Ruben Amorim warned when he arrived at Old Trafford that it would take a long time to resolve their many problems, and fortunately he was not wrong.
The name United, the structure of the club and the huge contracts some members of the squad have, make United a giant steamship that can change direction quickly.
Brighton could not be a more contrasting city. Their Premier League-wide existence has been built on agility and reaction, knowing that good players and managers are often poached quickly. It was Brighton’s third consecutive away win at Old Trafford, thanks to Colin Miller. Albion featured 33 different players, all under different managers.
Meanwhile, United remain stuck in ice somewhere in the Arctic Circle, slowly rusting away.
No matter how hard we try to find any signs of progress since Amorim’s arrival, it is very difficult to do so because in reality there are none.
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After Amorim’s arrival, the results deteriorated further and the performance continues to be underwhelming. The highlight of his reign so far has been a 2-2 away draw with Liverpool that felt like only a win. Last weekend’s FA Cup penalty shootout victory over Arsenal was a great job with 10 men, but it still relied on Arsenal wasting a number of chances (to be fair, at the moment… It’s a reasonable strategy). Although he won’t be credited with masterminding the win over Southampton this season, Southampton still relied on Amad Diallo’s excellent late-inning individual performance.
For now, we’ll be looking for differences, not improvements. One of the striking oddities of United’s form under Erik ten Hag this season has been the extent to which they have worked to such an overwhelming effect.
Despite a decline in all these metrics since Amorim’s arrival, United still rank at the top of the table for tackles attempted, tackles made and interceptions made this season. For a team with the sixth-highest possession in the division, this is…a little strange.
Amorim has spent his time at the club coaching United so far, trying to work smarter rather than harder. We saw that happen against Liverpool and Arsenal, where the defender wisely chose the moment to break through the defensive line to win the ball. Once that is done, United will look to stop the move with some sharp passes to the wingers.
All of them are very good and impressive, but we have had good results in all three games: against Manchester City, against Liverpool and against Arsenal.
That ruse has already been defeated. Brighton, for example, used man-to-man play on the wings to eliminate quick out-balls. United therefore tried to break the midfield press without much success. And whenever they break through Brighton’s midfield, the Seagulls do not simply put the ball at the feet of the strikers, instead of doing the line-breaking job of allowing United’s defense to quickly win a tackle, they simply try to get the ball over the top. Made the ball play up.
With the spotlight fading a little after last week’s FA Cup victory with 10 men, attention has been focused on United’s frustrating tendency to rise up for important matches but fail to liven up the occasion. We gathered.
It may have something to do with the idea that something rotten in the dressing room is inhibiting their most intense spontaneity, but that’s not the whole story.
The reality is that United are… simply not very good. Amorim is just the latest manager in history to have tried to provide a defensive framework to build a cohesive and effective team, and it paid off in games against three old rivals. .
It’s not like he’s definitely been beaten in games that United have lost. Bournemouth won 3-0 with nine shots and four on target. The Wolves won 2-0 with seven shots and four on target. Brighton then won 3-1 with six shots and three on target.
Consistently underperforming against numbers like this usually has more to do with a poor job inside the ball than off it. He may not have missed many opportunities, but he seized them with tremendous force. I hope the opposition cannot help but take advantage of it.
In other words, Amorim has been a great rope-a-dope manager, but he will eventually end up acting as a dope himself against teams trying to do the same to United.
That was certainly the case against Brighton, but unfortunately for Amorim, the squad at his disposal gives him little ability to start the match the way he would like.
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