It feels like it's been a complete season already with the amount of ups and downs. Hell, we've faced all five of the other big 6 teams, finally managed to win at Anfield, got back-to-back PL victories under Amorim for the first time, are undefeated in five, the manager looked to be getting sacked not once but twice, with all this coming before he won October's manager of the month award.
Been a crazy couple of months 😵.
In these 12 games, there has been much to takeaway from what we've seen from our team thus far. There have been seem real highs but also some incredible lows to a point where it felt as though there was no coming back (ahem, Grimsby 😬).
Yet here we are, just 1 point off of top 4!
Things can change so fast man.
So, what are the five things learned from what has been a roller coaster three months?
1. Amorim Doesn't Know Best XI
Do any of us?
When it comes to matchdays, we all have our predicted lineups. All of them differ from each other's but the problem is, it differs from the manager's as well.
The trip to Forest was probably the first time in a while that I predicted the exact team that he used in that game. That also happened to be the first time he selected the same XI in back-to-back matches since he joined a year ago.
I always found it a bit concerning when we fans could never agree with the manager when it came to what our best team is. Some would prefer Maguire over Yoro, others don't think there's much of a difference between Dalot and Dorgu so who cares who's picked? Are we better off with a false 9 of Cunha or Mount rather than Sesko who has come under a lot of criticism recently?
With Amorim's regular changes to his starting XIs, I doubt he knows his strongest team.
While there are a couple of regulars (Lammens, De Ligt, Shaw, Casemiro, Bruno, Mbeumo) the rest are up for rotation. I find that this constant chopping and changing means a lack of rhythm and chemistry between players, their momentum is broken when they get dropped and we see that it's hard for them to get it back again.
These rotated players could also lose a bit of confidence whenever they are benched for someone else especially when they're young players. Sesko is a good example because he had a slow start before scoring two games running against Brentford and Sunderland. The following game, he was dropped for Mount in the win at Anfield. Sesko hasn't been the same since.
It also doesn't make sense when he drops certain players due to style of play. Sesko again, is a good example because he allows us to play in a different manner and we see the benefits of having a proper striker up top. The win over Chelsea pretty much stemmed from Sesko winning the header resulting in that red card for Robert Sanchez after 5 minutes.
We know we've been using the long ball a lot so why drop a tall striker who is good in the air?
"He is going to be our striker for the long term." - Ruben Amorim on Benjamin Sesko
Dropping Dorgu for Dalot or in the eariler parts of the season when it was Amad who was benched for the Portuguese made little and less sense even more so when we see how he's playing in that position.
Amorim also likes to do this thing where he picks a team based on the opposition and location.
Against opponents who are more possession-based or are the bigger teams (Arsenal, City, Chelsea, LFC, Brighton, Spurs), he tends to go with Maguire over Yoro and the false 9. The only time Mount or Cunha didn't play as striker instead of Sesko was when they got injured before the derby otherwise I would have no doubt they would've started over him.
This lineup suggests one that is happy to have less of the ball, sit deep and hit on the break. That isn't Amorim ball. Maguire at the back also means no high line so that is gone as well.
I don't like this approach from the manager because it says to me that he doesn't fully trust certain players and trust them to play the style he wants which is why he regularly rotates them.
It's almost as if he has two different teams play in two different styles against specific opponents.
I think he needs to find his best team and stick to it.
2. Are We A Counter-Attacking Team?
Continuing on from my first point, when looking at some of those games, it would indicate that our better performances came in the matches against opponents that allowed us to play the more pragmatic brand of football.
Coward football is what I call it.
I find that that type of football is only acceptable because we've been winning. In a way, I'm okay with that because we really did need to pick up some points and victories so as to give us a bit of confidence moving forward. The losses to Grimsby, City and Brentford were a hammer blow to Amorim in particular. He needed to do something and this new found style has aided him in his recovery and receiving that manager of the month award for October.
But now that we have gotten those wins and confidence, we haven't really seen much of an improvement in the brand of football we play. These last two matches have been great examples of this as both Forest and Spurs play in a similar manner which is defend deep and hit on the break.
We (still) have our issues against such oppositions.
When looking at the average possession in the league thus far, United average 50.5% (FBREF). This would put us joint-9th with Bournemouth for average possession.
Our matches this season would also suggest that when United have to take the initiative, we struggle to create, score or even truly control a game.
