Not the best of team news although Cunha is back but there are some concerns over two unnamed players. The United boss also discussed Cunha, Yoro, Dalot and receiving abuse online.
Team news and Amorim says that there are two injury doubts ahead of the game tomorrow. While Cunha is back Maguire is still sidelined and will not be available to face the Hammers.
The manager spoke about Cunha and how he has "more levels to go." He's felt that the Brazilian was thinking too much about the numbers yet remains a big influence on the team despite average performances.
Yoro was taken off 10 minutes into the second half in Sunday's win over Palace. He was having a poor game in which he gave away the penalty that gave the hosts the opportunity to take the lead. On this substitution, Amorim says that "he makes a mistake and struggles" but believes that the young Frenchman is still growing with these setbacks being a chance for him to improve.
On Dalot, the manager believes his fellow Portuguese still "needs to do a lot of things better." He finds that he can be inconsistent. Amorim mentions his versatility in being able to play on both flanks and that he's important when it comes to set-plays: "He's really powerful, he's good on set pieces, and you have to understand that in this league he's really important. He can play both sides."
Recently, there was a report pointing out the amount of online abuse recieved by managers of both the Premier League and Women's Super League with Amorim being no 1 target alongside Liverpool's Arne Slot. To this abuse, the United boss said that "I don't read it." While he acknowledges that it's part of the profession, he doesn't watch TV as a means of protecting himself from these vial comments.
Final Thoughts
WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE INJURIES?!
People were talking so much about how we haven't had many injuries throughout the season but we've seen Mount, Cunha, Maguire, Sesko, Mainoo to name a few. How are we picking up these many issues even though we're playing one game a week?
This is a problem 🚨.
What is wrong with Maguire for him to be injured for this long?
I agreed with the substitution of Yoro on Sunday. He was poor and gave away the penalty and we looked better with Mazraoui in that position.
What I don't agree with is how he treats young players.
Everyone was poor in the first half at Palace just as everyone was poor in the loss to Everton. Many have made a lot of mistakes but they continue to play and will start the next game. (I don't think Yoro starts against West Ham because of his performance last time. Here's my preview).
I had more to say about this treatment of youngsters on my TikTok where I was met with A LOT of opposing thoughts.
What do you think? You agree with how Amorim has treated youngsters or are you more on my side?
I think in games like tomorrow, a player like Cunha is vital. We know we struggle to break teams down, someone with his ball control, dribbling and ability to create something out of nothing can be the difference between winning and losing.
Even though he hasn't had the best of seasons, I believe a player like Cunha is missed in this team because he brings this to the table that nobody else does. I think this is why Amorim feels so strongly about him and why he mentioned him being important despite his inconsistent performances.
I feel he could start because of this.
Dalot hasn't been good. At all. I like the fact that Amorim says he needs to improve many things but unlike what he said about Dorgu (makes him anxious in possession, needs to be calmer), he doesn't outright say what Dalot (and other senior players) are doing wrong.
I personally don't rate either of Dalot or Dorgu but why come out and be so direct towards a new and young player whereas you take the more political route with another?
Dalot has been awful all season. He was good at Palace and by good, I mean he wasn't atrocious. He did the basics relatively well and due to that, one could say it was his best game of the season. He has been as bad (if not worse) than Dorgu on the left.
It seems to me that he's only there for the long throw-ins which is something the manager pointed out in his presser. You can say he's versatile but when you play as badly as he's done, then what's the point?
We need a HUGE upgrade in that position.
Ruben Amorim | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal