But Carragher is not happy about that, criticizing the United manager for not changing his tactical approach and dismissing suggestions that Amorim was out of favor.
“I can only think of two things: either he feels unsupported in the January transfer window, or the higher-ups are having doubts about the fact that he’s going back and forth between systems at the moment,” the Liverpool icon said on Sky Sports.
“It started to look like maybe he was moving to a back four, but against Wolves he went back to a back five and that gave the team probably their worst performance of the season. Whatever it is, I don’t think he’s in any position to question the people who appointed him.”
“He’s not good enough. He’s not good enough to be a Manchester United manager. He’s only good enough to be a Premier League manager at the moment. That’s not to say I’m disrespecting Amorim.”
“He’s been there for over 12 months now, but I think almost every manager in the Premier League who has managed different clubs at both ends of the table looks at Manchester United and thinks, ‘I could win more points.'” This is the same guy who said at one stage that this might be Manchester United’s worst team ever. He’s managing it. ”
Asked about suggestions that Amorim wasn’t getting the right support, Carragher said: “He’s been well supported. He did so poorly last season that he wouldn’t have had too many complaints if the club parted ways with him in the summer.”
“Then they went into the market and spent a lot of money. I’m sure he had a lot to do with that. He has a system that is not traditional at Man United, so it was impossible for them to bring in all the attacking players, the wing-backs and maybe the centre-backs.”
“It’s going to be a long-term plan in terms of deadlines. There’s no way he’s complaining now about money in January. Manchester United spent a huge amount of money in the summer. Remember, they didn’t have Champions League football, they didn’t have European football, and a lot of that was on him.”
“Remember, when he was brought in, the objective was to get them back to Champions League football. When he arrived they were four points out of the Champions League, but in the end they finished 15th. So when you talk about lack of funds, it’s about him and the team and it’s impossible to get everything he wants in one window.”
He added: “Of course they need better players, but that doesn’t happen in one slot. He, or the club, chose to go with attacking players. They probably could have chosen a midfielder, an attacking player and a wing-back, but they didn’t and maybe we’ll see them in future slots.”
“But the people he seems to be criticizing,[chief executives]Omar Berada and Jason Wilcox, are the ones who scouted him and are probably the ones who fought to keep him employed in the summer. Jim Ratcliffe has been watching the situation and I’m sure he thinks you’ve hired a player. He hasn’t played like Manchester United have in the past and the results have been terrible.”
Carragher compared Amorim’s comments to Enzo Maresca’s recent abuse at Chelsea and his subsequent sending off at Stamford Bridge. “This could end quickly,” he said. “But Maresca was in a much stronger position than Amorim to challenge the board and owners.”
“He won the Club World Cup. He led the team to the Champions League. He achieved everything he set out to do last season. I still didn’t think I would be allowed to challenge those above me.”
“Amorim is in no position to say anything like that. As I said, given what he has shown so far, he is barely competent as a Premier League manager.”
