MANCHESTER — The sad fact is the mess Manchester United are in is not only expected, it has been accepted.
The away end at the Etihad emptied out very early in the [demoralizing Manchester derby defeat](https://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/news/how-to-watch-manchester-city-vs-manchester-united-live-stream-tv-channel-team-news-prediction). Long before Manchester City’s fans taunted beleaguered boss Ruben Amorim with chants of ‘you’re getting sacked in the morning!’ as his team trailed 3-0 and were battered and bruised.
10 months on from taking charge of United, Amorim has a win rate of 26 percent across 31 Premier League games. No ever present Premier League team across the same period has fewer points than United since Amorim took charge. Let that stat permeate.
Amorim was defiant after the derby defeat and said he will stick to his principles no matter what the outcome.
But what are the key things that need to happen first if United are to move out of this woeful malaise?
Formation has to be flexible... and suit the players
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This is the biggest problem and unless the formation and patterns of play become more flexible and Amorim is willing to accept he has to change certain things, mostly his formation, nothing will change. That either means United are destined to be a team in the bottom half of the Premier League, at best, for the foreseeable future. Or Amorim will lose his job. Quite how Amorim can continue with this formation is baffling. United are so easy to play against. Everybody knows where they have weaknesses. Behind their wing backs and in midfield where they are overrun every single game to leave their center backs exposed. So, maybe just play a flat back four and three central midfielders in a 4-3-3 formation? That will allow Matheus Cunha to play centrally up top, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo to play as wide forwards and Bruno Fernandes can play in his best position as an attacking number eight. United clearly have the attacking talents to hurt opponents. If they are set up to be more pragmatic they will get results. It’s clear. Amorim’s stubbornness to stick with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation is going to cost him this job. He has to accept he has got this badly wrong and follow in the footsteps of Pep Guardiola, Sir Alex Ferguson and Jurgen Klopp who all tweaked certain parts of their preferred system depending on the players they had in that season and in certain games. That is what being a manager is all about. Simply put: Amorim does not have the players he needs to play the way he wants to play. So, change it. Swallow your pride, Ruben.
Intensity has to increase
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Watching United is like watching a team playing a practice match. Nobody seems to have told them they need to win games. Is this because last season when Amorim arrived the final seven months of the campaign was treated like one big tryout? A new system was brought in, players knew they wouldn’t fit the system and assumed they would move on and they did just enough to scrape by. But this is a brand new season and there is still no urgency, nobody launching into tackles and not one United player seemed angry with the display at City as they could have been 5-0 or 6-0 down before they had a late flurry of chances once the damage had been done. United’s players looked miserable as they traipsed through the tunnel area after the game and it was a misery borne out of knowing things aren’t going to change anytime soon. That’s because the know the manager won’t change his system and it doesn’t suit them. It appears that nobody is willing to step out of line and do something to spark some kind of revival and change in the narrative. United’s players have accepted their fate and they don’t seem bothered about it. Unless the intensity is cranked up several notches, it doesn’t matter who Amorim picks. United aren’t doing the basics right and anything less than six points in games against Chelsea, Brentford and Sunderland before the October international break could spell the end for Amorim. It’s that bad.
Goalkeeper situation must be sorted
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Goalkeeper Altay Bayindir is young and nervous and it showed once again against Man City. United’s defense had no belief in their goalkeeper and his nervousness spread throughout the team the longer the game went on. After a move for Emiliano Martinez didn’t materialize on deadline day, Senne Lammens arrived in the final hours of the window instead but he isn’t a veteran and is more of a buy for the future. Given Bayindir’s struggles, Lammens will be chucked in to start soon and United will likely need to sign a more experienced goalkeeper in January to try and help them build a solid foundation. Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb debut performance as Man City’s new goalkeeper highlighted exactly what United are missing and what they missed out on. After the full time whistle yesterday legendary United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was hugging Donnarumma and having a good chat with him on the sidelines. If United can sign a goalkeeper with the presence of a Donnarumma or Schmeichel, they have to do it in January. That goalkeeper is Emiliano Martinez. After spending big on talented attackers in the summer, they have to get the deal for Martinez done. United need to sign characters who aren’t scared and are up for the fight. Martinez fits the bill.