PLUS: My advice to Sunderland and Sheffield United at Wembley - and the crucial British Heart Foundation campaign I am proud to champion
Join Mail+ to read Graeme Souness' unmissable column every Friday, plus more of your favourite writers, exclusive stories and in-depth sports reporting
By GRAEME SOUNESS
Published: 12:00 EDT, 23 May 2025 | Updated: 12:00 EDT, 23 May 2025
Ruben Amorim's record at Manchester United is indefensible but, bizarre as it may sound, I still think the club should stick with him.
I like him, he talks with a lot of common sense. He comes across as an honourable guy, honest and I believe he knows what he's doing.
Sometimes though it just doesn't happen. In his short tenure, it just hasn't worked so, over the summer, he will need all the help he can get.
The United players he has at his disposal were once again very good at applauding the supporters following another defeat on Wednesday evening. And they deliver very good sound bites. But that's all they are, empty words. It must be wearing incredibly thin on United's supporters to hear the same apologies once again.
To then have Alejandro Garnacho crying over getting 20 minutes in a final and his brother saying, 'he's been thrown under a bus', before adding he will consider his future, well...
Firstly, I'd be amazed if there was a queue of clubs round the block waiting to buy him. Secondly, I'd advise him to get rid of his daft bleached hair, his histrionics on the field, and take a good look at himself in the mirror. Think about what he really wants to become before he starts crying any more.
In Ruben Amorim's short tenure, it just hasn't worked so, over the summer, he will need all the help he can get
The United players were once again very good at applauding the supporters following another defeat on Wednesday evening
I'd advise Alejandro Garnacho to get rid of his daft bleached hair, his histrionics on the field, and take a good look at himself in the mirror
It boils down to too much of everything too soon and he's not coping with it very well.
He has the potential to be a player but until he changes his attitude and buckles down to work harder, he will remain just that one rung up on a 10-rung ladder; he is a long way from being a proper player. Plenty like him have come and gone before.
For Amorim, the summer offers a time for reflection. I like the fact he admits he is as responsible as anyone in this; he doesn't point the finger at anyone else and has been honest in his assessments.
But he will also need to look at whether persisting with a system that the players are not happy with is handing these weaker personalities the perfect excuse of 'it's not me, it's the system'.
Pointing the finger at the manager and the system, these weak personalities leak stories to absolve themselves of a disastrous season and that's exactly why Manchester United are where they are: in the mire.
It has been an incredibly bad season for United, and time tells you, Amorim won't have too long to get it right.
For Tottenham, it is hard to second guess what Daniel Levy does next. Having won just two trophies during his 24 years as Tottenham chairman, I think it's fair to say his decision making over that time has been questionable.
I would imagine with Tottenham 17th in the Premier League, he has been sounding out agents to see who would be available to replace Ange Postecoglou as manager. After all, this is a guy who sacked Jose Mourinho two days before a Carabao Cup final. But Ange winning the Europa League trophy will certainly give Levy a headache.
I would imagine with Tottenham 17th in the Premier League, Daniel Levy has been sounding out agents to see who would be available to replace Ange Postecoglou as manager
The acid test for a club as big as Tottenham is the league and in that, they have failed miserably
Tottenham could easily have lost by double figures against Galatasaray earlier this season
Logically, we can look at it and see Tottenham have won a European competition, qualified for the Champions League, and guaranteed a £100million windfall.
But the acid test for a club as big as Tottenham is the league and in that, they have failed miserably.
As I've said before, anyone can get lucky and win a cup. If you cast your mind back to how Tottenham played in Istanbul against my old team Galatasaray, they had a huge slice of luck there only losing 3-2. That was a night when they could have easily lost by double figures and that is not an exaggerated statement as Galatasaray had 28 efforts on goal.
And since that November night the season has generally gone from bad to worse.
I chose not to watch the Europa League final live, and it looked the right call. An average game, at best, between two average teams, won by a scruffy goal.
