Fair post and I pretty much agree, although if I was a fan I'd be thinking I hadn't seen enough to warrant trusting him as the one to take the club forward. I respect that you do however. Time will tell, there are a couple of potential banana skins coming up though.
Greenlizard0 Premier League Football Thread ** spoilers ** [14th - 19th February 2025]
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I don't think it's fair to say 8th is a flattering position after a 38 game season. They were the 8th best side in the country, looking back at their fixture against Newcastle in May it's pretty much the same side other than the additions of Zirkzee and Dorgu who don't look much good anyway.
Dorgu has played 1.5 matches! Zirkzee was arguably our best player yesterday - a low bar granted!
I don't agree on the first point but that's besides the point. There were 4 new signings in the side yesterday to the one that finished the season in May so it's clearly not the same side but even so, teams can regress (or improve) and just as importantly, other sides can improve. Look at City, they started this season with more or less the same side that won the League and look at them now. These are hardly isolated examples either.
This Utd side, the one that Amorim took over, aren't a top 8 side. They were 14th when ETH was sacked for a reason. They're not very good and a number of other sides have overtaken them.
Caporegime
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Thought Dorgu and Zirkzee were two of our better players yesterday. Not surprising to see someone write a player off after *checks notes* 1 and a half games.
While he's certainly made mistakes, you'd have to be mad to look at the overall situation the club is in and lay the blame for any of this at Amorim's door. I can understand why people are disappointed with him, but context is important.
I am quite happy to back him because these players and owners are just complete failures and have been for years. Why should we give them yet another free pass?
Amorim is caught in the middle of all this.
I am quite happy to back him because these players and owners are just complete failures and have been for years. Why should we give them yet another free pass?
Amorim is caught in the middle of all this.
Nobody at the top of the league is using his tactics. That's my concern. And his tactics needs specific players, if they don't work out we're going to need another complete overhaul? That's also my concern.
It's pretty high stakes if you want to win the league. If you accept mid table finishes then I guess it's not so bad.
I think I'm starting to lower my already low (given the money involved) expectations. We're a mid-table club for the foreseeable, barring some miracle signing(s). Although if Amorim keeps losing next season will we even be mid table? We can't score for ****.
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This is the biggest concern. Buying specialist players for a manager that uses an uncommon setup is putting all your eggs in one basket. We have done this for years of course but thats exactly what we are trying to change. The idea that your manager can completely change your style of play needs to stop. It doesn't happen at any other top sides and for good reason. Players are expensive, managers are cheap. Having a squad of players who don't suit each other which has been assembled at vast expense is a mess. The players look crap, its hard to offload them because they look crap and you don't have any chance as a manager.
Every manager comes in, looks at the mess, tries to buy the players they need, slowly replaces a bunch while the morale and buy in declines and eventually it falls apart with half a new squad ready to be replaced again by the next manager.
The only way it can remotely work is if you don't spend huge amounts on the players and if the ones you bring in are technically excellent.
Caporegime
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Who exactly are these specialist players? We've signed one player and he wasn't even playing in a 3 at the back system when we signed him.
I do agree with the concerns over whether Amorim's system will ultimately work in the end, it's fairly unorthodox but that's not always a bad thing... hopefully. In terms of these 'specialist' players though, we just need better players. A striker who can actually score, a goalkeeper who isn't making mistakes every other game, a versatile number 10 - we don't really have one at all. Wingback is the only position you could say is specialist, but most wingbacks can also play fullback or even winger.
To me it actually comes down to the recruitment as much as anything else. We need to stop making these transfer mistakes and start signing the right profile of player. Looking at the current people at the club, I'm far from convinced. They've made Jason Wilcox the main man, based on what exactly? Also, Brailsford is now in charge of this 'Mission 21' project - winning our 21st league title. That sounds like a load of corporate hot air that isn't going to help with anything. It's a worry.
Wing backs? Doesn't his midfield need a specific type of midfielder too? Hence our players looking even worse than under EtH. The 3 at the back also need specific traits don't they? Hence why Maguire isn't as bad in a 3?
I'm not too clued up on the technical side of things tbh, just going by what people say.
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Caporegime
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Imagine though that we get rid of plenty of players. Get his players in then realise that the system is just not compatible with the Premier League and Europe.
Mismanagement United Football Club
It has been that way since SAF left. You could argue it was like that when he was there also.
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By this logic, we may as well not do anything at all and continue as we were. Anything that we do is a risk. And no system is incompatible, it’s just down to having good players.
We can’t have our cake and eat it. The whole ‘we will be bad for a few seasons, but we’ll have to accept it’ seems to get forgotten on here in a matter of 1-2 games. We’re in the bad patch, grin and bear it!