Ruben Amorim can build a glorious legacy at United if he follows three simple rules – opinion | OneFootball

As the new season unfolds, it seems as if Manchester United remain unable to build any consistent form.

Following a dismal 15th place finish in the Premier League last season, Man United fans were hopeful that this campaign would see a drastic improvement, especially given the club’s promising pre-season performance.

Unfortunately, the team has hit several stumbling blocks already, which have all but overshadowed impressive performances like the 2-1 win over Chelsea.

Naturally, many fans have directly blamed manager Ruben Amorim for the team’s struggles, particularly since he has the worst win percentage in the league since before the Second World War.

But despite such frustration in the stands, INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe appear to be backing Amorim, with Ratcliffe himself asserting that the Portuguese manager will need to prove himself at United over the span of three years.

While many fans may feel hopeless after hearing that Amorim might be here to stay, the 40 year old could become a major success at Old Trafford if he follows three simple rules.

Stop being stubborn

Sometimes, as a match wears on, United appear to get stuck. On too many occasions, the team has gotten a match off to a promising start, as they did against Fulham and Chelsea.

During the Fulham encounter, United dominated proceedings throughout the opening 20 minutes. Unable to find the back of the net, they quickly ran out of steam, with their opponents ending up taking the lead as Amorim’s men unraveled.

A similar issue happened in the Chelsea match. The difference here was that United were able to build a two-goal lead, with Chelsea unable to score more than once. Still, United were largely ineffective in the second half, almost entirely unable to threaten the Chelsea defence.

At the core of United’s declining performances over the course of the match is an air of predictability. In addition to being bent on implementing his 3-4-2-1 system, Amorim seems unwilling to switch up his team’s playing style, thereby allowing his players to become predictable as their opponents figure them out as the match progresses.

In turn, Amorim’s system might not be very well suited to each opponent United face. After all, during United’s crushing 3-1 loss to Brentford, all of their opponents’ goals came as a result of fast-paced attackers beating United’s high line. Clearly, Amorim’s defence was all too predictable.

If Amorim hopes to improve his team’s fortunes, he’ll need to adjust his team’s playing style, not only according to the opponents they face but also as the match wears on and fatigue starts to hit.

Pick a consistent starting 11

While any new manager understandably has a right to experiment with his team in order to see how each player fits in, the time will come when a regular starting lineup will need to be selected.

After all, having a regular lineup will help players to work on their team chemistry and ensure that they are well-adjusted to each competition they play in.

With a season and a half at United under his belt, Amorim is no longer a new manager who should still be struggling to determine who his best starting 11 is.

And yet, he seems to be consistently juggling his team around, unsure of his winning combination.

One clear example of his indecisiveness is his back three. Harry Maguire has appeared in six of seven league games, starting two matches. Leny Yoro has played in six matches as well, while starting four. It seems that the only consistent starters at the back are Matthijs de Ligt, who has played every minute of the Premier League season, and Luke Shaw, who is not a natural centre-back but rather a left-back who has been converted.

Amorim also seems undecided as to who his wing-backs should be. While Patrick Dorgu and Amad Diallo have received ample time at LWB and RWB, respectively, Diogo Dalot has been shifted between the two positions, playing three league games on the right and two on the left.

Despite all of this experimentation, it seems that Amorim remains undecided as to who his ideal starting 11 is and where each player should ideally be positioned.

When he does finally solidify each player’s role, consistency can start to build.

Timing is essential

Amorim appears to be a fan of making substitutions, particularly when he sees that things aren’t working out.

While this is a positive attribute, many of his substitutions seem to be made extremely late in the game, past the 80th minute.

Although there are occasions when this could be appropriate, it seems unreasonable to expect a substitute to deliver an impactful performance with just five or ten minutes on the pitch.

Sometimes, he really should consider making replacements earlier in the second half, so that they can at least adjust to the conditions of the match so that they have all the knowledge at their disposal to maximise their impact.

Should Amorim implement these principles, he could yet become the successful manager that United have been after for over a decade.

Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images

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