‘Back to square one’published at 17:08 GMT
17:08 GMT
Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter
Image source, Getty Images
Ruben Amorim’s latest disgruntled news conference was enough to push his employers over the edge.
His cry that he was brought in “as a manager, not a coach” unsubtly underlined that executives were deciding what was needed on the pitch over and above him.
To their eyes, the hired help simply did not know his place and he had to go.
Amorim clearly thought additions had to be made to his squad this month and I have some sympathy with him.
The major acquisitions Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Patrick Dorgu and Benjamin Sesko have had mixed success so far but they showed fight at Leeds – which is an improvement on recent years, even if it was still a work in progress.
In 14 months, he shipped out seven first-team players from a failing squad, so although money was spent, the first-team group was still too small.
The bench at Elland Road had two 17-year-olds, three 18-year-olds and a 20-year-old with a grand total of one Premier League start between them.‌
By steering United to joint-fifth, he had shown he deserved the backing in the transfer window this month if he were to be kept on.
Unfortunately, in the current climate, managers (and head coaches) are far lower down the food chain than they have been for decades.
Anything said that draws attention to those who make decisions above the manager but are not willing to take the flak when it goes wrong is seen as unacceptable.
Most United fans will not weep at his departure, just at the state of a club that might just have shot itself in the foot once again.
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