Nikola Milenkovic scoring Nottingham Forest's first goal away at Manchester United
Nikola Milenkovic scoring Nottingham Forest's first goal away at Manchester United
Manchester United's under-performing players cannot say they were not warned.
In Ruben Amorim's first media conference as United boss, he sent a clear message to the squad he inherited from his predecessor Erik ten Hag. “Until they prove me wrong, I believe in the players,” said Amorim, his accompanying megawatt smile belying the ruthless nature of his words.
It has taken United's players just five games and two weeks to prove Amorim wrong and show him that they are simply not up to the task. Amorim has changed United's formation, but has learned quickly that a switch in system is irrelevant if you do not have the players to carry it out on the pitch.
This insipid defeat underlined the scale of the task facing Amorim and why a radical overhaul of the squad is required if he is to resurrect United and make them a major force again. At the start of the week, Amorim warned a storm was coming, and while Storm Darragh caused carnage around the country, the damage at United was entirely self-inflicted.
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After conceding twice from corners in their 2-0 defeat at Arsenal last week, United's players showed spectacular ineptitude to do so again, less than two minutes into the game against Forest. What compounded United conceding from a corner for the third time in four days was Amorim's admission that he and his coaching staff had worked with the squad for two days on ensuring they were better prepared at defending them.
Against that backdrop, conceding from a corner yet again is on the players, not Amorim or his staff, leading to the conclusion that many of them are simply not good enough to play for United and must be moved on. Andre Onana has been one of United's more reliable players this season – albeit the bar is low – but on Saturday he reverted to his calamitous early days at the club, committing two howlers which gifted Forest goals.
At the back, Matthis De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Leny Yoro – making his full debut – lacked any understanding or defensive discipline, with wing-back Diogo Dalot shirking a challenge which could have prevented Forest's third goal. United captain Bruno Fernandes scored to make it 3-2, but he was culpable for Forest's second goal – along with Onana - with a misplaced pass, while Alejandro Garnacho continues to look lost in Amorim's new system.
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Ruben Amorim was left fo reflect on a second straight Premier League defeat
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Image:
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Rasmus Hojlund may have scored and his work-rate cannot be faulted, but he was peripheral as an attacking threat for the rest of the game, underlining United's need for a world-class striker to lead their line.
Afterwards, Amorim spoke of a “long journey” ahead, one perhaps more tricky to navigate than he anticipated when he took the decision to leave Sporting Lisbon mid-season to take over at United. The departure of United's sporting director Dan Ashworth, after just five months in the role, has only added to the sense of chaos and muddled thinking at the club, under the new regime of co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Amorim proved himself a formidable coach at Sporting, where he won two league titles in four seasons. Establishing United – currently in 13th place - as title contenders is a long way off, with Amorim's first task to build a squad capable of understanding his philosophy and implementing it.
That will take several transfer windows and much patience from United fans, who were reminded with this defeat that the problems at their club are endemic and run much deeper than simply the manager.
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