MUFC’s 420-Day Reboot: €300 Million Gone, Amorin Shouldn’t Take the Fall

 

    After Manchester United announced the sacking of Amorim, a fan commented on Sky Sports, “The club is truly ridiculous.” Amorim was dismissed after 420 days in charge, meaning €300 million has gone down the drain once again, forcing the club to start from scratch.

   On November 11, 2024, Amorim officially took over as Manchester United’s head coach. However, in his 63 matches in charge, he managed only 25 wins, 15 draws, and 23 losses, averaging just 1.43 points per game, far below the 2.28 points per game he achieved at Sporting CP.

   The reason for Amorim’s drastic drop in points per game at Manchester United is not hard to understand. Under Ten Hag, Manchester United played 128 matches with a four-defender formation, and the squad’s player characteristics were better suited to that system.

However, Amorim was accustomed to using a three-center-back system, and when faced with criticism, he publicly stated that Manchester United valued him precisely because of his tactical approach.

In fact, during his first 60 matches in charge of Manchester United, Amorim consistently employed the three-center-back system. It was only under the club management's request that he used a 4-2-3-1 formation in two matches against Newcastle and Wolves. Although the team remained unbeaten in those two games, Amorim stubbornly reverted to the 3-4-2-1 formation in the match against Leeds United, resulting in a draw.

Before the Newcastle match, Amorim remarked: “I feel that if we want to play the perfect 3-4-3 system, we would need to invest a lot of money and also require time. I'm beginning to realize this is unlikely, so perhaps I need to make adjustments.”

However, to support Amorim, Manchester United had already invested €282 million, completing a squad overhaul by signing players like Cunha, Mbemo, and Doku, who are better suited to a three-center-back system, while letting go of players like Garnacho, Rashford, Antony, and Sancho, who fit better in a four-back formation.

To sign Amorim, Manchester United paid a €10 million release clause, and by terminating him early, they will have to pay an additional €12 million. This means that with just these two costs, United’s total expenditure reached €304 million.

On top of that, Amorim set a series of worst-ever records in the club’s history, including: the lowest Premier League points total (42 points), the lowest league finish in the Premier League era (15th place), the lowest win rate for a manager in the Premier League era, and the first-ever League Cup elimination by a fourth-tier team.

After 420 days in charge, Amorim was dismissed, once again proving the saying that “forced things never turn out sweet.” However, Manchester United’s problem was not Amorim himself, but rather the question of why they invited a coach whose preferred system relies on three center-backs.

With Amorim gone, Manchester United faces the dilemma once again: should they hire another coach who favors a three-center-back system, or start afresh with a new approach?