Can Amorim turn things around?
There was plenty of optimism surrounding Man Utd ahead of the new season, with the signings of especially Cunha, Sesko and Mbeumo believed to make an immediate impact. After gaining just 1 point in their first two league matches and getting knocked out of the League Cup by Grimsby, the tune has changed completely, though. Can Amorim actually turn things around at Man Utd or will he be the next manager out the door without success?
The Underwhelming Season Opening
Hosting Arsenal in the league opener was never going to be an easy task, and despite losing 0-1 against last season’s number two, there was still an air of optimism around the stadium at full time. Both Cunha and Mbeumo had shown plenty of glimpses of their undeniable talent, and Arsenal’s goal was more down to a goalkeeping error than anything else.
A week later, a draw away at Fulham wasn’t quite what the Man Utd supporters were hoping for, and the performance was nothing like the one they had seen the weekend before against Arsenal. Man Utd were ahead for about 15 minutes after an own goal from Muniz in the 58th minute, but a goal from Smith Rowe ensured a draw for the hosts from London.
If this wasn’t enough, their League Cup loss to Grimsby on Wednesday was a complete disaster. Man Utd were trailing 2-0 until Mbeumo and Maguire got them back in the game with a goal each in the 75th and 89th minute, respectively, but Grimsby ended up winning the match 12-11 on penalties.
Oh, by the way, Grimsby are in League Two, three divisions below Man Utd.
Amorim came to Man Utd having won the league title twice with Sporting CP, the first one of them in 2020/21 being their first league title in 19 years, and the Mourinho student was highly regarded around Europe. When he left Sporting for Man Utd in November 2024, his Sporting team had just equaled their best league start record of 11 consecutive victories.
So, what happened?
Well, Man Utd have been Man Utd’ing away for a few years now, and even Amorim have been vocal in his criticism of the team, at one point going so far as to calling his own team “probably the worst team in the history”, and he also claimed that if the team’s poor form continued into this season, he would step aside. How close is he actually to doing just that?
Man Utd odds at the moment:
PL winner – 40.00
Top 4 – 4.90
Top 6 – 2.18
Top Half – 1.22
The Way Forward
If Amorim is to stay at Man Utd, things will definitely need to change. Let’s take a quick look at their next 10 fixtures:
Burnley (H)
Man City (A)
Chelsea (H)
Brentford (A)
Sunderland (H)
Liverpool (A)
Brighton (H)
Nottingham Forest (A)
Tottenham (A)
Everton (H)
Man City and Chelsea in two of their next three matches doesn’t bode well for Man Utd, despite Amorim actually managing to beat Man City in his first Manchester derby at the helm of the club. Burnley is a must-win considering the tough fixtures following that match, and Brentford is also a tricky match before Sunderland come for a visit.
Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Spurs (both of the last two away from home) are all very tough fixtures, and it’s easy to understand any Man Utd supporter’s frustration with the upcoming fixture list as well as their poor results in the opening two matches.
Is there a way back here for Amorim? The next 10 fixtures (and maybe even less?) will probably decide, and we have a feeling the Portuguese manager will be out the door even before the ten aforementioned fixtures.
The odds of Amorim being the next PL manager to leave his post is currently at 5.00. What do you think will happen to the Man Utd manager this season?
Last Updated: 28.08.2025
Odds might have changed since the writing and/or publication of this article.
