Ruben Amorim's time at Manchester United was largely spent defending his tactical prowess and decision-making with his squad
Ruben Amorim, Head Coach of Manchester United, reacts during the Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Manchester United FC at Portman Road on November 24, 2024 in Ipswich, England.
Ruben Amorim's fate was sealed from the beginning(Image: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
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Ruben Amorim's solution to his attacking problem at Manchester United was staring him right in the face during his first game in charge.
The Portuguese boss was sacked on Monday after 14 months at Old Trafford. From 63 games, Amorim won 24, drew 18 and lost 21, giving him a poor 31 per cent win rate at Old Trafford.
In fact, this was the worst win ratio of any permanent United boss in the modern era and the lowest since Frank O'Farrell replaced Matt Busby in 1971. Amorim's record of 1.23 points per game in the Premier League is the lowest of all managers at the club since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.
While there were some high points - including that 5-4 win over Lyon and a 2-1 triumph over Liverpool this season - there were plenty of low ones too.
Dropping out of this year's Carabao Cup to League Two side Grimsby Town, a 1-0 loss in the Europa League final to Tottenham and ending last season 15th in the Premier League all left supporters feeling frustrated at the club's direction under the Portuguese.
Rewatching the 40-year-old's opening game in charge of the club was a surreal experience, and Amorim initially looked stern as he took charge for the first time.
Ruben Amorim, Head Coach of Manchester United, arrives at the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Manchester United FC at Portman Road on November 24, 2024 in Ipswich, England.
The warning signs were always there(Image: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
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Amorim's first fixture was a trip to Portman Road Stadium to face the now-relegated Ipswich Town. United struck first through Marcus Rashford to take the lead in the first 180 seconds.
The Amorim era never quite hit the highs that quick fire goal seemed to promise, though, with Omari Hutchinson curling in a wonder strike just before half-time to level up the scoring and condemn Amorim to a disappointing single point in his first game as manager.
There were plenty of warning signs throughout the 90 minutes, but one thing that stuck out the most was just how clinical Rashford was in front of goal. Since that moment, Amorim has been clamouring for a star number nine to lead his side, but it seems like he was blind to one he had in his possession all along.
It is well-documented that Rashford was frozen out from the squad and is currently on loan at Barcelona after spending the second half of last season at Aston Villa. In fact, Amorim claimed he would rather play 63-year-old goalkeeping coach Jorge Vital on the bench over "a player that doesn't give the maximum every day."
Now, he will no longer have that choice and it doesn't look like academy graduate Rashford will ever return to the club that he's supported all his life despite shining in Spain with seven goals and 11 assists this season. United as a team, meanwhile, have just double that amount across all competitions, having managed a measly 36 goals all term and seemingly only have the FA Cup as their last chance of silverware.
Marcus Rashford of Manchester United reacts during the Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Manchester United FC at Portman Road on November 24, 2024 in Ipswich, England.
Marcus Rashford was the answer all along(Image: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
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Amorim's stubbornness to continuously stick to the 3-4-3 formation at United also ultimately led to his downfall. After the humiliating Grimsby defeat and a 3-0 loss to Manchester City in the derby, the manager claimed to be in more pain than the fans through this turgid period.
He said: "I won't change my philosophy. If they [the management] want it changed, you change the man. I am suffering more than [the fans]."
This stickler for style was shown even in his first game against Ipswich and the cracks were already there. Time and time again the relegation-doomed team breathed down United's necks, finding space out wide and easily crossing the ball into the box without any pressure.
Liam Delap of Ipswich Town makes an attempt on goal during the Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Manchester United FC at Portman Road on November 24, 2024 in Ipswich, England.
United looked weak at the back from the get go(Image: Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
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Liam Delap, who now stars for Chelsea, had three glorious chances from poor defending, but Andre Onana saved the day. That statement would now be considered hilariously ironic, as the goalkeeper was ultimately replaced by Senne Lammens after being deemed one of the major weak links in their defensive set-up.
Even after spending around £250million since Amorim arrived, the signings were unable to improve his tactical choices even though the warning signs were clear from the get go.
Finally, one thing that any club - big or small - would struggle with is selfishness and greed. Just after the second half began against Ipswich, Alejandro Garnacho was sent clean through by Bruno Fernandes with Rashford for support on the right.
Alejandro Garnacho of Manchester United is challenged by Jens Cajuste of Ipswich Town during the Premier League match between Ipswich Town FC and Manchester United FC at Portman Road on November 24, 2024 in Ipswich, England.
Greed will supercede glory if players don't think about their team(Image: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
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But rather than do the smart thing and pass the ball over once he was bearing down on goal, the Argentinian looked to go for glory and was efficiently tackled by Jens Cajuste tracking back.
This lack of awareness to make the final pass cost United the three points and over the long term, plenty of victories. While Garnacho may have been sold over the summer, the problems Amorim encountered with the culture within the squad at Manchester United were never fully snuffed out.
Even during an impressive 4-1 win over Wolves at the Molineux last month, the problems with selfishness persisted and Amad was one player who took multiple shots on target instead of picking the smarter option of passing to a teammate for a tap-in or easier chance.
The entire squad should have the team's best interests at heart over their own individual desires, but it was made clear from Amorim's first game at the helm that there will always be stars who will want to shine brighter than their colleagues.
Overall, the answers were in black-and-white for Amorim from his first game, but it seemed that the manager stuck by his principles to the bitter end of his reign in Manchester.
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