A season that started with so much hope and optimism already feels like it’s on the brink of disaster, with a loss to Grimsby in the second round of the Carabao Cup a new low.
Ruben Amorim looked defeated after the game, not mincing his words and calling out the players in a no-holds-barred interaction.
That is the sort of brutal honesty Man Utd fans have come to admire, but with the results not backing it, the tide has turned.
It makes it all the more interesting that Amorim played his final gambit in the aftermath of the elimination. He has done it twice before, and it paid off spectacularly both times.
Ruben Amorim looks glum, headshot
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim has been here before twice
For the fans, the sort of interviews Amorim gave after the elimination are unlike anything they’ve ever seen from a football manager, let alone a Man Utd manager.
However, Amorim, as organic and natural as he is with his honesty, might have been playing the media game after the elimination.
That is because he has been here twice before in his career, and resorted to the final gambit that he played here.
First was back when he was at Casa Pia in the 2018-19 season and lost the first two games of the season.
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He openly threatened to resign, saying that if he lost the third game, he would quit, putting all the responsibility squarely on the players’ shoulders.
The team went on an unbeaten run from that third game onwards and eventually won promotion from the third tier of Portuguese football.
The episode was repeated in much different circumstances at Sporting, where he offered to resign at the end of the 2022/23 season.
Sporting had won a league title with him, but slipped to fourth that season, prompting Amorim to offer his resignation without compensation.
The Sporting board told him they believe in his project, so Amorim doubled down on his tactical principles, and Sporting regained the title in 2023/24.
On both occasions, Amorim pushed himself to the brink, went in with a “nothing to lose” mentality by putting the pressure on the players to show up, and it paid off spectacularly.
Amorim will be spectacular at Man Utd either way
It must be noted that Amorim has already offered to resign at United thrice, but all those times came last season when he was effectively managing a series of free hits.
The board was never going to accept his resignation, and, by his own admission, those comments were more emotional than made with intention.
This feels different.
Amorim clearly said after the game that the players spoke loudly about what they wanted with their performance, sending a clear hint that they had thrown him under the bus.
He said you can’t change 22 players, effectively daring the board to sack him after the Burnley game.
This is the final gambit Amorim plays to shock his players out of their stupor, and if history is any indication, the Burnley game will be box-office.
In win or loss, Amorim will be spectacular at Man Utd. He either goes out in a blaze of pride, making it clear to everyone that this job will not define his career.
Or, the instances at Casa Pia and Sporting are repeated, and United script the start of a positive run of form that will be talked about many years from now.
It will be spectacular either way.