing working in Amorim’s favour.
He said on the overlap: “For a Man Utd manager, you look at someone who can manage an elite football club and win big games. It’s a little bit like Ten Hag [for Amorim]. The Portuguese league is a little bit better than the Dutch league. He’s got to play against two big teams like Benfica and Porto.
“What he’s done there is really good. He looks young and he looks really charismatic as well, he’s got a little bit about him.
“Sporting play City and Arsenal soon so it could have been a chance to give him a public interview. But it could be exciting.”
Scholes’ two major worries about Amorim at Man Utd
Scholes has never been one to be extremely optimistic and flow with the euphoria, sometimes almost to a fault, but he makes two genuine points about Amorim, first being about his system as he prefers to play three at the back.
Scholes said: “It’s not a system Man Utd are used to. There’s the old-fashioned three at the back with five in the midfield which we tried a few times and it lasted 10-12 minutes before the manager scrapped it.
“We’re in a position now where we can’t look back. We’ve got to bow to whatever the new coach wants. What he’s done at Sporting Lisbon has been brilliant. The level, again, a lot more will be expected of him at Man Utd.”
The second point he makes doesn’t reflect well on United but it is a question many fans would be thinking, if only silently.
He said: “For a young coach, who City were probably interested in, we see if you fail at Man Utd I think managers struggle to find better jobs.
“Amorim’s big problem will again be goals. He’s not got enough goals in the team. Also, fans are scarred from Ten Hag bringing lads from Ajax. You could be thinking that if he comes from Sporting and wants players from there and they’re not good enough then that’s another problem.
“The job at City would be a lot easier.”
Scholes makes good points that goals will be a problem but the chances the team was creating under even Ten Hag means they’re bound to start scoring at some point.
Furthermore, Amorim joining United instead of City speaks more to the ambition of the manager than anything else. He is chasing the legacy of a difficult job where so many have failed. The one who manages to turn it around will be immortalised in English football and that’s the path Amorim has chosen and backed himself to do.
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