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As Ruben Amorim has admitted himself, Manchester United have appointed a coach with only one idea. To be fair, it looked a pretty good idea during his four-and-a-half years in charge of Sporting.
That was a squad built to shine in his 3-4-2-1 system. They ran all over opponents, had specialists for some unique positions in Amorim’s structure and got the inevitable results to follow. United liked what they saw.
The problem is that while Amorim has one idea, the squad has an entirely different one. There are no wing-backs in this squad, no forward good enough to play as the lone striker, not enough physicality, and nowhere near enough energy.
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It would be fascinating to know how many of these players the 39-year-old would keep if he were handed an unlimited budget. I doubt we would need a second hand to count, as Amorim listed the players he could find a use for.
But therein lies the problem. United don’t have an unlimited budget to reshape a squad to suit a coach with one of the most unique and rigid styles in Europe. They have the very opposite. Absolutely no budget to do anything unless they somehow create a market to sell one of their flops.
United insist that the money has run out, that a decade of waste in the transfer market has finally left them on the breadline. Five years of losses totalling more than £350m would suggest they are being truthful, as would Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s swingeing cuts.
Ineos need European football to get the club’s ailing finances back on track, but at the halfway point of the Premier League season, the focus is instead on avoiding collecting the parachute payments that come with relegation. United will surely stay up, but a season of mid-table mediocrity will leave the coffers empty for next season.
Amorim has already confirmed what United sources are saying: There is no money to spend in January unless someone is sold. If this season follows the same trajectory, the position might be just as bleak in the summer.
The issue for United is that they have opted to appoint a coach who, as he has said, only has one idea. If he isn’t going to get the finance he needs to build a squad capable of playing it, then there is already a sense of futility to all of this.
United knew what they were getting with Amorim. With the number of football experts that Ineos have appointed since February, they would have known that they didn’t have the personnel to make it work, so a significant outlay in the transfer market was required. Now they say there is no money.
That leaves Amorim trying to turn water into wine. He will improve this squad with a more prolonged spell of training, but we’re talking about turning them into a top-half team, not a title challenger. That is impossible without a significant financial outlay.
In years gone by, maybe Sir Jim Ratcliffe would have poured some of his billions into the club to spend on transfers, although he hasn’t given the impression of being that sort of owner. Financial fair play regulations also make it more difficult.
United recorded revenues of £661.8m last year, but still posted a loss of £113.2m. That sums up where they are and why no money is left to burn through.
However, it leaves Amorim in an impossible position and sums up the muddled thinking of United’s executive committee. There is no doubting the Portuguese’s coaching credentials, but they would have known that appointing him without a war chest was essentially pointless.
That is where United now find themselves. Amorim is unwilling to compromise and United are unable to fund the change he needs. Something surely has to give.
It will be interesting to see whether Amorim bends on his unwavering faith in his own idea if he continues to come up short with results. United face an uphill task at Anfield on Sunday and are next in action in the Premier League against Southampton, a match they just have to win.
The Old Trafford crowd made it clear where their support lay on Monday, chanting Amorim’s name during the second half. He isn’t under any immediate pressure despite a dire run of five defeats in six Premier League games. But without a major overhaul of this squad, it does feel a little like he is already doomed. United have to somehow find the cash to give him what he needs; otherwise, why did they appoint him in the first place?