Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim was unable to get his United players to calm down during a chaotic spell against Nottingham Forest
They said old habits die hard, and for Manchester United, that is proving to be the case. On a miserable Old Trafford night, the worst instincts of the Erik ten Hag era were back in all their gory glory.
The new manager bounce has officially worn off. Ruben Amorim seemed to come into this job with his eyes wide open, but if he was under any illusions that he could wave a magic wand and fix many of the problems he inherited, he would have been corrected in the space of four December days.
United conceded three at Old Trafford for the ninth time since the start of last season, and it could have been more. If their first-half weakness centred around set-pieces, their second-half problems came in open play. They collapsed at the start of the second period, and Forest should have scored more than the two they got in the first 15 minutes after the break.
ALSO READ: Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest as it happened
ALSO READ: Manchester United player ratings vs Nottingham Forest
That they didn't capitalise on that spell allowed United the chance of another Old Trafford comeback, but after Bruno Fernandes got them back in the game, they couldn't round it off. A point, or all three, would have glossed over many of Amorim's current problems.
United conceded the first goal from a corner, a recurring weakness this season that seems to have worsened since Amorim's assistant, Carlos Fernandes, took over responsibility for the organisation. Having got back in the game, they were still well placed to go on and win it at the break.
But starting halves slowly and losing control of games for periods have been long-standing issues, and they combined to cost United. Morgan Gibbs-White's goal to restore the lead was a personal disaster for Andre Onana, who dived out of the way of a shot that went straight down the middle of his goal.
That is the kind of setback that all too easily rocks this team, and it did so again. In his pre-match press conference, Amorim called for 'mad dogs' and more running, but he also needs a group with a stronger mentality. Gibbs-White's goal was the signal for a dramatic collapse in confidence.
Chris Wood's header put the game beyond reach. He outjumped Leny Yoro but his effort should never have gone in. Onana was too passive in trying to clear it, and Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez left it to each other. The ball hitting the base of the post and rolling in highlighted how soft it was.
These problems are mental as much as they are technical and tactical. For too long now, this squad has been incapable of shrugging off mistakes and liable to dramatic collapses in games. Ten Hag failed to fix those weaknesses, but Amorim must find a way to strengthen the minds as well as the bodies of this group of players. He has taken over a club tightening the pursestrings, so overhauling the squad's mentality in the transfer market is going to be difficult.
The frustration for Amorim will be that his team had shown glimpses of quality, none more so than in the first goal they scored, which was right out of the Amorim playbook.
De Ligt held on to possession in the centre of defence and waited for a Forest player to make a move. As Bruno Fernandes came towards the ball, Manuel Ugarte was just to his left, facing forward. Their rapid combination opened up the pitch, and Ugarte's pass to Alejandro Garnacho was excellent. Although Matz Sels made the save, Rasmus Hojlund was on hand for the tap-in.
That will now be a footnote in this story. It was a bad night for Sir Jim Ratcliffe as well, whose honeymoon has well and truly worn off. A banner held up at the start of the second half again called out his decision to hike the remaining tickets for the season to £66 and do away with concessions.
That protest was planned before Ratcliffe's astonishingly misjudged and misguided attempt to compare ticket prices at Old Trafford to those at Fulham. It was a comment from a 71-year-old billionaire whose roots now lie in the luxury and lifestyle of West London, not the Greater Manchester suburbs he once called home.