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FFollowing the sacking of Eric ten Hag, Manchester United fans have been flooded with questions – many of which concerned the appointment of his successor Ruben Amorim.
After intensive talks with Sporting Lisbon, the club have now confirmed Amorim as United’s new manager.
Sporting have insisted Amorim will remain until the international break, meaning he will lead them out against Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday.
As soon as the key appointment came out, I was ready to answer questions Independent readers On the broader implications of Amorim’s appointment.
It’s a time of turmoil in the football world, and United’s latest managerial move adds another layer to a season full of uncertainty and intrigue. Not surprisingly then, I also grappled with the question of whether we should still care about the Ballon d’Or, Newcastle’s controversial takeover and wider questions over the values and future of the game.
Here are 11 questions from Independent Reader – and my answers “ask me anything” events.
Question: If the owners plan to sack Eric ten Hag at the first sign of trouble, why allow them to spend more money on signings this summer to make the next manager’s job more difficult?
jamie
A:This is a very shocking decision. Worse yet, it went against everything INEOS stood for. That high-performance culture is supposed to be about ignoring evidence and logic and emotions, but that decision was undeniably influenced by the emotion of the FA Cup final, even if the evidence of the season pointed to the need for change.
I think ultimately there are two other main issues that have prevented them from making changes. One was the indecision as to whom they should bring. This was a big thing. And it wasn’t helped by another major factor. That was that neither Berrada nor Ashworth were in their roles as CEO and Director of Football respectively. The fact that they are now in place means there is more excitement about this appointment.
Q: Is Amorim’s appointment a statement of intent for INEOS? Do they deserve some credit?
Sophieeeeeee
A:Yeah, I think it’s a statement of intent. I think INEOS has finally got there, and you can criticize elements of the process (not least the fact that he won’t start for another three weeks) but it’s finally worth it to get a manager. Decisive and fast acting which is what a lot of the other major clubs wanted. It’s a coup, when many expected indefinite chaos.
Q: What do we make of Manchester United’s League Cup win against Leicester? A sign of new times to come or just a happy coincidence?
matallenby
A:It was a little bit of everything. I think it’s a classic case of most players feeling liberated when a manager who was having no influence leaves.
This also reveals the talent there. But, as we have seen before, this is not necessarily sustainable without the proper structure. They need the Amorim to impose it. So the answer to your question is not a complete coincidence. But this is something that happens very often in these situations. I think this shows how important psychology is in football, at least in the short term.
Question: Do the current United players suit the new manager’s style of play?
stephen quill
A: I think that’s a great question. I’ve mentioned before that United were previously reluctant to appoint managers who played three games at the back. This was an idea in the summer when they did not go all the way to Amorim – something that seems surprising now.
However, overall, despite the dysfunction, a lot of these modern players are adaptable. Good trainers can use this. Eventually he will need additional people, but there is enough talent there.
He does not like slow build-ups and wants intensity from his teams, and there are similarities to how Ten Hag wanted fast turnarounds. Hopefully Garnacho and Rashford are good for this, and it may also suit Bruno’s ability to release quick passes from distance.
Question: Is anything really going to change at Man Utd with Amorim?
djandyb
A: Just because a specific coach didn’t work doesn’t mean the idea is wrong. United perhaps need to be at a stage now where they think about the next best thing rather than constantly reacting. The Amorim represent this.
I would also say that the comparison with Ten Hag is superficial. Yes, they both come from second-tier leagues, where they have had all their success. But the Portuguese Primeira Liga is considered more challenging than the Eredivisie, with the Premier League seen almost as a development league.
Ajax had also been dominating the Dutch league long before Ten Hag. This is not the case with Sporting, who are one of the big three teams in Portugal but are a very poor side. It says a lot that this season will be the first time in 70 years that they have retained the title.
Also, to be clear, Amorim is rated higher by several major clubs than Ten Hag. Spurs released Ten Hag because they did not feel he had enough charisma. Liverpool, City, Bayern and Barca are all keeping an eye on Amorim.
Q: Do you think Ten Hag went because he got a yes from Amorim?
calluses
A: I think it’s a fair study. Actually the performance against West Ham wasn’t that bad, and obviously that was VAR’s decision, but that’s irrelevant because it was clear in the October meeting that they needed to make changes. They had pretty much agreed on that.
