Rio Ferdinand has made a point about Rúben Amorim’s current failures at Manchester United that shows why the head coach appreciates Mason Mount so much.
Manchester United capped off their latest run of fixtures with an excellent 2-0 victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford.
First-half strikes from Mason Mount and Benjamin Šeško earned United all three points on Saturday afternoon, lifting spirits around the club as the Premier League pauses for the October international break.
Another highlight came as Senne Lammens finally made his debut for the Reds after joining on transfer deadline day last summer. The Belgian impressed between the posts, confidently dealing with crosses, making a couple of assured saves, and keeping a clean sheet.
Although results under Rúben Amorim have been mixed so far this season, the win over Sunderland has gone a long way in restoring positivity and confidence within the squad heading into the break.
United’s players just need to do their jobs
With the international break underway, United’s positive result will do a great deal to alleviate severe criticism and a sour mood around the club. But while there will still be a lot of talk about Amorim’s tactical approach at Old Trafford.
However, United legend Rio Ferdinand, speaking on his podcast, has made the point that he feels many of Amorim’s core issues are not due to his tactical approach, but rather situations beyond his control, such as individual errors.
“I reckon Amorim, half of his scratching his head and going a bit grey underneath it and losing a bit of hair here and there in his time at Man United has been because it’s not been about his controllables,” Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
“It’s been about players making individual errors and affecting the outcome, which in turn affects the result. Players going out and doing their thing sometimes alleviates any tactical approach that a manager’s had. Do you know what I mean?
“How many times do you see a player just rip up the script book and just do something outrageous and you go, wow, well that weren’t planned.”
This is why Amorim appreciates Mount so highly
Mount has not had an easy time at United since his £50 million move from Chelsea in 2023, with injuries and periods on the bench meaning that, in his two-and-a-bit seasons so far, he has made just 53 appearances for the Reds.
However, when Amorim took over in November 2024, he was swift to praise the English midfielder. After a win over Bodo/Glimt last season, the head coach said, “You see some moments and details where you can see that Mason is a proper footballer. We believe in him a lot, and I especially believe a lot in Mason.”
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When taking Ferdinand’s point into account about players being able to perform their roles well, Mount’s display against Sunderland, beyond just his lovely finish, was proof as to why Amorim is so keen to continue playing the 26-year-old.
Mount was nearly perfect with respect to executing Amorim’s instructions on Saturday afternoon, with his work rate and abilities allowing the head coach to use him both as part of the front three and also have him drop into midfield to give Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro extra support.
Mount’s end product at United has been dire, with just three Premier League goals to his name, but his ability to bring others into play, cover spaces both on the offence and defence, as well as have the technical qualities to, as Ferdinand says, ‘do this thing’ on the pitch, explain why Amorim sees him as a “proper footballer.”
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