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Will Amorim Win The Europa?

Will Amorim Win The Europa?

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It’s nearly time for Manchester United, for those players that wear the shirt to step up at a time where it really matters. The club has a lot riding on success and winning the Europa League. I get the impression that they should at the very least be ‘fighting’ in the spirit of Manchester United to repay the fans for their support this season.

After all, when you can come back against Lyon in the manner we did it says everything. Of course, it was ten men and of course, we’re having to take all the wins at a time where the reality is we are where we are with Manchester United and the club as a whole. We wouldn’t be fans of this great football club if we didn’t think about how we should continue the fight in this campaign. It’s make or break time and it could even potentially affect the quality of players we sign. Of course, the club will say, Manchester United can attract any football player out there. However, we haven’t been at such a low in such a long time.

What it all signifies to me is that if Amorim can get us to the final, anything is possible. As fans, we’ve been let down by the club’s antics over the years. Not just in how they’ve treated staff around the club that’ve been loyal in order to facilitate the survival of Manchester United. A forceful balancing of the books due to an ownership that has hindered us throughout the years and put that on us through their own negligence. We all know about those problems, but the stage is set, and I hope that this team can actually deliver where they’ve underperformed in the Premier League this season (an understatement). I want to say, things will only get better, but at the same time, the future is uncertain. It’s so important that Amorim delivers this Europa, but even if he doesn’t quite make it over the line. It’s important we support him as he endeavors to right the wrongs on the football side. To deliver a football team that can deliver on all fronts. To mould his own team. There is no doubt in my mind, his season, begins next season and when we come to the end. In that moment, all will be assessed on where we are.

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it wasn’t, but at the same time, you have to build the very foundations in order to get there in the first place. That’s non-negotiable. Football can change very quickly, where one team is winning everything, suddenly they’re not, this league in particular is one of the most competitive leagues in the world and the toughest to win. Obviously, Liverpool have equalled our total and overtaken us in the cups won. We have to accept the harsh reality of that, but at the same time, Manchester United as a club needs to make sure that it’s building towards and fighting towards its own goals and getting back to a level that befits us. Unfortunately, we’re doing that at a time when we really do not have the greatest of stability around the club. Where INEOS is on trial to illustrate that the decisions it made earlier where for the benefit and not the detriment. It’s that which makes me wonder if I’ll see Manchester United ever win something that merits where the fans want us all to be again.

At the same time, as much as it pains me to see our rivals being successful when everyone thought the wheels would fall off. I don’t begrudge it, because any team that wins this league deserves too, because the table does not lie. Having said that, I’ve also always said that the Premier League needs a competitive us, a strong Manchester United. In fact, nobody can ever stop talking about us whether it’s negatively, positively or else. It’s just a simple fact of who we are and always will be.

We’re going to see just how much fight is in this team this Thursday. Just how much they learnt from the Lyon game. It really could define what we can do next season in the transfer window. That’s why our season isn’t over and ultimately, why I defined us as a cup team. Amorim’s task now? Somehow win the Europa, boost his budget, and then take steps forward into building something for next season. In the hope that there might, just might, be a way forward on the basis of all the pain we’re having to endure right now. It’s up to us as Manchester United fans, to be patient, and allow him next season at the very least, to at least, try to put us on a path and restore some faith with the match goers who just want to see us play the United way again.

This Thursday, couldn’t be a bigger game for us. The stage is certainly set.

All Or Nothing

All Or Nothing

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Well, here we are. As Manchester United fans, has there ever been a lower point? Well, not since the 60s apparently. So for most of us probably not. For those that are aware of what we’ve been through. It is situations like this where those sorts of people and their support count for something. After all, they’re still supporting through the good and bad. That’s something we could all learn from.

We’re in a state of ‘not being able to win’ no matter what we do. We can support the club, we can support each other that are supporting Manchester United. We can get behind the fact that the Premier League is a low bar in every regard and that we shouldn’t just be this Europa team to appease the commercial entity side of the club. We back Manchester United because of performances that the players put in against in the Europa. That was a shining example of the ‘level’ in performance we need to see week in and week out. We can celebrate the result, the manner of it, because it’s glorious, and is a throwback to our past in a way. When grit and determination was instilled in the very fabric of our club.

