The Mystery of MU Changes Promised by Ruben Amorim

MANCHESTER, FRIDAY — After being defeated by the fourth division team, Grimsby Town, Manchester United seems to be at the bottom of the Mariana Trench. They are at their lowest point, unable to sink any further. MU manager Ruben Amorim has no choice but to implement a complete overhaul.

Amorim apologized to the fans after MU was eliminated in the second round of the English League Cup earlier this week. He promised that the "Red Devils" would make up for that disappointment in the match against Burnley at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, on Saturday (30/8/2025) at 21:00 WIB.

Amorim was surprised because MU lost the competition to Grimsby, which is ranked 1,304 in the team rankings according to Opta. "I think this is a bit beyond the limit. I believe there is something that needs to be changed. You can no longer replace 22 players at once (with new players)," he said.

Amorim promised changes by the end of the upcoming weekend. However, no one knows what is on the mind of the man from Portugal. Moreover, there are too many aspects that need improvement for MU at this time, ranging from player composition, opportunity creation in the penalty area, to the scheme for defending set pieces.

In the match against Grimsby, when trailing 0-2, Amorim was seen fiddling with the tactical board on the bench. This activity was highlighted by internet users. Questions arose: if Amorim is so interested in tactical issues, why does he almost exclusively rely on the 3-4-2-1 formation?

MU even continued to employ the three central defender formation when facing Grimsby, which was actually unnecessary. This approach was nearly only effective when competing against larger teams, as seen when MU successfully challenged Arsenal in the opening match of this season.

Amorim has repeatedly stated that formations on paper are not very relevant in modern football. This is because the approach will be very different on the field. This statement is indeed true. Other teams that initially set up in a 4-3-3 formation also often change their structure to three defenders when in possession of the ball.

The problem is that the 3-4-2-1 formation from the start of the match required Amorim to deploy three central defenders simultaneously. MU was therefore forced to subsidize one offensive-type player. Amorim addressed this by placing attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes as one of the two holding midfielders.

This creates a larger domino effect. In addition to being unable to maximize his role as an attacking creator, the captain, who is also less skilled in defense, is often targeted by opponents when he does not have ball possession. This issue was exposed when MU was held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham.

Gary Neville, former MU defender, stated that Amorim must at least change the composition of the two pivots if he wishes to continue playing with the 3-4-2-1 formation. Fernandes should be played again as an attacking midfielder. The anchor position could be assigned to Kobbie Mainoo or Manuel Ugarte.

"If I had any advice, it would be to improve the midfield. You can't play without a midfield. Their three center-backs and two midfielders are very solid when playing close together, but they need the right players. It didn't work with Fernandes and (Mason) Mount," Neville said on The Overlap.

MU has consistently used the same midfield player composition in the first two league matches, namely against Arsenal and Fulham. Fernandes partnered with Casemiro in the anchor position, while Mount teamed up with Bryan Mbeumo behind striker Matheus Cunha.

The complex issues of MU are also evident under the goalpost. Their two goalkeepers, Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir, have become weak points at the back. Bayindir misjudged a corner kick from Arsenal that resulted in the opponent's winning goal. Onana did the same against Grimsby.

According to Opta, since the 2023-24 season, MU goalkeepers have recorded the most blunders leading to goals across all competitions compared to goalkeepers from other Premier League teams (12 times). Onana contributed nine of these. This issue will be difficult to resolve as MU is not actively seeking a new goalkeeper.

Amorim desperately needs positive results if he does not want to share the same fate as the managers who preceded him after the era of Sir Alex Ferguson. Currently, Amorim has recorded the worst win ratio of all "Red Devils" coaches since 2013, standing at 35.6 percent from 45 matches.

Ralf Rangnick, the former interim manager of MU, even recorded a better win ratio compared to Amorim (38 percent). A victory against the promoted team, Burnley, is also essential. With the first three points of the season, Amorim's team can create momentum to rise. (AP/REUTERS)