I didn't do a match reaction. What was the point?
United let us all down which isn't something new but considering what was at stake and the opposition (fucking Spurs 😐), we all thought that they would turn up. I mean they have done so all torunament, so...
And yet...
But I want to focus on the manager and what's next for Ruben Amorim. We know that those players are capable of such performances but when a new manager comes in and does something so wrong that we could all see coming a mile off in terms of selection, substitutions and tactics, it really does make you rethink the choice of the man in charge.
That doesn't mean I'm Amorim out. I'm more Amorim concerned because for so long I've felt that he did a lot of things correctly and what he says in pressers is usually spot on as well. So for him to get it categorically wrong, was not something I thought I'd be saying post the final.
I was more disappointed with him than the players.
Disasterclass
This was the first game since Amorim took over where I felt concerned about him. Upon first arriving, things were obviously not going to be plain sailing. He made mistakes, we couldn't quite see how the team was going to play in his system and there were some bad games. As it was the start of his reign though, there was leeway.
After that Anfield performance at the turn of the year however, that was a point where I felt like things were changing a little. I started to see how this formation can work even with these crap players but there was more consistency with the performances even if results would suggest otherwise.
I could see what he wanted to do.
Amorim coached a decent amount of wins but due to players who aren't good enough, United ended up losing or drawing to everyone's frustration yet I thought that the manager did all right but his side failed to deliver.
This final however...
Remember those Erik ten Hag performances where he would select odd lineups for games that were really important, his tactics would be off, he wouldn't be able to adapt to the opposition frustrating us, strange substitutions and at strange times?
Amorim did a ten Hag.
Those were the matches where I would worry about the Dutchman because he got everything wrong. His Portuguese successor did the same last night. Nothing from United's manager was correct.
Why didn't Ugarte start? He has been one of our best players in recent times especially in the Europa League. He and Casemiro have also developed a decent partnership over the course of the season. On top of that, in the previous 11 games before the final, this South American midfield duo had picked up 11 goal contributions. So they were contributing in attack. And how.
We also knew that with Spurs' midfield going to be Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur, three physical, energetic and combative midfielders, surely we would want to try and counter that with physical midfielders of our own?
How is it that we all saw this and United (particularly the manager) didn't?
Starting Shaw turned out to be a disaster as the defender was one of the worst players on the pitch. He was simply not at the level required to be playing in such a final. While this selection may have been forced on Amorim due to injuries to others, he needed to come off even for a suspect Lindelof or half-fit Dalot.
Mount was the other odd choice. He has done nothing since joining the club almost two seasons ago. He hadn't warranted a start in a major final after all he's done, or not done. I didn't even know he was playing.
Due to Mount's poor performance (and he wasn't the only one) the manager needed to make a change. Spurs were playing defend and counter and weren't actually posing a threat up front. There was no need to be as defensive as we were.
Take Shaw off, drop Mazraoui deeper, Yoro to LCB, Amad to RWB, Zirkzee on and then Mount off for Garnacho. We would've had more attackers on the field which may have given us more of a chance.
But not only did he not do this (at any point) his changes were wrong IMO and definitely came too late. What was the point in bringing Mainoo on with 5 minutes to go?
Very much like those ten Hag games.
More than this, he was out-tacticked by Ange Postecoglou's simple (and unforeseen) yet brilliant defend and counter approach. Crowd the midfield, make it hard to play through us, force United wide, easily defend the crosses.
It really is that old Achilles heel of United's coming back to haunt us: struggling to break down a low block.
Amorim had no answer to this much like his predecessors even with a different formation and style. It was the most basic plan from Spurs and it worked even though we all thought that Amorim was a manager who could be able to counter this.
With all this being said, it was the first game where he got it all wrong. It's just a pity it had to come in such an important match.
Post-match comments
"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.
"But I will not quit. Again, I'm really confident on my job and as you can see, I will change nothing in the way I do things."
I don't know what to make of this. I find it a little contradictory.
He'll go if the fans and board don't want him but he also won't quit. If he's sacked, he has to go no matter what. Some fans didn't want him before the final and there are a lot more who don't after it, and can you blame them?
I don't think INEOS will get rid of him. Amorim is their guy and they sacked Erik ten Hag to bring him in. They also made him join mid-Novemebr which made an already tough job much tougher. They've also not backed him in January, he hasn't had a pre-season and these players aren't his players.
INEOS would look foolish to remove him should they not back him. They also wouldn't want to do it because they won't want their first managerial appointment to be an utter failure not even a season into the job although with Dan Ashworth, it shows that they aren't shy to sack those they deem not worthy of being at the club even just five months into his job.
It would cost a lot to remove the manager and his staff and bring in a new coach with his staff. This would also mean new ideas and perhaps a complete change of the project. Unless things continue as they are on the pitch with or without new signings (especially with), then conversations need to be had about Amorim's future.
I do believe in Amorim more than not and I like that he is confident about being the man to turn this ship around, but last night was a warning sign. Some mistakes during games are acceptable but to get it completely wrong is a worrying matter.
There also appeared to be some favoritism from Amorim. Mount is a player he speaks about in a positive light all the time. It reminds me of ten Hag and Rashford. He was a player the Dutchman could never shut up about, always picked and never substituted or did so very late.
That is where Amorim is heading with Mount with this type of treatment. He left Ugarte or Garnacho out for Mount.
I do also like the fact thathe's sticking to his principles. This is one area where I'd say he's better than ten Hag as the Dutchman changed his philosophy pretty early on at United. I believe that that gave these players a way out in that the manager was playing to their 'strengths' but we still couldn't perform.
All the heat would then be on him.
With Amorim, he's playing the same style he did at Sporting which saw him become one of the best managers in the game and win trophies with Lisbon.
He obviously wanted to bring that same successful style to Old Trafford (which is also the reason he was hired) but as these players aren't good enough, this system exposed them. The more he's stuck to it, the more we've seen just how awful this group is.
There's nowhere for them to hide.
But even so, these comments don't fill me with confidence. It's not really what you want to hear from the manager as I'd prefer that honesty that he usually has rather than he'd leave FOR FREE if people weren't happy with him.
Maybe tell us why it went wrong and what the plan is for the future?
The Plan
What is it?
We knew that with victory, it meant Champions League football, money coming into the club, attract better players and so on but they never gave us any idea of what will happen should we lose this final.
I suppose they don't need to tell us but we'd feel more accepting if we knew the plan as it would give us an indication of where we're headed.
But I don't know what we're going to do. Sign Matheus Cunha? Cool. He'll help us a bit. Liam Delap? He's another Hojlund IMO and not fit to lead the line. What about not having the funds? The debt is not going anywhere, there'll probably be more cuts because of this defeat, we may not be able to move players on (who would want to buy them?) and so much more.
Amorim's future does look relatively certain as reports claim the club plan to keep him in charge and back him in the transfer window yet without the ability to attract better players, he won't be able to take this team to where he wants to.
Due to not having these funds from winning the Europa League and getting into the Champions League, we may have to sell some of our current better players to raise money. I don't know if many would have objections to some of these players because how many of them are actually that good?
Not winning this competition could set us back a few years too because of the reasons above.
Honestly, I don't know what the fuck we do or where we go. It's dark. It's really dark.
Rock bottom? Perhaps but this club always surprises us.
What would you do with Ruben Amorim?
Ruben Amorim is in the headlines for all the wrong reasons after his Man Utd side were defeated 1-0 against Spurs in the Europa League final | Ruben Amorim: Creator: GLYN KIRK | Credit: AFP via Getty Images Copyright: AFP or licensors via Goal