The scale of the job Ruben Amorim has in front of him at Manchester United was laid bare by two consecutive defeats, one of which was at home to Nottingham Forest.
To his credit, Ruben Amorim always maintained that this was a long road and didn’t get carried away or too down after a good or bad result.
The Man Utd he has inherited is undergoing a lot of change on and off the pitch and so far, it has been a process of adding one layer of competence over another.
The time spent on the training ground has been minimal due to a constant stream of games but he’s already identified one problem at Old Trafford that can be fixed immediately.
Ruben Amorim, Head Coach of Manchester United, speaks with Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United during the Premier League match between Manchester U...
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim identifies Man Utd problem
To list the problems at Manchester United will probably take a whole press conference on its own and Amorim is a man more of action than words.
That’s understandable too because most of the problems are long-term and can’t be fixed overnight but there’s one which can be.
Amorim, while speaking to the press ahead of his first away Europa League game, against Plzen in Czechia, expanded upon an issue at the club he intends to fix right away.
The Man Utd manager was asked what he was looking for in the transfer window and used the question to address the elephant in the room when it comes to United and transfer business.
MORE UNITED STORIES
He said: “I’m really focused on my players and understanding my players, I think that was one of the problems of this club. We have to focus on what we have, the Academy, and also to have a clear profile when you get the players.
“It is a lot of details you have to manage. Every detail counts. You have to be very clear in the profiles, arrange all the processes, and then go to that phase of buying and selling.
“We have to arrange a lot of things in our club before just buying and selling players. Let’s focus on improving our players and our Academy, and then we will see.”
Amorim has identified the problem perfectly
Since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement, United have spent north of a billion pounds and don’t have a single Premier League title to show for it, let alone a Champions League title or even contention.
Not only have they spent vast amounts on questionable fits, but the malaise affecting Old Trafford has ensured that their selling record is among the worst among elite clubs.
It has led to a lull of sorts where they keep kicking the can down the road by borrowing more to sustain their spending, getting them close to skirting the FFP and PSR rules.
Another case in point was last summer when nearly £200 million was spent on new talent for a manager who isn’t here anymore so Amorim’s identification of the problem is perfect.
Too much money has been spent on the Man Utd squad to just go for another rebuild and write it off as a failed venture so the focus has to be on getting better performances out of the current lot.
By supplementing that talent from the academy, a nice mix of experience and youth can be created. It will also allow United to enter the market from a position of strength instead of desperation.
Another tick for Amorim as the first step to solving any problem is acknowledging its existence first, which he has got spot on so far.
Related Posts