The slight twist is that Amorim was initially reticent because he wanted to stay and help Sporting retain the title, which they had not done for seven decades. However, upon thinking about it, he realized that it was too good an opportunity to turn down.
Q: How soon will he be expected to challenge for the title? Presumably, he will be expected to win more than two trophies in his first two seasons.
anthony falvey
A: I don’t think it’s really about that. At United, actually, the domestic cups, well, they are not irrelevant, but they don’t mean as much if they are not matched by the ability to show that you are progressing and can compete at the top level. I think that’s what they’ll want by the end of next season. To be fair, this could happen very quickly, as other big clubs have shown.
Q: Why doesn’t Anorim wait a few years and compete with Man City?
leader
A: After all, this is Manchester United. It does not require that much investment. The club is still a money-making machine. They are so big that it doesn’t take that much time to fix them.
Furthermore, on behalf of the city, Amorim feels that the situation is very “fluid”. They don’t know what’s going to happen with Guardiola, and the possible outcome of the hearing. The city insists on its innocence, but if found guilty, the consequences could be huge. Amorim felt that he now had to take advantage of this opportunity.
Question: Does UEFA or any of the top clubs care about the overall competitiveness of club football? It seems like money in sports these days flows upward rather than downward.
JoshP85
A:This is a big topic of my new book game stagesUltimately, this entire era stemmed from extensive deregulation of football, creating an almost completely open transfer market, as huge amounts of money began to flow into the game. This system is not really suited for competitive team play; This has the opposite effect, starting a self-perpetuating cycle of concentration.
You can track this change through some key figures from before the sportswashing era. Former AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi spoke of a “virtuous cycle” where investment in football would make teams more attractive, improve TV broadcasting, thereby increasing TV revenues and further promoting the sport. Manchester United similarly recognized in the 1990s how they could use their huge commercial profile to improve the team. Real Madrid’s Florentino Pérez looked at United’s model but believed it could go further, envisioning a scenario in which star players themselves would generate substantial income – the Galacticos era.
Of course, there’s a reason we’re discussing Europe’s leading clubs. This whole system basically leads to extreme concentration. In an open market, a big club attracts immense commercial interest, which they use to acquire better players, increasing the odds at each spin of this round. It is self-perpetuating. And what happens as a result? European football began to decimate South American football. Western Europe then began to take over the rest of Europe, with the biggest Western European clubs becoming dominant even within Western Europe.
Now, the Premier League is destroying the rest of football, possibly even itself. I don’t think this is healthy for the diversity, vitality or even growth of the game.
Q: Will the Premier League fully investigate the PIF/Saudi regime and potentially force the sale of Newcastle?
Ross
A: The Premier League say they have no plans to take action over the latest reports, which is notable. One line is that the WhatsApp leak shows what has been said earlier. But then other Premier League clubs are still awaiting developments after it said it would look into the details of the LIV Golf case, where PIF lawyers had argued the fund was “a sovereign instrument of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”.
So, in other words, “legally binding assurances” that directly contradict previous “legally binding assurances”. And it all comes at this tumultuous time for the Premier League with the Man City APT case, which is, of course, a direct result of the state trying to regulate ownership.
Question: Who really cares about the Ballon d’Or award?
dark Master
A: I agree regarding what it has become. I quite like the old idea of recognizing a soccer “MVP,” part of this prestigious lineage that includes players like Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer. There is a seriousness in this. When it becomes a media campaign it doesn’t feel as gravitas as we saw with Real Madrid.
Ironically, as ridiculous as this year has become, I thought the actual race was one of the closest races for some time. Both Vinicius and Rodri had very different but equally compelling claims. In terms of being at the center of a key tactical school, Rodri is the defining player in football at the moment. Vinicius is a decisive player, seeing how he tackles so many big games with his goals.
It’s just that this award is no longer about pure football. It’s kind of become a product of the modern game, with all kinds of competitive business forces at play. Madrid wanted this because of what it means for the club’s identity. Man City’s owners wanted the Ballon d’Or because of its historical status.
These questions and answers were part of a ‘Ask Me Anything’ hosted by Miguel Delaney Thursday 31 September at 12pm GMT. Some questions and answers have been edited for this article. You can read the entire discussion in the comments section original article,
If you want to understand the complexities of how football has been shaped by outside influences, you may be interested in my new book, States of Play, which aims to unravel this narrative. Learn more – including how to win a free copy – Here,