He'll get the summer... but Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim will be gone by Christmas

There could be no more apt way for Ruben Amorim’s first season at Manchester United to conclude than via their limp Europa League final defeat to Tottenham.

The stoppable force met the movable object in Bilbao, and it was hard to see exactly how either team would score a goal. That it came from a cross that bounced in the area, hit Luke Shaw and was scrappily turned in by Brennan Johnson was fitting.

From there, Ange Postecoglou in an unusual show of pragmatism stuck 11 men behind the ball with United’s blunt attack unable to find a way through.

Manchester United’s season clung to hopes of European glory. While for Tottenham it was about ending a 17-year drought, for United it was about the short- and long-term future of the club.

The money from the UEFA Champions League, and the ability to attract the sufficient players, hinged on beating Tottenham. That they didn’t now throws everything up in the air.

With the UEFA Champions League, United could have spent the money Amorim needs to sufficiently bolster his squad.

Without it, United are going to have to rely on Amorim’s coaching to get them out of this mess, and it’s something there’s been no evidence he can do in his six months at Old Trafford.

Bruno Fernandes recently – alarmingly – revealed that Amorim was surprised at how competitive Ipswich Town were in his opening fixture, and it goes a long way to explaining the Portuguese’s woes. While people think the wealth gap between top and bottom in the Premier League is big, it's much bigger in Portugal.

Sporting CP, the second-highest spenders in the league, have a wage bill five times that of the 15th-highest spenders. In the Premier League, Manchester United are the second-highest spenders and yet have a wage bill less than three times that of the 15th-highest team.

Amorim’s system might work where your players are much better than the opposition every week – similar to what Erik ten Hag experienced at Ajax – and your wing-backs are able to play higher and you’re able to overwhelm opponents and build confidence. In the Premier League, the gap is much smaller, hence their struggles against anyone who didn’t go on to be relegated.

Amorim has overseen 31 matches against English opponents this season and has won seven of them. Those wins came against Everton, Manchester City, Southampton, Fulham, Ipswich and Leicester twice.

Ignoring the results against the relegated teams who they won’t have the fortune of playing again next term, it’s three wins in 27 games. For context, in their last 27 games against non-relegated opposition, Leicester have won the same three times.

The damning league table since Amorim's arrival

Sean Dyche recently said that he'd have won more games if he'd been the manager of Manchester United. It sounded like something you immediately roll your eyes at, but after a moment's consideration, you realised it was true. The law of averages suggests United should have won more than they have. It feels hard not to even fluke a couple more wins than the seven they've mustered.

Amorim has shown an element of adaptability, making things difficult for the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, taking a respectable six points from five meetings with the Premier League’s elite, but Amorim was brought in to introduce a style of play that could see United compete with the best teams and beat the rest.

Manchester United can’t sack Amorim now. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has spoken highly of the young coach, and in fairness to Amorim, he is clearly a very talented operator who will likely replicate his Sporting CP success, just not at Old Trafford.

United need to back the manager as best they can in the summer, but therein lies the second big issue for the club.

To go along with them not having a manager who’s able to implement a winning system with his squad, they’ve got a recruitment team who aren’t able to improve the squad.

Matthijs de Ligt is a solid enough defender, and Leny Yoro may well go on to become an excellent centre-back.

Manuel Ugarte is a fine defensive midfielder, but not good enough on the ball to be a regular in a midfield two for a team competing for Europe.

Patrick Dorgu has impressive physical attributes but it’s still too early to judge what his long-term contribution will be. Joshua Zirkzee has a fairly unique skill set but goalscoring is categorically not part of it, while Noussair Mazraoui has largely impressed and shown good versatility.

But United spent over £200m to get that. They’re now about to sanction a £62.5m move for Matheus Cunha, who’s a very talented footballer but again does not significantly improve the team. With so little money to spend – Ratcliffe said the club was close to going bust by Christmas, remember, and that was before failing to qualify for the UEFA Champions League – how does this crack recruitment team sign that deal off?

If the recruitment isn’t good enough – which current evidence suggests it’s not – they need a coach who can develop the players beyond their level, which begs the question of what Amorim and his staff are doing on the training pitch.

The likes of Goncalo Inacio and Ousmane Diomande will be being observed by Europe’s top clubs and we’re all fully aware of what Viktor Gyokeres has turned into in Portugal, but it’s not happening at Old Trafford.

Rasmus Hojlund, a capable goalscorer who’d likely score 15 goals playing for a decent Serie A side, looks like he’d rather be anywhere but a football pitch right now. There are Championship sides wouldn’t have him based on his efforts over the last few months.

Besides Amad Diallo, who was clearly a very talented youngster, hence United splashing out £30m for him when they did, Amorim is yet to have a positive impact on his players.

So with a squad that won’t be significantly improved in the summer, how do United get themselves out of this mess?

In a backwards way, no European football may help, allowing more time on the training ground, less fatigue and in theory, fewer injuries, which have certainly affected United this season. It gives Amorim even more time to work on his playing style, even if the first six months have yielded no results.

But there’s no evidence that with any amount of time, Amorim’s current system – nor what will be a barely improved squad – will be enough to secure even a top-half finish let alone anything better.

United fans have shown plenty of patience with Amorim, but if results don’t turn around quickly – and there’s little to suggest they will – it will be time for another uncomfortable conversation.

Liam Williams

• Manchester United F.C.
• Premier League
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