Ruben Amorim took charge of his first game as MUFC boss on 28th November in a Premier League match at Ipswich Town.
There was much excitement ahead of the Portuguese's arrival at Old Trafford due to what he had done at Sporting Lisbon, especially that 4-1 thumping of neighbors City.
That was beautiful 🤩.
However, his twelve matches at Old Trafford haven't gone exactly to plan despite getting a flying start in his first game in which the now out-of-favor and perhaps soon-to-be-ex United player, Marcus Rashford, scored within 2 minutes of that opening Amorim fixture.
Feels like a lifetime ago.
We know that this season has had few positives and weirdly, has had even more negatives under the new boss, which isn't something you see all the time.
Usually, it's the other way round as clubs and their players seem to be uplifted and liberated with the freshness of a new coach.
With Amorim though, not only has the football been dire, the results have not been anywhere near good enough.
In his 12 matches, Amorim's record reads:
Wins - 4
Draws - 2
Losses - 6
He's had one of the worst starts of any permanent United manager with the 39-year-old very rarely pleased with his side. Even after the unlikely draw at Anfiled where United put in their best performance in a long time under any manager, Amorim said he was 'mad' because why did his team play like they did in this match but not in all others?
The goal difference under him is also sitting at -3 with countless individual errors leading to a lot of these goals. Performances from senior players have let the manager down as well to which he even called them out as in his pre-match press conference against Liverpool, saying he needs the more experienced players to 'step up.'
He also asks for consistency from his team as this Liverpool performance is now the benchmark for how the players need to play on a regular basis.
So while that indicates that there's been more negatives than positives on the field, it's not all doom and gloom as we have seen some standout performers showing us that they have a future under this manager at United.
Top 3 best players under Amorim
3. Noussair Mazraoui
This guy has arguably been our player of the season, before and after Amorim.
I'm not quite sure what Bayern were smoking when they let him go for just £12m but it must have been some strong stuff.
I was a big fan of his in Germany but felt that he never got the game time he deserved due to the quality of Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich in Bayern's full-back positions. But whenever he did play, he never looked out of sorts and was good enough to start for most other top sides.
We then swooped in and took him and haven't looked back.
Mazraoui was brilliant under Erik ten Hag, continued his brilliance under interim Ruud van Nistelrooy and kept his quality under Amorim although throughout this time, there has been the odd drop in form which btw, hasn't been anything terrible especially considering some of the stinkers dropped by some of his teammates.
The consistency in his game is incredible and his attitude on the field is what has been a standout for me.
In every game, Mazraoui displays the right mindset in that he gives absolutely everything all the time. It also doesn't matter where on the field he plays as he will try his best regardless. None of this 'I can only play in a certain position' crap.
The fact that he's always available is another feather in his cap.
I believe that due to his quality, versatility, mindset and availability, he has been one of the manager's most trusted players as he has featured in all 12 of Amorim's games. In fact, the 27-year-old has played every single game this season.
Quite a feat.
2. Amad
Erik ten Hag deserved to be sacked for just this reason. How he chose not to play Amad was criminal and the ironic thing is, even when the Dutchman selected him in the team, Amad was one of his better players.
Then out of the blue, ten Hag drops him and never used him again.
Since his departure though, the 22-year-old forward has been nothing short of fantastic.
He was a player that we wanted to see more of at United as after successful loans spells at Rangers and Sunderland, it was about time we started to see this talent in the red of MUFC.
That's what we began seeing in the second half of last season after a knee injury kept him out for the first part. This good form culminated in his late winner against LFC in the FA Cup quarterfinal to send United on their way to lifting the trophy.
He then kicked on in pre-season leading us to believe that this would be his year.
Amad started off 24/25 pretty well despite the loss of his step mother early on in the campaign. He dedicated his goal at Brighton to her.
Then came the unforeseen exclusion from ten Hag making us all believe that maybe he would never get his chance at Old Trafford.
Fast forward to the Dutchman's axing and Amad has been a man reborn.
He was great under Ruud van Nistelrooy in his interim role but seems to have gone to a whole new level since Ruben Amorim has come in.
