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Key events
Some blue-sky thinking from Matt Donkin here:
Is it too far-fetched to imagine that Antoine Semenyo could make a dramatic U-turn to join Iraola at United?
There are some more shouts for Pochettino coming in.
Sir Alex Ferguson is a long-term admirer of the former Tottenham manager and Pochettino has been outspoken recently about his desire to return to the Premier League. But that pesky World Cup means it surely cannot happen until the summer.
Luke Tweddle says, re the list of possible Amorim replacements: “You’re missing one obvious, stand-out, candidate and one which has been a long time in the making … Mauricio Pochettino. His Spurs team played like a Manchester United team, fast and attacking football. He promoted youth and knows a good player when he sees one. He turned Chelsea around and don’t forget the excellent work he did at Southampton.”
I think that’s a good shout, Luke, but Poch surely won’t leave his job with the USA before the World Cup so it would be a summer appointment only.
Some more stats here on Amorim’s tenure and how it compares to other post-Ferguson United managers, and the great man himself, via PA Sport.
Since Ferguson, who won 26 major trophies in 27 years at Old Trafford and had a 59.7 per cent win ratio, United have struggled to find a long-term figurehead.
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Ferguson took charge of 1,500 games with United. In 697 games since he retired in 2013, the club have had six permanent managers, plus Rangnick and caretakers Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
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Jose Mourinho has the best win percentage of those permanent managers with 58.3 per cent, 84 out of 144 games.
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Mourinho also won the most trophies of any manager since Ferguson, with a League Cup and Europa League double in 2016-17 having opened that season with the Community Shield. Erik ten Hag won both domestic cups, Louis van Gaal won an FA Cup and David Moyes another Community Shield.
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Amorim lost exactly a third of his matches overall, the worst of any permanent United manager since Frank O’Farrell in the early 1970s.
When all of United’s Afcon players are back and everyone’s fully fit, what does a new manager’s first-choice lineup look like? Surely it will be 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, so perhaps something like this below, depending on the identity of that manager.
Lammens; Dalot, De Ligt, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo, Fernandes; Cunha, Mbeumo, Sesko.
Our Manchester football correspondent Jamie Jackson has been speaking to BBC Radio 5Live today. Here’s what he said:
“If you zoom out, it’s a bit of a mess on all sides. I don’t think the hierarchy or the executive come out with this very well. Jason Wilcox has a big say over who comes in but he doesn’t carry the can for bad results. Moving forward, would any big gun manager want to go there? Someone who expects to have final say on transfers, rather than a committee headed up by Wilcox. Can that work?”
“I’m surprised Unai Emery isn’t in the mix,” says Martin Lancon. “Taking Aston Villa to where they are, motivating Morgan Rogers, and he has always been a thorn in United’s side on the pitch, surely a good sign?”
United would have a major job on their hands to prise Emery away from Villa Park, Martin! It would cost a fortune and would Emery even want to move?
Joshua Keeling chips in again. “I don’t want Glasner or Maresca. Go and get Iraola or, you know what, get Solskjaer back. At least that was fun.”
The Football Weekly curse is real. The latest pod was recorded just before the big Amorim exit news.
But do not fear: tomorrow there will be a special podcast on his tenure and what happens next.
This is an interesting take from United fan Huw Moxon:
We’ve let our standards slip as a club if we think what we’ve seen under Amorim is acceptable. Sure, there was need for a reset and some shifting of expectations but results have been pretty disastrous on the whole – we’re lucky to be where we are in the table, and other clubs have sacked managers for far less. Arguably a fault of United’s is we’ve been too patient with managers; all of the LVG, Mourinho, Ole and ETH reigns were marked by a slow and painful slide towards the inevitable. A big disappointment was we didn’t see any new manager bounce with Amorim – the complete opposite – but fans were willing to an extent to give him time to turn it around. Some of the outbursts and home performances in recent weeks lost those moderate fans, and I don’t think he can have any complaints about getting the chop.