In the back of my mind. It helps the Glazers because this is exactly the competition they would want us to win. I want Manchester United to win, of course I do, but something in my mind is saying to me, if this the standard we’re going to be setting just so we can achieve our aims and pencil off a few ticks here and there. When ultimately, we shouldn’t ever have been put in this situation in the first place. Sure, you celebrate the wins when you have them, but I cannot celebrate the situation when we’re having to choose between Europa and Premier League performances. It’s just insanity but also the reality and I am fully aware of that.

We’re Manchester United fans first, so I support the club in the way I wish to support them. I do not have to bow down to those who want me to support the club in the moral esteemed compass that they’ve set for me. No matter if the very definition of our support differs. Ultimately, we’re Manchester United fans first and that will always come first.

I do believe though, Amorim is getting a real tune out of two really important players out of the club. Fernandes and Ugarte. Players he knows well. The style of play is there, we see it in motion. It’s just he has one player to try and pull off a whole system right now that he’s brought in. That’s never going to change anything or bring the real change that everyone aspires to. That’s why the investment needs to be there. The only way we get that is through the Europa and winning that competition. If anything, it illustrates to me just how important this summer is for us. However, how many times have we said this and how many are getting sick of it as well?

We want Manchester United to be competing in the way we want them to be. However, football is something that happens in cycles. This football club has been run into the ground by the Glazers. So essentially it was a cycle that should never have been a thing in the first place. Now, we have INEOS picking up the slack. A lot of it, in the hope that a phoenix can somehow rise out of all of this. As fans, we’re hoping it will work because if it doesn’t it could get worse unless the Glazer ownership ends. It’s like we’re in a rock and a hard place right now so any chance we can get where we can take the wins, we will.

However, nobody in football has had a more despised ownership than us. Well, maybe Newcastle did. But look at how they’re now thriving because the club was sold on. It’s all great in hindsight of course, but I just overall dislike what has been happening over the course of the last ten or more years and we’ve been steadily declining, yet, we hold on to ‘hope’. If it goes our way Amorim is immortal. If it all goes wrong, then this could get really messy fast.

It’s a lot of pressure for a young manager that’s come in and not had much of a chance to tinker the team to his liking nor a pre-season. That was forced upon by our higher ups in the first place. In fact, even in the 60s at least we still had some reasonable stability and people knew (theoretically) what the hell they were doing.

I am hoping for the best. I am hoping we can win, I know the implications if we don’t and I know how bad that is for Manchester United as a whole. The Glazers though? Essentially they may get what they want again and that pains me somewhat. It’s an internal battle being a Manchester United fan right now and I am sure you all can relate.

Stick by this manager though, because he’s one of us. It really is all or nothing now and whatever happens I will continue to support this manager because he’s the only one that truly gets where we’re at in this moment.

We're a Business, Your The Product

We’re a Business, Your The Product

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Manchester United are not where we want them to be as a fanbase. Yet some are treating it like we have a divine right to be successful. We want success so badly, and we’ve been starved so long that we’re forgetting where we are and that it’s going to be a sprint, not a marathon, with the resources we actually have due to the absolute appalling way the Glazers have mishandled and treated us like a business with no regard to the traditions and standards that were set prior to them.

You look at it, and we’re not going to compete unless we make the tough decisions, and we have to accept short-term pain for (hopefully) long-term gain because we have no other choice under this ownership. It is absolutely clear to me that we’re trying to change things in and around the club. However, it’s the same ownership, and the years of mishandling the club have finally caught up to us. We’re finding out exactly the state the club is in, not just financially but also in terms of the absolute abysmal recruitment strategy and handling of wages.

At a point now, things have to change for the good of the club. It cannot be run the way it currently is. We have never had so many players who think that they’re above the club. That they think just because they earn a high wage they have a divine right to play, and that has created the toxic culture within. You look at Amorim, and the decisions he has made have been good ones, even if you’re unsure of his system. The fact is, he is unable to play the football he wants with the current crop of players, and he’s now having to build within getting rid of players that aren’t fit to be at Manchester United.

