Paul Fennessy
THE MORE THINGS change in football, the more they stay the same.
As was the case last year, Man United face a climactic cup final to partially salvage a disastrous season.
The outcome, too, is expected to be the same, at least in one respect.
Just like Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim will probably be granted a stay of execution.
A win over Tottenham might be seen as the catalyst to kickstart the Amorim era, in which the team have largely flattered to deceive so far.
On the other hand, it could also end up papering over the cracks and delaying the inevitable, as was true of their previous coach’s unexpected FA Cup success.
But while it’s doubtful Ten Hag would have survived the summer had his team lost to Man City, it’s easier to envisage Amorim sticking around even if the Red Devils lose to Tottenham for the fourth time this season.
Having already messed up badly with Ten Hag by extending his contract last summer, when most of the evidence indicated he was out of his depth after a disappointing eighth-place finish in the league and several ill-advised big-money signings, sacking his successor just seven months later would surely be too humiliating for the club’s much-maligned hierarchy.
Yet in the short term at least, the situation seems to have gotten worse rather than better since the new man took charge.
Ten Hag won three out of nine of his Premier League games in charge this season. Amorim has prevailed in six of 26 top-flight fixtures.
Even reaching the Europa League final is not a particularly impressive achievement — United and Spurs are the fourth and ninth richest teams in the world respectively, and their resources dwarf most of the sides they have faced in the comperition.
Still, it feels remarkable that for all their problems, United are on course for a third trophy in as many seasons.
By contrast, to take one example, while Mikel Arteta has been rightly lauded for raising the standards and expectations around Arsenal, the Gunners have not won a single piece of silverware in the last five campaigns.
Amorim, meanwhile, has overseen United’s worst-ever Premier League campaign and weakest in the top-flight since their relegation in 1974.
Similarly to Postecoglou and in contrast with Ten Hag, who was accused of abandoning the principles he adhered to at Ajax, Amorim has been criticised for sticking too rigidly to a 3-4-2-1 system that many players at his disposal are unsuited to.
That is also part of the reason why many United fans remain hopeful that the Portuguese boss is the answer to the club’s problems. They believe it is the individuals, rather than the style, that is at the root of their woes.
But regardless, this evening’s crunch encounter may well dictate Amorim’s long-term fortunes at Old Trafford.
The Europa League final is regarded as football’s £100 million (€119 million) game, essentially what qualifying for the Champions League is worth to clubs.
The outcome will drastically impact both teams’ summer spending.
Should United lose, the Red Devils may have to temper plans for a summer rebuild that Amorim believes is required.
A win, on the other hand, would likely mean United can attract a higher calibre of player — for elite stars, in many cases, Champions League football is a non-negotiable when it comes to signing for clubs.
And while it’s still early days in his reign, even Amorim himself has not been shy to cast doubt on his long-term future, questioning everyone from himself to the players.
After losing their 17th top-flight game this season against fellow strugglers West Ham, the Man United boss said: “For me, the biggest concern is that feeling that ‘it’s OK’, and ‘we cannot change our position so much so it’s OK’.
“That is the biggest problem in our club in this moment because we are losing the feeling of: ‘We are a massive club and it’s the end of the world to lose a game at home.’ I think that is the biggest concern in our club.
“How a manager of Manchester United is supposed to feel in that position — embarrassed, and it’s hard to accept.
“I think everybody has to think seriously about a lot of things here. Everybody is thinking about the final. The final is not an issue in this moment in our club.
“We have bigger things to think about and we have to change a lot of things at the end of the season.”
In the pre-Europa League final press conference on Tuesday, Amorim also admitted he didn’t know why many Red Devils fans continued to back him wholeheartedly.
“I don’t know how to explain why the fans like me in this moment, it’s hard to explain,” he said.
“I will try to prove myself to the fans, to the board, but I don’t have an explanation…
“But we will reach a moment where we have to win, no matter what.”
Despite their trophy wins in 2023 and 2024, it is hard to think of a bigger game in United’s recent history because of what is at stake.
Both the financial and psychological impact of winning and losing could have ramifications for years to come.
Whatever happens, it will surely be remembered as a watershed moment in Amorim’s Red Devils career.