“I’d like to see United settle on something now,” says Jeremy Doherty on email. “With some respected ex-players in key staffing positions to influence the culture and standards positively. Keane as assistant manager might scare the players into performing, but I think he is likely too volatile, unfortunately (it would be a laugh though, wouldn’t it!). A tactician and sound man-manager at the helm with support from ex-players around him would work. Ole (again), Emery, or Tuchel would be good. Xavi maybe – but he might be too much of a Hollywood signing!”
I’ve already had three emails suggesting Roy Keane as the next appointment…
Now that would be entertaining, albeit unlikely.
Contenders to be next permanent United manager
According to the bookmakers, these are the most likely current 10 names to take the permanent reins. We don’t promote gambling here so I won’t include bookies’ names or the odds, but make of this list what you will.
I’ll shortly get to some emails about what United could and should do next …
A penny for Kobbie Mainoo’s thoughts in all of this.
The United academy graduate is one of the most popular current players with fans but was basically frozen out by Amorim, who came to hold the belief that Mainoo could only play in one position in his 3-4-3 – the one occupied by captain Bruno Fernandes. Mainoo was expected by many to leave the club, most likely on loan, this month.
United say the player has had a calf injury that has ruled him out of the past four games – coinciding with Fernandes’ injury. Just before that his brother was pictured wearing a ‘free Kobbie Mainoo’ t-shirt at Old Trafford.
Mainoo enjoyed a stellar 2024, breaking into United side, starring in the FA Cup win that year and then starting the Euro 2024 final for England after some impressive Three Lions displays. You’d have to think any new manager would restore the 20-year-old to the team – it would be an easy way to reinvigorate supporters.
“I’d have Amorim higher than Moyes in the rankings,” says Joshua Keeling. “Amorim took over a shambles mid-season, Moyes took over the champions.
“Fully agree with Solskjaer in first place though. His teams produced the best football we’ve seen post-Ferguson. It was exciting, attacking football, scoring plenty of goals – exactly what a fan wants to see. Signing Ronaldo ultimately ruined his project. Where would United be if that money had gone on Rice instead?”
Solskjaer wanted Rice, Bellingham and Haaland … he got none of them.
According to our very own Jamie Jackson, United are adamant there have been no power clashes and that the stance is Amorim was given 100 per cent backing but he was sacked due to a lack of progress.
Either way, the hierarchy cannot have liked these comments:
On the other hand, some are rather more critical of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos …
Here’s Jason Jawonda: “It’s not like Ineos didn’t know that Amorim was stubborn when they hired him. That was the point: back him to implement his system and give it time to work. Progress has been slow, but with a complete rebuild it will be.
“If they wanted a manager to fit the system, they should have hired one 18 months ago. Now, they’re looking at getting someone who’ll inherit a squad built by Solskjaer, Ten Hag, Amorim and countless others, and be expected to implement a system designed by a committee. Nevermind a (supposedly) top level football club, this is no way to run a three-legged race.”
My inbox is packed. Here’s a very measured email from David Flynn on Amorim and what United will/should do next:
Lets be clear here, the board shouldn’t have appointed him the first place. It was never the right call to try to steady the ship by appointing a manager who needed to buy a new squad to play in his very specific way. But it is the right call to sack him now, before he does anymore damage. As it stands, the style hasn’t bedded in at all and despite all the money spent, it’s still very much a squad that a new manager can just come in and play 4-3-3 or a midfield diamond or whatever. So do they come out about even on the credit to blame ratio?
…. and breathe.
Keep your emails and comments coming – I’m interested in your thoughts on my rankings, especially. I’ll get to them after making a very quick coffee.
