Ta-ra, Amorim. Now for Man Utd’s inept board to hire their next underling… | OneFootball

Few will be happier with the sacking of Ruben Amorim than Amorim himself.

Being dumped rarely does much for one’s self-esteem but the now ex-head coach of Manchester United carried the air of a man regretting his life choices for most of 2025. The end for Amorim probably came as sweet relief.

The board won’t resent being pushed into a corner from which they could only escape by swinging the axe. Amorim taunted them to sack him and Sir Jim Ratcliffe never needs an excuse to cut employees adrift.

Few of United’s stars are likely to mourn Amorim’s exit. Who among them has much to lose from it? The players’ social media lackeys will post the usual generic platitudes but most, some now on their third, fourth or even fifth United manager, probably reacted to the news with a shrug of indifference.

The fans? Shoulders will shrug wearier on the Stretford End in anticipation of being told for the seventh time that it’s their job to get behind the new manager. Whoever that might be. Does it even matter anymore?

Whoever takes over from Amorim has to work with a regime that is yet to prove it has the faintest idea what it’s doing. If Jason Wilcox, Omar Berrada and co. faced a slither of the scrutiny Amorim or his successor faces, they’d surely shrivel.

Not just at United is the director of football, sporting director or CEO the cushiest gig going. All the power, almost none of the accountability. But the size of the spotlight on Old Trafford makes it all the more remarkable that those between Amorim and Ratcliffe can shimmy from scrutiny so easily in the shadows.

What faith can anyone have in the United hierarchy to identify Amorim’s successor?

Many of the problems they encountered with Amorim could have been foreseen before they hired him. His dogmatic faith in his formation cannot possibly have come as a surprise.

It was one of the reasons they hired him. Because they, like so many others, became obsessed with the idea of a philosophy. Something to make them identifiable (synonym: predictable), perhaps a shape to build a brand on. Despite the fact the best coaches in the world all possess enough self-awareness to know that adaptability is an asset. If Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t have such a low opinion of Ratcliffe, he might be more minded to educate him on that.

For that reason, the man who follows the man, who followed the man, who followed the man, who followed the man, who followed the man, who followed the man, who followed the Moyes, has the easiest early tap-in of all those post-Fergie managers.

All Darren Fletcher need do is set United up in a formation that suits the players at his disposal. What’s your fancy, Fletch? 4-3-3? 4-2-3-1? Whichever, just please remember that you can change your mind.

Amorim refused to, even if he flirted with the idea, and that will be his legacy. A decent bloke who clearly wanted to succeed and shared many of the same frustrations the fans hold. But, when push came to shove as it inevitably has, Amorim craved validation of his methods above all else.

That defiance along with a piss-poor record means Amorim will be forgotten quicker than even some of his predecessors.

And we know what comes next: Fletcher, already a United hero, will win a few games with players invigorated by a functional formation. And that’ll be nice, won’t it? Then, eventually, an ex-Blackburn winger and former academy manager of Manchester City will anoint the new manager of Manchester United.

Doubtless Wilcox and his cronies will be tempted to hire another up-and-comer without the seniority to overshadow the dubious credentials of those above him. And then we’ll all meet back here in 18 months to do this all again.