Before the first loss to Ruben Amorim as Manchester United manager, the Portuguese’s uncompromising “I stand by my game – no matter what”. With a new formation, it quickly became apparent that the United players could not keep up, and the opponents definitely did. Then came “if we don’t stand by changes now, we will move the problems into next season” from the United manager. With 12 defeats and 7 draws in their first 32 games and a Premier League points average of a horribly weak 1.10, the question arises: Why on earth don’t you change the formation (from the back three)?
Before the second leg against Lyon, there was a United manager who showed he does not budge an inch from Plan A.
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“When the club decided to change coach, we had conversations where it was clear what and how we wanted to do things. And we agreed to change things immediately,” Amorim begins in an interview with Stadium Astro.
“And I’m trying… And this is something many people don’t understand. I try a lot of different things during matches. Many people only see that it is a three-back line. But there are many things I try to deal with. For example, I try to make changes to our pressing game and I try to make adjustments to the squad we have now. So I’m trying to do everything,” the United manager continues.
“But what I can’t do is sell my principles and ideas to the players, and then change them as soon as we face adversity. It’s something every player would feel. It’s tough to be in, but in the future it will be an advantage for us that we adhere to these principles,” Amorim explains.
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Sounds like this United ship will either have to go all the way to the top, or sink like a stone next season. For Amorim, there is clearly no middle ground.
All about Manchester United – Lyon
