If wags would characterise Manchester United’s visit to Fulham on Sunday as the circus coming to west London, a more sober billing still casts Ruben Amorim as the ringmaster of a club in perpetual chaos, a manager charged with navigating a slew of problems rocking the stability required to revitalise England’s record 20-time champions.
In midweek the head coach was asked if the storm engulfing United may soon hit worse with “thunder and lightning”. The question followed last Sunday’s morale-sapping 3-1 reverse to Brighton, a seventh defeat of Amorim’s 16 games that had him branding his team as, possibly, United’s poorest ever vintage.
