Sir Jim Ratcliffe said Amorim could take three years to prove himself and defeat at Anfield was unlikely to mean the Portuguese manager’s place at Old Trafford was under threat.
Andy Dunn is the Mirror’s chief sportswriter.
There was quite a bit of news released by Manchester United during the international break. From Manchester United PLC, to be precise.
Casual speculation about a possible takeover and relatively positive news about the land needed for a new 100,000-seater stadium sent the club’s stock market value soaring. Before trading began in New York on Thursday, United’s stock price was $18.24. It hit a low of $15.40 last Thursday.
United has 172 million shares, so its overall value would increase by about $500 million in one week. This is great news for the Glazer family and for Sir Jim Ratcliffe as they are the major shareholders.
read more: Manchester United confident of agreeing deal for new 100,000-seat Old Traffordread more: Alan Shearer slams Alexander Isak with harsh verdict on £125m Liverpool star
Monaco’s Jim owns about 29% of United’s stock, and Florida’s Glazers own 49%. Rudimentary calculations show that over that particular week-long stock market period, the value of Mr Ratcliffe’s shares rose by $145m (£108m) and the value of the Glazer family’s shares rose by $245m (£182m).
And United did not play a single game during that period. It’s no wonder Ratcliffe and the Glazers don’t seem overly concerned about Ruben Amorim winning just 20 of his first 50 games with United. Why should they worry?
The ongoing construction of a state-of-the-art complex with support from the local government, continued growth in commercial strength and continued acquisition interest will further increase the club’s value. And that’s the most valuable target for the Glazers and Ratcliffe.
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I actually believe that Amorim should be given more time. But most pet owners aren’t as patient as the Glazers and Ratcliffs. But most owners probably can’t afford to own a club whose relative on-field performance doesn’t stop it from being a commercial phenomenon.
And that extravagance is why Ratcliffe suggests Amorim might be given three years to prove his worth. And it is that luxury that gives Amorim the freedom to bat against Liverpool.
A thorough attack at Anfield will do Amorim no favors, but a quagmire standard defeat at the hands of the Premier League champions will not affect his United future. For United fans, there is no such thing as a free strike at Anfield, but Amorim survived defeat to Grimsby Town at Cleethorpes earlier this season, so he will be fine with a loss at mighty Liverpool.
And that creates a strange dynamic heading into the match. With three losses on the bounce, Arne Slott feels like he needs a win more than Amorim needs a win. I feel like Slot is under more pressure than Amorim.
Not in the sense of course being asked about the slot position, which would be totally ridiculous, totally bizarre and totally funny, but in the sense that Amorim wants to prove he can handle tricky runs. He will want to prove that his big summer contract can be integrated quickly.
He will want to prove that he can bring Mohamed Salah back to his best. He will want to prove he can solve Liverpool’s defensive problems.
Almost from day one, slots have been pretty cool outside of the technical realm. However, he showed signs of mild irritation, most notably when he claimed that “the pundits who support some of the other clubs… can’t stop talking about £450m”.
This is how much Liverpool spent in the summer, and Slott claimed these pundits were “forgetting about the around £300m we sold”. Well, they probably don’t forget, they just know it doesn’t matter.
I don’t care who Liverpool sold and for what price, the club broke English transfer records twice in one period. Just because we somehow got over £50m for Darwin Nunez doesn’t make that huge outlay any less important.
Quite simply, expectations are sky high for Slot after a truly great first season and some strong hires. Financial stakeholders have limited expectations for Amorim. That’s why in this most competitive of matches, it feels as if Slott is feeling the heat, not Amorim.
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