Ranking Man Utd’s six biggest problems that Ruben Amorim must fix immediately to save his job | OneFootball

Manchester United have only won one of their last five Premier League matches, leaving them eighth in the table and with a frustrated fan base.

While there have been shoots of optimism at points of the 2025-26 season, large question marks remain over the club and Amorim’s ability to get United back to where they belong.

Frustrations were evident after their recent 1-1 draw with West Ham as United fans were heard booing at the full-time whistle.

For the purposes of this article, we’ve looked at the biggest problems that United are currently facing on the pitch, but haven’t included off-pitch issues like the ownership or problems with the stadium.

1. Amorim’s system & lack of natural wing-backs

Amorim proved during his time at Sporting that his 3-4-2-1 system can work with the right personnel, but United fans have seen little evidence so far.

For us, the biggest problem that United currently face is the fact that Amorim is wedded to his system, without adequate players to pull it off.

Since Amorim’s arrival, Patrick Dorgu is the only natural wing-back that the club have signed and he’s struggled for consistent starts this season.

Without specialist wing-backs, the system somewhat falls apart, as Jamie Carragher recently pointed out on Sky Sports.

“I think the problem with this system is that when you think about wing-backs,” Carragher said.

“Think about the weekend [against Nottingham Forest], Amad, he’s been getting questioned, ‘Oh he got caught out at the back post.’

“But as a wing-back, you’re asked to be a full-back defensively, so Amad’s asked to be here and defend crosses at the back post — he got done by Gibbs-White — but then when he gets up here, he’s asked to be a winger.

“Now he is more of a winger, he’s probably more suited to that position, but then Dalot’s the opposite, where he may be able to deal with that better. But when he gets on the last line and they actually get the ball to Dalot, he can’t beat a man. He’s not going to play a clever pass, he’s not going to get a cross in.

“So for me, that’s a little bit of a downfall in terms of getting five on the last line — it’s whether these players have the quality.”

2. Defensive structure

Perhaps also related to their lack of natural wing-backs, United’s overall defensive structure is also a major problem.

To emphasise how many chances United are currently giving up, the Red Devils have conceded a higher xG (19.2) than bottom-of-the-table Wolves have (18.9).

This is no doubt a consequence of their midfield set-up, which we’ll get to next…

3. Midfield and Bruno Fernandes

Fernandes has undoubtedly been one of United’s best players this season, but his role in central midfield is still under question.

There’s no doubt that Bruno does his best work in the final third, having created 40 chances this season – the most of any Premier League player.

However, having him as part of a midfield two does leave United’s backline exposed more often than not.

Indeed, despite Casemiro’s upturn in form, he’s not capable of doing the defensive work for two players.

“The midfield is a massive problem and we know that,” Gary Neville told Sky Sports.

“Ugarte is not good enough, and Bruno is not a player who plays in a deep-lying midfield in a two, he can do, I think, if United are at home and they’re playing against a team who are dominating possession, you can maybe bring him a bit deeper and get away with it.

“But against any team who have good possession and good players, and that’s most teams in the Premier League, Bruno is always probably going to struggle in a midfield two.

“Bruno is United’s best player by a mile, but this system has to have him as a one of a two in midfield or as one of a front three, of which he is neither of these two positions.”

4. Striker problem

It’s safe to say that neither Benjamin Sesko or Joshua Zirkzee have set the world alight so far.

Between them, they have only scored three league goals, averaging a strike every 319 minutes. That simply has to improve if United want to climb the league table.

5. Defending set-pieces

Since the start of last season, only West Ham have conceded more corners in the Premier League (17) than United have (15).

Indeed, it was a corner that was their undoing against the Hammers as Soungoutou Magassa took advantage of United’s slack defending.

In good news for United, only Arsenal and Chelsea have scored from more set-piece situations than they have this season.

6. Kobbie Mainoo

United fans have become increasingly frustrated with Amorim of late and his unwillingness to integrate Mainoo into the starting XI.

The 20-year-old looked like one of the brightest prospects in the Premier League under Erik ten Hag, but his development has stalled under Amorim.

In the league this season, he’s only played 171 minutes of football and is yet to start a single game. At this point, it seems inevitable that he’ll leave in January, which would be a huge shame for United.