RUBEN AMORIM possibly uttered the epitaph for his Manchester United career on Tuesday night.
“We knew that they will play with the five,” he said. “They” being Wolves.
Winless Wolves with two points and a -29 goal difference from 18 games at kick-off.
Winless Wolves that are still eight points away from equalling the 11 points dismal Derby managed in 2007-08.
It is not an exaggeration to say United’s result against Wolves was their worst in the 33-and-a-half years of the Premier League against what could be the worst team in the Premier League era.
The goalless stalemate with Sunderland on Good Friday in 2006 is up there (or down there). Losing a home banker to Sheffield United in January 2021 was inexcusable, although it came during the soullessness of the Covid restrictions.
Kenny Miller’s saveable winner for eventually relegated Wolves in January 2004 signalled the beginning of the end for United’s title challenge.
That Wolves side finished 20th but with 33 points. Eleven times as many as the current sunken ship.
That Amorim switched to a back three after the success of a back four against Newcastle on Boxing Day was illogical.
United players appeared liberated by the 4-2-3-1 formation they set-up in against Newcastle and Amorim’s pre-match press conference for Wolves was dominated by his promise of more tactical flexibility.
Almost from kick-off against Wolves, United were a rabble. Amorim was either on his haunches, outstretching his arms or berating a player.
Joshua Zirkzee copped it for not dropping deep and his deflected goal could not spare him from a half-time substitution.
Zirkzee is so languid he would fit in well with the cavalier culture in the England Test team.
Amorim claimed United “struggled” against Wolves’ overload in midfield and it was only balanced out with Jack Fletcher’s interval introduction.
Only Fletcher, an attacking midfielder, played out of position on the right wing as Amorim rejigged the formation to 4-2-3-1 for the second half.
United are in limbo. Glance at the Premier League table and they are sixth. Those below them are unlikely to disturb those above them.
So United could sleepwalk to a Europa League place. Privately, the hierarchy targeted a top-six finish in pre-season.
But in the context of the first 19 league games, coming sixth would not constitute a success.
There is a Champions League place there for the taking and United were briefly fourth during the 18 minutes they led Wolves.
Liverpool imploded for two months yet they now find themselves above United and could pull five points clear if they beat Leeds on New Year’s Day.
If a gap develops, United will become increasingly distant in Liverpool’s rearview mirrors. Because United struggle manfully to win back-to-back games.
That was one reason why some felt United would come a cropper against Wolves. Apart from the three-match winning run against Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton in October, United have not strung together back-to-back wins this term.
The only other time they managed it under Amorim was in January against Rangers, Fulham and Steaua Bucharest.
Amorim said there was “no excuse” for the result against Wolves on a night United were without eight players. His confidence of a high finish hinges on those players’ returns.
“I’m really confident,” he stressed. “We just need to recover all the players and I’m really confident.
“I don’t know what is going to happen until the end of the season. But I’m really confident when we recover all the players that we are going to be a strong team.
“That there is no doubt in my mind.”
Yet United were erratic even when Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo, Amad, Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo, Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire were all on the matchday teamsheet.
The attacking quintet were all involved in the chaotic 4-4 draw with Bournemouth barely two weeks ago, as well as the dreary draw with West Ham and diabolical defeat to Everton at home.
There is a danger that Nottingham Forest away signalled a turn for the worse for United.
They headed into that match on November 1 on a three-match winning streak, were 1-0 up at half-time and Forest were spitting feathers over the legitimacy of Casemiro’s goal from a corner.
Within five minutes of the restart, United were 2-1 down. A week later, they went 1-0 up at Tottenham only to go behind 2-1. Late equalisers were required in both draws.
United have gone 1-0 up but failed to win six times this season. Five of those have come during this sequence of three wins from ten games, starting with the Forest fixture.
It is rotten luck for Amorim that his attack is depleted. The Africa Cup of Nations has hit United hard already and there were four attackers at the most on the pitch against Wolves.
Yet when the Stretford End chanted, “Attack, attack, attack” the first substitute to be summoned was defender Leny Yoro.
Amorim has form for that. There was the same rallying cry from the away end in the second game of the season at Fulham and Amorim swapped two defenders for two defenders.
Ayden Heaven’s removal for Yoro against Wolves was booed. Partly down to the pointlessness of a late like-for-like change in defence and Heaven’s decent form.
Amorim’s hands were tied with the attacking change. When his assistant, Carlos Fernandes, ordered Bendito Mantato to head back to the dugout, it took a few seconds as the teenage substitutes were unsure which of them was going on.
Mantato never looked capable of stepping up for his Federico Macheda moment.
Shea Lacey going unused was odd when he is a winger by trade – unlike Fletcher – and had a promising impact on his debut at Aston Villa.
Chido Obi had the most first-team minutes of all the academy substitutes and a switch to 4-4-2 was merited. Yet he kept his coat on.
Judging by the full-time reaction, some at Old Trafford would like Amorim to get his coat.
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