It may be the way all Manchester United managers imagine their reign ending. With Old Trafford chorusing their name, with a beloved figure standing in the centre circle, applauding all four stands in turn before going to the Stretford End to soak up their adulation.
Now and again, it actually happens. But only, of late, when they are caretaker managers, celebrated for their playing days, their brief tenures a chance to wallow in the past. Ruud van Nistelrooy filled the gap between Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim with fine results. Yet reality tends to descend for the permanent managers.
Even though Van Nistelrooy has brought a restorative feel – to Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro as well as the results and the atmosphere – Amorim takes over a club 13th in the Premier League and 15th in the Europa League.
“What hasn’t changed is that this club has to get back to where it belongs,” said Fernandes. And United have rarely been further away in the modern era. Arguably, no manager has taken over United at a lower ebb since Sir Alex Ferguson in 1986.
If the precedents are good, the job is hard. Perhaps it is made harder by the circumstances: David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ten Hag all took charge in the summer off-season, able to end a transfer window with some signings if not necessarily as many or all they wanted. Amorim has at least 11 games to navigate without arrivals and with a squad that doesn’t seem to suit him (or, some might say, any other manager).
“I can’t comment on that,” said Van Nistelrooy when asked if the group of players fits Amorim’s style; he persisted with a Ten Hag-esque 4-2-3-1 rather than attempting to introduce the Portuguese’s preferred 3-4-3. In particular, United seem to lack natural wing-backs – all the full-backs feel more equipped to feature in a back four – while Amorim’s definition of an inside-forward will be instructive. He plays a shape without an orthodox No 10 and United’s outstanding individual, Fernandes, is a No 10. Now, too, he is in form. “Bruno is back producing,” said Van Nistelrooy.
That is part of his legacy. So, too, is the sight of Manuel Ugarte as a regular presence. The Uruguayan started every game for Van Nistelrooy, as many for the interim as he did for Ten Hag, who scarcely seemed to trust the summer signing. Amad Diallo has been another beneficiary of the Van Nistelrooy fortnight but with Alejandro Garnacho feeling unable to celebrate his spectacular goal against Leicester because of criticism from fans, another youthful winger needs rejuvenating.
And individually, plenty of players require attention. Viktor Gyokeres scored 66 goals in 68 games for Amorim at Sporting whereas Joshua Zirkzee, with none in his last 16 for United, seems to have abandoned all interest in scoring and Rasmus Hojlund is playing himself out of form.
In defence, Diogo Dalot was excellent last season but troubled this. There may soon, finally, be scope to rest him. Both Luke Shaw and Leny Yoro are back in training, the latter a Ten Hag buy who never played for Ten Hag. So far, Noussair Mazraoui is the closest to being a success of the five summer signings. The other price tags were hefty but United spent £200m in the summer and scarcely look like they have been injected with £200m of quality.
If there is something intriguing in what Amorim makes of his inheritance, it bears Ten Hag’s imprint. Of the 22 players to appear for United in the Premier League this season, 12 joined under the Dutchman. One of those, Mason Mount, never suited a position in Ten Hag’s tactics but at least flourished in a 3-4-3 formation for Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.
Amorim begins in an international break and has more players to work with immediately because some, such as Casemiro, Antony, Mount and Marcus Rashford, have lost their places in their country’s plans. That, too, reflects United’s travails.
So his is an uphill task. Van Nistelrooy at least lent some clarity of thought and some wins. But he had four games, three of them relatively easy and all at home. Five of Amorim’s first eight are away. Three of the next five league matches are against sides currently in the top five.
He is playing catch-up when presumably trying to implement a different system, with a group of players who routinely looked outcoached in Ten Hag’s final 14 months, appearing disjointed against teams with a superior blueprint. Too often United have lacked tactical cohesion. There are questions if the squad has sufficient running power: to press, to play a high defensive line, to track back with the diligence a micro-manager can demand.
Van Nistelrooy has steadied the ship. Now comes a voyage into the unknown for Amorim. “This block of four games, it felt like a closure and the future is open,” said Van Nistelrooy. He was talking about his own situation but the same applies to United. And Amorim will have to excel if his last game at Old Trafford comes with the sort of reception afforded to Van Nistelrooy.
