At the beginning of a make-or-break campaign for Manchester United’s manager it was imperative the team started with a coherent performance.
- Published after the opening weekend defeat to Arsenal
To the great relief of the ex-Man Utd players who saturate the pundit class, what we saw was just that; sharp pressing as a unit, a well-structured formation, and, despite creativity lacking in the final third, encouraging spurts of direct attacking football.
But Erik ten Hag was sacked within two months.
United’s 1-0 victory over Fulham in August 2024 was yet another false down, the hard pressing little more than new-season excitement and the tactical organisation a mirage, or at least that is how history will remember it.
Ten Hag’s demise was swift not because of results and performances in the autumn of 2024/25 but because crisis already loomed over Old Trafford.
Psychological frailty meant the slightest glitch was enough to trigger a spiral, the layers upon layers of impatience built up over a decade of failure ensuring the knives would be sharpened for anything less than perfect.
This is the history that ought to inform how we view Man Utd’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal and the media reaction to it. This is why Roy Keane’s post-match ire should be taken seriously despite it being seen as the most unserious opinion available on Sunday.
“The expectations at United now are so low that even when Gary [Neville] is on commentary, everyone’s even comfortable with a 1-0 defeat,” Keane said on Sky Sports.
“United have got to do better. It does worry me. Obviously, a couple of the new signings, a lot of encouragement with that. Getting up the pitch there was a bit more power… but again no goal, another defeat.
“There’s still problems there with United. We see with the goal, the set-piece, physicality, determination to get a result, goalkeeper not being strong enough.”
Keane looked pained, exhausted. And it’s only August.
Here is a sneak preview of what’s to come, of the speed with which the narrative will turn against Amorim unless his team produce 9/10 performances and the results to match, an unlikely scenario considering Man Utd have Chelsea and Manchester City to play in their next four Premier League matches.
They could conceivably have six points from the opening five games – one fewer than Ten Hag at the same stage last season – and hand-on-heart say it was par for the course.
United’s level, judged solely on squad quality, is around eighth, yet clubs finishing in those positions tend to win fewer than half their matches.
Can Amorim withstand the sound and the fury such a record would bring upon him?
Analysis of the Arsenal defeat that frustrated Keane but seemed to impress almost everybody else suggests eighth is indeed the ceiling.
Yes, it was more together, they pressed more effectively, and Amorim’s direct attacking football was finally represented on the pitch by Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.
But we also saw a familiar concern in goal, where Altay Bayindir flapped at an in-swinging corner, mimicking how Andre Onana was twice caught out by in-swinging corners in last season’s 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates.
Perhaps those are the kind of details Keane et al unfairly pore over and ought to be left alone. Of far greater concern is Amorim’s tactical setup continuing to leave enormous holes in central midfield.
Worryingly, the gaps are likely to widen further as Mbeumo, Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko stretch the United shape lengthways with their runs both on and off the ball.
Arsenal failed to capitalise on Sunday - “there were many moments in open play we should have killed them,” as Mikel Arteta said – not because Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes miraculously turned into an elite midfield duo but because Arsenal were sloppy.
Martin Zubimendi in particular looked very nervous, regularly refusing easy passes through the lines in favour of a sideways option.
Fulham will be more daring at Craven Cottage. They will also sit deeper than Arsenal did, closing down the transitional space Man Utd enjoyed on Sunday. It will be a very tough game for United - yet even a win wouldn’t necessarily do much to help Amorim’s situation, not with Chelsea and City so soon after.
One narrow victory over Fulham did nothing to make Ten Hag’s outlook more stable. One narrow defeat to Arsenal should not move the dial on Amorim either. The season is one week old and already United’s next match is a must-win.
That’s never a good sign.
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