The trajectory of success is never guaranteed under anybody running the ship. It’s even a more impossible task when you have the track record of owners that we now have at Manchester United. Things could have been so much different if we just had Qatai and the money that would’ve cleared the debt. I feel that half of that is true, because the resources would’ve really helped. However, the recruitment and the structure around the club have been abysmal, and we cannot ignore that either. The Manchester United we knew has gone. It’s now up to Amorim to try and bring it back under a new identity and a new culture of outstanding young talent on the football side. Ultimately, with one hand tide behind his back.

I wrote an article saying that the club is in a mess. That the trophies we have won have only masked the problems. We’re a Cup team right now. However, our rivals have been in the same position as us. We’re victims of the huge success we had under Fergie. However, I think it’s because, in terms of fans, we’re the most represented also, and any owner can monetize that to its full extent. We have to try and find a balance. We have to try and keep the faith in these difficult times. After all, it’s not only us who have been through them. The optics do not look good by any stretch of the imagination. However, this new stadium could be a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of renewal to the club and the surrounding area.

We have to accept that we’re being run as a business and we’re the product, and we also have to accept that if we want change, it has to come from within us also as fans. Otherwise, it could be a long road ahead of us back to recovery and getting our football club back.

Our Focus

Our Focus

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Manchester United have a tough game today against Brighton. Granted, we’re at home. However, I do not think that counts for anything these days going on past inconsistences. However, when you have an absolute gem in Amad. Let’s be honest with ourselves. He’s everything that a Manchester United player should work to be. He’s worked hard; he shows that on the pitch, and he’s even proved a few doubters wrong as well.

We’re in a tough league, so a victory is not guaranteed today. We have to respect the opposition but build on the confidence of previous results. I think the fans will get behind all the effort that is being shown. Does this team need to do more collectively? Absolutely. However, I think an unsung hero has been Harry Maguire in that back three in defence.

With all the talk about some of our youngest talents going, I think the club would do an injustice to itself if it didn’t continue it’s roots of improving them. If anything, it just shows that we need better, more experienced people around them. If we can get to the summer, it’s going to be crucial because the outgoings could be significant, especially as Amorim has tried and tested different combinations this season.

I also think that the youth coming through the academy is going to be significant as well. There is going to be more pain this season, but hopefully that’s a precursor to next season being a time where we can build the team Amorim obviously needs.

At the moment, we’re just getting through and going through the motions. Amorim has not only spoken well, but he’s already discovering the problems that he needs to fix going forward. That includes getting players who can play his system in an effective way.

I would take a run in the Europa League over the FA Cup. I think the latter is actually more important to us and significant for our plans next summer and for the overall health of the club. However, if we can march on and get the results needed to finish this season, respectively, in the Premier League. I think that could really shape where we go next, absolutely.

The Start of Something?

The Start of Something?

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Without a shadow of a doubt, we put in a performance against Liverpool yesterday. As a team, we have to realise that we have to be up for the fight in every game, not just the big ones, because you show more character in doing that than anything else. Not only that, but it also showed just how much better we are when we have Bruno and Ugarte in there. Can this be the start of something, or will it be the same cycle?

We put a lot of work in today; give Amorim a week to train, and then we’re more than capable of getting better. That’s the takeaway I got from this and the fact the players cared about getting something at a really difficult place in Anfield. We have to respect Liverpool for where they are. They are the best team right now. But also, we have to show up for ourselves and be up for the fight, and now it’s all about bringing that consistently into every game. If we start doing that, we climb up the table.

It’s a great start to the New Year. We must keep believing in Amorim and get to that summer transfer window, or, even better, if we can do something this month. I trust the idea, and to be quite honest with you, for Amorim to get a point at Anfield in our current circumstances is nothing short of ‘something’.

Those past performances were horrendous. But today, we brought that performance level up, and we need to do that every game until the end of the season. Amorim deserves a summer transfer window. We must get climbing up that table even if we’re still in the cups. A performance like that gives you momentum to do just that.

 

The Story Continues...

The Story Continues…

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It’s 2025; the outlook for Manchester United is not looking all that for this season. We have to acknowledge that. So why has it gotten this bad? Who do we blame for it being this bad? Manchester United are fighting to save it’s soul and it’s identity. The club we once were is not there anymore. Not just in terms of success or significant trophies but on the entire magnitude of just where we’re at.

