It’s been a month since Ruben Amorim began his tenure as Manchester United manager, with mixed results so far.
The Red Devils drew at Ipswich Town and beat Everton 4-0 in his first two league games, but have since lost at Arsenal and at home to Nottingham Forest.
In the Europa League, it’s been smoother, with a victory over Bodo/Glimt followed by Thursday’s comeback triumph at Viktoria Plzen.
Amorim's sizeable task
Amorim was undoubtedly taking on a difficult job when he arrived at Old Trafford to replace Erik ten Hag, with the side in the bottom half of the Premier League.
He’d previously guided Portuguese side Sporting to their first league title in 19 years, then won the Primeira Liga again last season.
They had a 100 per cent record at the start of the current campaign, also thrashing Manchester City 4-1 in an unbeaten start to the Champions League league stage.
Rene Meulensteen was Manchester United’s first-coach under Sir Alex Ferguson between 2008 and 2013, and has seen the club’s results fall into decline under five different permanent managers since then.
By this point, he says, whoever they appointed was a risk – both for the club, and the person taking the job.
“My thoughts were that there were similarities with what they did with Erik ten Hag – they find a young manager, who’s done well in one of the ‘smaller leagues’,” he told FFT, speaking in association with BetIdeas.
“Ten Hag did that with Ajax, they played some good football, an attractive style, did well in the Champions League, and you see similarities with Amorim in Portugal.
“No matter who you appoint, it’s always a gamble, but knowing what Manchester United is about, the size of the club, the expectations, the scrutiny and also the timing when he was stepping in, I thought ‘Bloody hell, there has to be something that’s pushed him over the line and convinced him to come’.
“If I’d been Amorim, I’d think ‘OK, let’s see what I have already, and let’s see what I get – I’ve got a team here at Sporting that’s playing exactly as I want, we’re steaming off to another title, we’re doing well in the Champions League, what could be next for me after that?’
“It could also be someone like Real Madrid and have you got a bigger chance to be successful at Real Madrid – or you step into the world of Manchester United, who haven’t got it going for the last 12 years.”
A real gamble
Arguably, the appointment was a bigger risk for Amorim than it was for Manchester United. “I think it could be,” Meulensteen said.
“You think ‘Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho, Solskjaer, Ten Hag, why would I be different? Why would I be the one who can make it work, and all of those managers haven’t been able to do that? What’s going on here?’
“He must be very convinced about himself and the way he goes about things. But I think we all know how difficult it is at United at the moment.”
