As Ruben Amorim looked to light the fuse on his Manchester United and Premier League career, it was hard to think of more obliging opponents than Sean Dyche’s error-riddled Everton.
With Manchester United doing something they never managed in two-and-a-half years under Erik ten Hag – winning a Premier League match by a four-goal margin for the first time since destroying Leeds on the opening day of 2021/22 – it’s fair to say Everton made life a little easier for the home side then they really needed to.
Jarrad Branthwaite failed his alleged Man United audition miserably; deflecting Marcus Rashford’s opener past Jordan Pickford before being robbed by Amad Diallo in the build up to Joshua Zirkzee’s first of the afternoon.
Vitaliy Mykolenko was then all at sea as Rashford doubled his tally while Tarkowski made an almost identical blunder to his central defensive partner for goal number four.
So though defeat at Arsenal on Wednesday night would serve to drag Man United back down to earth with a pretty hefty bump, it is thanks in part to Ruben Amorim’s impact – and some charitable Everton defending – that the Red Devils can head to the Emirates with a renewed sense of optimism.
Sebastian Hoeneß, Head coach of VfB Stuttgart looks on prior to the Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim at MHPArena on O...
Photo by Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images
Sebastian Hoeness’s Stuttgart struggling as Manchester United bounce back
Over in Germany, at last season’s Bundesliga surprise packages Stuttgart, ‘optimism’ has been in short supply of late.
According to Bild, Manchester United held exploratory talks with Sebastian Hoeness over the summer.
The 42-year-old German, a former Bayern Munich youth coach like Ten Hag, had made quite the name for himself after guiding Stuttgart to a runners-up spot and Champions League qualification just four years after the proverbial sleeping giants were playing second-tier football.
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Any criticism of Stuttgart’s recent results should make note of the context surrounding them.
Hoeness’ team have played 21 games in all competitions this term and won just eight of them. Of their last 14, Stuttgart have triumphed in just five. And one of those was a comfortable 3-0 victory over lower-league Regensburg in the German cup on Tuesday night.
But before the critics rush to proclaim Stuttgart – and their highly-rated head coach for that matter – a flash in the pan, or a one-season wonder, consider this.
This is a Stuttgart team shorn of their talismanic captain – Willi Orban – and last year’s 30-in-30 top scorer Serhou Guirassy. Both are now at Borussia Dortmund. Guirassy was linked with Manchester United in January but ended up joining a direct rival for £15 million.
Stuttgart also lost Hiroki Ito, Orban’s old centre-back partner, to Bayern Munich.
What’s more, Hoeness also now has to balance domestic and European exploits. A rather small Stuttgart squad will end January having played no fewer than eight Champions League first-round matches. And while their Bundesliga form has left a lot to be desired of late – ninth in the table as things stand – Stuttgart have often saved their best displays for the continent.
Well, if you ignore that shock 5-1 hammering by Red Star Belgrade last time out. A rout inspired by none other than Silas, the striker on loan in Serbia from Stuttgart.
Stunning Juventus and Real Madrid displays shows Hoeness has still got it
Hoeness masterminded a famous 1-0 win over Juventus in Turin.
A performance so utterly dominant that the eventual result massively flattered Thiago Motta’s Italian giants.
Stuttgart also ran rings around Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu with that 3-1 defeat coming massively against the run of play.
When Hoeness has his best players available, when they are fit and fresh enough to carry out his ideas, a Stuttgart team with few stars but plenty of youngsters and well-travelled nomads are still capable of outplaying even the finest teams on the continent.
But, as Ten Hag found out the hard way in October, football is a results business.
And should Ruben Amorim secure a third successive win at the home of Arsenal, you’d struggle to find even a single Manchester United supporter wishing that Ineos had gone all-in on another of their managerial targets.
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