Manchester United lost to a fourth-tier side for the first time ever on Wednesday and Ruben Amorim’s post-match comments were hardly calming. Are they in crisis again already?
Ruben Amorim frantically moved the magnets around his tactics board, presumably trying to conjure a eureka moment that would steer him and his Manchester United team through the muddy waters in which they found themselves.
No, this wasn’t against Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester City. It wasn’t even against Fulham or Burnley. This was against League Two side Grimsby Town, ranked 1,304th in the Opta Power Rankings at kick-off, to whom United trailed 2-0 at Blundell Park in the second round of the EFL Cup on Wednesday.
If Amorim ultimately fails at United, as is looking increasingly likely, the image of him face down in his tactics board while the scoreline reads “GRI 2-0 MUN” in the top left will probably be the visual embodiment of this era, regardless of the fact the visitors got it back to 2-2 before losing on penalties.
Grimsby vs Man Utd xG
Talk of the “system”, formations and tactics has been intrinsically linked to Amorim’s time at Old Trafford, and in that moment, it was captured in all its futility as United floundered en route to cup elimination by fourth-tier opponents for the first time in their history.
The defeat meant United can only play a maximum of 45 matches across all competitions this season. In this age of bloated fixture lists, some might see this as a positive, but for a club like Manchester United, this is more an indictment of failure; only once (44 in 2014-15) since the 1958-59 campaign (43 matches) have United played fewer than 45 fixtures. And the only way they’ll manage as many as 45 outings in 2025-26 is if they reach the FA Cup final. Should they bow out in the third round, their total will be 40 games, their fewest in a full season for 111 years (39 in 1914-15).
Disappointments have punctuated Amorim’s short period in charge, but on Wednesday it felt like United were plumbing new depths.
“It’s Not About the Formation”
Throughout his nine months at United, Amorim has consistently insisted that “it’s not about the formation” despite dogmatically sticking to his 3-4-3 system.
His point probably stems from the idea that “formations” in a rudimentary sense can be arbitrary and are in some ways relics of a bygone era of vague analysis. For instance, a team might appear to line up in a 3-4-3 formation initially, but their shapes in and out of possession could be wildly different – so are they really playing 3-4-3 or is it an ever-changing animal that can’t be categorised?
Some will say Amorim is speaking sense when he says it’s not about the formation, and who are we to say he’s not? However, there’s no doubt he has stuck to playing a back three for the majority of his team’s time on the pitch, wing-backs have been a near-constant feature, and he’s been open about what he wants from his number 10s – he frequently said he wanted Alejandro Garnacho to play “inside” more last season, for example.
Man Utd In-Possession Shape
Man Utd Out-of-Possession Shape
When things haven’t been going well, Amorim’s shown little desire to adapt and change his setup. Principled and faithful, or dogmatic and stubborn? Again, who’s to say? It could be that United ultimately turn out brilliant on his watch and maybe it’ll all have been down to his persistence.
But Amorim’s refusal to be flexible often appears to be to the detriment of the team. Case in point: was it really necessary to start three centre-backs away to League Two Grimsby on Wednesday?
Man Utd team vs Grimsby
Generally, the best managers in the world over the past 20 years or so have indeed been principled and believed in a certain way of playing, but then they’ve also tweaked and tinkered, adapting either to the players they have or to face certain opposition.
United are deemed to have lined up in a 3-4-2-1 setup in 93.1% of Amorim’s league games in charge; since the start of last season, only three managers (10+ games) have begun a greater proportion of matches in a single formation. The difference is that the three above him have all won at least 40% of their Premier League fixtures since the start of 2024-25, whereas his win percentage is just 24.1%.
Amorim doesn’t have a plan B, he’s said as much himself. So, is that admirable belief or delusion?
The Wrong Priorities?
United were quick to identify two of their priority targets in the summer, getting Matheus Cunha through the door fairly swiftly and moving on to Bryan Mbeumo afterwards.
While the pursuit of Mbeumo was rather more protracted, United knew they wanted him early on and so did everything they could to get the deal over the line.
Eventually, Benjamin Sesko joined to essentially pave Rasmus Højlund’s way out of Old Trafford.
But should those roles have been prioritised?
It took a matter of minutes into the 2025-26 season for this question to start being asked, not because of what the new signings were or weren’t doing on the pitch, but rather what someone else in a different position did.
In the early stages gainst Arsenal, Altay Bayindir made a feeble attempt to slap away a corner under modest pressure from William Saliba, effectively putting the ball on a plate for Riccardo Calafiori. That proved decisive and served as a reminder of the United Amorim will have hoped was a thing of the past.
While no goals were conceded in such a manner against Fulham on Sunday, they again targeted Bayindir and he was fortunate not to be punished for his lack of command once again. The unease he displayed was pretty alarming.
André Onana was then back between the posts at Grimsby on Wednesday. While only deemed at fault for one of the goals in official Opta data, there’s an argument we was culpable for both. First, he was beaten at his near post, then he made a mess of things as he attempted to claim a cross for the second.
It now means that, since the start of 2023-24, Manchester United goalkeepers have committed 12 errors leading to goals in all competitions, more than any other Premier League team in that time. Onana accounts for the majority, with his nine such mistakes being the joint most among all Premier League goalkeepers.
Errors Leading to Goals
But neither he nor Bayindir have inspired confidence, especially in moments when their flaws are being targeted.
The young Belgian, Senne Lammens, is apparently a goalkeeper United want to bring in before Monday’s transfer deadline, but time’s obviously running out.
The other area many fans will believe should have been prioritised is in the middle of the park.
Bruno Fernandes is now having to play as part of a two-man midfield, moving United’s best player away from the role he’s been so good in, starting alongside the immobile Casemiro or unconvincing Manuel Ugarte while the gifted homegrown talent Kobbie Mainoo is left to go stale on the bench, his future now seemingly in question.
Amorim’s setup would seem to require athletic central midfielders who can essentially do a bit of everything: progress the ball, be effective without it, distribute well. None of their current midfielders really tick all of those boxes, and it was plain to see against Fulham. At Grimsby, too, just as it had been throughout 2024-25.
Unless something dramatic changes, and quickly, questions regarding Amorim’s priorities will only get louder.
The Final Straw?
It’s taken a little over a week for any positive feeling from the unlucky 1-0 defeat against Arsenal to completely evaporate. After that match, there was an overriding sense that Amorim could have United on the right track.
They controlled the ball, had the better chances, were physically dominant and played some fairly eye-catching football against one of the best teams around. There were even some moments of promise in the first half of the weekend draw at Fulham before any cohesion went out the window.
Man Utd vs Arsenal xG
But Wednesday’s penalty shootout defeat was dismal in the extreme and has arguably brought Amorim’s future into question to a degree we haven’t seen before.
Sure, there have been previous instances of uncertainty. He was reportedly tempted to walk away just a few months into his reign, and then, after losing to Tottenham in the Europa League final, he said he’d “go the next day without any conversation about compensation” if the board and fans felt he wasn’t the right man.
But that felt like a comment made by someone who knew he was pretty safe, especially considering he followed that up by saying: “I am confident in my job.”
His appraisal of the situation on Wednesday had a rather different tone, however. He told ITV: “If we don’t show up, you can feel that something has to change, and you are not going to change 22 players again.”
Of course, it could have just been the heat of the moment again – Amorim has proven himself somewhat combustible. Though it might have instead been public recognition that this job is beyond him.
Either way, it feels like the upcoming international break will reveal much.
Premier League Stats Opta
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