We have players at the club that are not at the level needed, nor do they inspire confidence. We’ve recruited badly due to an ownership that has no knowledge of how to run a football club. You look at INEO’s coming in, and the situation is still the same. Because the Glazers are the ones still calling the shots and commercially benefiting from one billion Manchester United fans that are travelling and buying shirts.

There is no other club other than Manchester United that would allow this to happen. We’re victims of our past success with Sir Alex Furguson. Because ultimately, what is continuing to happen is a cycle of running the club like a business. It’s not the football club it used to be. That’s even with the supposed footballing people at the top. Nothing has changed. Nothing will change until we’re taken over again and we’re not run as a major asset anymore. An asset that is being milked and drained for everything it has and saddled in debt that is nearing bankruptcy. If you think that is neive, then think again; we’re looking at not buying anyone in the transfer window and are using the same excuses for it.

That’s a big problem, because yes, we spent £600 million on recruitment in the past, but not a lot of it was spent well. We’ve been sacking people left right and centre, and the mismanagement in the entireity is mostly evident in everything we’ve had to do recently to make up for those costly mistakes. So even as a business, the conclusion to that is they’re not any good at that either. It’s a circus, and the clowns are continuing to run the show.

Of course, Manchester United fans are upset with the ownership. We wouldn’t be fans otherwise. This is not your average everyday run-of-the-mill ownership. This leveraged buyout wouldn’t happen today. There are no excuses for the kind of stuff that’s been happening at Manchester United recently. It doesn’t matter who owns us; the story continues until real change happens to our owners and we’re not mismanaged.

We’ve all witnessed as fans what is happening. It’s not just about a football team doing rubbish anymore. The culture has become poisoned to the core in every department of that club, and we’ve become a poisoned chalice for any manager to undertake. We can continue to blame the players on the field, or we can start realising what the real problem has always been. We are here because of years of neglect to a football institution that deserves a hell of more respect than what it’s getting. Yes, we have players that are not up to task and are not playing for the shirt. That’s one part of the culture you need to reset. The only way you do that is by removing those that do not want to be part of the project going forward.

People are talking about relegation, and on form it looks that way. But to be honest, I’ll support Manchester United no matter what league we’re in. This club is adored by the ones that matter. Ultimately, if it does happen, it could be the reset we need to finally remove the problems at the club. No matter what, though, Manchester United will always remain, no matter what happens next. After all, being united is all we will ever know. We owe it to ourselves to do all we can as fans to continue to back Amorim and call out every decision that makes his job more difficult in the long run.

Will Amorim Be Fully Backed?

Will Amorim Be Fully Backed?

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The result yesterday was not good reading and with three of our six games coming up against top six sides. This could get really ugly fast. Of course, we need to remain positive. However, I am getting the impression that even when Erik Ten Hag won us two trophies. That short-term success might have come at a bigger cost than we initially thought.

Whoever we want to blame. You cannot blame the manager this time. We need to back Amorim and start anew. The way Manchester United has been ran in what was the Woodward era is now bearing it’s horns. And of course, football happens in cycles. That much is clear also. At the same time though, we need to begin the work in January, no excuses. We’re going to have to offload many that we’ve recently bought as well. Simply because of the fact they’re not good enough.

Training and patterns of play are only going to get us so far. The goalkeeping mistake today summed up the level. Overall, the performances of a lot of these players weren’t up to scratch. Rasmus and Amad have been the stand outs for me overall under Amorim so far. There is no creativity and the lack of being able to pass the ball across the pitch. It’s obvious, that more training is required to reach the level acceptable. Some players might not make it with us and might need to be moved on.

We’re going to need to offload a lot of highly inflated wages. Do INEO’s have the means to put their full support behind this project? Correcting all the errors that have been made under the previous regime? Or will the cracks start showing with the Glazer’s? This could get much worse before it gets better.

 

 

Amorim's The Man

Amorim’s The Man

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There is something different about Amorim. I’ve been listening to him speak again and again over several news conferences now and each time I have come away impressed with what I’ve heard from him. He not only reads the game so well but his handling of the media with his insightful takes and knocking back with the knowledge he has in-stored within him. It’s impressive.

