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Ruben Amorim will soon leave a team with 10 league wins this season for one with nine league goals. He will quit a side first in their domestic league for one in 13th. He will move from a club currently eighth in the Champions League table to one now 21st in the Europa League standings. There are other ways, of course, in which Amorim is not trading down when he swaps Sporting CP for Manchester United.
For now, however, his inheritance is decidedly mixed. Just because United spent some £600m under Erik ten Hag does not mean they acquired £600m worth of players. Amorim will walk into a club at historic lows: United have their lowest number of points after 10 games since 1986-87, their fewest goals at this stage since 1973-74.
One of those seasons was a catalyst for revival, another dragged them still lower. Sir Alex Ferguson was appointed in November 1986. If it is unfair to expect Amorim to have the impact the Scot did, he may not get the time either: he has an initial two-and-a-half-year contract, whereas Ferguson did not win a trophy for three and a half after his arrival.
Half a century ago, meanwhile, United also had nine league goals after 10 games. At Christmas, their goalkeeper, Alex Stepney, was their joint top scorer. At the end of the campaign, they were relegated. History is unlikely to repeat itself, unless Andre Onana reveals a clinical streak.
Someone needs to. United are the division’s greatest xG underachievers with, according to Understat, 8.81 fewer goals than they ought to have, given the quality of their chances. “The good thing is we create a lot this season so far,” said interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, who may still be the best finisher at the club.
Yet the nature of the opportunities is among the multitude of issues for Amorim to address. Some fall to the wrong players: Rasmus Hojlund had a lone touch in the box against Chelsea, though it did win a penalty. Marcus Rashford’s expected goals tally for the Premier League campaign is still under 1.0.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Joshua Zirkzee have been wasteful, all xG underperformers. The summer signing now looks incapable of scoring. The captain has ended his drought and apologised to Ten Hag for losing his scoring touch before the Dutchman was sacked.
The creativity of Fernandes and the speed and verve of Garnacho and Rashford are some of the reasons why United rank in the top five for shots on target. Part of Amorim’s task is to ensure more go in.
Attacking shortcomings are compounded by the enduring hole in the heart of the team and a defence that lacks pace.
It has become a recurring theme at Old Trafford that expensive signings can exacerbate problems, not solve them. Now the sole member of the squad that Amorim has already managed threatens to fall into that category, in Manuel Ugarte. Ten Hag did not want to sell Scott McTominay. It would not have been possible to buy Ugarte without the money – and ability to manoeuvre within the confines of profit and sustainability rules – from the Scot’s sale. All of which would have been justifiable if the Uruguayan were an upgrade on the Scot. So far, he doesn’t look it.
But a perennial problem is how to put the disparate parts into a coherent, functioning unit. Other clubs have brought the best from their players because of the tactical set-up. United have sometimes highlighted the worst of theirs.
Yet there are comparatively few cornerstones for Amorim to build around. Lisandro Martinez could be one but, for the second time this season, he was very fortunate to escape a red card on Sunday. The Argentinian’s rashness can be dangerous. Nor has he brought sufficient solidity: if the midfield is a factor, United have the sixth worst expected goals against in the division. The statistics suggest Onana has been among the best goalkeepers in the division this season.
Which may be a belated vindication for Ten Hag but also shows this historically bad start could have been still worse for United. Van Nistelrooy has taken them from 14th to 13th. United may be overambitious in hoping Amorim can pilot them into the top four this season. “There is a lot of time to improve on the ranking,” said Van Nistelrooy. But there is also a lot that needs to improve.
