Ruben Amorim is facing the dream scenario he envisaged as soon as Manchester United failed to qualify for Europe this season.
In the painful aftermath of Tottenham’s narrow Europa League win at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao last May, Amorim accepted the defeat could have a silver lining.
United, he said, weren’t ready to compete in the Champions League.
And while he builds HIS United, free weeks spent on the training ground would, he hoped, reap benefits in bedding old, existing and new players into his system.
Well, now that moment has arrived.
Man United and Amorim Must Take Advantage v Chelsea
United face a Chelsea side who arrive at Old Trafford having endured a tough opening to their Champions League campaign at Bayern Munich.
Not the furthest journey into Europe from London but nonetheless a more taxing week than the one United have had working on their own training ground preparing for Saturday’s clash.
But if Amorim and his mis-firing stars don’t take full advantage against Enzo Maresca’s side, it’ll feel as if he’s moved a step closer to losing his job less than a year after arriving at Old Trafford.
These are the weeks Amorim envisaged even if the mood might have been better had his players not turned in a toothless display against rivals City in last Sunday’s Manchester derby, comfortably won 3-0 by Pep Guardiola’s side.
Now though, there really are no excuses.
And it’s games like these that may convince co-owner Jim Ratcliffe that Amorim either is or isn’t the manager to take United forward.
The goodwill that many fans felt towards Amorim in a difficult first season at the club has now evaporated.
The honeymoon is well and truly over and it’s time his team started to deliver.
Towards the end of Erik ten Hag’s reign at United it felt like nothing had changed and the real progress United fans wanted wasn’t going to happen under the Dutchman.
That same feeling is now creeping in at United over Amorim.
The former Sporting Lisbon coach has been at United ten months and the statistics paint a gloomy picture of his impact on the squad.
In the 31 League games he’s been in charge, United have lost 16 and won just eight. That’s a 25.8% win rate.
At most big clubs, it would mean one outcome – the sack.
And there’s the problem. United and Ratcliffe DON”T want to sack Amorim and embark on another direction with a new manager who will demand his own £200 million war chest.
But how much longer can Ratcliffe keep his finger off the trigger?
Every game is a tough one for United even though they have a team packed with expensive talent.
That points to the manager not getting the best out of his players, with the finger of blame often pointed at his system.
There was always suspicion that a 3-4-3 system based around wing-backs wouldn’t work in a Premier League where opponents overload midfield, deploy an aggressive press and keep things tight.
Critics would say United don’t do any of those and are often overrun in midfield.
That suggests Amorim’s system isn’t working and his slavish devotion to his philosophy is alarming and dangerous, with an unforgiving fixture list that could easily pitch them into early-season trouble near the bottom of the table.
A win against Chelsea would silence the alarm bells, temporarily at least.
They say the definition of madness is doing the same things over and over and expecting a different outcome.
Are United on that road already with Amorim’s system?
If you believe statistics don’t lie the answer has to be yes. And that must be giving Jim Ratcliffe, technical director Jason Wilcox and CEO Omar Berrada some sleepless nights.
Man United Could Revisit Bruno Fernandes Future in January
United made some big transfer moves in the summer by buying a new £200 million strike-force and turning their back on the chance to sign PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
But one decision they swerved is one that’s currently giving plenty of fans cause for concern.
Club captain Bruno Fernandes was wanted by Saudi Pro-League club Al-Hilal and a £100 million move was mooted.
But neither Fernandes nor Ruben Amorim wanted the move and nothing materialised.
If Fernandes had been a Chelsea player it’s likely he wouldn’t be figuring at Old Trafford this weekend.
More probably, he’d be playing for Al-Hilal given Chelsea’s ruthless business model and their focus on younger players.
There’s no doubt Ferdinand has given United plenty in more than five-and-a-half years since his £47 million switch from Sporting Lisbon.
But was the summer the right time to part ways ?
Despite his loyalty to United, many fans viewing Fernandes’ early-season struggles believe it should have been the right time to cash in on an overworked 31-year-old.
Fernandes has seemed low on energy in recent games as Amorim struggles to find the specific role where he will benefit the team.
And could all that lead to United revisiting Bruno’s future in January – especially with a powerful, energetic, young central midfielder now a huge priority at Old Trafford?
Mainoo Decision Could Backfire on Ruben Amorim
The derby defeat brought little joy for United. But the performance of Kobbie Mainoo brought some joy for United fans.
Mainoo didn’t start but his display in the last 30 minutes of the game after replacing Noussair Mazraoui was confirmation of the 20-year-old’s ability.
That talent is currently being wasted with few starting chances for Mainoo.
And that’s another stick for critics to beat under-fire Amorim with. The large majority of the fanbase believe Mainoo must be part of the midfield equation.
Amorim doesn’t see it that way – and that could seriously backfire on the United manager.
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