When A Coach Gets The Can And It Makes Him Feel Grand, That’s Amorim

Following Manchester United's comeback draw against Leeds on Sunday, manager Ruben Amorim said in a heated press conference that he "came here to be the manager of Man United, not the head coach," hinting at a power struggle behind the scenes. Less than 24 hours later, he no longer has to worry about that distinction, as the club finally cut ties with the Portuguese manager, ending a 14-month tenure that never got off the ground.

United's Under-18s manager Darren Fletcher has taken over for Amorim on an interim basis, and sources told ESPN that the club might stick with him until the summer. Perhaps the club has learned its lesson from Amorim's hiring, as this was a doomed partnership from the start. After the Erik ten Hag saga, Amorim, who moved over mid-season from Sporting Lisbon in November of 2024, was considered a major upgrade. (Naturally, Ten Hag was himself considered a major upgrade over the Michael Carrick-Ralf Rangnick caretaker era that preceded him.) Amorim was set up to fail, however, in part due to his own stubbornness; a 3-4-3 devotee, the new manager immediately set about installing his preferred system, despite the lack roster's incompatibility with a three-at-the-back system.

The results have been dire, even as United has managed to look quite decent at times this season. In his time at the helm of United, Amorim only won 15 Premier League matches (seven last season, and eight so far this campaign), and he presided over a 15th-place finish last year, United's lowest top-flight position since getting relegated in 1974. Things this season looked slightly more promising—at the time of his firing, United sits in sixth place, and has notched quality victories over Chelsea, Brighton, Sunderland, and Liverpool—but the wheels started coming off with a 4-4 draw against Bournemouth on Dec. 15. Since that match, United has lost to Aston Villa and drawn 1-1 to both Wolverhampton (one of the worst teams the Premier League era) and now Leeds. There was also a 1-0 win over Newcastle in there, for whatever it's worth, which turned out to be "very little."

This is not to say that Amorim's tenure was a complete failure, even if at times it seemed like it. Despite the Premier League struggles last season, he did guide the club to the Europa League final last May. (The club lost, allowing Tottenham to earn its first major trophy in 17 years in one of the worst matches of 2025, but hey, a final is a final. Also, Tottenham fired its manager even after all that, so Amorim somehow ended up the luckier manager there.) This season, there were some signs of progress in how United played certain games, which is damning with faint praise but still worth noting. In particular, the Liverpool match was a masterclass in pouncing on a downed opponent; this isn't the same Liverpool that walked away with the league last season, and Amorim's United made the Reds pay for it, scoring early and constantly threatening to score more before Harry Maguire's late winner.

But that result back in October turned out to be yet another false dawn, and the middling results since then, coupled with Amorim's apparent dissatisfaction with transfer plans heading into the January window, made this partnership come to an end in a typically messy manner. Prior to his Sunday press conference, where the manager also called upon Director of Football Jason Wilcox to "do his job" in regards to recruitment this month, Amorim had reportedly met with United brass to discuss the club's performance and his insistence on the 3-4-3 system. That meeting with Wilcox reportedly grew heated and sparked Amorim's words on Sunday, as sure a sign that he was looking to get fired as much as United might have wanted to fire him.

Amorim will likely get another shot at a good job elsewhere, even with the broad failures of his stay in Manchester. The club's path forward will be more difficult. Fletcher might benefit from a new-manager bounce—and I'm sure it will be special for the former United academy product to coach his twin sons, Jack and Tyler—but it's unlikely that a club of this stature will not go looking for bigger names in the summer, if not sooner. There's plenty of time left until then, both to see how Fletcher does and to see which managers leave their current posts. Sure, Enzo Maresca is available now, but what part of his short Chelsea tenure makes him seem like the answer? No part, in my eyes, and so United might as well be prudent here.

If Fletcher can keep United roughly in the same spot on the table by the end of the year, or even climb into the Champions League spots, that'll be a job well done and life after Amorim can begin in earnest in a few months. If Fletcher's team falters, though, will United remain patient through the back half of the Premier League season? Given that the club stuck with both Ten Hag and Amorim for too long, it's possible, but I wouldn't envy anyone involved of having to make a choice in either direction. I also wouldn't trust them, given how the club has operated in recent years. Come what may, one thing is certain: There's a new era yawning to life on the red side of Manchester, and Ruben Amorim will, finally and mercifully, not be a part of whatever comes next.