Sean Dyche Might Be Right, But He Wouldn’t Fix United’s Issues Long Term; Amorim Can | OneFootball

By now, most of Manchester United’s fans would have heard Sean Dyche’s statement that if he were the Red Devils’ manager, he would have won more games than Ruben Amorim. While the Englishman might be right, it has sparked debate amongst supporters once again.

So here comes the real conundrum: what should Manchester United do? Sack him, as most of the fanbase are whining on Twitter, or give him next season.

According to most credible media, the Portuguese coach is safe for next season. Does the Portuguese tactician deserve another season, and should that be based on the Europa League result?

Don’t Listen to Sean Dyche, INEOS Don’t Make a One Game Decision

While the statement from Sean Dyche can be debated, there isn’t really much point. Ruben Amorim is the manager. He is the focus point. But what will INEOS decide with Amorim?

Whatever happens next Wednesday in Bilbao any decision on the manager should be based on the past six months, not 90 minutes.

INEOS made that major mistake already, last season. They extended ten Hag based on the emotions of winning the FA Cup. They ignored the body of work of the whole season in virtue of one game. That can not happen again.

But before taking this decision, a lot of context needs to be discussed.

A Squad Not Built for Amorim Football

This squad was built for Ole’s direct football. Since the moment the Red Devils decided to sign Casemiro instead of De Jong, ten Hag followed suit and opted for direct vertical football instead of his preferred possession style. Look at United’s best games under Amorim: Liverpool away, Arsenal away, Arsenal home, and City home. See a common theme? All games were against teams that dominate the ball. All games were games the Red Devils were happy to sit back and hit their opponents on the counter.

The squad are still comfortable playing that type of football. These players are still not comfortable dominating the ball and trying to score. They are better when they play on the backfoot, and changing that will not come in six months without time on the training ground.

Everyone remembers the 4-0 massacre at Brentford in ten Hag’s second game in charge; some would say it was his downfall. The Dutch coach adapted, abandoned his football principles and achieved some very good results. When he tried to install his football in the second season, it all came crumbling down.

Amorim’s adaptation could not benefit United in the long term, and for what reason? Finishing eighth instead of 15th. The Portuguese manager was hired for his footballing principles. He said that a storm would come, but he would not abandon his ideas. Some may see this as stubbornness, while others see it as what he was hired to do.

Klopp did not adapt at Liverpool, Arteta did not adapt at Arsenal, nor did Pep adapt at City. They all reaped the fruit of their “stubbornness”. I would have been all for adaptation if it had benefitted this season, but the fact is this season was long gone when INEOS followed emotions and made the mistake of retaining ten Hag, no matter what happens in Bilbao.

Lack of Transfers & Time on the Training Ground

Some would say Vitor Pereira and David Moyes came to Wolves and Everton, respectively, and changed their fortunes, so why can’t Amorim do the same?

First of all, the expectations at United are different than at Wolves and Everton. These clubs do not have the media circus that is around United.

Second, Wolves and Everton do not play every 3/4 days. How many empty mid-season weeks have Manchester United had? Since Amorim came in, it has been a constant cycle of rest and recovery. Having seven or eight between each game gives you three or four days to work on tactical ideas; the Red Devils did not have that luxury.

Third, Wolves and Everton are teams expected to sit back and hit opponents on the counter. Their squads are built on that; they are not teams that are built to dominate the ball and control games. This is what Amorim is trying to change at United. He wants the Red Devils to be proactive, not reactive; changing habits that have been here for two to three years needs more than a handful of training sessions.

When Antonio Conte took charge of Chelsea, he needed a pre-season and till the start of October for his team to grasp his ideas. He also had Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, an elite creator and an elite goalscorer. Andoni Iraola, one of the best managers in the Premier League, needed a pre-season and six months to change Bournemouth from their reactive nature under Gary O’Neil to their proactive nature now. Bournemouth won one game under Iraola at the start of the previous season and a lot of Twitter tacticos were calling the Cherries dumb for sacking O’Neil for him. I guess Bournemouth are not that dumb now.

Additionally, the squad lost two of their top scorers last season in Rashford and McTominay. Antony left without replacement. United already needed more goal scorers and instead lost two forwards and one of the best box crashers in the world. To aggravate the issue, Amad got injured. So a manager was left to juggle two competitions with two fit forwards who were massively struggling. If United had more goal scorers, the results in the Premier League would have been much more different.

It is so difficult to build a bond between the manager and the players during the stress of the season, especially a tough one like that. It is tough to implement your ideas when you come in mid-November, and the team’s whole fitness regime is built for another manager’s style of football. Most of the work Amorim has done was basically preparing for the next opponents, with no time to really build the team in his own image.

There Is Improvement, Even if Results Don’t Show It

Let’s be clear, winning six out of 22 games in the Premier League is unacceptable. Yet, under Amorim, United won 8 of 10 games in the Europa League. So, for a thin squad, it was clear the Red Devils had to prioritise, and they prioritised the European competition.

See also  Premier League 2024/25: Best and Worst Signings for Every Club

Further, fans tend to forget but the Red Devils were expected to finish 15th last season. They were saved in a lot of games by the late-game heroics of McTominay and Rashford that gave them many more points than their performances deserved.

Looking at the xG of some of United’s latest Premier League games, a clear trend appears: the Red Devils did not deserve to lose. Yes, football is played on the pitch but a clear trend appears: if United had finished their chances, the results in the Premier League would have been much, much better.

I think you get it by now. The players are massively underperforming in terms of finishing their chances. With some better finishing, the Red Devils would have been much higher up the table.

No one knows whether Amorim will be successful or not, but calling for his head before the biggest game in the last four years is dumb and, quite frankly, disgraceful. Whether you think he will succeed or not, he is a breath of fresh air. The Portuguese manager is honest, does not sugarcoat, and gets the issues at the club. He left history in Sporting to come and help fix this club. Fans tend to forget, but he did not want to come in midseason because he knew this would happen.

He warned all of us, but no one wants to give him the virtue of patience and actually a fair chance. Whatever you think, Amorim deserves a pre-season, some attackers who can actually score goals, and a fair chance before passing judgement on him.