It will be little comfort for Ruben Amorim after taking 34 points of his first 33 Premier League games as Manchester United's head, but at least he can say he saw him come.
The Portuguese coach has not hidden that his preference was to take the work of United in the summer after being identified as the replacement of Erik Ten Hag. He did not want to be parachute in the mid -season, believing that his appointment in November would create more problems than he would solve. However, co -owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Board had other ideas and told Amorim that it was now or never.
It was a movement with the mestizo as an attempt to obtain a head initiative on the United Route back to the top. Almost a year later, he begins to resemble corners, and will be the manager, as always in these situations, who will eventually pay the price.
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The pressure ahead of Sunderland's visit to Old Trafford on Saturday, the 50th love -up game in all competitions, is now out of scale. Many United fans have already decided that even a positive result will only delay the inevitable and, in many ways, it is a lost situation for Amorim.
He wins, and it is unlikely that he obtains a lot of credit because United should be winning at home promoted teams such as Sunderland, which are fifth upon return to the highest category, with three victories and two draws in their first six games. Losing or drawing, and will be more fuel for followers who have already decided to go.
Amorim was surprisingly calm and collected in his press conference after the 3-1 defeat last weekend in Brentford, but it is intelligent enough to understand that the opportunity to add context to what is happening under his watch has been and disappeared.
He could have pointed out that three lost penalties, two from Bruno Fernandes against Fulham and Brentford, respectively, and one from Bryan Mbeumo in the Caabao Cup shooting defeat in Grimsby Town, has put a different inclination at the beginning of the season. Or that individual errors, whether Luke Shaw against Manchester City, or Harry Maguire against Brentford, are constantly withdrawing the carpet of their game plan.
Only Amorim did not, in large part because he realized that the only debate that matters now is the referendum about his future. Stay or leave? Amorim inside or Amorim? Nothing else seems to import. It was remarkable that, while talking at the media theater at the Gtech community stadium, he suggested that he was not in a position to “protect” in the interviews.
José Mourinho, one of Amorim's mentors, had the habit of fighting in these situations, pointing to anyone unfortunate enough to derive by his sight. Amorim has chosen a different approach. In any case, he has dragged the focus on himself instead of pointing out the fingers, and that is good news for Ratcliffe, which has been in Old Trafford and made many more mistakes than his manager.
Amorim would be in his rights to highlight that last season, after being left at work at an inopportune, he was forced to throw the Premier League games in an attempt to win the Europa League and return to the Champions League. Why would Tyler Fredricson, Harry Amass and Chido Obi start in defeat 4-3 in Brentford on May 4?
Amass made seven appearances in the first team last season and is now borrowed at Sheffield Wednesday. Chido Obi played eight times, but now he has returned with the academy instead of being part of the Amorim team. The game in Brentford in May occurred days before the 4-1 victory over the Athletics Club in the Europa League semifinal, second stage. At that time, the only thing worth chasing was the title of the Europa League.
It is the missing context when the record of the Amorim League of 17 losses in the Premier League and a rate of victories of 27.3% is returned. It is poor, without a doubt, but there are reasons behind.
1:17
Amorim: Man United played as Brentford wanted us
Ruben Amorim says that Manchester United was absorbed by Brentford's game when they fell to a 3-1 defeat.
In private, Amorim may well have other complaints. His squad is one that is still under maintenance after the mistakes made when ten hag was in charge. United has been clear that they cannot fix each position in a summer, but amorim remains without the energetic midfielder you need for your 3-4-3 system. Nor does he have a first choice goalkeeper, with Altay Bayindir, Senne Lammens and Tom Heaton all substitutes.
United should be better than they are, even Amorim would accept it, but there are limitations within this group of players who are in charge.
It is not that it matters. Regardless of who the players are or who is the manager, United has to win every week, whoever they play. And there is the biggest problem with which Amorim is having to deal with.
The disconnection between the history of the club, the expectation that comes with him and the reality of the situation in which they find is enormous. United is driven by the idea where they think they should be, not where they should be.
For more than a decade since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, this disconnection has created additional pressure to succeed. The despair to win, to catch Manchester City and Liverpool, has forced mistakes inside and outside the field, with bad decisions made and the money missed badly. There is no time for projects and patience. Just pile, change, try again and wait for the best.
Front and center for everything that everything has been. From David Moyes, to Louis Van Gaal, to Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag, Amorim is the last to chew in the race to join the top. It does not defeat Sunderland on Saturday and he runs the risk of being spit like others.
