Manchester United are at an awkward point in the season after firing Ruben Amorim a week ago.
Ineos pulled the plug on the Ruben Amorim project after becoming exasperated with the Portuguese boss. He was sacked a week ago after a bizarre press conference.
But in terms of working out what comes next, United’s leadership team are yet to chart a path forward.
Worryingly it appears that Ineos have just fast-tracked United into a crisis, one that Darren Fletcher warned about.
Darren Fletcher hosts a press conference
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Ineos need to sort this out at Man Utd immediately – there is no direction
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Man Utd need direction
Manchester United had a plan with Ruben Amorim, and even though it was not a very good one – at least it was a plan.
Amorim had United in sixth place in the Premier League, competing for the Champions League places.
United have now slipped to seventh place and also been eliminated from the FA Cup. In the league it is about to get worse, with United now set to face Manchester City and then Arsenal.
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There is a real chance United end the month in the bottom half of the table.
Man Utd’s manager for the derby vs City next weekend should be ___________
Who do you want to see in charge next week? Is it time for Fletcher to step aside?
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United are planning to stick with an interim boss until the end of the season, rather than appoint a permanent successor to Ruben Amorim.
This brings us back to Darren Fletcher’s warning from way back in 2018, when Manchester United fired Jose Mourinho.
Fletcher said: “Manchester United should never be in this position.
“They’re almost writing off this season and next season because if they appoint a new manager in the summer he’s not going to have much time to look for new players.
“There is a real concern that you could have two seasons of rebuilding again.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over at the time and had an immediate impact, and he is being linked with another return.
This time it appears he is being set up for failure rather than success.
Fletcher’s warning appears more ominous now than it did back then. An interim manager for the rest of the season was disastrous when we tried it in 2021/22 under Ralf Rangnick.
Darren Fletcher just picked up his first booking for Manchester United since 2015
Good on him for showing a bit of fight!
Darren Fletcher is shown a yellow card by referee Simon Hooper after the FA Cup third-round match between Manchester United and Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford in 2026 in Manchester, England.
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Darren Fletcher was asked about these comments ahead of Manchester United’s FA Cup tie with Brighton.
He said: “I was young and naive when I said that, wasn’t I? That was my feeling at the time, and I was speaking from a context where I wasn’t involved from the inside.
“It wasn’t my decision, and the club has to do what it thinks is best to ensure Manchester United’s success in the future. I think they’ll be strong enough to handle that pressure and make the right decision for the good of Manchester United.”
Despite Fletcher rowing back on his comments – he was not actually wrong.
Manchester United should never be in this position, and are at risk of messing up the entire season.
It feels like United are drifting aimlessly again, with Ineos’ lack of succession plan for Ruben Amorim exposed.
Ineos have helped Manchester United create the wrong type of history this season!
Do you blame ownership, managers, or the players?
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