7. Ruben Amorim (2024-2026) – 39% win rate
Despite the signs of progress in his second season and his charismatic approach that charmed supporters (for a time), Amorim must be considered United’s worst permanent manager of the post-Ferguson era. Fitting the squad into his strict 3-4-3 system always felt clunky and it is unsurprising that tensions around that formation and buying players for it has brought about the Portuguese’s demise. Finishing 15th and losing an abject Europa League final to a shambolic Spurs side will be Amorim’s Old Trafford epitaph.
6. Ralf Rangnick (2021-22) – 38% win rate
The German was appointed on an interim basis after the panicked sacking of Solskjaer, with a view to taking a consultancy role upstairs. That move ultimately never happened as United grew increasingly unhappy with Rangnick’s criticism of them in public utterances. ‘Wreck It Ralf’ failed spectacularly on the pitch with his funky 4-2-2-2 formation, but at least he told the Glazers where they were going wrong. His “open heart surgery” comments proved prophetic.
5. David Moyes (2013-2014) – 53% win rate
It is slim pickings towards the bottom of this list but Moyes ranks as the best of the worst because of the dud hand he was dealt. Ferguson’s ‘Chosen One’ was booted out of the door after the club failed to land any of his key transfer targets, Marouane Fellaini aside. Still, the United job always seemed too big for Moyes, who underperformed with a team that had just won the title, albeit it was ageing and in dire need of repair.
4. Louis van Gaal (2014-2016) – 52% win rate
Another Dutch manager who brought a cup triumph to United but whose football failed to live up to expectations. Van Gaal endeared himself to fans via his colourful press conferences but was probably past his managerial peak by the time he rolled up at Old Trafford. His preferred 3-5-2 yielded some numbingly dull performances – United recorded six goalless draws in Van Gaal’s second season and he was justifiably sacked immediately after FA Cup victory over Crystal Palace.
3. Erik ten Hag (2022-2024) – 55% win rate
On the face of it, neutrals may argue Ten Hag ought to be higher in this list, given he masterminded successes in the League Cup (2023) and FA Cup (2024) with the latter among United’s most memorable modern victories. But the Dutchman arrived in the summer of 2022 promising to implement his Ajax style and never came close to replicating his achievements in the Netherlands. By the end of his tenure, United were a tactical mess and failing to sack him in the summer of 2024 was an INEOS error.
2. Jose Mourinho (2016-2018) – 58% win rate
Solskjaer’s predecessor still has the highest win ratio and best trophy record of any manager since Ferguson, but the Old Trafford faithful struggled to warm to his defensive football and combative press conferences. The highs were very high (Europa League glory in Stockholm in 2017, denying City the title with that 3-2 comeback derby win in 2018) but The Special One was never beloved in Manchester, despite his belief that finishing second in 2017-18 ranks with his greatest achievements.
1. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (2018-2021) – 54% win rate
The Norwegian started off as a caretaker and his impact was so great that United granted him the full-time job. Undoubtedly the best football of the post-Ferguson era was played under Solskjaer, who preferred his side to counter-attack at speed and enjoyed a sensational record against Manchester City and Pep Guardiola, beating them three times at the Etihad. Came second in the league in 2020-201 but was denied an elusive trophy by the agonising 2021 Europa League final defeat to Villarreal on penalties.
Ruben Amorim’s exit brings to mind the disparate cast of Manchester United managers post-Sir Alex Ferguson. The club have endured some major troughs in the past 12-and-a-half years, with the odd fleeting peak. Where does Amorim rank? Towards the bottom of the list no doubt, but how low?
Not discounting caretakers or interims (Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Ruud van Nistelrooy and now Darren Fletcher have all held that role since 2013) United have had seven managers since Ferguson’s retirement. Ralf Rangnick was an interim but since he was afforded a fair chunk of games, we will include the German.
We will start off with the least shambolic …
Some more emails:
Emmanuel Otiotio says: “Between the generally poor performances and results, the rather abhorrent (too strong a word?) win ratio and the tactical rigidity, [Amorim] has no one else to blame but himself for this outcome. INEOS and their ‘best-in-class’ claims should, however, feel a large brunt of the fan’s rage; this was a farce from Ashworth’s sacking to the incredibly underwhelming business to support a Europa League run and attempt at a respectable league finish last season.