Fulham had more possession than us in a match where we held the lead allowing for United to sit back; we did have more possession than Burnley although we relied on a late penalty to get us that 3-2 triumph; United had more of the ball in the derby although by the time we truly dominated possession, City were already 3-0 up and the game was done; Chelsea in the end had more possession but this was after we had 2 goals and went down to 10 men ourselves meaning we were always going to sit back; 56% was what we had at Brentford but we all know how that game went; it was a relatively even game against Sunderland with possession split although we did win that game in the first half by being 2-0 up so no need to press on, let them come on to us; Liverpool was always going to be difficult to dominate but when we had the lead, it was pretty much counter-attack; we did have more of the ball at Forest and you saw how we struggled to break them down with a late worldie rescuing us; and Spurs had more possession because we were away from home and had a goal lead to protect, no need to go on the front-foot.
I intentionally left out two games: Arsenal and Brighton.
Those two for me were our best performances and I have no issues with how we played.
The result wasn't what we wanted on opening day against the Gunners but performance-wise, we really couldn't have asked for anything more. Here are the stats from that match:
David Raya also made a couple of crucial saves that kept us at bay that on another day, would've seen us win. This was a performance that gave us hope for the future yet we had to wait until Brighton on matchday 9 to see such good football again.
We did start that win over the Seagulls slowly but a denial of a penalty mid-way through the half sparked United into life. From that point for the next hour, it was all one-way traffic.
United dominated Brighton and romped to a 3-0 lead by the hour mark. Amorim then made changes only for us to gift the visitors 2 goals and make it a little squeaky bum. Mbeumo then scored his second on the night to seal the deal 4-2. For majority of that game though, United were superb.
I want to see more performances like these because that is the standard we should be playing at regularly.
In all these games though, we've seen that United have this problem of scoring when necessary.
We've only failed to score in two matches: Arsenal and City, the two best defenses in the league.
In the games we didn't lose, United took the lead. We of course, want to get off to a flyer which causes this urge to get the first goal. Once we took the lead however, we sometimes sat back and allowed the opposition to get back in the game. If they did, only then did United show that same urge to score another goal.
Burnley, Brentford, Liverpool, Brighton, Forest and Spurs saw that reaction from United to go and get another goal.
It seems that at times when we need to, only then do we try for the next goal. Chelsea, Sunderland and Brighton (before that late Mbeumo strike) were the only games where we had a lead of more than one goal.
3. First Half FC?
By now, most know of the table that shows United are 2nd in the league for their first half form but 18th for their second.
This can go back to what I was saying in the previous point of how we start games off well. United have only conceded the first goal in three matches. Those were the three we lost. If you look at those we didn't lose, you'll see that we took the lead within 30 minutes (or so) with a few coming inside the first 10!
If you look at the goals scored in each half, you'll also see that it's about equal. When it comes to goals conceded, we've let in 10 more in the second half (14) compared to the first (4).
We have to ask the question of what is happening to this team for them to drop off so drastically in the second 45 compared to the first?
Could it be fatigue? After the draw with Spurs, late hero De Ligt came out and said that perhaps the players were a little tired resulting in that poor second half display and allowing Tottenham to take the lead.
How can we be tired when we play one game a week?
Is this whole extra time on the training ground thing actually helping us?
I don't see us outrunning the opposition in most games and if what De Ligt is saying is true, then what was all that talk about having a week between games being of benefit?
And if we are getting tired by the second half, maybe we should learn to put teams to the sword in the first so as to not worry about them getting back in the game in the second.
This could also be down to Amorim's substitutions because there is a clear drop off in quality between the first team and bench players.
The changes are sometimes seen as correct by the manager but it's because of the players themselves that he gets let down.
At 3-0 up around the hour mark against Brighton, Amorim took off Amad, Shaw and Casemiro for Dorgu, Heaven and Mainoo. Two more changes just after the 80th minute (Ugarte for Cunha and Zirkzee for Sesko) occurred.
United then went on to concede 2 goals resulting in a tight and nervy finish.
We could see that these five who came on were clearly not at the races and was the reason as to why we let those 2 goals in. Dorgu and Zirkzee were heavily at fault.
This latest draw saw Casemiro substituted for Ugarte and that was the only change where we got a clear indication of how much better the first team is compared to the second.
This could be a factor as to why we play worse in the second half.
4. Mentality Shift
I do believe we've seen a different mindset from this United team.
Still, much like many aspects of our side, there needs to be stark improvements but we have to start somewhere.
