Ruben Amorin - Frustrations at Manchester United

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There was much buzz and excitement when Ruben Amorim took over as Manchester United head coach back in November. The 39-year-old is heralded as one of the finest tactical brains amongst the new crop of top-quality coaches that have emerged around Europe in recent years, and United fans hoped he would finally be the man that could take United back to where supporters believe they should be.

He may still do that, and most fans still believe in their Portuguese boss, but there is no getting away from the fact that it has been a challenging opening couple of months for the former Portugal international. Most of the blame for that does not lay at the feet of Amorim however, so below we will look at the problems that Amorim has had during his first few months in one of the most pressurized positions in football.

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Transfers

With most of Amorim’s first transfer window as United boss already gone and no sign of new players, the Head Coach is having to try and mould a side in his image from players that have been signed under three of his predecessors.

Manchester United’s transfer strategy has long been a thing of nightmares for fans of the club, and now, when they have a boss with a clear idea and strategy to try to take the club forward, he is being forced to do so with some players who are just not good enough or not suited to how he wants to play.

Big money was spent on the likes of Antony and Casemiro, but both are now close to the exit door at the club, with Antony proving to be a rueful addition from Ajax, and Casemiro unfortunately now looking like a player whose time at the highest level is over. Marcus Rashford is someone the club appear to be keen to offload to fund new moves that the coach desperately needs in the last few days of the window, whether he gets them is the big question though.

Amorim Ball

When the coach took over, he came with a clearly defined and well-known style of play. 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 is what Amorim has made his name with during his time at Sporting and the manager has tried to adapt his imbalanced squad to his tactics, with differing success it must be said. The performance against Liverpool is an outlier so far during his tenure, as the players appear to be either be taking their time to adjust to what the manager wants, or in the case of some, are not good enough to move forward with the new boss. Amorim’s team structure is based on possession and a high press with his defenders adopting a high line, but with the defenders he has at present that doesn’t appear possible.

Harry Maguire’s lack of pace and mobility means he is always looking to take a step back when United are out pf possession instead of pushing up the pitch, while Lisandro Martinez, who many felt would excel as the left side of the back three has also struggled to adapt. New signings Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui look capable of performing what the manager wants, but Yoro is only 19 and still getting used to the Premier League while Mazraoui is predominantly a wing back, though he has looked comfortable when used in the back 3.

"Amorim’s team structure is based on possession and a high press with his defenders adopting a high line, but with the defenders he has at present that doesn’t appear possible."

Is Amorim Completely Blameless?

Of course, the manager as the man in charge of the team that goes out onto the pitch cannot be completely absolved from blame for United’s struggles in recent weeks. He clearly has much work to do to shape the squad how he wants it and desperately needs a left sided option to balance the team out down that flank, but he has still made some odd selection choices since his arrival.

He picked Casemiro and Christian Eriksen as a midfield duo against a Newcastle midfield full of energy and strength in a match they comfortably lost in December while his constant changing of his back 3 cannot be doing much for consistency.

Conclusion

Whether he is picking certain players to highlight to the powerbrokers at Old Trafford that he needs new ones remains to be seen, but one thing is clear, after describing his side as the “worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United” it unfortunately will probably be down to him to fix it. If he can, and how quickly he can do it is what United fans will be watching.

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Liam is a sportswriter from County Laois in Ireland who specializes in delivering content on GAA and Football matters (though he does see himself as somewhat of a tennis aficionado also!). Liam has written about All Ireland Gaelic Football and Hurling Championships, Premier League, Champions League and International Football offering expert opinion and match previews and predictions. Occasionally even getting some right!

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