05 Jan 2026 20:35:34
What a mess we find ourselves in, and most frustratingly it appears to be one entirely of our own making.
Going back to when they extended EtH contract, the main reason I agreed with that at the time was actually because I didn't think EtH was the long term answer at that point. What I did realise though was that in order to rebuild the squad things would need to get worse before they could get better. The club needed to weed out the "wronguns" and start to bring in younger less consistent players who has potential to be developed into the right sort of players we needed.
As for Amorim I liked him as a manager, I felt his ideas were good, he seemed to have a good handle on the dressing room (when was the last time we sacked a manager who HADN'T lost the dressing room) . I felt that overall we were getting better and improving. Yeah results were inconsistent, but you will get that when you have half a squad mostly made up of players who don't have a long term future or who aren't good enough.
The next manager will struggle to get consistent performances for the next 12-18 months while we continue to rebuild the squad.
All that said though the biggest frustration with this situation is that it seems to be born out of personality clashes rather than a failed appointment. Reading between the lines it looks like Wilcocks is the problem, he was one of the main people who clashed with Ashworth that led to his departure, now the biggest issue at the club over the past season appears to be his relationship with the manager. Twice now the club have sacked/removed a highly rated employee and both times it was due to the poor working relationship primarily with Wilcocks.
Hopefully this doesn't derail us too much, ultimately the only way the club gets back to the top is by having their plan and making it work. In the past our mistake was hanging our hopes on a manager to come in and fix everything. When in reality we should be hiring a manager to fit into a bigger plan, that way the manager is changeable without having to deviate from the plan. If that is how we have been running things over the past 18 months then we should be able to hire a manager who fits that plan and the squad we are building. If not then we are back to square one.
05 Jan 2026 22:26:11
You’re right it is a mess Shappy. But it was mess before and will continue to be so.
I’m really surprised and shocked that they decided to let him go today, essentially for speaking against the management. The club seemed to back Amorim through some misguided comments and poor performances. But don’t can’t take these comments…
I didn’t rate him but liked him as a fella plus we had improved, we’re 6th and had some good underlying data while missing key players. The eye test was another story.
I just don’t get the timing. I was sure we’d have a back four Christmas or Summer.
05 Jan 2026 21:15:05
The main problem is Ratcliffe. He started out with the intention of hiring experienced professionals to run the club. Ashworth was key to this, so key that they paid Newcastle millions to get him.
Ashworth is, by all accounts, a pragmatic, detail oriented, realist. Ratcliffe was frustrated that Ashworth wouldn’t give him simple answers to complicated questions about the club, like, how long it would take to get back competing for titles. Wilcox is a blagger. Ratcliffe likes bloggers because they tell him what he wants to hear in ways he can easily understand. Wilcox didn’t clash with Ashworth. He manoeuvred himself into a position where he could take his job, and, alongside his buddy Berrada, used Amorim as the wedge issue to do this.
The ultimate responsibility, however, lies with Ratcliffe. He hired an immensely experienced DoF, and didn’t like the truths Ashworth told him. He was duped by a blagger and made the final decision to back Wilcox’s silly fast track success over the harsh reality presented by Ashworth.
We’re here because Ratcliffe.
05 Jan 2026 21:33:54
Hello Shappy, hope you're well.
You're spot on. The trigger was pulled by a boardroom to save face. This wasnt about results, this was about a manager shining a light on the figures running the club and they couldn't handle it.
Amorim saying "I'm the Man Utd manager, not coach" more than likely means he went to Wilcox and Co. And talked about signings, to which he was told to stay in his lane and coach the players he's given. Back me or sack me message from Amorim.
The many problems I have with this hypocrisy is Ashworth warned about this and as you said, he was outnumbered and sacrificed. Amorim asked to start at the end of the season and was told "now or never". Now they havnt a clue who to choose as his successor so we're going the interim route.
Now I'm all for people changing if they know they've made a mistake, but they're now going back on everything they believed would work, which begs the question, should Omar, Wilcox and Fletcher follow him out the door?
Obviously they won't be going anywhere, but some of the managers rumoured to be in the running would be just if not more vocal than Amorim.
They could have pulled the trigger numerous times, but this isn't about results, its about fragile egos. The Rat and his sidekicks wanted to be shot callers. If they get the next one wrong, they'll brle run out of town.
06 Jan 2026 10:00:37
I'm not sure he was let go specifically for sunday's outburst. Supposedly there was a scheduled meeting between Wilcox and Amorim on Friday to discuss formation / style of play where it was suggested Utd should be making do with what they have without January signings and adapting the formation to better suit what they have.
Apparently Amorim lost it a bit and this reaction didn't go down well. Hence his pretty flat press conference on Friday. Then sunday, where he indirectly referenced Wilcox was interfering.
I just don't think they wanted him to be around to do another press conference tuesday, where there'd just be more questions and likely more negativity.
Hoping for at least a good performance against Burnley but am more concerned about Brighton tbh.
Maybe we'll know after that game what route we're going down. If we can assume it's a contract until the end of the season I'm guessing it has to be someone free now. Perhaps Ollie, Carrick or De Zerbi.