I don't often do a post-match press conference reaction but this was a MUST.
*Long post warning*
This one is gonna take some time y'all.
United lost 2-0 at home to West Ham which was the 17th loss of the season, 9th at home, allowed the Hammers to do the double over us in 18 years, and so on.
It was one of the worst performances of the season which is saying a lot because you know, we've been shit for all of it. We're fucking 16th in the league! So there has been no shortage of awful displays from the team even before Amorim came in.
What we also know that with this manager, he doesn't shurk away from saying it like it is. One of the things I love as a fan is when people whether it be the manager, players or anyone involved with the club, are brutally honest. But it's even better when it comes from the manager.
This is the first time we've been hearing such consistent honesty from a boss since the opening few months of Erik ten Hag. Ralf Rangnick was another who was spot on - open heart surgery still maintains it's truth three years later - and even Jose Mournho and LvG have come out and said things about Man Utd that one cannot disagree with. van Gaal who had been battling prostate cancer back in 2022, famously said that United is a "commercial club."
Many wouldn't argue with that point especially considering that we've been shite for over a decade yet somehow sit 2nd for most valuable football clubs [goalsside].
🤣🤣. I don't know why I find that funny.
But perhaps that is part of the problem? Maybe if we weren't valued at $6bn, the Glazers and INEOS would be a little worried about United even though our financial situation is pretty dire anyway.
Whether those two things actually tie in with each other, I don't know but it just appears good when you see that you are just behind the 15x Champions of Europe Real Madrid in the most valuable clubs in the world despite this being one of the worst periods in United's history.
But back to what Amorim had to say. I urge you to watch this post-match presser. You don't need to listen to what he had to say for you to realize how he was feeling. He did have some scars on his knuckles which perhaps suggests that things were broken in the dressing room at some point, again.
Almost all of what the manager had to say was absolutely spot on.
The first part was discussing the extent of Leny Yoro's injury which his manager confirmed as potentially being "a small thing." That is perhaps the only positive from what was an unacceptable performance and result.
But, it gets even better from Amorim.
The United boss talks about a "lack of urgency" from his players in terms of trying to defend West Ham's attacks as well as not showing enough of that urgency in our own box.
He cites a lack of aggression from his team as well which is a reason for not scoring despite feeling that his players created more than enough to get something out of this game.
He then dropped one of the bombs of the presser by saying that since the league position is so terrible and cannot really be changed "it's ok" to lose games and lose at home. Amorim added that United are losing the feeling of being a massive club by almost being fine with losing at Old Trafford.
"That is the biggest concern in our club."
The United manager says that he feels "embarrassed" to see his side languishing in 16th in the Premier League. With that final next Wednesday, Amorim says that everyone is thinking about that showdown with Spurs yet "it is not an issue at this moment in our club." He also says that everyone has to think about a lot of things at the club.
"We have to change a lot of things at the end of the season."
The 40 year old says that the most dangerous thing you can have at a big club is that feeling of being ok with performances and results like these and to not show that urgency.
Despite not having that urgency domestically, Amorim believes that it was shown in the Europa League simply because you have to win to proceed whereas in the league, it doesn't matter as much. He also said that the style of play and performances in the two competitions weren't too dissimilar from each other but the fact that one must win in a cup tournament to go through is what pushed the team to get over the line.
"I have that feeling of that lack of urgency in everything we do. It's a big concern."
Amorim found it difficult to describe the backing from the fans despite seeing their side as bad as they are and as the manager, he takes responsibility for what is happening. He also wants to see big changes at the end of the season: "We need to change a lot of things during the summer."
Perhaps the biggest bomb he dropped was when talking about his future.
Again he says that the club have to be "really strong in the summer" and that if next season starts as this is ending and that negative feeling remains, "we should give the space to different persons."
This one takes the cake.
"It's by far the smallest problem in our club." That is the Manchester United manager talking about a European final. I believe that this tells you everything you need to know about the state of the club.
He also doesn't know whether it's actually better to play in the Champions League or not.
Final Thoughts
Bomb after bomb!
Before I say anything, I just want to 👏👏👏 applaud that from Ruben. I think it was all spot on. It really is refreshing to hear them say this, isn't it?
I also feel so sorry for Amorim because he doesn't deserve this. If you look at him, he appears upset and dejected, almost lost at what is happening at United.
All those smiles he had when he joined the club seem like a lifetime ago 😔.
Lack of Urgency
To be fair to those players, this wasn't the first time they displayed a lack of urgency this season or in fact, for many of the previous seasons. We all know they are capable of not showing up in games so it shouldn't have been a surprise.
