Since Sir Alex Ferguson won his last title with Man United, the club has struggled badly. Amazingly, it is around 4,500 days since the Red Devils last won the Premier League. Many derided David Moyes due to his performance in the first post-Fergie campaign. The “chosen one” was sacked as soon as United were no longer able to make the top four.
Fans may have thought the only way was up after Moyes’ tenure, but results have proved them wrong time and time again. Countless managers have come and gone. And yet they have had to watch on as their two fiercest rivals, Man City and Liverpool, have dominated the English top flight.
There has been silverware, plenty by the standards of most clubs, but winning the Premier League looks further away than ever. In 2023/24, they finished eighth, their lowest finish since 1990. They stuck with Erik ten Hag at the start of the following campaign but then appointed Ruben Amorim in mid-November.
The Portuguese guided them to 15th, by far their worst season in a long time. They lost 18 times in the league, setting many unwanted negative records along the way. This season, they are 14th after four games, with just a single win. They have four points, and this represents their worst start to a campaign since 1992/93.
Pressure Mounting on Man United Boss
In the modern Premier League, managers rarely get given time. In that regard, the Red Devils tend to be more patient than most. They gave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ten Hag more leeway than many other clubs would have done. Moreover, they could easily have dispensed with Amorim in the summer. Or perhaps even sooner.
Just when United fans think the situation at the club cannot get any worse, it somehow does. They have been plumbing new depths game after game, year after year. But now the pressure is really beginning to mount on the beleaguered Amorim.
Their poor start in the league has been compounded by their humiliating EFL Cup defeat to Grimsby. United scraped a draw in that tie, despite fielding a very decent team. 2-0 down with 15 minutes left, they forced a shootout. However, against the odds, they lost on penalties, their manager garnering ridicule for “cowering in the dugout” according to many media reports. He was unable to bring himself to watch the shootout. That, plus his earlier tactic-board tinkering, created a host of negative memes. The images were reminiscent of Steve McClaren’s “wally with a brolly” demise, and many are questioning when, not if, the Portuguese will be dismissed.
Mixed Reports
Second-guessing the movements of any football club is rarely straightforward. However, when it comes to one as chaotic as Man United, things get really tricky. On any day over the past few months, it has probably been possible to find some reports claiming Amorim has the full support of the board and others announcing he is on the brink.
At the time of writing, the Manchester Evening News was claiming he “might have just five games”. However, Sky Sports proclaimed that the club will “remain patient with the head coach”. Deciphering and decoding what is really going on is next to impossible from the outside. That said, over the years, how often have we seen declarations of a manager having the “full support of the board” rapidly followed by a dismissal?
It is easy to make both cases – that the sack is imminent and equally that the club will stand by their man. The Daily Mail today reported that Amorim’s contract means that a sacking within the first 12 months of his tenure will cost the club £12m. While they have just reported record revenues, they still face a battle with Profit and Sustainability Regulations. Consequently, they will be keen to avoid such a financial hit, and Amorim may benefit from enforced patience.
What Do the Odds Tell Us?
There are reasons to believe Amorim will be given time, but also many factors count against him, and the bookmakers’ odds can often be revealing. The Premier League “sack race” market is a bet on who the next boss to be sacked in the top flight will be.
Odds of just 4/6 make West Ham’s Graham Potter the man most likely. Bookies make Vitor Pereira at Wolves a 5/1 shot, with Leeds’ Daniel Farke (10/1) and Unai Emery at Villa (14/1) also in the mix. However, it is Amorim who is the bookmakers’ second favourite. They make the former Sporting supremo a 9/4 shot to be the next PL manager to lose his job. Some firms price him at 2/1, suggesting there is some substance to the rumours his time at Old Trafford may be limited.
Next Man United Manager Odds
Many United fans will hope that Amorim is given time. Those supporters will believe that, given time and a few more transfer windows, their current boss could be the man to finally restore glory to the club. However, the majority of neutrals and pundits expect that it really is a matter of when, not if, he gets the boot.
Some reports suggest he has just three games to improve results, others five. There are those who will believe the club will wait until the 12-month anniversary has passed. And there will be others who expect the board to give him until the end of the season. Exactly how long Amorim remains as Man United boss will, of course, depend on just how bad things get. Alternatively, being optimistic, it will depend on how quickly he can affect positive change.
However, with many believing he will be gone at some stage this season, odds on who will replace him are already being discussed. Until Amorim’s departure is confirmed, or at least deemed imminent, many betting sites will not have a live market on who will replace him.
As things stand, three major UK bookmakers are offering odds on who the next permanent Man United manager will be. This market is notoriously volatile and hard to predict. However, you can see a selection of the current odds below.
Odds
- Oliver Glasner – 7/2
- Gareth Southgate – 5/1
- Michael Carrick – 6/1
- Nuno Espírito Santo – 7/1
- Xavi Hernández – 9/1
- Unai Emery – 9/1
- Julian Nagelsmann – 11/1
- Mauricio Pochettino – 12/1
United have tried just about every type of manager in the quest to bring back the Premier League title. However, recent history suggests that one man alone will not be enough. Moreover, it is clear that the problems go much deeper. Fans hoped that Jim Ratcliffe’s involvement would help, but there is little sign of that yet. One thing is for sure, though. Assuming Amorim gets sacked, the next Man United manager will face a huge task rebuilding the club.
No comments added yet. Be the first!