Chido Obi became an unexpected bone of contention for Ruben Amorim at Man Utd, and what’s happened since doesn’t show him in a good light.
Arriving from Sporting as a champion for youth players, Ruben Amorim’s nadir at Man Utd arrived when he called out Chido Obi and other youngsters in an effort to justify his treatment of Kobbie Mainoo.
Mainoo has since made a mockery of that justification, but it can’t be argued against the fact that Chido Obi has had to take a step back after his first-team debut last season.
Turns out, the club also agree with Amorim’s assessment of Obi, but the way they’ve gone about tackling it shows where Amorim went wrong.
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Man Utd agree with Amorim on Chido Obi’s readiness
Obi didn’t score for United in a competitive fixture last season, but his debut and eventual breakout became a straw for the future to hold onto for Man Utd fans.
It also preserved Amorim’s reputation as someone who trusts young players, which is embedded in the history of this club.
However, Amorim undid all that work this season when he said that he gave Obi his opportunity last season due to sheer necessity.
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Amorim said Obi wasn’t ready for the chance when it came, and Obi’s frustration at dropping back down to academy football wasn’t taken kindly by the then Man Utd manager.
From being on the cusp of a breakout, Obi stopped making even the matchday squads, but Utd’s U21 head coach, Adam Lawrence, has actually agreed with Amorim on his assessment of Obi.
Lawrence said [via The BBC]: “I think there was obviously a conscious decision at the start of the season from the club for Chido to concentrate his development in the academy environment.
“I think at the back end of last year, the first team were light in that area of the pitch. That then means that some of it is a little bit of necessity. But he has got real quality and potential as well.”
Utd managed Obi while Amorim called him out
Obi caused waves earlier this season when he indirectly responded to Amorim’s jibe with an Instagram story detailing his success.
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Before that, he deleted all mentions of Man Utd from his social media, inviting more needless scrutiny to himself.
However, while Amorim called him out and tried the stick approach, United struck the perfect balance.
It is often conveniently forgotten that for all their talent, these are still teenagers, and in Obi’s case, not even a legal adult.
Mollycoddling is not necessary, but calling them out in public is counterproductive as well. Lawrence found the balance with Obi, and after some hiccups to start the season, Obi is a more complete player now.
Lawrence said: “With any player, when you’ve had that first-team exposure, and then you have that bit where you’re not around it as often, that’s going to have an impact on your short-term.
“It will impact the way you see things, or a bit of disappointment or frustration. But I think credit to Chido again because he has thought, ‘this is the situation that I’m in. This is what I’m working towards to help take my game to the next level, and then I’m going to go after it’.
“He’s in a good place at the moment. I think he’s making good progress, and he’s training and playing with a smile on his face, which is massive.”
United tackled Obi’s frustration and channelised it into making him a better player, while Amorim got into a shadow boxing match with a teenager who was acting out in frustration.
There were going to be no winners with Amorim’s approach, while everyone is a winner with Lawrence’s approach. Obi is the biggest winner of everyone.
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