‘Something has to change’: Manchester United plunges to new low against fourth-division Grimsby Town
Ruben Amorim looked dejected after his team's performance.
By Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — Just when Manchester United fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, up steps fourth-division side Grimsby Town to plunge the once-great club even further in the mire.
The League Two minnow – sitting three divisions below Manchester United – was well worthy of its League Cup win on Wednesday, beating Ruben Amorim’s team 2-2 (12-11) in a marathon penalty shootout that came after a rollercoaster game at Grimsby’s Blundell Park.
The host, by far the better team in the first half, led its Premier League opponent 2-0 heading into the final 15 minutes of the match. Two late goals from the Red Devils, though, looked to have denied Grimsby a historic victory, but the underdog bit back in an astonishing shootout which United manager Amorim couldn’t bring himself to watch.
And while the night should be remembered for the Grimsby Town celebrations at full-time – it is arguably the greatest result in the club’s history – it’s hard not to question what on earth is going on at United.
The scene looked all the more bleak after a mammoth thunderstorm drenched the ground in the second half, with the image of a soaking-wet Amorim frantically consulting his tactics board serving as the perfect metaphor for the club’s current state.
Amorim dejected
“I just want to apologize to our fans,” a furious Amorim told ITV Sport after the humiliating defeat.
“You can feel it. Something has to change. I don’t know what to say anymore to our fans. It’s hard to face.”
He later added to reporters: “We were completely lost and it’s hard to explain and that’s why I think they spoke really loud.
“I know the best team won today. The best players lost – because when you are a team you can win any game. It was really fair the football today.”
The Portuguese manager has now been at Manchester United for nine months and pressure to get results is looming larger than ever – he has so far overseen just 16 wins in 44 games.
Given he arrived part-way through last season and told fans he would need time to implement his style of play, many gave him some leeway for the team’s disastrous 15th-place finish in the league.
But after an entire preseason schedule and backing in the transfer market – the club has signed an entirely new frontline in Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško and Matheus Cunha – there is very little credit left in the bank.
To put it simply, there is still so much wrong with the team which has picked up just one point from its first two Premier League games of the new season.
The goalkeeper situation, for one, has become untenable. Both André Onana and Altay Bayındır have been used in the three games this season and both have made blunders that have led to conceded goals.
The defense, certainly against Grimsby, looked incredibly unsure of itself and the attackers are struggling to convert the very few chances they are creating.
Both new signings, Cunha and Mbeumo, missed vital penalties in Wednesday’s defeat. New star striker Šeško also opted to be the last outfield player to take a spotkick.
“It was obviously not good enough today,” United defender Diogo Dalot told ITV Sport. “We cannot give up, whatever the situation but, like I said, it’s not good enough and I think its something we need to look deeply into ourselves.
“Tomorrow is a new day, we need to fight back and show to ourselves that, to be at this club, we need to do more much.”
Identity or stubbornness?
There is also the sticky situation about the team’s formation.
Amorim was praised on his arrival at the club for having a distinct style of play. The 3-4-3 formation had worked so well at his former club, Sporting CP, and many felt a strong identity was exactly what a rudderless Manchester United needed.
But Amorim’s dedication to his system, which was once deemed a strength, is now turning into a weakness. Even if it’s not working, or if the players are struggling to adapt, the manager is seemingly not changing his mind.
Last season, the Portuguese boss said things would get worse before they got better. United fans, though, are running out of patience, despite some brief signs of improvement during spells of matches this season.
“It’s not about the formation,” Amorim insisted again on Wednesday. “The system is not important. We can play with three defenders, four defenders, five defenders, that doesn’t matter.
“What matters is that we need to be different, and that’s the job of the coach, and you can see that nothing has changed.”
There is still a week left in this summer’s transfer window and Manchester United will likely be busy – perhaps more so with outgoings.
There are still several players, including Antony, Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho, who are seemingly surplus to requirements at United, as Amorim looks to freshen up a team which has been thrown from one disaster to the next in recent years.
The clear out, which has seen the likes of Marcus Rashford leave the club on loan, was supposed to usher in a new era of positivity at the 20-time top-flight champion.
The club’s new minority owner, billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, has backed the need for change, investing in a renovated training center and promising to build a new world-class stadium.
Already, though, this ‘new’ Manchester United has lurched into its latest calamitous chapter.
Next up for the team is a Premier League fixture against newly-promoted Burnley on Saturday. Nothing but a comfortable win will ease the growing pressure on Amorim and his job as manager of the Red Devils.
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