Manchester United’s decision to appoint Ruben Amorim as Erik ten Hag’s successor last year has failed to deliver the desired results.
Amorim’s record of 20 wins and nine draws in 50 matches is not good enough for a club of United’s stature. Despite this, sacking him is not the answer.
United fans inclined towards sports betting may feel that heading down a different managerial route will be more beneficial to the team’s chances of winning.
However, punters who use the best sportsbook bonuses to wager on the Red Devils would be well-advised to keep faith with Amorim at the moment.
Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe recently said Amorim should be given three years to prove himself at Old Trafford. His comments will have pleased the manager.
Looking at the situation cynically, Ratcliffe desperately needs Amorim to succeed. Sacking him less than a year after his appointment would not be a good look for the club.
Ratcliffe and the rest of United’s hierarchy have bet big on Amorim. If the manager fails, questions will rightly be asked about their role in proceedings.
United’s results undoubtedly need to improve, a point hammered home by former defender Phil Jones in a recent interview with the Daily Mail.
Jones, who is currently completing his coaching badges before embarking on a career in management, acknowledges that Amorim is under massive pressure.
“Do I want to see any manager or coach losing their job?” Jones said. “No, especially with the route I want to go down now. You need time to get your squad together.
“I like the fact Sir Jim Ratcliffe has come out and backed him, as you would expect. But it’s a results business.
“If you don’t get results, I don’t care what length of contract you’re on – ten years, two years, five years – there will be questions and you will be looked at.”
While Jones has a point about football being a results business, his comments don’t take into account some of the elements Amorim has encountered at the club.
The scattergun way the squad had been assembled over the past few years left Amorim with a task that could not be resolved in two transfer windows.
He has sought to address the situation by removing players who don’t fit his tactical vision or who refuse to adapt to what he requires of them.
The club backed him during the summer, spending more than £200 million on new signings. While that was a step in the right direction, the squad is still unbalanced.
Central midfield remains an issue and is a primary reason Amorim needs to be cut some slack. Signing Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton would rectify the problem.
As things stand, Amorim is still working with one arm tied behind his back. His favoured 3-4-2-1 system needs all the right pieces in place to make it work.
Another couple of transfer windows should be sufficient for United to fill the gaps in the team and give Amorim the tools to go to war with.
However, as evidenced by Mikel Arteta’s tenure at Arsenal, building a squad capable of delivering sustained success can take several years.
Getting rid of the rest of the deadwood and integrating talented youngsters into the first-team squad are other elements which will not happen overnight.
Given what Amorim has had to work with to this point, his overall record reflects a club in transition.
As Jones rightly pointed out, results are the key metric in football, particularly for a club of United’s stature. If Amorim is given some leeway, he may ultimately prove he is the right man for the job.
