Ruben Amorim predicted that his side would have to “suffer” in the early phase of his Manchester United tenure, but not even the Portuguese tactician could have foreseen quite how much suffering there would be…
The former Sporting CP boss had enjoyed a 34-game unbeaten run in the league prior to the defeat to Arsenal earlier this month. Now he’s already chalked up four Premier League losses in just over a month in charge. That’s what United can do.
Not that the young coach is faultless, yet after the collective woes endured under his predecessor Erik ten Hag, much of the blame must fall the way of this group of players. In the words of ‘Orange Juice’, perhaps it’s time to ‘rip it up and start again…’
A total squad overhaul may appear hasty, with Amorim still needing time to get his ideas across, yet for too long this misfiring crop have underwhelmed, as was the case again in Thursday’s grim 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Devoid of ideas in attack, outfought and outrun in midfield, and feeble in defence, this is a team that deserves to be languishing in 14th in the Premier League table.
Man Utd's worst performers vs Wolves
Where to begin?
Well, an obvious place to start would be that man Bruno Fernandes, with the United skipper foolishly picking up a second yellow card just after the break, following a needless, late challenge on compatriot Nelson Semedo.
For the third time this season, the Portuguese playmaker has seen red, and while he may have had justifiable complaints regarding his dismissals against Tottenham Hotspur and Porto earlier in the campaign, there was no excuse this time around.
The 30-year-old’s overall performance in that number ten berth – which saw him win just three of his 12 ground duels, as per Sofascore – was in stark contrast to Wolves’ main man, Matheus Cunha, with the Brazilian grabbing a goal and an assist, while winning 13 ground duels in what was a real all-round performance.
Cunha’s dynamism and work ethic was also in stark contrast to young Kobbie Mainoo in the centre of the park, with the 19-year-old midfielder – who scored that last-gasp winner at Molineux back in February – rightly hooked on the hour mark after squandering the ball 11 times from just 37 touches.
Injury and managerial upheaval has no doubt impacted the Englishman this season, after the highs of earning a place at Euro 2024 last season, yet time should be afforded him to get back to his brilliant best.
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Time, however, is not something that should be gifted to one of his floundering teammates, with supporters no doubt having seen enough of a certain Andre Onana.
Why Andre Onana needs to be replaced
It must be said that it wasn’t too long ago that the Cameroonian looked like United’s “best player this season” – as per journalist Steven Railston – having produced numerous key moments in the early knockings of 2024/25, including his double save away at Crystal Palace.
With that in mind, it may then be hasty to say that the former Ajax man should now be ditched, although recent weeks have laid bare just why he is not up to scratch. At a time when United – and new boss Amorim – are in need of calm, Onana merely provides chaos.
The 28-year-old is not alone in that, of course, yet Amorim’s early reign has already been littered with goalkeeping mistakes. Against Nottingham Forest, Onana somehow failed to keep out Morgan Gibbs-White’s long range effort, having also been unable to deal with Chris Wood’s looping header.
That was followed by another comical error when attempting to play out from the back against Viktoria Plzen, while the Red Devils’ first-choice stopper was also culpable at Molineux, having allowed Cunha to remarkably net directly from a corner.
With Altay Bayindir having suffered similar against Spurs last week, perhaps this latest blunder is a result of a tactical issue, yet the manner in which Onana watched as the ball sailed over him was meek indeed. It’s no surprise that journalist Samuel Luckhurst branded him a “pushover”.
The £120k-per-week stopper – who received a 3/10 match rating from Luckhurst – looks far more like the player who wilted during United’s Champions League group stage debacle last season, in which he made at least two errors leading directly to a goal.
Stat
Rank
Goals against
Top 29%
Corner kick goals against
Bottom 6%
Save percentage
Top 48%
Clean sheet percentage
Top 19%
Touches
Top 10%
Crosses stopped %
Top 44%
Defensive actions outside penalty area
Bottom 10%
Average distance of defensive actions
Bottom 17%
To have been at the centre of so many mistakes after joining in the summer of 2023 is frankly not a good look, with it no surprise that Amorim has reportedly already seen enough, amid claims that the new boss wants to replace Onana in January.
Selling the £47.5m man in the winter window may appear an unlikely and bold move, yet on the evidence of recent form – which has seen United suffer three straight defeats – no one in the squad is safe.
The Old Trafford side have accepted less for far too long. No more.
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