Rúben Amorim has been told he keeps making an “alarming” error that is costing Manchester United matches, and it stems from their summer sales.
Rúben Amorim’s use of substitutes so far this season has been a contentious talking point amid the club’s wavering form.
Manchester United have won just two of their opening six Premier League fixtures so far this season, and in all of these ties, the head coach has substituted at least one of his centre-backs. Of his 47 fixtures in charge, he has changed at least one of his back three in 41 of these ties.
There have also been many questions surrounding his decision never to make in-game changes and compensate for when different players are on the pitch.
A prime example of this has been Brentford and Grimsby’s losses so far, where Mason Mount has been deployed at left wing-back after coming off the bench rather than switching to a back four and allowing his attacking reinforcements to stay high on the pitch.
Shearer sees Amorim’s substitutions as “alarming”
Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker, two of England’s best-ever strikers, assessed Brentford’s 3-1 win over United, going blow by blow as to how Amorim’s men fell into such a dire loss.
After discussing the controversial decision not to send Nathan Collins off for fouling Bryan Mbeumo in the area and Bruno Fernandes missing the subsequent penalty, Shearer admitted that Amorim’s substitution decisions in the wake of the drama were “alarming”.
“After that, it was alarming what he was doing, moving so many different players around,” Shearer said.
“I mean, Micah [Richards] has said it on Match of the Day, the subs he brings on, moving the [central] centre-back into the right centre-back, middle centre-back into left centre-back…
“Then Mbumo was right wing-back, and then Mason Mount came on as a ten for four minutes, then he brought [Joshua] Zirkzee on and then moved Mount to left wing-back. It was like, goodness me, what on earth is happening here? It’s incredible.”
United have little direct threat off the bench
The summer transfer window saw United part ways with five attacking players. Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Rasmus Højlund all departed either permanently, on a season-long loan, or on a loan with an option to buy.
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While they also brought in Benjamin Šeško, Matheus Cunha, and Mbeumo, there is becoming a distinct lack of direct threat off the bench for Amorim to turn to once he needs some reinvention on the pitch.
Those such as Mount, Zirkzee, and Kobbie Mainoo do have their qualities and are good footballers in their own right, but they are not the type of explosive player that’s often needed in the second half when chasing a game.
This often leads to a situation where, once Amorim’s side goes a goal down, it’s hard for them to grab something back in the second half, and the head coach’s refusal to change formation or system in-game leads to those on the field playing out of position.
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