Amorim asking for trouble as latest Man Utd disaster exposes false PL position, baffling transfer claim | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim is really asking for trouble at Manchester United, with his side reaching a new low against Wolves on an exposing night.

There is far more optimism surrounding Manchester United this season than in 2024/25, which is largely due to a notable upturn in results.

Yes, there have also been reasons for optimism with Man Utd‘s transfer business, as it’s difficult to deem their most recent window anything other than an overwhelming success regarding how they dealt with incomings and outgoings.

This, plus head coach Ruben Amorim finally leaving his ego at the door to show a willingness to adapt (for a little bit), has contributed to Man Utd’s growth this season as they have become a more effective unit.

Still, the Red Devils remain miles from their end goal of being a squad capable of consistently challenging for major trophies, as evidenced by most of their performances this term.

The changes in personnel and tactics have led to more points, but these factors have papered over the cracks as performances have been poor more often than good.

This month alone, Man Utd have won two of their six Premier League games. Of these victories, one came via too many nervy moments with a pretty full-strength XI against Wolves, while the other was a smash-and-grab 1-0 victory against Newcastle United.

So, despite United starting Tuesday night on the brink of the Champions League places, there has been enough evidence to suggest that they are in a false league position, and this was laid bare in the second of this month’s meetings against Wolves.

Man Utd are impacted more than most by AFCON absences, while injuries have also taken their toll, but they still had more than enough talent in their squad to beat a side that headed into Tuesday’s match with only two points from their opening 18 Premier League games.

Therefore, the Red Devils’ 1-1 draw is incredibly alarming. The result and Amorim reverting to his preferred 3-4-3 system, which he himself admitted is not working, is bad enough, but it is made worse when you consider that they went punch-for-punch with Wolves in an evenly matched game, which ended with the worst team in the Premier League having more xG.

United’s overreliance on Matheus Cunha as their sole attacking threat without Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo was clear, with goalscorer Joshua Zirkzee’s breakthrough for his side’s only goal coming via a huge deflection to wrong foot Jose Sa.

This came against the run of play, and Wolves were rewarded for their positive work with an equaliser before the break, with Ladislav Krejci’s header beating Senne Lammens following Zirkzee’s poor attempt at a clearing header.

The second half was similarly back-and-forth as two poor Premier League sides could not be separated, with the full-time whistle and certain baffling substitutions met with boos from the justifiably frustrated home crowd.

Amorim revealed before tonight’s game that he is “not going to ask for more signings” in January to “avoid mistakes”, indicating that he is willing to “suffer now” if it means they will be “two steps ahead in the summer”.

But with Amorim’s side continuing to take one step forward and two back, their attack still blunt without the class of a few individuals and the head coach contributing to another nothing performance after finding a roundabout way to revert to his failing system with square pegs in round holes, he is asking for trouble and may not see out the next phase of “suffering” as goodwill runs thin.