What was surprising though was to see this lack of urgency and aggression ahead of what is one of the biggest games in our recent history. Before such a match, any game prior to that should be one where you give it everything in preparation for a final.
Usually, this team turns up when you least expect it which this campaign, has been in the more important matches which is why it was a shock to see just how poorly we performed.
The fact that he picked a strong lineup was also another factor that made this game more of a disappointment to the manager as we should be expecting more from those players.
I believe that this is a message from Amorim to those players that they cannot be getting away with such performances. For too long, the majority of the blame goes on the manager with the players getting off somewhat scot-free. If we seriously want Amorim to succeed and to progress as a football club, we have to remove a lot of these players. We can't be saying this every season and then not doing it. It's part of the reason as to why we keep finding ourselves in this position.
It's a message to the board as well.
Acceptable to lose games
Completely agree again. There doesn't appear to be any annoyance nor anger, frustration or anything from those players to suggest that a defeat especially at home, really gets to them. It's almost as if it has become acceptable.
This is something else that we've been saying for a while as the players don't seem hurt when losing. It started off with big games like derbies or against Liverpool but then it went to sides like Everton and West Ham away where it was just 'one of those days.'
As 'one of those days' has become a habit, it is now acceptable if you want to call it that, to be losing to these sides at home. Nine defeats at Old Trafford is absurd. Nine defeats at all in years gone by wasn't even thought of.
In the last two seasons, United have lost a combined 31. More losses than victories in this time as we've only won 28. Big clubs don't do such a thing and it is a huge concern. The mentality of the players was already pathetic so to have this being labeled at them (which may not be entirely untrue) would just add to this weak mindset. That definitely won't help us going forward.
I think us fans have also got to take some of the responsibility here as we too can often appear accepting of the current situation. We don't really get on the players' or club's back whenever they do things that aren't of the standard of United.
It's one thing to understand where we're at as a club but it's another to be 'okay' with it. 16th in the league is unacceptable yet it seems to me that should we win the Europa League, it will pretty much make this season a 'successful' one and will be a trophy that papers over the cracks.
Win the Europa = all will be well.
This is why I love that Amorim keeps mentioning how winning the trophy still won't make this a successful season. Lifting the Europa League will make it slightly better but it won't be a campaign we look back on with fond memories. When we finished 6th and won it with Jose it wasn't acceptable.
Embarrassed
It is embarrassing and also sad to see where United are in the table and as a club. But this isn't on Amorim, he wasn't even the manager from the start of the season and this embarrassment has been going on since well before he arrived.
I've been saying this for a while and many have as well in that having to take over the worst Man Utd side ever mid-season is not an easy thing to do. The club giving him that ultimatum was also not something he would've wanted: join now or never.
There's been no backing in January as Patrick Dorgu and Ayden Heaven weren't really what was needed. The squad was weakened with the departures of Antony and Marcus Rashford whatever you think of them. He's had no pre-season and these are the same players who were seriously underperforming under Erik ten Hag. They were even playing a system that they knew so what were the chances of Amorim getting them to play a completely new style and formation?
More urgency in Europe
I do believe that the final or the games in the Europa have been a bit of a distraction for these players. We know that we are already terrible in the league so what difference does it make whether we finish 13th, 14th, 15th or lower? This is what the players must have been thinking which would make certain league performances make more sense.
As the league position 'doesn't matter', let's just turn up in the Europa League, right? The manager is correct once again and I never really thought about it in this sense in that the Europa is a knockout and you have to win to progress whereas in the league, there is always the next game.
Maybe it could explain that lack of urgency in the PL. Maybe as many have said before, we are a cup team.
I feel in a way that if this is true that we are a cup team, it's like today's society who have short attention spans. For a moment, they can pay full attention but ask them to concentrate for a little longer and they have problem. For those one-off cup games, we can show up and win but try to take on the marathon that is the league, and we fail entirely.
With Spurs and United both reaching the final relatively unscathed (we are the only unbeaten side in all of Europe), this could once more bring that conversation to the fore that the Premier League is the strongest in the world. Teams that are 16th and 17th could easily make it into the Europa League final.
It makes zero sense in all honesty how we've gotten to this final without losing. It would be just like us though, to lose our first game in the final.
Bringing in someone else
To speak about being potentially replaced I believe is a BIG statement and one that is putting pressure on the club to deliver in the transfer window.