A new system of 3-4-3 (which isn't completely unknown to Amad after having played it at Atalanta) and position change of right wing-back hasn't phased the Ivorian at all. If anything, he's been flourishing in his new role. Even as one of the number 10s, he looks like a force to be reckoned with.
Since Amorim took over, Amad has played all 12 games and started all but one of the 9 league matches. The forward has been involved in 8 goals under Amorim with his 3 goals coming at Spurs, City and Liverpool, all of them late as well. 2 of those were crucial in us getting the win in the derby and the late (deserved) draw at Anfield.
Coming up clutch.
His influence on the team has been paramount as we cannot play without him. Whenever Amad is absent, a part of our team is missing and much of the creativity is gone. How he affects the play down the right flank in particular has been the reason for his success. The partnership he is developing with Mazraoui has also been something to take note of.
I also love his attitude as it would've been easy for him to just give up after being dropped by ten Hag for no reason. And who would've blamed him?
That's not what he's all about and in the end his strong mindset has caused him to be in this position that has seen him win December's player of the month, his second such award this season as he won the same prize in August.
Amad has been unbelievable and I'm so happy that we're seeing him play regularly for United.
1. Manuel Ugarte
I feel like this shouldn't come as a surprise given his previous with Ruben Amorim. I guess if there was any player who was going to be brilliant under the Portuguese it would be one of his former players. You could even say that Amorim sort of made Ugarte during their time at Sporting.
The Uruguayan has been nigh on flawless since his former manager took over putting regular 7, 8 even 9/10 performances in the heart of United's midfield.
His performance at Anfiled this past Sunday was perhaps his best as he showed he's more than capable of going toe-to-toe with the best in Europe. Ugarte along with Mainoo bossed the midfield against Liverpool and were instrumental in United's performance.
But that type of performance has been a regular of Ugarte's for the past two months. He isn't the most flashy of players, he isn't the most high profile nor does he score or assist but what he does is so important to the way the team plays.
Similarly to Amad, without Ugarte in the team, there clearly is something missing for Amorim's side. As he is a midfielder and a CDM at that (which is such a vital position nowadays), his absence is more visible than a right wing-back/CAM.
Ugarte's ability to cover ground really quickly, intercept the ball, make great tackles and blocks, read the game well and something that I believe goes a little under the radar, his ability on the ball, are aspects of his game that make him such a great player and one that we cannot do without in the team.
He is very good in possession with a brilliant attribute of his being how well he drives with the ball. The 23-year-old can carry the ball across a good distance to get the side moving in attack.
And one thing I really like is how he wins the ball back high up the field as well. This is key in us getting a decent opportunity in attack thanks to his amazing high press.
While others such as Amad, Mazraoui even an underperforming Bruno maybe irreplaceable in their own ways, we do at least have cover for them in those positions.
Casemiro is the only replacement for Ugarte as CDM but, is he really?
The Brazilian doesn't have anywhere near the ability he once had and isn't even close to doing what Ugarte does.
That protection of the defence from the Uruguayan and covering for his defenders whenever they are out of position is also an aspect of his game that is so good.
With Amorim as manager - which apparently made Ugarte 'visibly happy when the club closed in on a deal for Ruben Amorim on the same day they sacked Erik ten Hag', according to the Manchester Evening News - the midfielder has looked almost unplayabe at times and appears to be flourishing in this system he was once used to.
The partnership he is developing with Kobbie Mainoo is also essential to our play as the pair seem to compliment each other really well and certainly better than any other duo at United. That balance they provide is something else that no other midfield pair can provide as well.
I think that this midfield pairing and specifically Ugarte has been so key for Amorim and getting the best out of this formation and team.
There's no way we would've done as well without Ugarte at Anfield and in general this season. He is one of Amorim's generals and is proving why we needed him in our team.
Final Thoughts
So there are my top 3 best performers under Ruben Amorim thus far. Some honorable mentions would be De Ligt and Maguire as those two at the back have shown how important they are too.
When De Ligt was absent for those three games, we saw how much we missed him indicating his value to this team. Maguire has also come in and done well in this system that he looks a lot more comfortable in.
But who have been your standouts under the new boss?
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