Ruben Amorim vs the Manchester United academy recently became a big talking point, fairly or unfairly, but one youngster has emerged from the rubble with his reputation enhanced.
Ruben Amorim defended his stance on Kobbie Mainoo before the Bournemouth game by bringing up, unprompted, the current predicament of a few players.
Harry Amass was written off as “struggling” at Sheffield Wednesday, which could have been lost in translation to mean the club is struggling.
Chido Obi and Toby Collyer weren’t given glowing reviews either, and then Amorim doubled down on it by calling out Obi and Amass for reacting through social media.
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It wasn’t the brightest moment for the professionalism quotient of the youngsters, but one player separated himself from the pack.
Ruben Amorim caught Toby Collyer in the crossfire
For a long time, Toby Collyer has been looked at in Man Utd circles as a model professional off the pitch, if a bit limited on it.
This has led to him becoming a first-team option for both Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, with the latter praising Collyer last season for his professionalism.
However, he went out on loan this season to West Brom due to Casemiro’s resurgence, and has struggled to get going due to injuries.
Collyer is back at Carrington right now to recuperate from an injury, and when Amorim spoke about the uncertainties of youth development, Collyer was caught in the crossfire.
Amorim said at the time, “Toby went to West Bromwich and he’s not playing. He played for Manchester United. So sometimes it’s not because he’s from the academy or whatever.”
Clearly, Amorim missed out on the crucial context that the reason why Collyer is not playing is because of his injury, rather than a judgment on his ability.
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In fact, West Brom have been impressed with Collyer’s conduct and impact before his injury, so the player was well within his rights to get offended and respond to the manager via social media like Obi and Amass did.
However, it’s what he didn’t do that enhances his reputation.
Amorim will be impressed with Collyer
Despite being older than Obi and Amass, Collyer is not as high-profile as either, but this episode has shown that he has what’s needed the most – professionalism.
Collyer was the only one among the trio not to hit back with a cryptic comment or post on social media, despite being well within his rights to do so.
Amass’s was a case of lost in translation, while Obi hasn’t had the same impact at the U21s level that he was having for the U18s.
Collyer, on the other hand, is suffering from injuries outside his control, and yet, he chose not to air his grievances in public.
It’s not known whether he spoke with Amorim privately, like the Man Utd manager urged everyone to do, but not doing it publicly alone speaks volumes about his character.
Not every academy player has to be a superstar, but they have to be a model professional. Collyer has the latter part down perfectly and it will stand him in good stead in his career.
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