Same issues persist under Ruben Amorim – Weekly Takeaway

Manchester United were beaten 3-2 by Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford as Ruben Amorim’s side suffered a second consecutive defeat.

Manchester United have very much been a club in recent years where it is always one step forward, two steps back, and unfortunately for fans this has continued into the INEOS and Ruben Amorim era, but not through any fault of the manager this time. When will it end?

After two positive results at home to Bodo/Glimt and Everton, the club faced back-to-back league defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest, with Saturday evening’s loss being a hard one to take. A fairly dominant display in comparison to what United fans are used to, let down by massive defensive errors or a clinical Forest side, whatever you want to call it.

Just the three shots on target for the away side, and three goals, but this was thanks to mistakes from Andre Onana and the ineffective use of zonal marking from Forest’s first corner. Despite the 72% possession and 17 shots, United struggled to create many clear cut chances and offered next to nothing after Bruno Fernandes pulled one back with around 30 minutes left to play.

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The positive that fans can take is that the new system has further highlighted a lot of the issues that quickly need addressing and Amorim has noticed that, so as long as the recruitment is right, we should expect fairly big improvements in the months to come. It is unclear whether United will have the funds to reinforce the squad in January, but it would certainly be helpful to push on for the remainder of the season.

This was followed by the news of Dan Ashworth leaving the club after only five months, showing that United are still a complete mess at board level.

United spent months trying to bring in Ashworth, as well as waiting for his gardening leave period to end and paying compensation to Newcastle for his services, just for him to leave before the New Year, with fans not really sure why this is the case.

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The period it took to get him to the club lasted longer than his time at the club. I can’t help but think that there is more behind this story, as United’s statement was very brief and it all seems a bit sudden. No doubt we will hear more in the coming weeks, with the club needing a replacement, but definitely not what the club needed so soon into Amorim’s reign. Whatever has happened, it is not a good look for INEOS and the new board, with fans already unhappy with their recent actions.

Saturday’s defeat has come at a bad time, as United desperately needed the three points before heading into a tricky ten days, where they face Viktoria Plzen, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur all away from home, in three different competitions. That is then followed by a very busy period over Christmas and the New Year, giving Amorim little time between games to work with his players.

Amorim has learnt a lot about his squad in a very short period, and he will certainly learn a lot more from now till the start of 2025; whether he likes what he sees or not is a different story.