I feel like ever since he was linked to the job and the rumors were that he was going to replace Erik ten Hag (so not even when he got the job), every time I've looked at Ruben Amorim, he is always smiling. And it's a BIG smile.
I feel that in these two weeks since the rumors that he will be the next manager has seen so many smiles from Amorim that he's probably smiled more than Erik ten Hag ever did in his two-and-a-half seasons.
Perhaps it is a bit of 'love at first sight' but I just feel like there's something different about him not just compared to ten Hag but all of our previous manager. I feel as though he is genuinely happy to be here whereas the others, not as much.
ten Hag didn't have these smiles when he first came to United and I understand that the club and team he was joining was much worse off than now even though we're not great which tells you how bad we were a couple of years ago, yet still, I thought that there would be a little more joy from the Dutchman.
This made me not be as connected to him as I would've liked whereas with Amorim, every time I see him, I too have a huge smile on my face. In fact, even just writing this I have that smile.
It is infectious.
I believe that this helps to create a quicker and stronger bond between the fans and the manager as well as players and the manager. We all look at him and feel that we can truly connect with him as there appears to be that affection to the new boss that which we didn't have with ten Hag.
I guess it is easier to say this because of how it ended with the Dutchman and that Amorim is a 'new toy' but I just never felt this fondness with ten Hag that I do with Amorim, even though the Portuguese hasn't even taken charge of a training session (which he will do on Monday according to Ben Jacobs).
And I believe that that in itself shows how quickly we've taken to him. It's almost as if ten Hag has been forgotten about thanks to Amorim's sort of aura.
Of course all of this excitement will be quickly forgotten about should we happen to lose at Ipswich and get hammered at the Emptihad (which is a possibility), and if the football is poor and we don't get the results we want but I do think that people will be more backing of the manager now having seen the shite from the players over the years.
I think Amorim will get a lot more support from everyone associated with United.
Amorim also seems to have the right character to be a United manager. He seems to have this charisma about him that one needs when taking the hot seat at Old Trafford.
How he deals with the press is a big thing as well and for this, a good grasp of the English language is needed. Erik ten Hag didn't speak English too well nor was he amazing with the press. I feel as though he should've tried to improve his English whilst at the club so that he could better communicate with everyone.
So far, Amorim whenever having to deal with the usual tough English journalists, has passed with flying colours and has had a lot of backing from the fans when it came to THAT specific interview before Sporting's game with City.
I also enjoy the fact that he likes to make a few jokes as that too, resonates well with everyone.
When doing his first stadium tour of the Theatre of Dreams, he met some fans who were doing their own stadium tour. While in the dressing room, he joked about how this fan and that fan are in the starting XI while some of the others were on the bench 😄.
You can get behind that.
However, I don't think that it is all sunshine and rainbows with him. I think that behind the smiles and this jolly exterior, there is a tough man and a tough coach who is very demanding of his players.
I believe that behind the scenes, Amorim will take no shit.
That is as important as the smiles and connection he develops with players and fans. No point him being a nice guy only for everyone to take advantage of him, something that I feel happened to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Being very ebullient and tough needs to go hand in hand because there will be times when the tough, brutally honest, straight to the point manager needs to come out, but then there are also times when an arm around the shoulder is required, you make your jokes, you keep things lighthearted.
A balance needs to be struck between the two as you cannot sway to one side.
Overly harsh may mean that he can be unnecessarily tough on the players at times, while being too friendly may make them think you're 'one of the boys' and not take you seriously enough.
Neither of those are good.
It remains to be seen what happens with Amorim whether it will be a success or not but it has been a great start. The fact that he has immediately come in and made us move on so quickly from Erik ten Hag is something that I think is positive for him.
No one is really missing the Dutchman as brutal as that may sound.
Of course a lot of the talking has to be done on the pitch which is where we've struggled most since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement. That is Amorim's main task as not only do we want to be successful but at United, we have to do it in a specific way: The United Way.
Vamos Amorim 💪.
Background Image: Ruben Amorim's first visit to Old Trafford as Man Utd manager | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)