Former Premier League midfielder Emmanuel Petit doesn’t think Ruben Amorim, nor any manager, can fix Manchester United.
It’s a rather bleak take on what has been a hectic week at Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag dismissed.
There’s now strong suggestions that Ruben Amorim will take charge of the team as the Dutchman’s successor, after winning two Portuguese titles in his four years at Sporting Lisbon.
That doesn’t change the fact Petit, a critic of Amorim already, doesn’t believe any manager can fix the mess at United.
Speaking to Jeffbet, as per the Manchester Evening News, Petit explained: “United can sign anyone as the new manager, nothing will change because of the team. For years, they’ve bought the wrong profile and players, they were obsessed with buying big-profile names rather than players they needed.
“Look at what Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola did, they signed players they needed for their teams to compete, not just big names. United can bring the best player in the world in each position, but that doesn’t make them work together well as a team. That’s where United need to look at now, fix the squad. Bruno Fernandes is an example, he was amazing when he first joined, but he’s declined year by year.”
Ruben Amorim already a target for hit pieces
No matter who United looked at as their desired man for the job, the media would find angles to slate the new manager. Amorim is no different as seen today in the Daily Mail.
Amorim will need to prove himself to the critics when he takes over, but he’s coming to a new league and leaving Portugal for the first time in doing so.
INEOS will give Amorim time like they did with Ten Hag, but they will be expecting better results and a style of play.
Where does one start with the Daily Mail article? It’s definitely a hatchet job.
He ignores many things, chief amongst them:
– Ten Hag simply had to go as his management had become incoherent.
– Ruud van Nistelrooy was a Ten Hag choice, not an independent signing, had reportedly indicated he didn’t really want the job as well as more recently indicating he will leave on arrival of the new manager.
– This last summer’s signings look suspiciously more suited to Amorim, not Ten Hag, especially a back three.
– INEOS have been seeking (and finding) the best youth talent they can so clearly are looking long-term, even if they’ve set a ‘stretch goal’ of winning the league in 2028.
– There’s no evidence that Amorim was ‘not for them’ six months ago, meanwhile there’s some evidence that Amorim was in their shortlist all along.
– The structure he refers to is in place *now*.
– Southgate clearly stated he didn’t want a return to coaching so soon and was never seriously considered (the links to SJR and Ashworth were blown up into a mirage of imminent arrival).
FWIW, my pet theory on the timing of EtH’s sacking (and therefore Amorim’s hiring) is that SJR and Brailsford wanted to sack Ten Hag in the summer but hadn’t yet put in place the ‘football minds’ to validate their own instincts, plus SJR didn’t want to go against the 80% fan support for EtH after the FA Cup win. A few months later, fan sentiment had turned (as I’m confident SJR predicted) and the footballing structure now in place concurred with the need for change.
Oh, and I forgot, Ancelotti has said he wants to retire after Real Madrid.