After the 3-1 defeat to Brighton at the weekend, manager Ruben Amorim said rhetorically: “We are probably the worst Manchester United in history. There, put that sensational sentence in the newspapers."
But few saw it as a challenge, but rather as a declaration of defeat.
Ruben Amorim was wrong, trying to impose a system on a group of players who were not suited to it, trying to change too much but too quickly. He did the wrong things, in the wrong place and at the wrong time.
The Portuguese coach's assessment of the team is much more optimistic than the reality. His predecessor Erik ten Hag dragged Man United to rock bottom with 8th place in the rankings last season, their lowest performance in the Premier League.
Now, Amorim takes over the Red Devils with the team 10 points off the top eight. After 11 games in charge, he is averaging 1 point per game. Their recent form has been even worse, with 4 points from their last 6 games.
Brighton won at Old Trafford, with goals coming from £3m signing Kaoru Mitoma, £5.2m new signing Yasin Ayari, £900,000 Joel Veltman at right-back and new signing Jan Paul van Hecke (£1.8m).
In contrast, Man United fielded a starting line-up that cost around £430m. Liverpool’s line-up against Brentford was on par with that valuation, but they are now the leaders not only in the Premier League but also in the Champions League. Not to mention United’s bench cost almost £300m.
Those sums are not Amorim’s fault. A lack of recruitment strategy, expertise and leadership has led to a series of mistakes. Amorim inherited a squad built by four different coaches, but lacked a reliable goalkeeper and an energetic left-back. And in midfield, neither Casemiro nor Christian Eriksen had the energy to play in the Premier League.
Perhaps Amorim was trying to instill a fighting spirit in his players by describing them as United's worst ever squad. It could also be a red flag to the owners, forcing them to sign new players in January.
But first Amorim must identify the problem and have direction, to convince the leaders to maintain support at Old Trafford.