United have failed to truly back managers over the past 12 years with only Erik ten Hag being a man who can't complain even if he didn't get all the players he wanted. We need to see the same treatment to Ruben Amorim because I believe in this manager and can see what he's trying to do. That is the difference between him and his predecessor in that United do appear to have an identity even if it's taking a little longer than we'd like for it to properly come to fruition.
In saying that though, the fact that we can see something happening is a testament to the quality of manager we have on our hands. For Amorim to be able to get these useless players to play his style even to this small an extent, is worthy of winning manager of the year.
This is why there is a strong backing from majority of the fan base when it comes to Amorim because we can see what a top coach he is. Give him the players he wants, get rid of the players he doesn't and I believe we will be a much better side. Whether we will be able to achieve top 6 as the club are reportedly aiming for for next season, is another matter but that in itself also puts pressure on the club because we can see that we won't get to that position with this group of players.
If they do fail to deliver, then Amorim's right, maybe they should sack him now and look to bring in someone else because we'll just be wasting his time.
Winning EL is smallest problem
Imagine saying that it's not the biggest problem when it comes to trying to win a European trophy. Things are much deeper than winning or losing the Europa. Of course it will help us a deal moving forward but it would be a plaster over a gaping wound.
The fact that he also says he doesn't know whether playing in the Champions League will be a good thing or not is another indication of just how bad things are. Everyone wants to play in the CL and there are several benefits to doing so: more money, playing with Europe's elite, ability to attract better players and even not having the quick turnaround of Thursday-Sunday football could make a difference.
I feel like while he says that they have to look at themselves as a collective, a lot of it is problems that can only be solved by the club. Amorim does have to take responsibility of certain things like some of the football which is unacceptable and to have only won six of 26 league games is truly insufferable but he can only do so much as the manager. It is then up to the players to go and deliver which they obviously can't which brings it back to the club.
Amorim can't sack the players. He can't leave most of them out whom he deems not good enough as he has to field a starting XI and nine bench options. I'm sure if given the opportunity, he will sack players because Sunday's defeat to West Ham was a perfect example of why a lot of them are not worthy of wearing the United shirt.
There's been quite a few games under him as well where we've actually played well enough to win yet thanks to poor finishing, decision-making, defending and overall lack of concentration, we ended up on the losing side.
How can the manager be blamed for that?
And this brings me on to some of the fans.
Since that loss to West Ham, which was the first game in a while where I would put equal amount of blame on the manager as the players, I've seen so much of 'Amorim out' or 'Amorim needs to be sacked.'
I thought we were much more intelligent as a fan base.
This isn't everyone btw as there are more out there who are in support of Amorim than not, but there are too many who aren't and slowly over time with the more bad results we receive, those few will grow and grow until there are more who want the manager gone than to stay.
I understand the frustrations and anger because I feel it too but we have to use our heads here and look at where the problem truly lies.
I also know that as football fans, it's easier to look at what's going on on the pitch and understand that compared to what's happening at board level. We don't see what's happening there so it makes it harder for us to actually understand why certain decisions are being made. It's also easier to understand football because it's a simple game and we all feel like experts whenever we watch it whereas most of us aren't when it comes to running a football club.
I'm glad that there's more light being shone on the board though, and just how badly run we've been. Most of the heat may still be on the manager which makes no sense to me but at least some of it is going on the club.
Pretty much all that Amorim said in this presser is on the club. I'm sorry to keep repeating myself but he is only the manager. He cannot buy and sell players, he cannot give them a fair wage for the performances they put in, he cannot negotiate a fair price with other clubs.
What the fuck is he supposed to do with a group of players that we've been saying for a long time aren't good enough?
Victor Lindelof for example, has been at United for 8 years! Has he ever been good enough? Shaw has been injured more than he's played and earns £150k-a-week. Mount earns £250k-a-week and is a player that was signed by the previous manager. A lot of them aren't even Amorim's players.
We also keep saying he needs to bring him in or him in and then we'll be cooking. Imagine Viktor Gyokeres instead of Rasmus Hojlund, a better goalkeeper instead of Andre Onana, Matheus Cunha instead of Garnacho. Just those three additions could make us miles better.
Who has the responsibility to deliver them?
Why I trust Amorim is because he speaks as if he's one of us fans. So much of it makes sense and is brutally honest. Rangnick's honesty and open heart surgery quote is one that we all still admire (and is still true) three years later. Ralf spoke the most sense out of anyone and was sacked for it.
What a rubbish decision that was.
