After what was another forgetful Manchester Derby, United boss Ruben Amorim came out with what is now his customary comments talking about his future.
Every time United have one of these matches, which is pretty much every game, the Portuguese has some eye-opening words that cause us to think that the end is nigh.
This time round though, it perhaps is.
“I will do everything I can for Man United. This is my message to the fans. I’m suffering more than them”.
I won’t change my philosophy. If they [INEOS] want it changed, you change the man”.
After the 3-0 loss, ☝ this is what he had to say.
He might be sacking himself with his selections, substitutions, the fact that we are shit, the fact that the tactics don't seem to be working and being 14th in the table after our worst-ever start to a season in 33 years, but to be saying as often as he has about potentially being sacked or walking away almost makes you start to believe that it will be so.
I can remember four other instances where he has come out and said things along these lines.
Early in his reign at the club, Amorim said that "the manager of Manchester United cannot be - never, no matter what - comfortable. And I know the business that I'm in. If we don't win, regardless if they paid the buyout [clause for me] or not, every manager is in danger", [Sky Sports].
Even after just a month, he was talking about potentially being let go of.
After the 2-0 loss at home to West Ham in May, the Portuguese mentioned his future once again. He spoke about how everyone at the club must "seriously think about a lot of things" and that they should "give space to other people" if they don't think he is the right man [Sky Sports].
This came before that embarrassment of a Europa League final in which the United manager said, "if the board and the fans feel I'm not the right guy, I will go in the next day without any conversation about compensation", [Sky Sports].
And then of course, his comments after the derby.
FOUR times hinting about a potential sack or walking away.
This is the first time for any club where I've heard a manager speak so often and so openly about being sacked or leaving the club in some way. He hasn't even been at the club for a year!
To be hearing this is not something I want from my manager. I like Amorim and I hope he can turn things around although it's more likely that we'll see pigs flying, but he really needs to stop with this. If it is going to happen, I believe the board will pull the trigger or maybe he himself will actually walk.
We know that we have losses and performances like these almost every game so to then know your manager is going to come out and talk about being sacked or if the fans don't rate him, he'll go, isn't a great feeling nor is it a great look.
Amorim has stated as well that he wants people to have faith in him and that 'the storm is coming' which is now his most famous quote, but then don't talk about being sacked.
How can we back you if we know that after every other game, this is what you're going to say?
Putting it out there to the universe and sort of manifesting his departure will eventually come to pass especially if he continues in this manner.
That wasn't however, the only worrying thing he said post-match.
For anyone wanting a style or formation change, forget about it.
As part of his comments after the derby, he mentioned how he won't change his philosophy. This pretty much rules out him going with a different approach or a different setup. It's admirable of him to stick to his guns but it will ultimately lead him to what he's been talking about so often: the sack.
I am one of those people who does like it when the manager sticks to his principles but there does come a time where perhaps you need to remove your pride and do what's necessary to survive.
I look back to Erik ten Hag's tenure. He never played true 'ten Hag ball' at United. He began his time in charge by doing so but quickly realized that this isn't working. The loss to Brighton and that humiliating 4-0 thrashing at Brentford caused him to change his approach and opted for something more defensive.
While I didn't like it, I understood why he did so.
If he were to get people on his side, the Dutchman needed something to go his way. Clearly, that wasn't going to be performances as we were shit. So, the other option was to get results. I remember games at Southampton and Leicester where United were a terrible and boring watch, but at the end of the 90 minutes, we won 1-0.
6 points, two clean sheets, confidence and momentum builds, people start to get on your side a little more.
This is what I feel Amorim may need to do. He doesn't have to change his system and nor does he have to do it for a long time but just long enough to buy him some time.
United have been a counter-attacking side for quite a few years and is something that we were great at. I think it's what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer built his whole philosophy on. He was nowhere near good enough but he at least wasn't as terrible as this. A decent amount of those players under the Norwegian are still here and just for now, go defensive. Make it hard for us to beaten and with players like Amad, Mbeumo and when Cunha returns, you have players ready for the counter.
Bruno also thrives in these setups and even with Sesko, he has the pace to be a threat on the break.
Again, formation doesn't have to change. He is already using five defenders so why not just go defensive? It won't be pretty but it could be effectual and more importantly, exactly what he needs to get quick results.
It may not be ideal and if we were doing okay and we could see the progress despite inconsistencies, I think people would be more forgiving towards Amorim and the team.
But this has gone too far. We have passed the threshold of sticking to the plan until it works because that is just not happening.
I mentioned captain Bruno Fernandes above. The manager sort of backs his decision to play the skipper as a no 8 when even Stevie Wonder can see that it isn't working with him in that position.
“I understand how football is and the results dictate the narrative. Did you think we were the better team against Arsenal? They had Odegaard, Rice and Zubimendi”.
“I see it that way. I know that is hard for people”.
Admittedly, we did play well against Arsenal on the opening day. That performance actually gave us a lot of optimism for the future. This is what I mean when saying that if we were at least playing well regularly, we would have something to hold on to.
But that was the only truly great performance so far and we also lost the game.
It's all well and good to keep referring to this match if we have played well and won games since, but we haven't. We so haven't.
Talking about how the midfield was good in that match against a pretty strong Arsenal trio is again, great because it did play well. But that was one instance where it somewhat worked. The following three (or four including the Grimsby game), the midfield was not good enough. At all.
Bruno as a no 8 is the problem. I'm not even mad at the captain because I know that he isn't a CM. Amorim has to either push him forard as a no 10 (his best position) or bite the bullet and drop him. It may not work with the likes of Ugarte, Mainoo and Casemiro, but I don't think it can be any worse that what we've been seeing.
United are still lacking in creativity in the final third as it was a part of the reason as to why we didn't get anything yesterday or at least why we didn't score. Bruno is our most creative player and has been one of the most creative players in football since moving to United in 2020.
Why take him away from that?
With a potential style change, if the manager were to go more defensive, this could perhaps benefit both Bruno and the midfield. With us sitting deeper, we would be more of a unit, one that remains in the same area of the pitch most of the game. There would be very little running around which could help Bruno with his positional discipline.
With a more congested midfield, there would be more defensive cover for the team and it won't be as easy for the opposition to run through us.
The captain is also a player who likes the Hollywood pass which is something he can do better in this type of setup. When you look at his assists, a decent potion of them have come from balls over the top or through the lines to the likes of Rashford, Garnacho and Martial.
If Amorim isn't going to change certain personnel at least, then he has to do something different.
To be honest though, I doubt he'll change anything. I can see him going for the same approach with the same midfield with the same XI with this team struggling with the same issues.
He doesn't need to make massive changes but he needs things to change massively.
What do you make of Amorim's 'sacking' comments? What do you think happens from here?
Ruben Amorim provided some concerning yet unsurprising words regarding his future as Man Utd boss after 3-0 defeat to Man City | Photo by George Wood/Getty Images via Stretty News