Manchester United Manager: The Hardest Job in the World

MANCHESTER, TUESDAY - The dismissal of Ruben Amorim proves that the position of manager at Manchester United is the hardest job in the world. Already burdened with high expectations, the manager was not given adequate support and time. The club's disorientation in the INEOS era has become the root of the biggest problems.

For the second time in two consecutive seasons, MU has dismissed a coach in the middle of the season. Amorim has become the latest victim, following Erik ten Hag's experience last season. They were ousted during the leadership of Jim Ratcliffe, who is the owner of INEOS, a petrochemical company that holds minority shares and manages the operations of MU.

The future of the "Red Devils" has once again become uncertain. The major project that began with the appointment of Amorim in November 2024 is now in ruins. They will start their journey from scratch again with interim coach Darren Fletcher, who is the coach of the U-18 academy team and a former midfielder of MU.

They need to recruit a manager who fits the club's DNA. An experienced manager who is willing to play fast, entertaining, attacking, and aggressive football.

Fletcher will make his Premier League debut at Burnley's Turf Moor Stadium on Thursday (January 8, 2026) at 3:15 a.m. WIB. According to The Athletic, Fletcher is likely to lead the team until the end of the season. The club's management is taking a cautious approach and will appoint a permanent manager in the summer.

"This experiment needs to end. Amorim has a very different style of football to what United expect. They need to hire a manager who fits the club's DNA. An experienced manager who wants to play fast, entertaining, attacking and aggressive football," former United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports.

Neville's comments are often unfounded and inconsistent. However, this time, he is correct. The appointment of Amorim is a failed experiment by the club. The club's management recruited a 40-year-old coach with various questionable aspects, ranging from a lack of experience to the use of a 3-4-3 formation.

In this context, MU had just invested nearly 200 million pounds sterling (approximately Rp 4.5 trillion) to bring in six players in the summer of 2024. The investment was aimed at Ten Hag, who employed a four-defender system. However, Ten Hag was subsequently dismissed in November, four months after his contract was extended. Amorim came in to take over the squad.

The reality does not align with Ratcliffe's statements. In February 2024, during the transition of club management, he assured that MU would remain consistent with the agreed-upon plans. "We will agree on the right style for MU and the appropriate coach for that. If not, you will keep changing everything. When you change coaches, the squad has to change again," he stated.

Amorim's main complaint is regarding support in the transfer market. He is unable to bring in players to support his 3-4-3 system. Amorim realizes that his role at the club is limited to that of head coach, not manager as initially agreed. The management seems to be forcing him to play with a four-defender formation that is more suited to the squad's character.

Interestingly, INEOS brought in Amorim with full awareness of the potential shift to a 3-4-3 system. The former sporting director of MU, Dan Ashworth, had questioned the appointment of Amorim. Ultimately, Ashworth was dismissed in December 2024, just five months after joining the "Red Devils."

Under Fletcher, MU is likely to revert to a four-defender formation. The coach is accustomed to using the 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formation with the "Red Devils" youth team. He is also a direct pupil of the most influential manager in MU's history, Sir Alex Ferguson, who adhered to a four-defender system.

The future of MU appears increasingly bleak when considering the broader trends. INEOS also manages two other clubs, namely OGC Nice (France) and FC Lausanne-Sport (Switzerland). At these two clubs, coaching changes have become a seasonal schedule. They have never committed long-term to a single coach.

INEOS has taken over Lausanne since 2017. Since then, they have been led by eight different coaches. On average, there has been one coach each season. At Nice, since INEOS arrived in 2019, there have also been eight different coaches. Nice coincidentally just dismissed coach Franck Haise at the end of the year, a week before Amorim.

Time constraints also haunt the next coach or manager of MU. In fact, time is the most crucial element for fixing a club, especially one that has been in decline for a long time like the "Red Devils." Without it, as Ratcliffe once stated, MU will be trapped in an endless cycle.

Regardless of that, Amorim did not help to be retained for a longer period. The performance and results of Bruno Fernandes and his teammates have been unimpressive. In 63 matches under Amorim's leadership, MU has only won 24 times. This win ratio of 31.9 percent is the lowest among all permanent coaches of MU.

The coach from Portugal has also often misbehaved during press conferences. He has been provoked several times by questions from the media. At a club as large as MU, the challenge of managing expectations from the media is indeed very heavy. Moreover, Amorim has never experienced such scrutiny in the Portuguese League.

All these challenges make the job of the MU manager very difficult. It is evident that no one has succeeded in overcoming these challenges since Sir Alex's departure in 2013. From the experienced coach Jose Mourinho, the talented young coach Amorim, to former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, all have fallen victim. (AP/REUTERS)