It was no secret that Ruben Amorim was walking into probably the biggest top-level job in football management that there has been in recent years at Manchester United.
Not only had the job swallowed up and spat out another “next big thing” in Erik ten Hag, but it had also done so in an explosive fashion as the Dutchman seemed like he was breaking a new unwanted record with every loss.
The initial excitement surrounding Ruben Amorim had as much to do with the Man Utd fans being glad to see Ten Hag’s back as it was to see Amorim come in.
However, despite some hiccups, which are natural as a part of the process, Amorim has also started fixing some of his predecessor’s mistakes, the biggest of which has been starting to show recently.
Ruben Amorim, Head Coach of Manchester United, speaks with Matthijs de Ligt of Manchester United as he applauds the fans after the Premier League m...
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim fixing Erik ten Hag’s mistake
Erik ten Hag made many mistakes at Old Trafford which goes without saying since you don’t get sacked three months into a new contract extension without that happening.
However, his sacking this season has as much to do with the team’s results this season as it had to do with the baggage being carried from the 2023/24 season.
Man Utd’s injury nightmare of 2023/24 contributed to a snowballing version of a season that was salvaged with the final game, a victory over Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
However, the unease that preceded Ten Hag’s contract situation always made his position precarious which was largely due to injuries he faced the previous season.
MORE UNITED STORIES
What started out like a freak occurrence last season didn’t improve much this season as Ten Hag was again faced with effectively a scenario of “one step forward two steps back” with injuries.
However, as the Man Utd squad trained under Ruben Amorim for the Europa League game vs Plzen, there was one factor impossible to ignore.
The whole first-team trained for the game except for Luke Shaw, who is effectively a bonus squad member these days.
Can the continuous return of first-team players without getting new injuries to the players already playing be written off as just bad fate for Ten Hag or a good one for Amorim?
It’s not that simple.
Ruben Amorim’s rotation paints Erik ten Hag’s philosophy in a bad light
Since arriving at Old Trafford, Amorim’s tenure can be summed up by one word, which is “Rotation”.
Amorim is yet to name an unchanged lineup for Manchester United game-by-game and he has already used as many as 22 new players, with the potential for more to come.
That has allowed the playing time to be shared in the squad for a happier group but more importantly, his careful managing of minutes seems to have had an instant impact on injuries.
Amorim has been a hardliner when it comes to respecting the advice of his medical team, where a “30-minute cameo” means a “30-minute cameo”, no ifs and/or buts.
He slowed the process of Leny Yoro’s return until he was completely fit and ready to look good, not just ready to return in any capacity.
The same has been seen in instances where good performers from the previous game have been dropped for the next for no reason but rotation.
The workload has been carefully monitored and that has resulted in players keeping fit, even injury-prone ones like Mason Mount, who is on a strict minute limit.
It is in stark contrast to Erik ten Hag’s debut season, where you could name the United XI for a game two weeks before it because everyone knew that it wasn’t going to change.
The impact of that was eventually felt in the next season when those players started dropping like flies as the workload started catching up to them.
Ten Hag rued his injury luck but Amorim’s management so far has shown that maybe not all of the woes under Ten Hag were down to luck. Some of it was due to his own making.
Related Posts