That's the reality. Spurs rode their luck in the cup, but have seriously underachieved in what matters, the Premier League. Deep down, Levy will know that.
I said weeks ago that I couldn't see Ange surviving, so now it's a case of sit back and watch what happens next.
Why we all must heed Hutchinson's warning
The story of AFC Wimbledon's Sam Hutchinson suffering a heart incident yet continuing to play on and score the winning goal to send his team into the League Two play-offs is a unique one.
The story of AFC Wimbledon's Sam Hutchinson suffering a heart incident yet continuing to play on and score the winning goal is a unique one
I was 38 and manager of Liverpool when my heart issue was diagnosed
I'm an ambassador for the British Heart Foundation and recently have been involved in the campaign 'Every Minute Matters' which teaches people how to do CPR
Sam is just 35 years old. He's young and fit but they diagnosed that one of his arteries was 75 per cent blocked. I don't know him, but I would presume it's a dodgy gene in his family history and it's not anything he has done in his lifetime. This is an athlete who has lived the life of an athlete, yet it's still happened to him.
He says he has had a stent fitted now and the doctors have given him the all-clear to resume his career in due course. He says it's like picking up another injury. I'm not sure about that.
He's lucky in one respect as if it had happened 30-odd years ago he would have needed a bypass which involves cracking open your sternum.
Unfortunately, I am more qualified than most to talk about the experience. I was 38 and manager of Liverpool when my heart issue was diagnosed. I was doing everything the Liverpool players were doing at the time except playing on match days. I was super fit, but I knew something was wrong and I was diagnosed with coronary heart disease. I've had five of those stents fitted since my open-heart surgery.
But Sam's experience is another reminder of how heart health is not black and white, given he is young and fit. Professional players have never been more examined and looked after by the clubs, but it underlines the unfortunate fact it can happen to anyone.
I'm an ambassador for the British Heart Foundation and recently have been involved in the campaign 'Every Minute Matters' which teaches people how to do CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on anyone who has suffered cardiac arrest.
What happened to Sam is different - but, regardless, I would urge everyone reading this, take 15 minutes out of your time, look up British Heart Foundation online and click on this link to RevivR. It may help you save someone's life.
My advice to Sunderland and Sheffield United
Sunderland and Sheffield United players will have endured a sleepless night on Friday as they prepare for the most valuable game in the world today.
These two clubs are big by anyone's standards, and they will believe they deserve to be permanent members of the Premier League
The team who wins the Championship play-off final will be the one who best handles the enormity of the situation and the pressure of playing at Wembley
With an estimated £220million in extra revenue going to the winners, it's no wonder.
These two clubs are big by anyone's standards, and they will believe they deserve to be permanent members of the Premier League.
But the team who wins the Championship play-off final will be the one who best handles the enormity of the situation and the pressure of playing at Wembley.
My advice to those players today is don't let the occasion get to you and let the game pass you by. Go out of that dressing room with the attitude of 'I'm going to be the best player on the pitch today' and see what it brings you.
Who I'm backing to come out on top in Champions League race
Eddie Howe and Pep Guardiola's sides should have enough to make it into the top five
The jeopardy comes for Chelsea at Nottingham Forest. It's all to play for on the final day and underlines why ours is the most competitive league in the world
It feels like Groundhog Day but here I am again saying Pep Guardiola goes into a last day Champions League decider with Fulham not knowing which Manchester City turns up.
They lost to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup then dismantled Bournemouth with relative ease. They should have an edge over Fulham, who have little else but pride to salvage.
I'd also suspect Newcastle United, even without Alexander Isak, to defeat an Everton side happy with 13th place, while I'd take Aston Villa to beat a Manchester United side low in confidence.
The jeopardy comes for Chelsea at Nottingham Forest. It's all to play for on the final day and underlines why ours is the most competitive league in the world.
Alejandro GarnachoNottingham Forest