Has Ruben Amorim made Man United worse? JAMES SHARPE examines the system that players are questioning and finds an alarming conclusion for fans

It rarely takes long these days, but the whispers have started again at Manchester United.

Ruben Amorim is only 20 games into his reign at Old Trafford but, as Mail Sport revealed this week, some of his players are already wondering among themselves whether a change of plan might be in order.

The Portuguese boss remains wedded to the 3-4-2-1 formation that treated him so well at Sporting Lisbon but, so far, it’s not working.

Amorim arrived at Old Trafford as the perfect antidote to the Erik ten Hag malaise. A young, exciting coach with clear, fresh ideas, ones that reaped great success at Sporting Lisbon, instead of the uninspiring, rigid football that became the norm under the Dutchman. Only, it’s got worse.

Amorim has won just nine matches so far and only four have come in the Premier League. No United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson won fewer of their first 20. He’s won the same as Ralf Rangnick. Ten Hag won 13.

Only Rangnick’s side mustered fewer goals. Their 32 goals conceded is at least eight more than anyone else and 14 more than David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. None lost as many as the eight defeats suffered under Amorim.

The Red Devils have found particular difficulty in finding the back of the net under Amorim

WORSE THAN TEN HAG? 

Ten Hag won just over half of his Premier League matches in charge. Amorim has lost just over half of his. Ten Hag lost about one in three. Amorim wins about one in three. 

Amorim’s United take far fewer shots, score fewer goals and concede more goals.  

They attempt more passes but touch the ball less where it matters, in the opposition box. Since Amorim took charge, only the current bottom three and Everton have scored fewer league goals. 

The last United manager to win fewer of his first 20 games in charge was Ferguson himself, which, at least might give Amorim hope that even the greatest managers need time to turn it around. 

The problem, though, is that it’s not just about results and this bundle of bad numbers. United’s struggles reflect deeper tactical issues with Amorim’s approach. 

Amorim will not shift from his three-at-the-back formation even though his squad lacks the players to thrive in its most vital positions.

There’s an argument to be made that Erik ten Hag was getting more out of the United players

A WIDER ISSUE

The most crucial role in his system is his wing backs. They provide the width in attack so that the two No 10s behind the striker like Bruno Fernandes can cause opponents problems from central areas and in the channels.

Amorim also wants them to be able to rotate high up the pitch.

United’s simply don’t do it well enough. Diogo Dalot gets forward, at least, but is a right-footed right-sided player stuck on the left. Luke Shaw is always injured.

Noussair Mazraoui on the other flank doesn’t get forward anywhere near enough. As the pitch maps since Amorim’s arrival show, he has a much lower percentage of his touches in the opposition half and hardly any in the final third.

Neither of them are involved enough for a team that depends so heavily on its wing backs. Among all Premier League defenders since Amorim’s arrival, neither Dalot nor Mazraoui rank anywhere near the top 10 for passes in the opposition half, passes into the box, chances created from open play or progressive carries, where a player moves the ball significantly nearer the opponent’s goal.

Mazraoui’s 17 passes into the box in that time is four fewer than West Ham defender Aaron Cresswell, who has started three league games all season and all of them at centre back.

Each have created just six chances from open play for Amorim, joint-30th among Premier League defenders in that time. Neither have a single league goal or assist under the new boss.

The hope is that £25million January signing Patrick Dorgu will add quality and depth to that position but Amorim admitted he looked nervous in his debut against Leicester in the FA Cup and was subbed at half-time.

It didn’t help that Dorgu’s a left-sided player and Amorim started him on the right with Dalot, who likes to play on the right, on the left.

Wingbacks Diogo Dalot (left) and Noussair Mazraoui (right) simply don’t do well enough

A CENTRAL CONCERN

The other area that United need to fix is in central midfield. Manuel Ugarte is United’s ball-winner, as he was for Amorim at Sporting, but it’s the dynamic all-rounder alongside him that the manager is struggling to find.

Kobbie Mainoo carries the ball well but lacks the physicality to dominate and Amorim admitted recently he was ‘struggling a lot defending as a midfielder’. He’s since played him as a No 10 and a makeshift striker against Crystal Palace.

Casemiro and Christian Eriksen no longer have the legs or stamina for the role. Fernandes played there in the Palace defeat but so often left his man free to roam the Old Trafford turf as he wished.

Amorim needs someone who can carry the ball forward, drive into the space when Fernandes drifts high and wide but who is athletic and physical enough also to cover the wide defensive areas when the wing back bombs on. He basically needs a Declan Rice or a Bruno Guimaraes – but he doesn’t have one.

Casemiro and Christian Eriksen no longer have the legs or stamina for Amorim’s midfield roles

FATALLY FLAWED?

Not many Premier League managers have been able to make a back three work at the top of the table.

Chelsea won the title with it under Antonio Conte but since then only two teams have finished in the top four playing most of their games with a back three – Chelsea under Thomas Tuchel in 2021-22 and Tottenham, mostly under Conte, in the same season.

For now, the top four is the least of Amorim’s concerns. He’s got the Europa League and the FA Cup on which to focus as well as 14 Premier League games to avoid breaking some unwanted records.

United have only won eight games so far but need another nine to beat their record low of 16 for a Premier League campaign in 2021-22 under Solksjaer and Rangnick. They are only halfway to their lowest ever points total of 58 from the same season.

Only three more defeats are needed to equal last season’s record tally of 14. Another 22 goals are required to surpass their fewest of 49 from 2015-16 under Louis van Gaal. Another 20 goals conceded and they’ll match their record tally of 58 from last season.

There have been signs the system can work. United used it well in their draw against Liverpool, as the wing backs picked the right time to push up and draw the opposition full backs to leave space for the attacking midfielders to exploit.

Amorim’s side does better against bigger teams that leave space for them to counter-attack. They have picked up strong results at Man City and Arsenal.

If it’s to work properly, though, and if he is the man to take United back to the top after all, Amorim needs to make it work against everyone. If he doesn’t, it won’t be long until those same old whispers begin to echo once again.