Ruben Amorim’s post-match tirade about his job title at Man Utd being a message to Ineos was clear, but he sent an equally big message before kick-off.
If anyone was confused, Ruben Amorim graciously took the time to explain that he’s the manager of Man Utd, not just the head coach.
Clearly, things are not all fine behind the scenes at Old Trafford, as the honesty of Amorim has been replaced by irritation and frustration.
Are you confident Ruben Amorim is the right head coach for Man Utd?
If his post-match tirade was direct and intense, the message he sent to Ineos before the game with his team selection was more understated, but equally as big.
Ruben Amorim’s message to Ineos before the Leeds game
It’s not yet clear what particular thing has frustrated Amorim so much since the Wolves game, but there have been some indications.
His radio silence on the January transfer window makes it feasible to theorise that he’s not happy with the lack of activity this winter.
He’s gone as far as to say that the players who want to leave need to talk to Jason, which is a 180-degree turn from his comments about his door always being open.
Clearly, there are players in the squad who want out, and there are others Amorim doesn’t fancy, but for him to be granted his wish, he needs replacements.
If that can’t happen, Amorim can send a message to Ineos by dropping players who, in his mind, are not committed to the team, which is exactly what he did vs Leeds.
Despite putting in back-to-back anaemic attacking performances in the past two games, Amorim dropped Joshua Zirkzee from the starting XI.
That came after he was withdrawn at half-time vs Wolves despite scoring the opener that day, and again, Zirkzee changed the game after coming on against Leeds.
Amorim’s Joshua Zirkzee decision doesn’t seem tactical
Nobody is mistaking Zirkzee as the prolific saviour of United’s ailing attack, but the fact of the matter remains that he’s an experienced attacking option at a time when United don’t have many.
Do you think Joshua Zirkzee has a future at Man Utd?
Quinton Fortune says his cameo against Leeds was his best showing yet
The fact that Zirkzee has played well in the last two games, including Leeds, only serves to further the point that Amorim’s Zirkzee decision isn’t entirely tactical.
It effectively looks like he wanted to create another exiled group this January, consisting of players who wanted to explore a move.
Now that the board has told him that replacements aren’t realistic, he’s sending a message by dropping those players instead.
It’s a page straight out of his mentor, Jose Mourinho’s, playbook, who infamously played Scott McTominay at CB to tell the board that he didn’t have competent defenders.
The passive-aggressive jabs at the board are increasing in frequency and intensity, and one would assume it’s only a matter of time before showdown talks take place.
That ends either in closing this chapter and turning a new leaf, or closing the book entirely and looking for a new manager, because his drama is not helping anyone.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
