For the first time in the Premier League era, Manchester United will mark Christmas in the bottom half of the table. It will be lowly this Christmas.
[United](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/manchester-united-fc) will be 13th on Christmas Day. If West Ham win at Southampton at 3pm on Thursday then Ruben Amorim's team will kick-off at Wolves on Boxing Day having dropped another place. Needless to say, none of this is good.
The bounce from [Amorim's](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/ruben-amorim) appointment has been brief. United have now lost three of his six Premier League games in charge, with four wins and four defeats from nine matches in all competitions. He has not had the same impact as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when he replaced Jose Mourinho.
But that may not be so surprising. The appointment of Amorim came with the risk that any improvement would be gradual because the head coach is about a lot more than giving the players a bit of confidence and changing the voice coming to them.
The 39-year-old came to the club with his own style and his own system, and it's one that United are ill-equipped to play at the moment. Amorim is a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 coach and always has been. He has made it clear he won't be changing. But while some games suit that approach and there have been spells where United look to be getting to grips with it, there are longer spells when it just isn't working.
Time on the training ground will help alleviate some of those teething problems, but many will only be solved when new faces arrive. United don’t currently have the players to consistently carry out Amorim's demands.
This isn't only about getting round shapes in round holes. Yes, the lack of attacking wing-backs is an issue, and more goals are an absolute necessity, but this squad also lacks the physicality to play with the tempo and intensity that Amorim demands.
That is why they are producing performances that lead to home defeats against Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. This will inevitably be a process that takes time, especially while the squad remains the one that Amorim inherited. The problem is his long-term view isn't immediately compatible with the short-term view of Ineos, who need progress to ease the pressures they face on the balance sheet.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is now controlling a football club that has lost money for five consecutive years. Regular qualification for the Champions League, especially in the era of a 36-team league model, which guarantees four home group games, is essential for balancing the books. Not only are United not banking Champions League revenues this season, but they are also very unlikely to do so next season.
Winning the Europa League looks like the only plausible route back into the Champions League at the moment, and that should clearly be the priority now. Given the inconsistency of the performances we're seeing, qualifying for any European competition through the league looks difficult.
The dilemma, of course, is that another campaign without Champions League revenues will further damage United's financial fair play position, particularly regarding the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability regulations (PSR). It will also damage the kind of budget available to Amorim in the summer of 2025, when he really needs a war chest to transform this squad and bring in players who fit the system he wants to play.
He isn't going to sacrifice those principles for short-term results, however. That seems clear already. Perhaps in another month or two, the back three system will have bedded in, and players will have adapted to their roles, producing greater consistency in performances and improved results.
Ratcliffe will be hoping for that. He has been ruthless in cutting costs at United, attracting the opprobrium of fans in the process, but to improve the club's financial position, what he really needs is results that lead to regular Champions League football. At the moment, that looks a long way off.