Ahead of the 196th Manchester Derby, Ruben Amorim gave us his thoughts about our opponents, needing to improve as well as some interesting thoughts about what needs to happen in order to try and win the league by 2028.
Interesting team news from Amorim as he says that we could see the return of Kobbie Mainoo into the squad however, "he cannot play a full game" due to his long absence. Unfortunately though, the United boss could be without defender De Ligt who is a doubt for the Derby.
He also updates us on the fitness of Mount. The midfielder made his first appearance for United in the defeat to Forest after a long layoff in the. Amorim says that he is fit enough to start "but we must manage him."
Garnacho has come under a lot of criticism after his performance on Sunday with a lot of people frustrated with his selfish style of play. Amorim said that with the forward, "he is doing the right things" but that it's about his decision-making in the final third that makes the difference.
With the recent announcement that Kevin de Bruyne is set to leave Man City, Amorim said that he was "one of the best midfielders in the Premier League", he improved the league and that "he was on the wrong side of Manchester!"
On our opponents, the United boss says that he's focused on his own club and its problems over that of City's. "I think we have bigger problems than Manchester City." Despite the champions' struggles, Amorim says that they have arguably the best coach in the world in Pep Guardiola and that they have top players.
Amorim says that he is "not naive" when asked about whether the club can lift the Premier League in 2028, which is an aim of United's as it will be the 150th anniversary of the club's inception. The MUFC manager acknowldges that "we are not going to be the biggest contender in the next year of two years."
A lot of suffereing needs to be done in the next season in order to improve says the Portuguese. "Next year, we are suffering a lot to be so much better." It's not about taking many years as that is something Amorim can manage but nor is it about winning the title next season as that is unlikely.
In trying to catch up to the likes of City and others, Amorim believes it's about focsuing on the team's strengths but also about bringing in "one or two big players." He is also unsure whether they can win the league in the next four years.
When talking about why United haven't improved like teams such as Newcastle and Aston Villa, the United boss says that the focus is on how to improve every aspect of the team and that in today's football, people don't get as much time as before. "Sir Alex Ferguson took two or three times to win something...it is completely different nowadays."
Final Thoughts
Great to potentially have Mainoo back as it gives us another option even if the youngster has not been at his best this season. But a big blow if De Ligt is missing. I've noticed that our defense just doesn't seem as well organized without him. He also brings loads of experience and quality which can be the difference in a game like this.
As for Mount, there was an update on his future and with Amorim always speaking so glowingly about him, I do think he'll want him in the team sooner rather than later. Good that he's fit enough to start but that will probably be a risk so soon after his return.
That was one of the more frustrating performances from Garnacho. Everything he did was pretty much wrong. While that work rate and defensive duties were there, it was going forward where he cocked up the most although he should've done better for Elanga's goal.
Too many shots, not using the overlapping run, being wasteful. It really all comes down to decision-making in certain instances. The thing about Garnacho is that he has this uncanny ability to just make things happen but when he makes the wrong call, what's the point.
He is always an outlet but when he becomes as predictable as he has, it makes it easy for teams do defend against him. He needs to improve in many aspects of his game.
Big news that KDB is leaving although I feel like it wasn't completely unforeseen. What a career he's had and what a player he is. Even as United fans, we can appreciate the greatness that is de Bruyne. He will be a big miss for both his club and the league. You just know he's now going to put on a masterclass on Sunday 😑.
We ain't got time to focus on anyone else though. There's no team in a worse position than us.
Yes, City have been shite this season by their own high standards. This doesn't mean that they aren't still a top team though. They have several top players however robot Herling Haaland will be out through injury (which will give us a boost), yet there is still enough quality to punish us. It of course, won't be easy and Pep is also a top manager even if we can do the double over them.
2028 is not that far away. Do we truly think we'll have sorted out all our problems by then? I'm not so sure and it seems that neither is Amorim.
It's going to take a long time for United to sort out all their shit before we can become a regular contender for the top 4 let alone win the league. I mean, we're not even in the top half 😐.
This is why he keeps mentioning we need to be better next season.
The fact that he says we need to sign "one or two big players" speaks volumes about what he thinks about the current squad. He also knows that should we want to achieve that goal of winning the league in a couple of years time, the big players need to come in otherwise we will struggle to get to where we want to be.
This also goes against what appears to be the club's policy of wanting to sign young players because young players aren't big players and won't help us achieve our ambitions. Players are needed for the now, I can't believe we're having to say this so often. Can the club not see that?
Maybe this is why Amorim said what he said. And I love it.
The pressure is waaaaaaaayyyyyyyy different and much more at a club like United. Sometimes the players simply cannot step up to the plate, managers aren't good enough or, and this is the big one, when you have owners that show no care nor have any idea what they're doing.
Newcastle now have owners that do look like they care and Villa have always been this way just look at the business they've done in January. We could learn from that.
Ownership is the BIG thing for me when it comes to success for any football club.
Background Images: Ruben Amorim | Creator: Octavio Passos | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2023 Getty Images via Man Utd News
Pep Guardiola | Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images via Bitter and Blue