Owen Hargreaves says Manchester United need ‘consistency’ to become a great team, defends Ruben Amorim’s formation stance

Ruben Amorim’s side went on a five-game unbeaten run between October and November, which included impressive wins against Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion.

“That’s the consistency that great teams have and that’s what ultimately makes them champions in the end,” Hargreaves explained.

“If you look at the great teams, whether it’s City or Liverpool or Arsenal at the moment, they’re consistent.

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He added: “We rarely lose that many games. I think that’s the biggest problem at the moment. They have their good points, but they also have their low points.

“I actually thought they played very well against Spurs, but then the game ran away from them and they found a way to make it 2-2.

“I think the game against Everton was a blow for everyone because they played with 10 men for a long time and we didn’t really get much done.

“I know they (Everton) scored world-class goals, but it felt like they (United) were getting a little more consistent, which probably upset everyone more.”

It is often said that football formations are fluid, but Amorim has drawn criticism for sticking to his system.

The United manager has been helped by the summer signings of Brian Mbuemo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesco, making his side a stronger attacking force. This was evidenced by the fact that he had scored 12 goals in his last five games before the loss to Everton.

Hargreaves feels the support given to Amorim in the summer shows confidence in his leadership, but feels their shortcomings are not just in their formation.

“He has already said he has no intention of changing and they have given him the keys to the castle,” Ms Hargreaves said.

“So, it’s up to him. He’s in charge. And he’s already said he’s not going to change. Obviously, I think there are little tweaks there, as you see sometimes. They did really well against Brighton.”

“You say it’s a 3-4-3, but Luke Shaw keeps coming into the midfield and helping Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes. And then you basically have three in the center of midfield. Or I think Cunha drops and you have those three.”

“So the formation is just a starting point, it’s just a blueprint. Football is different than the NFL because you have the ball and the ball is always stopping and you can call plays. It’s very fluid and players have to make decisions in real time.”

“So I think there’s obviously a lot of talk about the 3-4-3. But really, if you look at the average formation of a team at the end of a game, it’s probably not going to be that 3-4-3.”

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Amorim had warned of a “storm coming” in his early weeks in charge, and their form in the months since has proven his hunch correct, but Hargreaves feels even Amorim probably did not foresee the level of turmoil they faced at Old Trafford.

“It was probably a much more chaotic situation than he expected,” Mr Hargreaves said. “One thing I can say is that he has great communication skills.

“Obviously the level of scrutiny is much higher than at Portugal or at Sporting, but he had nothing but success at Sporting, rebuilding the club and winning the league in overwhelming fashion.

“His first game against Ipswich (1-1 draw) probably surprised him a little bit, you know, away at a small ground, they can play even if they don’t have the resources that United have.

“So I think he would have learned a lot and given that time he would have been even better in another year. If you had asked him I’m sure he would have said he had plans to go in a different direction for himself and the club.”