Gary Neville blasts Amorim over ‘lack of agility’ as decisions lead Man Utd ‘down cul-de-sac’ | OneFootball

Gary Neville absolutely tore into Ruben Amorim’s tactical naivety as Manchester United slipped to a woeful 1-0 home defeat to Everton and explained why the manager’s tactical ineptitude was to blame for the failure to unlock the 10-man visitors.

The Red Devils appeared to have turned a major corner under the Portuguese coach when they went to Liverpool and recorded a famous 2-1 win at Anfield on October 19. However, having only collected a win over Brighton in the four matches that have followed since, the same old questions about consistency are starting to be asked about Manchester United.

While United did fight back to claim gutsy 2-2 draws at both Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, Monday night’s dismal 1-0 loss to the Toffees  – made all the more galling by the fact that Everton were reduced to 10 men after just 13 minutes – saw the club miss the chance to move within goal difference of the top four.

In assessing United’s abject efforts to break down the resolute visitors, Neville felt that Amorim’s tactics and substitutions let the club down and noted that they never really looked like unlocking the visitors’ defence.

During his co-commentary for Sky Sports and speaking at the 83rd-minute mark, Neville felt the writing was already on the wall for United over the defeat – and insisted that Amorim was to blame for the defeat.

Neville said: “His [Amorim’s] substitutes have taken him down a cul-de-sac; if you leave [Noussair] Mazraoui on for [Leny] Yoro, because then you can have Mazraoui coming forward on this right side.

“Maybe then you can ask [Luke] Shaw to move forward a little bit on that left, and you’ve got something that might be able to happen…

“But instead, United have been left with this scenario where the play is coming through Yoro, who is finding all the space and trying to build attacks.

“In an ideal world, you’d have Bruno Fernandes or Kevin De Bruyne type (laughs) in that space on this side. You wouldn’t want Leny Yoro picking the ball up in this right channel. And look at where he’s gonna pass it yet again now: it’ll just be a side-foot pass out to someone on the right… Yep, there you go!

“You might as well just play a player there who’s half decent on the ball, who can maybe feed passes into the frontmen.”

Everton earn Gary Neville, Roberto Martinez praise

Making clear the blame for Monday’s loss was on Amorim, Neville continued: “There’s a real lack of agility or flexibility, firstly from the coach, but also from the players to adapt, out on the pitch.

“From the moment they went to 10 men, I never really thought Everton were in danger.

“It’s a memorable night, a red-letter night, for them to win here at Old Trafford with 10 men. They’ve a really poor record here too, so they are reversing history here tonight.

“[David] Moyes has worked his substitutes really well.”

Speaking in the Sky Sports studios, former Everton boss Roberto Martinez – currently in charge of the Portugal national team – explained why the result can prove a turning point in their season.

“This is a defining moment for their season,” he declared, before adding: “David Moyes has given them that connection and clarity. He is the perfect manager for this club.”

Amorim also admitted the loss was a major step back for his side.

“They were the better team with 11 players and 10. I felt we were not there with the same intensity. They deserved the win,” he told BBC Sport.

“The other team helped us with the sending off. We need to do more in every moment. If they have 10 let’s push them to the final third.

“We need to do more.”

When asked it felt like a step back for his side, Amorim responded: “Yes. Especially in the way we played the game. Forget the result. The result is really bad but I was more concerned by the feeling I had during the game.

“Everyone should play better today.”

As for what he said to players afterwards? “Nothing. We have training tomorrow. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

Latest Man Utd news: Fans also critical of Amorim; big Joao Gomes update

Meanwhile, United fans did not hold back as they reacted to the ’embarrassing’ 1-0 defeat, with one fan claiming the manager has the “imagination of a rock” and another bemoaning a side bereft of ideas and reverting to the sort of dross made commonplace over recent years.

On the transfer front, United will not find it easy to convince Wolves to sell Joao Gomes in the January window, even though the midfielder himself is keen on a move to Old Trafford, and with sources revealing how Kobbie Mainoo’s future is also intrinsically tied with the Brazil international midfielder.

Elsewhere, TEAMtalk understands that United could have a potential trump card in the race in the race to sign Antoine Semenyo, amid strong links to the Bournemouth star from Liverpool and Spurs.