The clouds of uncertainty are hovering around Ruben Amorim after an underwhelming start to the season, and a key issue has been identified for him.
The discussion around Kobbie Mainoo is dominating the agenda, but nobody should be mistaken that putting him in the team will solve everything.
There are clear, systemic issues in the squad, which even Carlos Baleba would struggle to solve, so the spotlight is on Ruben Amorim.
The Man Utd manager has now been told that a key issue is that he’s building Man Utd almost ‘in reverse’, which is an interesting take that makes a lot of sense.
New signings Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko, Diego Leon and Matheus Cunha pose for a photo while holding match shirts prior to the pre-season friendly match between Manchester United and Fiorentina at Old Trafford in 2025 in Manchester, England.
Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim building Man Utd ‘in reverse’
The pressure is on Amorim this season, not just because of a poor last season, and that he’s finally had a full pre-season, but also because of the transfer window.
United have blown past all expectations and spent north of £200m to refresh their entire front line, and some injection of youth with Diego Leon has been welcomed as well.
There are positions in midfield and in goal that need addressing, but United clearly prioritised adding goals to a team allergic to scoring them last season.
However, that way of building the team hasn’t always paid dividends, as United are realising now.
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A porous midfield and a shaky goalkeeper are adding unnecessary pressure on the attackers, whose missed chances are magnified because United concede from the few chances they give away.
Ex-pro Robbie Earle, speaking on NBC Sports, said that a good team builds from the back, getting their goalkeeper right, then moving forward.
He said: “Most teams I’ve worked with, most coaches I’ve worked with, generally build from the back forward. They get the back line and the goalkeeper all right. David Moyes, when he went to Everton, is a great example of that. Then you get a midfield that’s robust, that’s strong, that might not be as technical, might not be great playmakers, but we’re going to protect.
“Manchester United are almost doing it in reverse. The front line, with the right things behind it, can be top six, but the stuff behind it, you’ve got a couple of massive glaring issues. You’ve got a holding midfield role in which there isn’t one player who’s naturally suited to that role.
“I’m being hypothetical here, but if you found a Patrick Vieira-esque next to Bruno, that possibly could work, because he would get around and he’d do all that work. But since you haven’t got any of them, Bruno’s not a number six.”
Ruben Amorim needs vindication soon
Considering the performances last season, and Amorim getting backed in the summer while also getting a full pre-season, the mitigating factors are disappearing.
The underlying stats suggest United are still playing well enough to eventually be a threat, but there’s a lot of substance to Earle’s suggestion.
The wisdom of buying two attacking midfielders can be questioned when there were massive holes in central midfield and the goalkeeper.
If anything, having both Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha has had a cascading effect to disrupt the whole team balance.
Amorim’s fascination with Mason Mount has left United without a natural striker, and Bruno Fernandes playing in a deeper role has caused a myriad of problems.
In an ideal world, United move for Carlos Baleba soon after signing Matheus Cunha, and make a goalkeeper their third signing.
Now that Amorim has been given all the attacking firepower, he needs to get them firing soon for vindication. The time for excuses is long gone.