Still Reeling From Amorim's Exit at Manchester United
Frustration lingers after Ruben Amorim's dismissal, and the sense remains that the club has squandered a rare chance to build something coherent and modern.
Still in shock and dismay over the sacking of Amorim. Never wanted him to leave Manchester United. I felt he did so much right off the pitch, addressing player culture, lifestyle, getting the bomb squad out, and on it by stating a playing style, possession based, clear formation. All things many on here and in the media were calling for during Erik ten Hag's tenure. Even Gary Neville was suggesting a 3-4-3 with Dalot and Shaw as wing backs back in the day.
Calling out the truth
Ruben highlighted so many of our weaknesses with honesty. Player strength and fitness. Commitment. Unbelievably poor in 50/50 tackles. Mentally weak. Worst United team ever. He was music to my bleeding ears. The narrative now appears to be that he was too emotional or unstable, rude to Wilcox, a statesman of the game after his nine month stint at Southampton. The facts are he was let down. No, thrown under the bus. Forced to join earlier than he wanted. Selected because of his 3-4-3. Then a strategically bad transfer policy hits town.
Most of the money was spent on number 10s when the obvious issue was midfield and wing backs. Mbeumo came ridiculously late in the window. He wanted Watkins and got Sesko. I also suspect Martinez but got Lammens. Prior to all of that he had to deal with arguably the worst goalkeeper we ever had, and Bayandir who is a close second.
A manager pushed to the brink
I do not think there is any doubt that Ruben was pushed to the brink and engineered his own dismissal. I do not blame him. Wherever he goes next, Benfica calling, he will be a success. Amorim said he would get European football next season. He was right.
So still, despite our perceptive and experienced sporting director, and possibly having the worst defensive midfield in the league, certainly in the top half, we added two more number 10s. Meanwhile Casemiro wears boots made of concrete and Ugarte plays unaware of what colour shirts we wear. I would sooner have Phil Neville and John O'Shea in midfield.
Despite being well stocked for number 10s, Bruno, Amad, Mount and Mainoo, we threw most of our budget on more.
Wing backs, profiles and failings
Then we move on to the wing backs, well, we don't. Vital in Amorim's system, and remember the board wanted him, yet we rely on dippy Dalot, timid Dorgu, boring Mas, physio's friend Shaw and the best of the bunch, Amad, who is still not in his ideal position. None of those are wing backs. They either cannot attack, defend, get up and down the pitch or all three.
Going back to Mainoo. Spoilt Kobbie. Entitled Kobbie. The Free Kobbie Mainoo t-shirt made me nauseous. Give me a break. Too ponderous for midfield. He has scored some occasional nice goals, but then so do plenty of footballers. Amorim had the nerve and audacity not to pick him because he was too weak and too slow. He was not training well enough. Instead he played £140 million of purchased talent in the two positions Mainoo's profile could possibly play in. Mainoo is certainly number four, Mount at three, at best in that list. Like every fan I want academy players to succeed, but it guarantees nothing when it comes to the first team.
Mixed messaging and systems
Talking of the academy, and indeed all the other age groups. Why are they coached 4-3-3 when the first team is anything but? Just throwing that in. Whose idea was that? Does that suggest a strong commitment to 3-4-3? Does that undermine the manager? I would say so.
Back in the hands of the clowns
Regardless of whether you agree or not with any of the above, we are now well and truly back in the hands of the clowns. Sir Jim who has no positive track record of football ownership. Quite the opposite. Wilcox, who wants to interfere with team selection and coaching rather than be a sporting director, and Berrada who has never been a football CEO.
Sir Jim brought in alleged best in class but overlooked that they were from City where unlimited oil money funds transfers. It was not astute ownership or management. If anything it was just creative accounting fuelling a great, albeit with a track record of cheating, manager.
Add to that Brailsford who knows more about bikes than football. Probably the only decent exec we had, Jean-Claude Blanc, was removed along with Ashworth. Millions wasted.
Groundhog Day at Old Trafford
This leaves us back with what looks like Ole at the wheel. Dear God. My ears are bleeding again. What short memories the clowns have. Incompetent does not cover it. Cannot play against a low block. Relies on counter attacking football against every team. Could not coach a horse out of a burning barn. Poor disciplinarian. It is utterly tragic. Moronic. A horror remake of Groundhog Day.
I would prefer to keep Darren Fletcher. That is where we are. What is being considered, including Carrick who was sacked by Middlesbrough, is worse than Darren Fletcher who has no prior management experience. Worse still he is actively supported by Sir Alex who believes he is a great manager in the making. Talk about the kiss of death.
Applause for the loyal
Finally, I applaud all of you that turn up to Old Trafford week after week to offer your support. It is a true test of resilience and patience right now. Support the team and give the board as much grief as your voices can muster. Right now, allegiance to a given manager must come second to uniting against the clowns.
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