Over the years, we've complained about United's weak mentality in that we fall apart at the slightest bit of trouble. We went from 1-0 down at Liverpool after a strong first half display to completely capitulating and losing 7-0 by game's end.
We don't see this anymore. Well, other than City and Brentford, but this type of humiliation has sort of disappeared.
But it's really in these last two matches where we've seen this true shift.
While I was really disappointed with the two draws, I can't help but admit that it was still a positive because people have been saying that had this been last season, we would've fallen apart.
There were elements at Forest and Brighton of a lack of concentration and falling asleep because we did give away two 2-goal leads in a matter of minutes which is something we need to remove from our game, but managing to get at least a point was better than nothing.
Going back to what I said about us scoring when we need to, these were examples of this. In itself, this is an improvement because at least we fought back. Scoring late through Amad and then De Ligt shows some fight and character that must be highlighted.
With players like the Dutchman, Mbeumo and Cunha, I think that they have helped with this mentality shift tenfold.
Cunha and Mbeumo were a couple of the league's best performers at Wolves and Brentford. They already know what it's like to have to work hard and give it everything right until the end. We haven't had that at United in many years and played a part in us succumbing to hefty defeats.
De Ligt has always been a mentality monster and a leader besides (not sure how he isn't part of that leadership group) so to have someone like him marshalling that defense, makes you feel a lot better about the overall mentality of the team as someone like him won't let things slide.
Many say he should be a future captain of United. I wouldn't disagree.
To have this strong mentality allows for the players to have confidence and trust in their team-mates. It also breeds confidence across the team in that there is this 'never say die' attitude. To keep going to the end of games means we always give ourselves a chance.
5. There Is Potential
But with all of this, I believe there is potential, there is hope.
At the start of the season, I doubt too many would've thought that we would be above Liverpool and just 1 point behind 4th place especially after having the toughest start to the campaign and also that Grimsby game.
Yet here we are 12 games later.
That might still be a short period as there remains a further 26 matches to be played in which all sorts can (and probably will) happen. However, what I've liked about these opening 11 PL fixtures is that we've already faced a good random bunch of teams.
We've had the potential relegation candidates Burnley and Sunderland although with the way the Black Cats are playing, they are more candidates for European football than going straight back down to the Championship!
United have come up against the quintessential Premier League sides like Fulham, Brentford, Brighton and Forest and have also already played all five of the other big six teams. Btw, we are actually second in that big 6 table level on points with City. Only their goal difference separates the two.
This gives us a great window into what we can expect from United when facing the different level of opponents in the league and so far, it's looking better than I thought.
The big six games are special and take care of themselves but in these five matches, we've already improved upon last season's record where we had just one win from 10, drawing four and losing five. One of our two victories this season was at Anfield which is a ground we hadn't won at in 9 years!
The derby was perhaps the only game where we were truly awful and deserved that 3-0 hiding.
We've beaten the relegation candidates and lost just the one (Brentford) against the standard mid-table clubs. Like at the Emptyhad however, we absolutely deserved to lose at the Gtech Community Stadium.
As with that mentality shift, we managed to pick up points in situations where we definitely would've crumbled in a year ago. These could play a big role in the season moving forward.
The football may not be ideal but at least we have adapted in a way that allows us to get results. This squad has not been able to adapt for a long time often only being capable of playing one style against one type of opponent and struggling against the rest. Yes, some of those struggles remain but we're now able to change to a point where I feel we have a chance in games.
I also believe that as we now get upset with results like Forest and Spurs or not winning games like Arsenal and Fulham, is an improvement.
In seasons' past, to come away from those type of matches with something was seen as a positive because we were usually out played. Our performances in those matches were dire and the opposition really should've put us to the sword.
To not get our arses handed to us by the better sides was also something to be happy with because to walk away from the likes of Arsenal, City and Liverpool without being utterly embarrassed was a small win.
While some of those results we've had this season (draws to Forest and Spurs and the loss to Arsenal) are somewhat acceptable because they are seen as steps in the right direction, you still can't help but feel we should've gotten more.
That is progress.
The more we keep improving in this manner, the more I'll believe that we can achieve that which we wish. Whether this type of progress is significant enough to reach our goal of CL qualification remains to be seen but at least it's a start.
What have you learned about this United side over the first 12 games of the season? Are you feeling optimistic or do you believe we still have a loooooong way to go?
Bruno Fernandes | Creator: Justin Setterfield | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2025 Getty Images via Goal
Ruben Amorim, Harry Maguire | Images via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)