Considering how crap we've been for a long time, I feel that it should be easy for Sir Jim Ratcliffe and company to improve things at the club. However, with the way things have gone this season, maybe Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold weren't as bad as we thought. Yeah, things have gone that terribly.
Better the devil you know and all that stuff.
When INEOS came in, the club was in turmoil. I feel like we all felt that perhaps they could be the saviors of this football club and maybe they will still be but at the moment, that does appear like a distant dream. The Glazers and the previous regime were so awful that it felt like any slight adjustment would be a major improvement to them. The term 'open goal' was compared to this situation in terms of how simple it was to better things.
All they needed to do was back a manager, give him a proper structure and let him do the rest.
They did that with ten Hag but it never really felt like they truly wanted him as manager. Sir Jim even said that it was a mistake to keep the Dutchman for those two extra months. To then give Amorim no choice but to join in mid-November was also going to be a difficult task for him to turn things around.
And yet, I believe INEOS thought that Amorim will come in and things will be fine, we'll start to see good football, there'll be smiles on everyone's faces just like the manager's and we'll be up in the Champions League positions.
I believe they thought it will be as simple as changing the manager.
They also sacked their Director of Football whom they chased for months, had a public battle with Newcastle for him and spent £5m for his signature only to remove Dan Ashworth just months into the job.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe also had his issues with his other football club Nice in France as there was a lot of trouble there. INEOS in general have had a lot of negativity with the sports franchises they're involved in with recently having issues with the New Zealand rugby team after the All Blacks felt that INEOS breached their contract after Sir Jim's company made the decision by themselves to end their sponsorship deal early.
It's not really the best of CVs from the co-owners of MUFC.
On top of it all, it seems that they are more interested in the future with things like project 28 and the new stadium when a lot of that future depends on the success at the moment. If we don't sort things out on the pitch now, we will never win the league in 2028 and that stadium will take longer than the five years they planned for.
They also want Amorim to be the manager when that stadium opens in 2030 which is a long shot. He looks fed up already and hasn't even been here a season!
We then have to look at the transfer policy and the constant spin whenever bad results and performances occur. There was recent news about Kobbie Mainoo [RubenAmorimx] potentially getting a new long-term contract and Liam Delap [talkSPORT] preferring United over Chelsea.
Praise the Lord 🙌. An underperforming Mainoo whom we still can't see where he fits in this team and a relegated striker. Hallelujah! That's what I'm talking about 👌.
I'm being sarcastic btw.
Those aren't really deals that are going to get us on the edge of our seats nor get us to the level we want. We've also played this game before when the club decide to give us such transfer news after poor games.
There are also plans to finish in the top 6 next season. I don't know how that's going to be possible as there are more than six teams who are much better than us. And this is a season where City aren't themselves, Chelsea have only had their manager for a season and sides like Newcastle, Forest and Brighton who've done the double over us are all above United. This isn't even including the Brentfords, Bournemouths and Villas.
Maybe they meant 6th from bottom. That would make more sense and would funnily enough, be an improvement to our current 5th from bottom.
These statements again put more pressure onto the board by themselves.
To also be looking to sign young players with very little experience is something else that confuses us because we can see just how inconsistent youngsters can be. Dorgu is a great example as he has come in as a 20 year old with little experience playing for Lecce. He's played just 17 games and already people are done with him.
Imagine what will happen should more players of his ilk arrive.
I also look at INEOS and feel like they'll make small changes and expect massive results. Mainoo signs new deal = we've brought in a new midfielder. Delap signs and they'll think we've signed the best striker in football.
This is all without mentioning the cost cutting activities.
It's a cultural issue that we champion mediocrity and accept defeat. If we don't change that, we'll never change.
There's so much more to say and I can go on and on and on. Amorim was the manager before he came to United with it looking likely that he was going to replace Pep Guardiola at City. This was because of the job and football played at Sporting which was one of the best in Europe. Many teams also play the 3-4-3 system and have been successful a couple of whom were from this league (Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea).
Speaking of his previous club, Sporting fans will tell you that Amorim went through a similar first season in Lisbon. He was then backed and they won the league, the first time they managed to do that in two decades.
It can be done but the club has to back him.
This was a post guys, it really was. There's so much to unpack from just this interview and there's loads more that I probably missed. If you made it to the end, thank you because I know it was pretty long.
But what are your thoughts about Amorim's comments and I suppose the club overall? You reckon things will change for the better, will we stay the same, will Amorim be sacked? What's your opinion?
Ruben Amorim delivers honest interview post-West Ham defeat | Ruben Amorim: Creator: Alex Livesey | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Getty Images via Man Utd News