Fortunes have yet to improve under the new manager, who delivered some much-needed home truths after another damaging defeat
Ruben Amorim's honeymoon period at Manchester United is already over. The Red Devils followed up a humbling 2-0 loss at Arsenal with a 3-2 home defeat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday night, which leaves them 13th in the Premier League table – the club's lowest position after 15 games since the 1986-87 season.
In the build-up to the Forest game, INEOS chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe sat down for a wide-ranging interview with the esteemed 'United We Stand' fanzine', admitting that the club "has become mediocre". United's minority shareholder added: "There is major change to come to achieve elite status."
One "major change" has already been made in the boardroom since then, with United announcing the shock exit of sporting director Dan Ashworth just five months after his initial summer appointment. But to regain "elite status" on the pitch, Amorim will need a sizeable war chest to overhaul the terrible squad he inherited from Erik ten Hag.
United practically gifted all three points to Forest with a litany of unforgivable errors. Amorim has been a breath of fresh air since his arrival at Old Trafford, but it doesn't matter how much he innovates from a tactical perspective if the players are not good enough to execute his plan.
Getty Images SportShooting themselves in the foot
Forest hadn't won at Old Trafford in 30 years, but found themselves 1-0 up inside two minutes thanks to a thunderous Nikola Milenkovic header. United failed to learn their lesson after conceding from two set-pieces at Emirates Stadium last Wednesday, with Elliot Anderson's out-swinging corner perfectly flighted to the near post for Milenkovic, who comfortably beat the 5ft 9in Lisandro Martinez to the ball. It was a mistake to have Martinez marking Milenkovic, but the Argentine didn't even jump, and his attempt to push the Forest defender was half-hearted at best.
The hosts managed to get in at the break level after Rasmus Hojlund finished off a flowing team move, only to shoot themselves in the foot once again at the start of the second half. Bruno Fernandes gave the ball away in his own half with a poor flicked pass that fell straight to Callum Hudson-Odoi, and the former Chelsea winger then laid it off for Morgan Gibbs-White on the edge of the box. Gibbs-White's subsequent shot was slightly scuffed and straight down the throat of Andre Onana, and yet somehow the United goalkeeper let it slip past him.
Forest's third goal was arguably the worst of the lot, though. It came just seven minutes later, with United again unable to deal with a ball into the box, this time from Gibbs-White. Chris Wood rose highest to nod back across goal, and at first it looked like a formality that one of Matthijs de Ligt, Onana or Martinez would deal with the danger. However, they all inexplicably stood and watched as the ball slowly found its way into the net off the post.
Fernandes reduced the deficit with an excellent strike on the hour mark, but Forest were able to hang on for the win, and United could have no complaints. Amorim is fighting a losing battle at the moment because basic individual mistakes are still costing the Red Devils dearly.
AdvertisementGetty No fix for lack of collective quality
Amorim is not a man who minces his words. The Portuguese was honest about United's shortcomings after opening his reign with a draw and two wins, and back-to-back defeats did not prompt him to go on the defensive.
"Not a lot of quality, heart, we tried," Amorim told reporters after the Forest loss. "We suffered two goals and then went forward without a lot of thinking. We have to address that, but it’s a long journey. It’s not individual, it’s all the team, we suffered three goals in two games from set-pieces, we spent a lot of time there, but we have to do better. We have to do better in all of these matches."
Pressed on his mindset after such a testing start to life in the Premier League, Amorim replied: "I had this period at Sporting and if you are a little experienced in football, this happens with a lot of clubs and we have to manage to continue to do the same things and improving the team because this will turn around. We need time and to continue to work in the same way every day."
There is no permanent fix for a lack of collective quality, though. United are keeping hold of the ball a lot better, but they're not creating enough chances and the defence is still crumbling when put under pressure. Amorim is kidding himself if he really believes the current squad can eventually develop a consistent streak.
AFPOpposite of 'mad dogs'
Amorim's "not a lot of heart" admission was the most worrying, though, especially after he'd warned his players last week they need to "run like mad dogs" to enjoy any real success in the Premier League. Star names falling well short of the minimum standard for effort has been the main theme of the miserable post-Sir Alex Ferguson era at Old Trafford, and that is the first thing that has to change.
"No good team is ever a good team without hard work. Manchester United are 13th in the league and their running stats, their distance covered, is 16th in the league," club legend Gary Neville said after covering the Forest defeat for . "You don’t deserve anything if you’re being outrun every single week. To me, the worst thing that can be said about you is that you’re not a hard-working player or you’re not a hard-working team."
There are a select few who are almost certain to keep letting Amorim down, just as they did Ten Hag, Ralf Rangnick, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jose Mourinho. It will be almost impossible for Amorim to oversee significant progress until he clears out the bulk of the deadwood, especially if he persists with his high-octane 3-4-3 system.
Getty Images SportThe disruptors & stragglers
Marcus Rashford certainly falls into the disruptive bracket, despite scoring three goals in his first two starts under Amorim. He's a streaky forward who only delivers when he feels like it, and brings everyone else down with his body language and general behaviour when things are not going well.
The same criticism could be levelled at Alejandro Garnacho, who has bags of potential but lets his head drop too easily, and too often uses social media as an outlet for his frustration. Club captain Fernandes is also guilty of letting his emotions get the best of him. He leads by example with his general play, but regular displays of petulance bring down the mood of the whole team. Transferring all three men out of the club would be far too extreme, but a spot in Amorim's first-choice lineup shouldn't be guaranteed for any of them until their attitudes improve.
And then we come to the spectacularly average crop: players who either don't have what it takes to represent a club the size of United or no longer have a burning passion for the game. Some still play week in, week out, like Diogo Dalot, while others are seemingly content to keep draining the club's wage budget without making any meaningful contribution, namely £85 million ($108m) flop Antony, a well-past-his-peak Casemiro, injury-plagued Luke Shaw and the woefully limited Victor Lindelof.
