Joe Cole on “Abysmal” Manchester United’s “large” issue: Club culture is intermittent, but now is the time for Reuben Amorim to replace it as manager

Certainly, United have not won a Premier League match since March if they don’t get a penalty or if players are not sent to the opposition.

Cole doubts improvements will soon be made while Amorim is still in charge.

“He had enough time now to implement what he wanted,” Cole told TNT Sports.

“By not having European football and having enough time to prepare for a game like this.

“I don’t think it’s just a problem with Reuben Amorim. There’s a huge, big problem with the whole club.

“We saw his body language on the sidelines, and he looks worried and worried.

“They play in fits and starts, but there’s nothing consistent.

“It’s cultural, and what doesn’t help is that all the players who left United went and ran to the ground.

“It tells us there’s something wrong with the harmony of the whole club. Now to pull a Manchester United shirt, it has to be the heaviest shirt in the world, because of the history and expectations of the club.

“First and foremost, the job of a manager is to bring harmony and rejuvenate the club’s culture.

“They’re a million miles away, so they don’t try it out, they have to forget about it and put it in the box and push it away.

“They should respect the past, because it’s a beautiful, great past, but everyone who comes in knows that there are good players here, whether it’s a club, a board, an owner, a fan, etc., so they have to find a way to activate the players.

“Fans need to lower expectations, and in my opinion, there needs to be a different direction when it comes to managers.

“I don’t like to say that, but I think for him too. He’s a bright, young spark and people were talking about him like the Messiah who came to Manchester United, where he was trying to sort it all out.

“He’s clearly a good manager, but there’s a need for a change in culture. I thought Gareth Southgate was the perfect person for his job in terms of building culture, understanding the club, understanding the league and players.

“We could have seen him working with Jim Ratcliffe, but they went with Amorim and it doesn’t seem to work.”

Soon full time, Cole added: “For United, it was awful, and I don’t think it’s a case of being a player or a manager now…it’s the whole club culture.

As a result, Amorim scored just 32 points in 35 Premier League matches.

Not leaving the house has been a problem for a while. The victory came in March when his last victory at Leicester scored three points.

In his role as a critic, former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch said, “How much time do you give the manager? He really struggled after coming in. But he has his own front three and things don’t click again.

“They were lucky against Burnley, against Chelsea, they sent a guy, we saw that performances at Grimsby weren’t the norm for Manchester United.

“If things don’t change quickly after this game, the Sunderland game next weekend will definitely be big. They have to get results, or they have to look at things.

“United couldn’t handle it defensively, and center forward Thiago was causing so many issues.

“They were bullied at times, Center Harves. ManUtd wasn’t enough in the future. They didn’t feel like they were producing a lot.

“On the contrary, we cannot underestimate that a leader like Brentford has a leader like that at Jordan Henderson, who has worked in six major England tournaments and plays at the highest level.

United established foothold in the game when Benjamin Sesco notched the club’s first goal since his move from RB Leipzig, and was locked out by Caoimhin Kelleher in the third attempt after Patrick Dolg’s first effort from the hooked cross.

Referee Craig Pawson pointed out the penalty spot after Brian Mbemo was restrained by Nathan Collins, but Val Andy Madley did not advise match officials to upgrade their decision to a red card despite no attempts to play the ball.

Cole felt lucky that the Brentford defender was not fired.

“He’s got so many (red cards) fringes,” Cole said. “He is central to the law we have and its quality, because he just puts his toes on it, and that’s obviously a foul.

“Everyone in soccer says that’s a great opportunity, so bringing in whether he’s in control of the ball or not will be subjective.

“I feel like a referee, but that’s clearly a goalscoring opportunity.”

Crouch added: “It was a denial of a scoring opportunity, he didn’t try to play the ball, and he pulled him back.”

Premier League Match Center later explained the decision to warn Collins, saying about the X.

“Var also checked Collins for the umpire’s yellow card call. They thought Mbeumo was not in control of the ball.”

Bruno Fernandes has now waited a few minutes due to VAR checks and Keith Andrews’ tactical decision to delay double changes until the red card check is finished.

The Portuguese were rejected low to the left by Khaoimhin Kelehar. This means he missed two of his three penalties this season.

Fernandez was also booked for the afternoon when he mostly came out for the United captain, but Cole said, “Everything I’ve done with Manchester United over the past few seasons that I’ve been through Bruno.

“He’s had multiple moments before, and there he stepped up (and scored) into big moments. It wasn’t his day, but he was still the best player on the Manchester United pitch.

“He performs consistently every week, but the team hasn’t come with him, which must be very frustrating.”

Amorim changed the system in vain attempts to save the points.

That would be a waste because Matthias Jensen is not opposed to Brentford’s third downtime.

Cole was keen to display Thiago. Thiago has five goals in six opening Premier League matches this season. He enjoys the opportunity to fill in the void left by things like Mbemo and Joane Wissa.

“Thiago was absolutely outstanding today,” Cole said. “(Because of his first goal) he attacks the space very well, has a great touch and he is technically very skilled. His all-rounder game impressed me. He’s like a throwback striker.

“They’ve got better in all divisions today… They competed, they were together, they were good quality and their third goal was outstanding. Many of the focus today is once again on Manchester United, but that was a good performance from Brentford.”