Manchester United have once again been plunged into a state of chaos after INEOS decided to wield the axe on Ruben Amorim’s time as head coach.
Starting from Scratch
The 40-year-old tactician, hired from Sporting CP after re-establishing the Lions to the summit of Portuguese football, was supposed to lead INEOS’s revolution at Old Trafford.
Instead, he fell victim to the same rotation of misery as his predecessor Erik ten Hag, and his predecessor Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and his predecessor Jose Mour…okay we get it.
The explosive fallout from yesterday’s decision to sack Amorim is still spilling out of the club today. Conflicting claims of broken promises and vicious disagreements are dominating the headlines, just six months on from a summer of optimism and harmony.
For the situation to have gone south so quickly is a reflection of the pressure cooker that is the Theatre of Dreams, too often a playhouse of nightmares for the man in the dugout.
Amorim’s record – a 31.9% win percentage with the lowest points per game of any United manager in the Premier League era – speaks for itself. There will be few jumping to the defence of a coach who too often prioritised the defence over the attack, a cardinal sin for anyone in charge of the Red Devils.
Ruben Amorim Managerial Stats
| Team | From | To | Games Played | Games Won | Games Drawn | Games Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Casa Pia | 1 July 2018 | 7 January 2019 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 |
| Braga B | 16 September 2019 | 23 December 2019 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 72.73 |
| Braga | 23 December 2019 | 4 March 2020 | 13 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 76.92 |
| Sporting CP | 4 March 2020 | 10 November 2024 | 231 | 164 | 34 | 33 | 71.00 |
| Manchester United | 11 November 2024 | 5 January 2026 | 63 | 24 | 18 | 21 | 38.10 |
| Career total | — | — | 322 | 209 | 55 | 58 | 64.91 |
But to solely attribute blame for the slow-motion car crash which has engulfed United over the past 14 months to Amorim would be myopic.
The real architects of United’s downfall in the last two years are INEOS, and the “best-in-class” executive structure hired to lead the football operation, with sporting director Jason Wilcox chief amongst them.
It makes sense, therefore, that Sir Jim Ratcliffe – as culpable as anyone in United’s malaise- is considering boardroom changes to help improve the situation off the pitch, and produce better results on it.
A New Sporting Director
Romain Molina reveals INEOS are “in favour” of appointing a new sporting director – a direct challenge to Wilcox’s position at the club.
The Guardian journalist states it is not clear whether this new hire “means Jason Wilcox will be leaving or whether they will work together”.
Wilcox has previously spoken about his pride at his role with United, revealing he hoped he was given the time to help turn the club around after being promoted to the position following Dan Ashworth’s dismissal.
But it appears Ratcliffe may be ready to make yet another ruthless decision at Old Trafford with his scythe seemingly unsatisfied with just claiming Amorim’s neck.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
1 comment
I have to write the following post for the simple reason that I notice that more and more experts like Neville and others like him are appearing who think they know everything but simply have no idea about football. Amorim is being attacked all the time as if his tactics are not good and that is why he cannot achieve good results, and in the past we have seen a bunch of coaches who tried all possible tactics, but did not get any results. The problem is simply bigger than what is happening in the club, and Amorim was one of the rare coaches who had the courage to stand up and publicly express all the problems that are taking the club to the abyss. I am tired of coaches who are obedient to the club owners and have no courage, here they are simply interested only in money without starting a deep project to change the habits in the club. Just look at the majority of the players when they go out on the field they do not show any signs that they want to win and are very lethargic, they only play until the match ends with small exceptions for individuals who leave their heart on the field. Amorim was a coach who started to change the mentality and make the players braver, but he needed time and new players who would leave their soul for the club, and not be interested only in money. Start recruiting players who will love the club and die for it on the field, and clean up all the filth of players who are not capable of running for 90 minutes, and the same goes for all the managers in the club who just show off and think they are doing something, but are a real loss to the club.
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