TIM HOWARD: Why Manchester United's move for Ruben Amorim feels like the failed return of Cristiano Ronaldo

If you didn’t cognize immoderate better, if you didn’t cognize that INEOS is moving nan shot broadside of Manchester United, you’d beryllium forgiven for reasoning thing has changed complete nan past decade. This nine is still being tally by Ed Woodward and nan Glazers. It’s business arsenic usual.

Because nan determination to occurrence Erik 10 Hag now makes nary sense. What baffles maine nan most? We are precisely wherever we were past season. 

Yes, United won nan FA Cup – and that does matter – but look astatine nan bigger picture. The performances were unspeakable and truthful were nan results.

INEOS did a reappraisal successful nan summertime and their conclusion was: Ten Hag is nan correct man for nan job. But not only that, we will backmost him financially too. Now United person had a horrific commencement to nan play and he’s gone. 

But what person they learned? If INEOS had a checklist – listing each nan reasons Ten Hag has been sacked – it would look precisely nan aforesaid arsenic it did successful June. Familiar issues stay astir United’s style of play, nan value of their signings and their results. 

All that’s changed? We are six months further down nan statement – pinch different transfer window gone and yet much money down nan drain. Oh, and Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino – 2 managers linked pinch United complete nan summertime – person taken different jobs. 

Now Ruben Amorim is successful talks to return over. But he was highly thought of successful nan summer, too. He hasn’t go a bully coach successful nan past fewer months. And that’s what concerns me. This feels for illustration nan determination to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo successful 2021.

Don’t forget, it looked for illustration Ronaldo was going to Manchester City and truthful United decided to jump successful astatine nan 11th hour. It wasn’t portion of their plan. It was a knee-jerk guidance and it backfired.

I wonderment if that is what has driven this determination to occurrence Ten Hag. It’s not agelong since City were linked pinch Amorim arsenic a imaginable replacement for Pep Guardiola. Has that forced United’s hand? It would beryllium a lazy measurement to tally a club. 

But nan past 10 years tells america 1 thing: United don’t cognize what head they want. Since nan departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, they person hired David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and past Ten Hag. 

They person tried serial winners, they person tried coaches pinch ties to nan nine and those pinch a way grounds successful nan Premier League. None worked. So now United are turning to 1 of nan astir breathtaking young coaches successful Europe. 

They are not unsocial – bright, tactically-astute minds specified arsenic Xabi Alonso are now progressively sought-after. With bully reason, too. Look astatine nan occupation Enzo Maresca is doing astatine Chelsea and nan effect Fabien Hurzeler has made astatine Brighton. So I’m not opposed to Amorim because location is immoderate naivety successful youth.

Manchester United has swallowed managers full - good, knowledgeable managers. So why not prosecute a younger coach who isn’t haunted by ghosts of nan past?

Amorim has had occurrence astatine Sporting and he has very clear ideas astir nan measurement he wants to play. Then again, we said nan aforesaid astir Ten Hag aft what he had achieved astatine Ajax. So is nan head really nan rumor astatine United?

I person been a player, a sporting head and I’m now an proprietor pinch Houston Dynamo. I cognize that immoderate managers are hamstrung by what goes connected astir them - they are fixed nary backing successful nan transportation marketplace and nary opportunity successful who they sign, for instance.

No 1 tin conflict that United person been a dysfunctional cognition complete nan past decade. But nan truth is: Ten Hag has been fixed money and a large domiciled successful deciding signings. 

Just look astatine nan number of ex-Ajax players United person bought: Anthony, Lisandro Martinez, Matthijs de Ligt… nan database goes on. And yet he wasn’t getting a tune retired of this squad. 

That is simply a manager’s superior job: guarantee nan squad is performing astatine a precocious level and getting results. He grounded connected some counts. So why would United support a head who had been underperforming for truthful long?

I for illustration what Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS person put successful spot down nan scenes – I for illustration nan appointments of Dan Ashworth arsenic sporting head and Omar Berrada arsenic CEO.

Maybe they decided that only truthful overmuch could alteration consecutive away. Maybe this was a calculated risk: Ten Hag won’t beryllium our head agelong word but possibly we tin get distant pinch keeping him while we hole everything else. 

Unfortunately, that brings different problems. Because, arsenic agelong arsenic you person a manager, you person to support buying them players to make an impact. And these days, clubs are bound by Profitability and Sustainability Rules. 

They can’t support spending forever. So now United has a squad afloat of players who are not bully capable to triumph nan Premier League aliases Champions League. Players Amorim won’t want.