The fallout from Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat by Tottenham on Sunday continues, with the Red Devils having now lost eight times in the Premier League since Ruben Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in the dugout
Manchester United have hit a stumbling block after suffering their 12th Premier League defeat of the season at the hands of Tottenham on Sunday.
The Red Devils were edged out by a slender 1-0 margin, courtesy of a first-half tap-in from James Maddison, marking Ruben Amorim‘s eighth loss since taking over from Erik ten Hag in October.
Slipping to 15th place in the Premier League standings, United’s rocky season persists as Amorim now turns his focus to an upcoming clash with Everton on Saturday, amid a growing injury crisis.
In the wake of United’s latest setback, here’s the latest news and gossip emanating from Old Trafford.
Cristiano Ronaldo “could teach United forwards”
Teddy Sheringham, ex-Manchester United forward, has suggested the club’s current attacking duo Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee could benefit from some guidance after another goalless performance in the Premier League – their second in succession.
Despite the hefty £107million spent on the pair over the last two transfer windows, neither made a significant dent against Spurs, while Alejandro Garnacho squandered a golden chance to level the score in North London.
With United having failed to secure a new striker during the January window and allowing both Marcus Rashford and Antony to leave on loan, they might be ruing missed opportunities in the transfer market.
Sheringham, who bagged 46 goals in 153 appearances and clinched the Champions League title, reckons Amorim’s squad could pick up a few tips from club icon Cristiano Ronaldo, after the Al-Nassr ace proposed to mentor Kylian Mbappe.
Sheringham shared his thoughts with finaria.it, saying: “It’s interesting that he says that he would be the perfect coach for Mbappe, because obviously he turned from a flimsy little tricky little winger to a phenomenal goal scorer.
“He scores all sorts of goals. Right foot, left foot, long range, short range, angles, free kicks, headers. So starting out, if you’d have said 23 years ago that you’ll have that amount of goals, he’d have thought you were joking because he was a winger.
“Then he realised he could score goals, and he adapted his game to score even more. Mbappe’s not really a centre forward is he? He doesn’t stand up there like Michael Owen or Robbie Fowler, poaching goals. He plays on the left wing and cuts in, bit like Thierry Henry. He scores his goals like that.
“Phenomenal players. So perhaps he could teach Mbappe something, but I’m sure he’d want to be standing on the touchline – as a striker coach like I was – I bet he wouldn’t do it for the money that I got at West Ham. He could probably teach the boys at Manchester United a thing or two as well.”
“18 more months of pain”
Following yet another defeat for United this season, it was only a matter of time before the pundits piled on.
Gary Neville has already criticised Amorim’s tactics, likening them to those seen in an Under-9s game, and now Jamie Redknapp has painted a bleak picture for the Red Devils’ future.
Since his arrival in October, Amorim has been trying to instil a specific 3-4-3 system, but his players seem to be struggling to adapt, as evidenced by their lacklustre performances so far.
While some believe that United could thrive under Amorim once the players fully grasp their roles, Redknapp warns that it might take a while for the team to bounce back from their current slump – he even predicts their struggles could persist for another 18 months.
“For what it’s worth on Amorim, I like him,” he shared with Sky Sports. “I think he’s got something about him. And I totally get the performances haven’t been good enough.
“But I actually like what he’s doing more off the field than actually what he’s doing on the pitch. Because that club needs a change of culture. I see Man United as having still much more pain, even 18 months more pain, because they need to get rid.
“Whoever’s been in charge or even managers have gone so far and then they’re panicked and then they’ve gone and bought 30-year-old players that aren’t going to maybe take the club any further forward. I think now they have to take their time.
“They’re trying to get… Jermain [Defoe] mentioned getting best in class. People like Jason Wilcox, they’ve got the guy from Manchester City, the CEO there. They’re trying to do things slowly and I think that’s how they have to do it.”
Amorim “doesn’t understand what he’s doing”
Speculations are rife that Amorim might be on the chopping block just four months into his tenure at Sporting Lisbon, as United players exhibit a continued lack of control and composure.
Following a string of unsuccessful attempts to strike a victorious streak at Old Trafford, Amorim confessed his role is “so hard” and hasn’t shied away from airing his frustrations about his team’s performances.
The Portuguese manager infamously referred to his squad last month as “the worst in the history of Manchester United”, a statement from which he later distanced himself.
Amorim isn’t new to provoking reactions with bold statements, having previously blasted Marcus Rashford by stating he’d prefer to have his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach on the bench instead of the England forward.
Pundit Micah Richards has criticised Amorim for making his job tougher by courting controversy in the press with his remarks, suggesting on The Rest is Football podcast that Amorim “doesn’t understand what he is doing”.
Richards pointed out, “When he said this is the worst team in United history, whatever quotes he wants to use, what he doesn’t understand is that’s a headline every single week.
“If he doesn’t like a player, if he doesn’t like Rashford, that’s his decision. We can accept that as pundits, that’s your decision, we respect your decision.
“But all the other stuff around it he’s actually making it harder for himself. He doesn’t understand what he’s doing because everything is chaos. It’s chaotic.”