No money for new arrivals
©IMAGO
When Manchester United scored a dramatic 2-1 win at Man City on December 15th, something like a feeling of optimism arose among the struggling Red Devils. Under the new coach Ruben Amorim there were four wins, one draw and two defeats. Since then, there have been four defeats in a row with a goal difference of 3:11 and the realization that for United this season it is about “surviving”. Fans shouldn’t hope for new arrivals in January.
With the fifth most valuable squad in the league, the largest football club in England in the eyes of many ended the year in 14th place – no other Premier League club has such a discrepancy between squad value and sporting performance (table: squad value vs. league rank). Across Europe, only FC Valencia presents an even worse picture, ranking 19th in LaLiga with the sixth most valuable squad.
“We have to recognize our position. If you look at the league, anyone can beat anyone. So we have to buckle down and focus on surviving,” Amorim said after the 0:2 against Newcastle. “The players suffered a lot on the pitch and it was really tough for us. Newcastle is a better team.” Amorim averaged 1.18 points per game from his first eleven games.
Amorim is not only receiving criticism because he has not paid any attention to Manchester-born Marcus Rashford for five games, but also for his 3-4-3 formation, which some players apparently cannot cope with. “I was hired because of this idea and if you change your mind in these difficult moments, that is the end for any coach,” said the 39-year-old Portuguese. Amorim took over the record champions during the season on November 11th. He came as a top coach from Sporting Lisbon, where he celebrated great success in four and a half years, starting the season as Portuguese champions with eleven wins from eleven games and also picking up ten points from four games in the Champions League.
“It is a decision that everyone in football has to make. If I think this is the best thing for the team, I will continue to convey my message,” said Amorim, defending his line-up after the home defeat. But he knows that “with bad results it is really difficult to sell an idea.” The next two tasks are Liverpool in the league and Arsenal in the FA Cup – both away.
With the team that Amorim currently has, he will have to turn things around because there is no money for transfers: “We don’t have that opportunity in January. It’s not like I come here and can spend a lot of money to change the whole team.” The Red Devils squad cost 914 million euros in transfer fees, making it the most expensive in the football world after Man City and Chelsea. For comparison: Arsenal paid 744 million euros for their team and currently have a squad value of 1.16 billion euros – the best price-performance ratio in the Premier League.
