Is Ruben Amorim Naive?

I think it’s fair to say that Ruben Amorim’s first 114 days as manager of Manchester United have not gone to plan.

He introduced his bold managerial ideals that saw him given the job in his very first press conference, where he somewhat bravely stated that he was “determined to do something special in a special club.”

However, since his appointment in early November, very little has been done to fulfil that promise. While outstanding wins against Manchester City in the League and Arsenal in the FA Cup earn him more than a bit of credit, the Red Devils’ results against mid to lower table teams have led some to label this crop of Manchester United players as the “worst in 51 years”, a chastening comparison to the relegated side of 1974.

Rúben Amorim was a mile away while the #mufc players were warming up for training this morning 😂pic.twitter.com/DnksqIMUrP

— UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) March 5, 2025

The latest blow to Amorim’s plans came in the FA Cup, where a stubborn, gritty Fulham side bested United at their home ground, albeit via penalties, leaving the Europa League as Amorim’s only realistic avenue to European football next season.

However, in spite of the poor result, Amorim’s post-match press conference was upbeat, and he even went on record with the fact his ultimate goal is to win the club its first Premier League title since 2013 …. though obviously not this season.

This outlandish statement in the face of defeat was apparently a step too far for former club captain and ex-Plymouth Argyle manager Wayne Rooney, who branded the Portuguese coach “naive” for setting such lofty targets while the club is underperforming.

But to what extent is Rooney’s harsh labelling of Amorim true? United have been inconsistent at best for more than a decade now, with just one second placed finish to show for their rebuilding efforts after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson. So is it solely Amorim’s fault?

Let’s take a closer look at the stats.

Man United Managers' Points Per Game (PPG)

The numbers don’t lie; with the exception of Ralf Rangnick, Amorim boasts the worst points per game record of any permanent coach since Sir Alex Ferguson vacated his Old Trafford throne. In fairness, he has had the fewest games out of everyone in this data set, but the trend is certainly worrying.

At the other end of the scale, Jose Mourinho has been the most successful manager since 2013, notching 1.97 PPG, and winning 50 of his 93 league games in charge, adding extra gloss with the glint of the Europa League, League Cup and Community Shield he won in his time in Manchester.

Mourinho, Ten Haag and Van Gaal, despite their various failing and short-coming in their stints at Old Trafford, can at least boast that they are the only United managers to pick up silverware in the last decade, with Ten Haag’s FA Cup win at the end of last season the most recent success.

I support Amorim and don’t want him sacked at all. This is on the players. But I’ve no doubt that under Ten Haag we’d be higher up the league. He was never the problem. #bbcfootball

— Matt (@mattharding007) February 22, 2025

However, in the league, they only came close under Mourinho, finishing second in 2018, and still 19 points behind Man City’s centurions.

Amorim has come no closer to dispelling the allegations of a team past their prime and in need of a complete turnover in personnel, losing nine of his opening 24 matches, including against Crystal Palace, Wolves and Bournemouth, and of course most recently their disheartening penalty defeat to Fulham.

However, while their win percentage has certainly dropped under Amorim, how has their record in front of goal been affected?

Manchester United Goal Record

Well, things haven’t really improved on that front either to be honest, with Amorim’s United averaging 1.5 goals per game in all competitions. For comparison, his predecessor Ten Haag managed to get his side cruising at 1.8 per game, so things have taken a downturn in front of goal as well as in terms of results.

£72 million man Rasmus Hojlund has failed to score in 18 games, and has netted just 7 in 35 games all season, while summer signing Joshua Zirkzee is faring little better, scoring just once in 2025.

pic.twitter.com/n6QtrQdycd

— Amorim Out Of Context (@AmorimOoc) March 5, 2025

Added to that, Marcus Rashford has left for Aston Villa on loan after falling out with Amorim, taking his usual steady flow of goals with him, while Amad Diallo, United’s standout player under Amorim, is out injured for the rest of the season.

Antony's move to Real Betis sums up the situation in front of goal perfectly. Unable to buy a goal for love or money under Amorim, the Brazlian's loan move to La Liga has seen him thrive, and so far he has three goals, two assists, and three man of the match awards, at one point boasting more goals in February than the entire Man United team combined.

Has their defence shown any kind of improvement?

Man United’s Defence

Unfortunately not. Amorim’s side are conceding almost 1.9 nine goals per game, whereas Ten Haag’s side were conceding a relatively pedestrian 1.4, a defensive record that kept him in charge for the best part of two and a half years.

A lack of familiarity of Amorim’s three at the back system has certainly contributed to this, but individual errors, particularly from goalkeeper and former Champions League runner up Andre Onana, have certainly hindered United to a significant extent.

Watching André Onana in goal for Manchester United makes you appreciate David de Gea even more...pic.twitter.com/nG3XbOatg5

— 𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐢 (@UTDChulo) February 26, 2025

Combining this with recurring injuries to Lisandro Martinez, and now without the experience of United stalwart Jonny Evans, there appears to be no sign that this trend is going to stop any time soon.

Perhaps Amorim is naive. His refusal to move away from his patented system appears to be hurting his team's style of play, and the formation almost seems to be preventing him from stamping his style on the team.

The squad he has at his disposal is clearly not ideal for the Portuguese coach's style of play, and it seems he needs a backup system to trial, just to see if results improve with a different line up.

His repeated trust in Rasmus Hojlund seems misplaced, and in another season, their shoddiness at the back could well have landed them in the thick of a relegation fight. They will be thanking their lucky stars that the bottom three remain way off the pace.

However, most significantly of all, it seems Amorim’s goals are set too high. To come out and say that your eventual goal is to win a Premier League title after a lacklustre performance and subsequent defeat may appear positive and forward thinking, but it is in fact tantamount to delusion given United’s current state of affairs.

Amorim may be one of the most highly rated managers around, but Old Trafford is growing impatient, and if they don’t see tangible progress in the near future, the board may lose patience with him. He will simply turn into another top manager who couldn’t hack it at the theatre of dreams.