Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim admitted that he is “trying” to work towards a position where he can move away from his cherished 3-4-2-1 system.
That represents a significant shift in stance for a manager who less than two weeks ago declared that “not even the pope” could get him to drop his favoured formation.
United’s recent results have been even more convincing than a letter from the papacy. Saturday’s grim 3–1 defeat to Brentford represented the club’s third league defeat from their opening six games as United were comfortably dismantled by an opponent whose main aim is simply to avoid relegation.
Bees boss Keith Andrews needed just two sentences to explain how his side exposed the flaws of Amorim’s 3-4-2-1. “You try and create overloads”, the former set-piece coach outlined. “One of which would be if we have a three-man midfield, they have a two.”
For the first time, Amorim hinted at some whisper of flexibility going forward. “I think again the fun part is trying to adapt the way you see football to every system of the the opponent,” he told TNT Sports. “I’m always saying the same thing. This is going to evolve. We are going to change the the system. But it’s not a normal system and sometimes you take longer to go from this system to another systems.
“And that’s what I’m doing. I’m just trying to coach the team the way I see football.”
Matthijs de Ligt argued that the individual performance of the players—himself included—is more to blame than the system. However, Amorim’s insistence on shoehorning players which don’t possess the natural qualities to thrive in that formation isn’t going to help these under-performing individuals.
Amorim: Man Utd Are Too Unpredictable
While Amorim continues to steadfastly stick to his 3-4-2-1, every manager knows exactly how United are going to play. Every manager apart from Amorim, who is left routinely bemused by the displays of his players each weekend.
“The funny thing is that you need to have like a team to understand—not the outcome—but you already understand how the game will be, [if] we are going to have control,” the former Sporting CP coach explained. “This is going to happen. Maybe we lose because of one transition or one set pieces, but the game is going to be like this.
“With my team at the moment, you never know.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘I’m Trying’—Ruben Amorim Opens Door to Significant Man Utd U-Turn.
