Man United would be top of the Premier League if it wasn’t for Ruben Amorim
Ruben Amorim has cost Manchester United a genuine shot at this season’s Premier League title.
That’s the view of talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook who has cast an expert eye over the club’s chaotic campaign.
United, led by interim boss Michael Carrick, sit third in the table and are on the cusp of securing their return to the Champions League next season.
They sit 12 points behind title contenders Manchester City and Arsenal however Crook believes it could have been a three-way tussle had Amorim not been in charge of the club this season.
Out the door
The Portuguese was sacked as United head coach in January, just 14 months after his arrival at Old Trafford.
He managed just 24 wins in his 63 games in charge across all competitions, registering a 38.1 per cent win rate – the worst of any United manager since Alex Ferguson’s exit in 2013.
United won just under a third of their League games under Amorim with 15 successes from 47 games with his average of 1.23 points per game – again, the worst of any United manager in the Premier League era.
Contrast that to Carrick who has won eight of his 12 games in charge with two defeats and two draws.
And it’s United’s upturn in form which has seen them beat Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Chelsea in recent weeks, that has prompted Crook to claim the Red Devils had missed an unlikely opportunity to mount a credible title challenge.
“If Michael Carrick was in situ at the start of the season, United would be very much part of this fascinating title race along with City and Arsenal,” Crook told talkSPORT’s Fiery Fridays podcast.
“The previous manager whose name I won’t utter was publicly flawed in terms of his tactics.
“The back three that he deployed cost United a lot of points earlier in the season.
“His refusal to pick Kobbie Mainoo, who I’ve always said is a generational talent and a top midfielder, cost United points.”
Five key fixtures where United blew their title hopes
Crook then selected a host of key fixtures under Amorim where United lost points that would have put them in the driving seat in the title race.
He added: “I’ll go back to the very first game of the season – Manchester United 0-1 Arsenal.
“The common consensus after that game was that United played really well and deserved a share of the spoils.
“They would have got a point that day had the previous manager not decided to put Altay Bayindir in goal.
“Go back to the goal that United conceded.
“Now I know [Andre] Onana’s not the best goalkeeper in the world by any stretch of the imagination but that was a calamity from Bayindir that cost United not just a point but maybe the chance of all three.
“And I got stick from the club at the time because I went on a podcast outside Old Trafford. I called him a clown and somebody senior at United said I’d crossed a line with that comment so I said ‘I wish he’d commanded his line a little bit better and maybe they wouldn’t have lost the first game of the season’.
“Then they go to Fulham the next weekend. They were brilliant for half an hour, then the previous manager put the shackles on, dropping two points in that game.”
Crook continued: “Then I’ll take you forward to a couple of games back-to-back. Nottingham Forest and Tottenham away from home, both drew 2-2 and (Man United were) the better team in both of those games.
“The in-game management was appalling. They ended up going from six points to only two.
“Probably the worst of the lot, 24th November, Monday night live on talkSPORT – Manchester United nil, ten-man Everton one.
“That for me was the nadir of the previous manager, the absolutely lowest of the low. Lower than Grimsby!
“Their players were fighting each other and United managed to lose. It was an abomination.
“If you put all those points together and that’s just taking you up until the end of November, United would have 13 extra points. They’d be top of the Premier League if they just had a half capable manager.
“If they had Michael Carrick, United would be top of the table right now and maybe closing in on title number 21.”
Carrick’s future as Manchester United boss remains unclear although talkSPORT understands the Red Devils have not interviewed anyone else for the job.
Asked if United can continue their trajectory and win the title next season under the guidance of their former Champions League-winning midfielder, Crook believes that he expects the competition to be more fierce than this season meaning a first title since 2013 may be too much to ask of the current squad.
“Not necessarily because I think it’ll be a better league,” Crook added.
“You look at this championship. Arsenal since January have been really poor, they’ve been trying to grind their way to victory and they’ve never looked like worthy champions to me.
“Manchester City are still in transition. This is not one of Pep’s [Guardiola] great sides.
“Liverpool, the defending champions have basically taken the season off. Chelsea are a laughing stock.
“I think if United just had a proper manager with no European football and decent signings in the summer in Mbeumo, Cunha and Lammens…
“I think this was an opportunity.”
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