It’s not just us though, everyone else seems to be understanding. The way he’s trying to setup the team. There is also a consideration that we’re not a great team and that it’s going to take time. However, the patterns of play are there even if we cannot utilize the system in the best way because the players aren’t there to do that (yet).

I spoke about there needing to be an identity and an idea. That imprint has been there in a couple of games now. The results are not there as of yet but the idea is. What we can take away from that is we’re moving forward. He likely knows his best eleven now. But at the same time, he will not want to sit idle in the transfer market. If we’re serious we need to back him in the positions where we need strength in depth to field a team that befits what we need going against different opposition.

He’s not a magician, but what he has showed is that his coaching ability and his knowledge of the game for one so young is second the none. That is promising and now we need to see the results so we can start to move up the table.

Reality did bite when we were against Arsenal. They’re much better than us right now. Of course, there are a lot of teams that are. However, if we can continue this progress and build a team around the ideas of this coach. There is no reason why this will not be the real rebuild this time around. Unlike some though, we still have trophies to show and unlike some we haven’t been at the top of our game.

Hopefully, we can keep improving steadily over the course of this season and into the next one. We’re all onboard with the vision. That’s for sure.

Where Do We Start?

Where Do We Start?

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If Amorim did not get the message before he became part of this club. Then the onset of the reality at hand must be setting in right now. It’s going to take time and patience. We could say that maybe it’s the players that have always been the issue. Of course, the performance was better. However, the standards need to be higher, much higher. You cannot fault Ipswich; they’re no turnovers. The performance today represented two managers. One that’s had more time and the other that’s only just come through the door.

One could be wondering at this moment. What we saw wasn’t that much different than the previous regime. The time, however, and patience are going to need to be there. There also has to be the understanding that some of the players probably have a lot of work left to transition to the style of play. The only way that Amorim gets this team playing better overall is when there are more players that are able to play the system the way he wants them to. It’s obvious that they’re not fully able to do that right now. That’s the disadvantage right now of the club. The disadvantage of supporting Erik Ten Hag with 600+ signings. Ones that Amorim is going to have to try and get the best out of.

You do not take a club to first place in one day. It took Sir Alex six years to build. The problem with that is we’ve been saying that for the last several managers. It has to be a real change this time. However, what I take from this is that going into the future, the way we recruit is going to have to be without error. The only time you can make something better is if you invest in the current situation as well. That match today started off well. However, once you’ve scored, you have to then take the initiative. If you don’t do that, you invite the opposing team on you. It’s going to be interesting how we develop and if we can erdicate that from our game. That’s the enormous task that Amorim has on what might even be a modest budget.

The main thing we do is support the team and Amorim in the way we know how and give them that time. I do, however, feel that INEO’s are going to need to continue to invest. I am sure they’re aware of that, but also some of the outgoings are crucial as well, especially if Amorim cannot get what he wants out of them.

Amorim Will Be Judged On Our Identity

Amorim Will Be Judged On Our Identity

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It’s not surprising that we do not have anything to spend in January. I think the reason for it is just how much we’ve spent recently. It’s not an unsubstantial amount by any stretch of the imagination. Manchester United spent 600+ on Erik Ten Hag signings. Amorim is going to have to come in and work with what he has. The thing he will be judged on is how he utilizes that team to a style of play.

That’s the most important thing for him to establish. I think that just because there is no money in January, I don’t think that he won’t be supported in the long-term. As we know, Sir Jim even stated as much at his ‘boat race’ event. He realizes that in order to win things you actually need to compete and invest in the team to make it better. There are no short fixes here. The problem we’ve had is we’ve just not had an identity in what seems like a long time. You think about the core players and how Amorim can work with them to improve and get them firing on all cylinders again? Then you look at the five promising youngsters that he has to mould into even better players than they are right now. It’s going to be a lot of work and we’re going to need to have patience here.

That’s what Amorim will be judged on in the long-term. Our identity of the future. Of course, the results as well. If anything, though, and I cannot ethicize this enough. We need to make sure we support this manager and give him the best foundations to build from. For as many transfer windows as it takes and for however long it takes to clear out those that don’t have a future here.

There will be unsettling results and blips in the road. All of this is not something we haven’t experienced before. If, however, we find that we can garner a level of consistency in our identity and the way we move forward as a club. Anything is possible as long as we get behind Manchester United as a whole.