Amorim got off to a flying start at Ipswich on November 24, 2024, with Marcus Rashford scoring after just two minutes but United were pegged back and drew 1-1.
Reflecting on that game ahead of the anniversary, Amorim says he immediately realised the scale of the task he had taken on. But after what he himself called a “disaster” first season, in which United finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham, he is quietly encouraged by the progress his side have made this term.
United are five games unbeaten in the Premier League and sit sixth in the table, ahead of the weekend fixtures.
- Transfer Centre LIVE! | Man Utd news & transfers🔴
- Man Utd fixtures & scores | FREE Man Utd PL highlights▶️
“There was everything really fast,” Amorim said about his appointment and the lead-in to his first game as United boss.
“The first thinking was the environment is completely different. I was excited with that. Right away I knew we’d struggle in some things. But it was that feeling of this was the best league in the world, maybe the best club in the world but at the same time it’s a big job, it’s going to require a lot of work.”
On the progress his team have made during his year in charge, Amorim said: “We are showing that but the important thing is it doesn’t matter what we did in the recent games. We cannot forget we start in that point to suffer a lot last year, we have to take that into account and play every game like the last one or the first one.
“Of course, I expect a team with more control, more dominant, playing better football and, the most important thing, more competitive in every way.”
Amorim confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Benjamin Sesko would be out for “a few weeks” with the knee injury which forced him off at Tottenham in the final match before the international break and said the striker’s return could overlap with Bryan Mbeumo and Amad Diallo leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Harry Maguire will not be fit to face Everton but Kobbie Mainoo could be fit to return to action in time for Monday’s game.
Sky Sports’ Peter Smith reflects on Ruben Amorim’s 12 months in charge of Manchester United…
The good…
It’s not been a year to remember for Manchester United supporters – but in the past six weeks confidence has grown that, finally, Amorim may have their team on the right track.
A first victory at Anfield in nine years, a five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and a flood of goals offer encouragement.
Ending that incredulously long wait for back-to-back top-flight wins hints at previously elusive consistency in the team’s play – aided, of course, by a £232m summer spend and squad revamp.
- Got Sky? Watch Man Utd games LIVE on your phone📱
- Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW📺
- Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want! 🔔
There were fleeting moments of delight in Amorim’s first season – the late win at Manchester City, for example, or the Europa League smashings of Real Sociedad and Athletic Club either side of that wild extra-time triumph against Lyon.
The hope now is that something more substantial and long-lasting is emerging.
But there have been so many bad moments, so many ugly moments, that, on Amorim’s first-year anniversary, no United supporter should be getting carried away just yet.
…the bad and the ugly
Amorim himself has described his side as “probably the worst team in the history” of the club (more of his knockout quotes to come later) and his return of 45 points from 38 Premier League games in charge is an inescapable reflection of how his reign has gone so far, i.e. not good.
He has the worst record of any successor to Sir Alex Ferguson and his Premier League points tally ranks United 14th out of 17 ever-present teams across his time in charge.
There have been many bruising defeats along the way. The Europa League final loss to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham was the most costly, with United not only missing out on the trophy but also a Champions League place and the financial rewards that brings.
It was also a defeat which further amplified criticism of Amorim’s stubborn commitment to 3-4-2-1, with Postecoglou’s own tactics change key to Spurs’ win.
It had all started so well, with Marcus Rashford scoring two minutes into Amorim’s first game in charge at Ipswich, tapping in a brilliant low cross from wing-back Amad Diallo. But by the end of that 1-1 draw, Sky Sports’ Roy Keane spoke of “a real lack of quality”, while Rashford’s form and commitment – as well as that of other players – would go on to become big issues, as well as the formation.
There have been many wretched, painful defeats at Old Trafford, with home fans watching on as their side lost to Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and West Ham in the league and to Fulham on penalties in the FA Cup.
On that famous pitch, Amorim stood apologising for a “disaster season” in May. “It’s not acceptable”, said Luke Shaw at the end of the historically bad campaign. “Get a grip of that club,” implored Sky Sports’ Gary Neville after the beating in Bilbao.
But Amorim’s most embarrassing moment was to come in Grimsby in August. The sight of the head coach frantically rearranging pieces on a miniature tactics board and then cowering in the dugout as his team contrived to get knocked out of the Carabao Cup by their League Two hosts was alarming imagery.
More brutal defeats have followed, at Manchester City and then Brentford, but Amorim has clambered off the canvas. He and Manchester United are back on their feet for now. But will there be a knockout blow to come – or can they recover from the punishment they’ve suffered?
Amorim’s best – and most brutal – quotes
“If we want to win the Premier League we have to run like mad dogs. If not, we are not going to.” – Amorim’s rallying cry as he took charge of United. His team ranked 14th for distance covered and total sprints last season.
“In 10 games in the Premier League, we won two. We are being the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United. I know that you want headlines, but I’m saying that because we have to acknowledge that and to change that. Here you go, your headlines.” Amorim’s stunning assessment of his side in January, before they finished in their lowest Premier League place of 15th.
“I would put [Manchester United goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital [on] before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day.” Amorim’s brutal statement when asked about Marcus Rashford missing from the matchday squad at Fulham in January. Vital was 63 at the time.
“If the board and the fans feel I’m not the right guy, I will go in the next day. But I will not quit again. I am confident in my job. As you see, I will not change anything in the way I do things.” Amorim stands by his methods after the Europa League final loss to Tottenham.
“Sometimes I want to quit, sometimes I want to be here for 20 years… Sometimes I hate my players, sometimes I love my players – this is my way of doing things. I am going to be like that. In that moment, I was so frustrated.” Amorim explains what he meant when he said ‘The players spoke really loud today,’ after losing at Grimsby.
“When we win it’s not the system; when we lose it’s the system.” Amorim bristles at continued criticism of his 3-4-2-1 set-up after defeat at Brentford in September.
