Manchester United have had a tough start to the 2025-26 season after winning just one of their five games.
Question marks have already been raised over the future of manager Ruben Amorim, especially after the 3-0 horror defeat to local rivals Manchester City last Sunday.
Former Man United coach Rene Meulensteen has weighed in, insisting the team is too obsessed with formations rather than finding their true identity.
He said on the YouTube Podcast High Performance: “Man United have lost the authority, a kind of a fear factor and identity. You don’t know what you are going to get.
“You should never get stuck with one system. A system is nothing but how the team starts the game.”
Meulensteen explained that teams should never get bogged down by a single shape or formation, but instead focus on balance and adaptability.
He pointed to Sir Alex Ferguson’s era, recalling how the legendary manager drilled his side defensively but allowed attacking players the freedom to express themselves.
Current managers are overloading players with instructions, dictating exactly how attacks should unfold.
He warned that this obsession with details strips attackers of the instinct and split-second creativity that can decide games.
Meulensteen added: “When Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, there was far more structure when we were defending because there need to be discipline. Everybody needs to know their job.
“But when we were going to the attacking side, it was all based on creativity and inventiveness because that creates unpredictability. We didn’t want to stifle that.
“Yes, we showed players that this opposition has conceded a lot of goals in this way so the best way to do is this but it was on the players to find the solutions.
“If you start to dictate the decision making too much in the players, they tend to overthink and that slows down the thinking process.”
This observation hits home for United right now.
In our view, this is the main reason why many United players (particularly the attackers) have failed to meet expectations.
Bruno Fernandes is looking like a shadow of his former self this campaign, mainly due to his new role in central midfield.
Amorim must realise that shackling his most creative force is harming the entire team.
Instead of orchestrating attacks and threading defence-splitting passes, the captain is bogged down with defensive duties.
Modern football is a lot more systematic, with predictable flows, while the earlier game was more about players using their skills to beat their man and create chances.
United were last successful when their players had the freedom to express themselves, without the worry of sticking to a certain formation.
The onus is on Amorim to decide what type of football he wants his team to play.
If results do not turn quickly, the Portuguese coach may soon be forced through the Old Trafford exit.