Manchester United moved quickly to sack Erik ten Hag after losing 1-2 to West Ham which made them slip to 14th position in English Premier League, and appointed Ruben Amorim from Sporting in Portugal. Once the decision to sack Erik ten Hag was made the new Management team led by Omar Berrada went to Portugal to speak with Sporting and Ruben to conclude the deal in a swift manner unlike the previous drawn out saga. Amorim will be the sixth permanent Manager of the club after Sir Alex Ferguson, who was the sixth permanent Manager after Sir Matt Busby. Both the appointments are to start working in November. Both ended the duopoly of two stronger teams in their leagues in Scotland and Portugal, with Ferguson's Aberdeen knocking out Celtic and Rangers while Amorim's Sporting won against Benfica and FC Porto. Will Man United be sixth time lucky?
Yes, Amorim will be the first Head Coach of Manchester United and not the Manager as the football structure has changed since the INEOS took minority stake and control of football operations. Head Coach are the reality of modern football now. Like Ferguson ended League drought after 26 years at Manchester United, Amorim won the League in Portugal after 19 year gap. Amorim has been the most sought after coach in Europe after his Sporting team won 2 League Titles and 2 League Cup's since 2020. Amorim was on the shortlist to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, both Barcelona and Bayern Munich had him in their list, and he was interviewed by West Ham in the summer which he later described as a 'mistake'.
Amorim's teams thus far have mainly played in 3-4-3 formation with two expansive wing-backs, a position which is lacking in personnel at Manchester United. Mazraoui with his array of skills looks set take one slot but another one is a toss up between Dalot and oft injured Shaw. Garnacho and Amad could also get a mention but not so for Rashford and Anthony whose defensive qualities have been questioned in the past. His line-up could well be Onana(GK), Lindelof, de Ligt, Martinez, Dalot, Ugarte, Casemiro, Mazraoui, Zirkzee, Hojlund, Fernandes. Without Rashford or Garnacho! Or like other previous United managers he will switch to 4-2-3-1 and fail.
In the interim fans have endeared themselves to former striker Ruud van Nistelrooy who looks the part as he handles the media with ease and loops fans at every opportunity. His first game as interim boss was in the Carabao Cup where United beat second string Leicester City 5-2, then drew 1-1 with Chelsea in the League which was a dull encounter, then beat PAOK Salonika in Europa Conference League 2-0 the first victory in Europe in 11 matches and since 1 year! Victory against PAOK was mainly due to solo exploits of Amad Diallo who was again overlooked by Erik ten Hag this season. In the FA Cup competition last year his match winner against Liverpool clearly suggested that Ivorian winger has the appetite to play in big games yet Erik ten Hag made the mistake twice! Amorim has not yet decided on keeping Ruud van Nistelrooy as part of his backroom staff.
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