Ruben Amorim has dual Man Utd headache after Ipswich draw, he can’t repeat Erik ten Hag’s mistake

Add as preferred source on Google

After a dull 1-1 draw to puncture the enthusiasm leading up to Ruben Amorim’s debut at Manchester United, the manager knows more about his team.

Ruben Amorim admitted as much after the game, be it his praise for Amad, revelation about Alejandro Garnacho’s game, or criticism of players’ decision-making.

Acknowledging the existence of a problem is the first step towards solving it and with games, that knowledge will only increase further.

However, one headache that has flown under the radar after the draw due to the sheer number of talking points has to do with a Man Utd duo.

Ruben Amorim’s dual Man Utd headache

Ruben Amorim’s first Man Utd XI had an expected change, which was the formation as he installed the three-at-the-back system.

However, the personnel involved in that system caught many off guard. For starters, Leny Yoro and Kobbie Mainoo not being involved at all was a surprise.

Amorim also explained why Manuel Ugarte didn’t start vs Ipswich and while his reasoning made sense, it didn’t help with the team balance at all.

The same can be said for the attacking spots where, in an ideal world, Marcus Rashford is probably not Amorim’s first-choice striker, regardless of his impact on the scoreline.

The big headache Amorim has, however, has to do with the midfield duo of Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, the latter of which was subbed off before the hour-mark.

Eriksen didn’t last the 90 either and with good reason. In a system that demands energy and movement from its midfielders, United had two players on the wrong side of 30 huffing and puffing their way through the game.

Add to that Ipswich making the game intense and ramping up the pace, the crowd on the backs making the small stadium feel like a cauldron, and one can forget about Amorim, nobody’s system stood a chance with that midfield duo.

That’s where Amorim needs to come in and avoid repeating Erik ten Hag’s mistake.

The Erik ten Hag mistake needs to be avoided

It was clear near the end of his tenure that Ten Hag had gone into self-preservation mode, sacrificing style and the future for any result possible in the present, whichever way it comes.

That meant the likes of Ugarte remained out of the team and he went back to the Eriksen-Casemiro pairing on which the success of his first season was built.

They weren’t the same players anymore and it made the problems worse but going to experience and the “tried and tested” is the first thing managers are prone to doing when things aren’t going their way.

Amorim has shown great courage so far to immediately bring his system to Old Trafford and admitted as much after the game that he won’t be deterred by short-term setbacks.

That is a good mentality to build from for the new Man Utd manager and will calm the fans who have been hurt far too many times under multiple managers.

The team selection in the weeks ahead should prove that this was just a one-off scenario enforced by injuries because he can’t make the same mistakes Ten Hag did.