Football News: If It's Broke At Manchester United - Fix It

If It's Broke At Manchester United - Fix It

Mangers these days, or coaches because that's what a lot of them are, have become a little bit obsessed by their so-called footballing philosophy. It often feels like they can be more concerned with branding a unique style of football than they are with developing and adapting, and even getting results. Ruben Amorim is the worst offender in this regard.

Amorim is a very young coach. He has lots to learn, and I think he could become a far better head coach if he was willing to. The problem is that he appears to have confused footballing philosophy with tactical rigidity. That being true to your vision of how your team should play means clinging desperately to a specific formation and style of play regardless of how it's actually serving your team.

Yes, the United directors should have know better. Other clubs backed away from Amorim when they realised how unbending he is when it comes to his philosophy. That's on them. At this stage, I think we can all see that Dan Ashworth was right. Boring sit deep, counterattack football is better than this.

Still, Amorim is only 40. He is such a young coach. Every week he comes out and talks about the results not being good enough, the fact that something has to change. He has even intimated that if the club may need to sack him to change things. It's maddening that he hasn't once even considered the possibility that what might have to change is the tactical approach. The thing that quite obviously is not working.

Amorim often acts like a coach who has spent decades refining his approach to football. Like it's the culmination of everything he has learned about how his teams can win. This is not the case. Amorim's system was successful in one league, under a very specific set of conditions. Yea, it's perfectly reasonable to put it to the test in a different context. But, no, it's not reasonable to persist with it when it clearly isn't working.

Nobody here is a professional coach. Most of us aren't even particularly inspiring armchair critics. However, each and every one of us knows exactly how Man Utd are going to set up and try to play in every single game. What an absolute gift to opponents. Knowing exactly what the other team will do.

Football clubs have teams of professional, and hopefully talented, coaches that understand the game. When they play United, they can spend the entire time focusing on how to stop and exploit a predefined system of play. It makes their jobs far easier.

Anyway, beating Amorim's system isn't difficult. You sit a bit deeper. Wait for someone to make a mistake. Pounce on it. And exploit the gaps in midfield and/ or the wide areas.

At times it can feel like we are conceding goals solely due to individual player errors. The third goal yesterday being a good example. But this obscures the way that these mistakes are one part of a wider systemic failure. Yes, the players are making mistakes. Yet, players will always make mistakes. City players made mistakes yesterday. The difference is that other players were there to cover for these mistakes.

In Amorim's system, the players are pushed so high and spread so wide in possession that one misplaced pass leaves the team wide open. This is a persistent failing. Better players might reduce the number of mistakes, but they don't eliminate the problem. There is still too much open road for opposition players to exploit when we make mistakes.

For me, a footballing philosophy means an overarching style and character you want your sides to play with. It should not, under and circumstances, mean a specific formation and set of tactical instructions.

Why? Because every opponent knows exactly what you're going to do. You're literally handing them a massive advantage and, unless your side is substantially better than those it's facing, you will always be fighting an uphill battle.

Coaches should always be looking for ways to grow and adapt. It's arrogant and stupid to think that you have learned everything you know about your job at 40. When a good coach is failing, they will try to adapt their approach. To reconfigure the system in a way that maintains their core philosophy. , Pep did it yesterday. He lost to Amorim's system last season, and implemented a deeper defensive block yesterday. Pep won playing counterattacking football. Did this compromise his philosophy? Who cares, he won.

That's what football is about. Playing the opponent in front of you, and trying to figure out the easiest way to defeat them.

Amorim's career will live and die upon his ability to learn this lesson. He could have the perfect players for his system, and will still fall short at the top level because of the inherent predictability of his approach. Right now Amorim has the shovel in his hands, and every time he refuses to change, he's digging deeper. The only way this changes is if he does. But, honestly, I don't think he has the sense to do it.

Written by Danny Pughnited September 15 2025 11:38:09