This lineup against Bournemouth was the first game where I felt a little concerned and somewhat annoyed with team selection from our manager. I know he’s still new (ish) in the job but after having joined 6 weeks ago and managed 9 games for the club, it’s been long enough for certain things in my opinion.
One of those things is in selecting a team that he can build around and one that we know is potentially his strongest lineup.
Understandably, rotation is required for many reasons: a lot of games in a short space of time, players coming back from injury or getting injured, and also just to see who suits his style best.
We’ve seen that there are a select few players that he picks all the time but are they the correct ones? Are they rotated enough?
This is such a catch 22 situation and contradictory topic because on the one hand, I do want him to pick a settled XI as often as possible but on the other, I do want him to rotate certain players.
Where I think the problem lies is in which games he decides rotation is required and whom he chooses to rotate for that specific game.
For example, while we do want to win every game and every competition, that is nigh on impossible especially for a crap side like ours. This is where we need to prioritize.
Spurs in the Carabao Cup was a match where I thought that playing more of a second-string team will be suitable given that that tournament is less important than others, like the league.
Yet, Ruben Amorim started six of the same players in a Carabao Cup game that he started in the derby just days earlier. He then selected all of Bruno, Mazraoui, Dalot and Martinez again for Bournemouth. I believe that he could’ve rotated those four in particular from the start at Spurs or even brought them off after a certain point even if it looked like we could get back in the game, which we obviously didn’t.
Again, I know that we all want to win as many games as possible which means selecting your best players more often than not, but we do have to be a bit more realistic about which games are more important than others.
Did he need to go as strong as he did for a game and tournament that isn’t as key for United? As we are in an embarrassing 13th in the Premier League (which is where we were when Amorim took over 👀), surely that has to take a higher priority than cup competitions?
If you asked, most would tell you that they’d rather win the game against Bournemouth instead of Spurs. We ended up losing both.
He hasn’t used the likes of Bayindir, Casemiro, Eriksen, Antony, Malacia and others as much as I would’ve liked. I know that these players aren’t the best and that we will at some point call upon what we would deem to be the stronger side (although they’re not the best either) to help us out in games, but I think that it would work in our favor because it would at least give those ‘first team’ players a rest and keep them fresh for the next match.
It’s clear to notice that Bruno, Dalot, Mazraoui and Martinez all look flat on their feet and are in need of a break.
I thought by now that Amorim would know which is his better team that he needs to use for specific matches and rotate them with the bench to give those guys a break whilst also seeing whether the rest of the squad can be a part of his future.
Every game, we always get surprises to a point where I feel a bit dubious and circumspect about his selection. I don’t think there’s been a team other than the derby where I’ve felt that this is the team. It looked like a side full of our best players in their best positions. That was a side that I would look to build around.
This isn’t me going against the manager or that I think he’s shite, nor is it me making an excuse for the players and giving them an easy out because I’m not (a lot of them are shite and need to be moved on) but instead of looking at it being just the players, I wanted to try a different angle.
I simply believe he’s rotated too many of the same players whilst not giving a rest to those who arguably need it more than others. He’s also rotated quite a lot in his short time at the club to a point where I feel as though it’s just too much rotation and that we need a more settled side for the more important games.
What do you think? Amorim rotated too much. He doesn’t rotate enough? He rotates the same players all the time? Or is it simply that the squad just isn't good enough?
Background Image: Ruben Amorim unhappy with Man Utd's 0-3 loss to Bournemouth | Creator: DARREN STAPLES | Credit: AFP via Getty Images Copyright: AFP or licensors
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