Ruben Amorim is a troubled man right now. Every press conference shows his discontent.
When Ruben Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag and held his opening press conference, Manchester United fans loved his personable and open approach.
Lately, Amorim has become increasingly irritable, and there are times you wish he would actually stop talking – for his own good.
Amorim’s latest comments, after the draw at Leeds, were totally bizarre. He went on a rant about being a manager and not a head coach – his official title.
What do YOU think of Ruben Amorim’s latest comments? Is there trouble behind the scenes?
“I came here to be the manager of Manchester United, not to be the head coach.
“I know my name is not Conte, Tuchel, Mourinho but I’m the manager of Manchester United. It’s going to be like this for 18 months or until the board decide to change.
“I’m not going to quit. I’ll do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.
Ruben Amorim
It’s clear there is a lot troubling Amorim. When this question was asked on TalkingPoints, I had a short response to his comments…
“Curious really. On one hand, good to see a bit of fighting spirit. On the other, the press have clearly got him rattled and that rarely ends well. He needs results.”
Let’s dig into what’s actually going wrong for Amorim, and why we should not get dragged down into all the negativity – that he is contributing to.
What’s gone wrong for Ruben Amorim lately
The first aspect of Ruben Amorim’s bad mood is the bottom line that all Manchester United managers are judged by, results.
In recent weeks, Manchester United’s results have simply not been good enough.
United have faced some of the worst teams in the Premier League, and have failed to record back-to-back wins.
We have managed just one win in the four games over the Christmas period.
Amorim is agitated because he knows that United should be doing better, and there really is not a lot he can do about it, due to the injuries and absences he is dealing with right now.
He wants to strengthen the team, and this is where I suspect the real tension is arising – he wants to sign players and there is no agreement on potential deals.
It really does not feel like United are making any progress on signing any players. At this stage it would be a surprise if any signings come in.
Is that an indictment of the market, or Amorim himself, if Ineos are unwilling to back him further? He may fear the writing is already on the wall.
Amorim has compromised recently by shifting his system around. At least for one game. And it was the one in the last four that United won.
It is imperative the team win against Burnley this week, and then record a feelgood victory at home to Brighton in the FA Cup.
After that it gets really tough, with back to back league games against Manchester City and Arsenal.
Amorim needs to build a cushion of goodwill among the fans ahead of these games, and that’s why the matches with Burnley and Brighton are so important.
Are you confident Ruben Amorim is the right head coach for Man Utd?
Three reasons to be positive
It does feel like Ruben Amorim is experiencing a ‘winter of discontent’ right now, and if he can weather this storm, he could enter a bright and positive spring.
Let’s look at the reasons to be positive about United…
He’s dealing with a ridiculous absentee list
Manchester United are missing almost a whole team of key players. In defence, Noussair Mazraoui, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt.
In midfield and attack we are without Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount, and Bruno Fernandes.
It is really putting United’s squad to the test, and the good news is that these players are going to start coming back soon.
By the end of January, United should have a fully available squad. Several stars could be back for the derby mid-month.
The second half of the season could be very different to this challenging spell.
United are far harder to beat
Last season Manchester United lost five times in December, four in the league and one in the Carabao Cup. That was a ridiculous and embarrassing set of results.
Manchester United have only actually lost two games since the end of September.
These were the losses at home to Everton, and away at Aston Villa. United left both games feeling they should have won.
Yes, United have drawn far too many games, but we have also shared the points in games we clearly would have lost last season.
The team has come from behind to claim points away at Forest, Tottenham, and Leeds, and win after trailing at Palace. Last season we would have capitulated in all four.
The players are still behind him. And he deserves credit for making the team more resilient. It provides a good platform for when the missing stars finally return.
WHICH Manchester United player was your man of the match vs Leeds?⚽️
Who impressed you?
The season has so much to play for
This time last season, Manchester United’s Premier League campaign was already dead and buried.
Right now despite the poor form, we are still in sixth place, in a year where there could potentially be five Champions League spots up for grabs.
When you look around the table at our direct competitors, neither Chelsea or Liverpool look much better.
United really should be far out in front of both, and if not for injuries we would be.
The situation calls for some level heads, and patience, from Ruben Amorim included.
If we can get that, then the final few months of the season could be a lot more enjoyable than the tricky winter we are experiencing.
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