Why Man United really COULD be relegated – the five reasons including an alarming change under Ruben Amorim that the nightmare may become real for England’s biggest club
The very thought of Manchester United being relegated seems almost too ridiculous for words.
This is one of the most famous sports clubs on the planet. The record 20-time champions of England.
Yet as United’s players trailed off the pitch at Old Trafford on Monday night, beaten and bewildered after their latest defeat at the hands of Newcastle, the threat of relegation never felt more real in the Premier League era.
It has happened before, of course. United dropped out of the old First Division in 1974, just six years after winning the European Cup under Sir Matt Busby.
Too Good to Go Down was the name of the 2018 documentary charting the demise of Tommy Docherty’s team, and those words should serve as a warning that there are no guarantees over United’s safety this season either.
Asked if his team are now in a survival fight, new head coach Ruben Amorim didn’t mince his words. ‘I think it is a possibility and we have to be clear with our fans,’ said Amorim.
Ruben Amorim has admitted that his Man United side are now in a battle for survival
United find themselves down in 14th and just seven points above the relegation zone
‘It is one of the worst moments in the history of our club and we have to accept that. We have to acknowledge our position and focus on surviving.’
United enter the New Year and second half of the season in unchartered territory. On Sunday, they face Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield in danger of plunging even further into freefall.
The nightmare scenario of relegation is starting to seem very real. Mail Sport looks at why it could actually happen.
Losing streak
The facts behind United’s alarming slump speak for themselves.
Amorim has suffered five defeats in his first eight league games, the worst record of any United manager in more than a century.
The club have lost three league games in a row at Old Trafford for the first time since December 1978, and five league defeats in the same month for the first time since September 1962.
United have not been in the bottom half of the table at New Year since 1989, and are six points short of their previous lowest total at the halfway point of a Premier League season.
More optimistic fans would point out that the team were also 14th when Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag, and the seven-point gap between United and third-from-bottom Ipswich is the same as it is between United and the top-eight.
Others would look at results since Amorim arrived and argue that it’s relegation form. They are already fearing a repeat of the 7-0 humiliation at Anfield in March 2023.
United have lost four on the bounce in all competitions as their form has plummeted under Amorim
Change of plan
The concern is that United are actually going backwards under the former Sporting Lisbon boss, largely due to his insistence on keeping the 3-4-3 formation he used in Portugal.
It means United’s players having to adapt to a new system in mid-season with little time for Amorim to coach it into his squad on the training ground.
Asked on Monday night if he might consider a change of tactics to better suit his players, the 39-year-old made it clear there is no alternative and he will stick to the plan come what may.
‘If I change all the time it is going to be even worse,’ warned Amorim. ‘But I understand they have a lot of difficulties because they spent two years playing one way. You can feel it, I can feel it, but I have to sell my idea, I don’t have another one.’
The Portuguese has also acknowledged his job could be in jeopardy after just 11 games in charge if results don’t improve, although whether United could afford to pay the compensation on his £6.5m-a-year contract if they make another managerial change is a different matter.
Amorim has insisted he will not change his tactics, but they aren’t working right now
Strapped for cash
United’s financial problems after blowing £600m on new players under Ten Hag mean that Amorim won’t be able to simply buy his way out of trouble in the January transfer window.
He may need to sell first to get the players who are a better fit for his system, with a left wing-back and striker the priorities.
‘We don’t have that possibility in January,’ he said. ‘It is not the case that I am arriving here and can spend a lot of money changing all the team.’
Offloading any of United’s high-earning flops won’t be easy, though. Casemiro is once again being linked with a move to Saudi Arabia and that would be the easiest way of shifting his £375,000-a-week salary off the wage bill.
The Brazilian and Christian Eriksen looked all their 32 years against a younger and more dynamic Newcastle midfield.
United face a similar problem with Marcus Rashford and Antony, who earn £315,000 and £200,000 respectively.
The best way of raising money for new signings and complying with profit and sustainability rules would be to sell homegrown talents like Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo, previously seen as untouchable. That still seems unlikely, however.
Otherwise, Amorim will just have to hope there is enough in the pot to make a couple of additions this month.
United need to raise funds to buy new players, and that could mean getting ageing stars like Casemiro and Christian Eriksen off their books
It will be difficult to offload Brazilian winger Antony due to his £200,000-a-week wages
Star wars
When United finished third and won the Carabao Cup in Ten Hag’s first season, it was on the back of a 30-goal haul from Rashford.
Despite being frozen out by Amorim for four games before returning as an unused substitute against Newcastle, the 27-year-old is still United’s joint top scorer in the Premier League with four.
If he does stay at his boyhood club beyond the January window, Amorim has to somehow get the best out of Rashford.
It’s a similar story with Garnacho who was one of the shining lights of Ten Hag’s reign. The young Argentina winger is not a natural fit for Amorim’s system and has also fallen foul of the head coach, playing the last four games off the bench after he and Rashford were axed for the Manchester derby.
Having laid down the law, Amorim has to get two of his best players back onside to lead the survival fight.
Marcus Rashford has been frozen out recently and was an unused substitute on Monday night
Alejandro Garnacho was also axed for the recent Manchester derby and has struggled to adapt to Amorim’s system
Crisis of confidence
As well as inheriting a squad that isn’t good enough and doesn’t fit his playing style, Amorim now has a group of players who are desperately low on confidence after the shocking run of results.
Individuals like goalkeeper Andre Onana and defender Lisandro Martinez, two of the stronger performers under Ten Hag, have looked shaky in the new system.
Lisandro Martinez has looked shaky in a back three since Amorim’s arrival
Amorim took Joshua Zirkzee off after just over half an hour on Monday, and the Dutchman’s confidence appears to be shattered
Kobbie Mainoo has not kicked on in the way many had hoped, and Rasmus Hojlund has struggled to produce the same goal scoring form in the Premier League as he does in Europe.
Then there’s Joshua Zirkzee. United’s £36.5m summer signing has struggled since arriving from Bologna, and looked a broken man when he was substituted in the 33rd minute against Newcastle. The unprecedented cheers from the Old Trafford crowd when Mainoo replaced Zirkzee left the Dutchman close to tears as he headed down the tunnel before re-appearing on the bench for the second half.
Repairing his shattered confidence – and that of many of his teammates – is no easy task.
‘You can feel it every single day,’ added Amorim. ‘It’s really hard for them sometimes on the pitch to cope with all these losses, but we have to continue – there is no other way.’