”I’d like to see Xavi appointed, given his propensity for youth, defensive nous and love for wingers. Not sure he’d be happy to return to another ‘super club’ circus so soon anyhow.”
Ben Hennessy adds: “I’m sure plenty will be pleased with this news (some pundits especially), but it seems crazy to blame results when Utd are joint fifth in the table. The Guardian’s own prediction this season was ninth. They’ve beaten Liverpool, Chelsea, Palace and Newcastle, and have lost only twice since 1 October. Just watching them you can see they’re a better team than last year.
“Last season was dross but Amorim warned joining mid-season would be rough – ‘the storm’, he called it. If he’s fallen out with the hierarchy then fair enough; Maresca already learned that’s a fight you ain’t gonna win. But is 14 months really a reasonable timeframe to turn the clunking behemoth that is Manchester United around completely?”
An email has landed in my inbox from Stewart MacNeill, who says: “Clearly the fault lies with the owners and the hierarchy they appointed to carry out their wishes. Until they are replaced no manager will succeed.”
Amorim was INEOS’s first appointment, to be fair Stewart. But it has not gone well. Nor did the appointment of their first-choice director of football, Dan Ashworth, or the first major managerial decision they had to make (keeping Erik ten Hag after the 2024 FA Cup final only to sack him months later).
I’ll get to more of your emails shortly.
What next for Manchester United?
In the short-term Manchester United have announced that Darren Fletcher will take over on interim basis – he will be in the dugout when United take on Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday night.
Fletcher is unlikely be granted the permanent job, however, with the bookmakers currently putting Xavi, Oliver Glasner, Gareth Southgate and Enzo Maresca, among others, at the top of their odds lists.
Or was the writing on the wall at Grimsby in late August, tactics board, not watching the penalties, humiliating cup exit and all that?
Those comments after the Leeds game really spelled the end for Amorim.
I came here to be the manager of Manchester United – not to be the coach of Manchester United. That is clear. I know my name is not Tuchel, Mourinho or Conte but I’m the manager. It’s going to be like this for 18 months or until the board decide to change. I’m not going to quit, I will do my job until another guy is coming here to replace me.
So Amorim leaves Manchester United with a win ratio of less than 39 per cent. He had a record of 1.24 points per game in Premier League matches and lost more games than he won in 2025. It was a fairly miserable tenure.
It is astonishing then that he also leaves with United arguably at their strongest point since his appointment – with those off-field issues and tensions with the hierarchy behind the departures rather than just results. United actually lost just one of Amorim’s final eight games in charge and currently sit sixth in the Premier League, three points off fourth. These were his final five games in charge:
Here’s the story, via Jamie Jackson. Note United’s statement:
With Manchester United sitting sixth in the Premier League, the club’s leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change. This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish. The club would like to thank Ruben for his contribution to the club and wishes him well for the future.
Preamble
Good grief, Ruben Amorim has gone. It seems the combination of poor results, plus an increasingly strained relationship with the Manchester United hierarchy – most notably Jason Wilcox, the director of football, has brought about Amorim’s demise after 14 fairly miserable months as manager.
Those comments after United’s 1-1 draw at Leeds yesterday (Sunday) proved Amorim’s final undoing, with the Portuguese telling his colleagues in United’s recruitment department to “do their job”. United were unwilling to grant Amorim major funds to bolster their squad in this January window. On Friday Amorim had said: “I have the feeling that if we have to play a perfect 3-4-3 we need to spend a lot of money and need time. I’m starting to understand that is not going to happen.”
We will bring you all the fallout from this huge breaking news, go through where it went wrong for Amorim (how long have you got?!) and turn our attention to what comes next for Manchester United. Never a dull day, eh …
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