Manchester United are set to begin a search for a new manager following the sacking of Ruben Amorim, and former captain and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has shared his thoughts.
Gary Neville has warned Manchester United that failure is not an option with the appointment of the next manager, declaring: “These experiments must stop!”
Ruben Amorim was given his marching orders on Monday morning and Sunday’s 1-1 stalemate with Leeds United at Elland Road proved to be his last game in charge. Amorim left Old Trafford after 14 months in charge, leaving the Red Devils languishing in sixth place.
And while a club statement said performance concerns were behind his departure, it was his fiery post-match comments, including a barely concealed attack on class society, that ultimately proved his downfall. Neville shared his thoughts on his former club and what he should consider when choosing his next manager.
Neville said: “Rouven Amorim has a very different style to what you would normally expect from Manchester United. I think we should stop experimenting like this. I’m not saying, ‘Manchester United, look, this is what we’re going to do.’
Speaking on Sky Sports’ Premier League programme, he continued: “There’s been a very good video of Bobby Charlton talking about what Manchester United is as a football club for about 15 years now, and I’ve always been proud of what the football club is about: adventurous, exciting football, young players playing, entertaining the crowd – the fans who pay to come in basically want to get off work at the weekend and have a good Saturday.”
read more: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s stance on returning to Manchester United reveals leaders facing dilemmaread more: Every Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson after Ruben Amorim has failed.
“To be fair to Ruben Amorim, I think when he was offered the job, he said: ‘No, I’d rather take it in the summer when I can fit into my system and have the talent for it’ – which he certainly said, but then Manchester United were like, ‘It’s now, it’s no more.’
“The lure of Manchester United and the job of manager is difficult to turn down, but he said so along the way. In fact, I thought Manchester United would fit in much better than the[back three].”
“I’m really surprised that Ruben Amorim has played so poorly in that system for the entire time he’s been at this club. It’s understandable, it’s a difficult system. Wing-backs are challenging and that’s not a role for young full-backs who have grown up in Europe anymore.”
“Similarly, the two behind the centre-forwards are also difficult because they have to go into the pocket and sometimes go out to protect and drive back the opposing team’s full-backs. So within the system that Ruben Amorim plays, there are very specialized positions, including centre-backs. But I can’t believe how poorly they adapt to it, how inconsistently they are.”
“It’s a failure of the manager, a failure of the players, a failure of the club in that they didn’t recruit properly. But I thought about all that this morning and as I was leaving for London at 10 o’clock I thought: ‘Who are the managers who have been appointed by clubs in the last 10 to 12 years?’ – Louis van Gaal has his own unique Jose Mourinho plays his own kind of football, so does David Moyes. Same goes for Eric Ten, which is also a different style of football, very positional and very different from what Manchester United usually play.
Neville then stressed that United should bring in a manager who fits the club’s ethos, rather than changing its identity. “Manchester United must take risks and play aggressive, attacking football. Manchester United must now appoint a manager who fits the DNA of their football club. Ajax will never change for anyone. Barcelona will never change for anyone. I don’t think Manchester United should change for anyone. They should play the way they play.”
“The managers who have come here – Van Gaal, Mourinho, Ten Hag, Amorim – they are great managers. I can’t say they aren’t great managers – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But they all came with different approaches, different playing styles, different philosophies and none of them fit perfectly into the Manchester United way.”
“So the important thing for me is to find an experienced manager who is willing to play fast, interesting, attacking, attacking football, and it’s very simple.”
United icon Darren Fletcher has been appointed interim manager as the search for a permanent manager begins in earnest.
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