REAL REASONS Man Utd sacked Ruben Amorim revealed by three top sources | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim has been fired by Manchester United and three reliable journalists have shared their insight into the precise and numerous reasons why that decision was taken.

Man Utd sacked Amorim on Monday morning, with the decision ultimately taken by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Omar Berrada, Jason Wilcox and co. Per The Athletic, the Glazer family were informed of the decision to remove Amorim prior to the dismissal. Under-18s head coach, Darren Fletcher, has assumed control in an interim capacity.

Countless reasons have been put forward as to why Amorim has been removed from power. Some are obvious, such as poor results, incendiary comments in the media etc, while others, such as tactical inflexibility and disagreements over transfer strategy require a deeper dive.

Now, two trusted sources – Ben Jacobs and The Athletic’s Man Utd expert, Laurie Whitwell – have shed light on exactly why Amorim is no more at Man Utd.

“Denials of power struggles or ultimatums, but understand there was a breakdown between Amorim and Jason Wilcox.

“Manchester United back the squad to achieve their objectives this season, including getting European football.

“Manchester United insiders insist Amorim was aligned in adding three forwards over a midfielder last summer, especially knowing they are versatile.

“And whoever replaces Amorim will still be a head coach not a manager. No coach will ever sit above the leadership team, or be given a recruitment veto like Erik ten Hag, as Manchester United’s model is collaborative.”

Amorim’s extraordinary comments in the aftermath of the 1-1 draw with Leeds strongly hinted he felt he did not have enough power in his role as head coach at Old Trafford.

But as Jacobs mentioned, the leadership team in situ have moved away from hiring managers in favour of appointing head coaches.

As such, and unless United’s next permanent manager has the gravitas and trust to alter the hierarchy’s thinking, reduced power and influence over transfers is something every Man Utd manager will have to deal with from here on out.

Back three, Wilcox blow-up, January transfers, media comments all factored in

Whitwell subsequently shared what he’s been hearing on how Amorim’s spell at Man Utd unravelled so spectacularly.

Reporting for The Athletic, the journalist claimed Amorim’s refusal to abandon his 3-4-2-1 formation played a part.

Director of Football Jason Wilcox had spoken about tactical changes and team selections with Amorim on multiple occasions, and Amorim did switch to a back four at times in December.

However, Amorim reverted to a back three in the clashes with Wolves and Leeds, neither of which Man Utd won.

Whitwell wrote: “Friction has emerged in recent weeks over style of play. Wilcox is known to have discussions with Amorim over formations and tactical choices. Their relationship has previously been seen as strong, but the tone of Amorim’s words demonstrated a change.

“Amorim shifted from his back-three dogma against Bournemouth and Newcastle United, but reverted to his 3-4-2-1 system for the draw with Wolves, which drew criticism from Gary Neville.

“United’s draw at Elland Road saw Amorim persist with a back-three, with his line-up featuring only two attacking players in Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha, with Joshua Zirkzee on the bench.”

The issue of formation and tactics was cited as a primary factor behind the sacking by The Telegraph’s Sam Wallace on Monday morning.

Wallace insisted Man Utd actually chose to sack Amorim BEFORE the Leeds game, with the decision made after a meeting between Amorim and Wilcox ‘blew up’ when Amorim was questioned about his failing system.

Furthermore, Whitwell stressed Amorim’s incendiary comments following the 1-1 draw with Leeds played a major role in his dismissal too.

That echoes what TEAMtalk were told on Sunday evening, with our insider, Graeme Bailey, being informed United’s hierarchy felt they’d been stabbed in the back by the Portuguese.

Whitwell added: “Amorim’s status at United has been questioned at several points in his tenure, not least by him, but his comments at Elland Road were on another level and have triggered his exit.

“To this stage, Amorim has called out his players and himself, but this was his first time he turned his sharp tongue on the powers above.

“He was revealing tensions behind the scenes, which have been building in recent weeks over selections, transfers and results.”

Finally, disagreements over United’s January transfer plans were cited as another reason why Amorim’s position became untenable.

As it stands, Man Utd are not in active discussions to sign any players this month. They were willing to move for Antoine Semenyo by triggering his £65m release clause, but the winger is now bound for Manchester City.

And much to Amorim’s dismay, the money set aside for Semenyo has not been funnelled towards a different deal.

In other news, the ultra-reliable David Ornstein has claimed that as of now, Man Utd don’t intend to appoint a permanent successor to Amorim until the summer.

That means interim manager, Darren Fletcher, could have almost half a season in charge and responsibility for qualifying for the Champions League will rest in his hands.