Paul Scholes has highlighted the biggest change that Ruben Amorim must make to his system at Manchester United, as his most creative player is becoming bored.
Manchester United’s difficult start to the season endured another difficult moment at the weekend, as Ruben Amorim’s side suffered a 3-0 defeat to local rivals Manchester City.
The Reds travelled to the Etihad for their fourth Premier League fixture of the season, but were defeated by a Phil Foden header and a well-taken Erling Haaland brace.
Yet again, Amorim’s system was called into question by fans and pundits after the defeat, with many starting to worry that the Portuguese tactician won’t be the man to take United forward.
One of the biggest concerns about Amorim’s system is his midfield, which has forced Bruno Fernandes to take a deeper role. Paul Scholes gave his verdict on this situation.
Fernandes is ‘bored’ of his role
When speaking on Sky Sports‘ The Good, The Bad and the Football podcast, Scholes said that Fernandes is United’s most creative player and should be played further forward.
Scholes said, “He’s the most creative player in the team, he should be playing as the number 10, there’s no doubt about that, but he’s being asked to do something different, which, I think, if you ask Bruno to do anything, he’ll try and do it, almost in the Wayne Rooney type of way.
“But I think with him being in that deeper lying area, it is taking away some of the important qualities that he has further up the pitch.
“It’s normal for a player who is a forward player, like a number 10, that he is to be able to do it for two games, but then you get a little bit bored of going back into that position, thinking, oh, I have to defend here now and again, and it’s not something he’s used to.”
System vs personnel debate at United
As he has expressed numerous times, Amorim is very stubborn with his system, and doesn’t look to be changing from his 3-4-2-1 any time soon.
This will mean that, for as long as Amorim is the United manager, Fernandes will be out of his regular position, and Kobbie Mainoo is likely to struggle for a starting spot.
These are two massive problem areas at Old Trafford, as fans are already starting to express frustration that they aren’t seeing the best from their two top midfield talents.
It feels like a real battle between the personnel at United and the system that they are operating in at the moment, so it will be interesting to see whether a compromise is made, or whether one outlasts the other.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.