Amorim sack heat turned on Wilcox, Berrada as journalist reveals ‘fragile’ Man Utd truths

Manchester United’s failure to already call time on the disastrous Ruben Amorim reign may say as just as much about Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox, both a leading journalist and pundit Jamie Carragher have explained, while more damaging claims over the Portuguese’s state of mind have now come to light.

The Red Devils have endured a miserable start to the new season, with Saturday’s disappointing 3-1 loss at Brentford already the club’s third loss in six Premier League games. Sat 14th in the table, Manchester United have shown little signs of improving on the ghastly form that saw them finish the 2024/25 campaign in a lowly 15th.

While only a six-game sample so far – seven if you factor in the Carabao Cup exit on penalties to League Two Grimsby – it does not bode well for a successful season ahead.

But after giving Amorim significant £200m worth of funds this summer on new players, United had every reason to expect a more promising start to the season. The painful truth is, it looks as broken as ever.

While speculation is increasing that Amorim could soon be sacked by the Red Devils, the noises coming out of Old Trafford are that the 40-year-old is not being judged yet and that an assessment over his future will not be cast until the season comes to an end, where he is expected to have the club pushing back up towards the upper reaches.

However, with United uncertain over whether to call time on the stricken 40-year-old, journalist Laurie Whitwell has suggested that his axing would reflect badly on director of football Wilcox and chief executive Berrada – the men who handed him the job in the first place.

“If Ruben Amorim goes, does that bring the spotlight on Omar Berrada, on Jason Wilcox, on other people that were involved in getting to this point?” questioned Whitwell on the Talk of the Devils podcast.

“I think that’s why they would ultimately want to see it through and I think they do still feel like it could still work, but I think you’re getting to a point now where those questions are going to become louder and louder and ultimately results will dictate it.

“I think it’s fragile. I do think that [the hierarchy] want it to work because they know what the ramifications are, but I feel that you can’t ignore the results if they continue like this.”

GO DEEPER: Three reasons why Ruben Amorim has to be sacked by Man Utd after Brentford shambles

Carragher calls on Man Utd board to end Amorim ‘disaster’ now

Whitwell’s observations follow on from Jamie Carragher, who on Monday Night Football, suggested the only reason the axe has not fallen is because the club do not want to admit they have made another costly mistake.

However, as the pundit explained, United do still have players capable of reverting to a 4-2-3-1, or variation of that, were another manager to come in.

“The system is his baby,” Carragher said of Amorim’s fixation on playing 3-4-2-1. It’s like asking Jurgen Klopp not to press, or Pep Guardiola not to play short passes in midfield. This is what he is.

“That’s all on Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox or Sir Jim Ratcliffe. They brought him in and knew what they were getting, so it’s on them.

“He played that system at Sporting, very successfully, so they knew that when he came in, that’s on the powers that be. So that’s the big problem there.

“But the problem I think, when you look at Ruben Amorim, and I think every other Premier League manager would look at Manchester United, and think I could do a better job than that.

“And the only positive for Manchester United is they haven’t gone all in on a system. They’ve gone all in on in terms of giving money to spend, but they haven’t brought lots of centre-backs; they haven’t brought lots of wing-backs…

“The players they bought in the summer can easily flip into a back four getting Bruno Fernandes back in the No 10, Bryan Mbeumo back on the right and maybe [Matheus] Cunha on the left.

“Any other manager can go in there and get them back into the top four or challenging for the top four and that’s the problem. The quicker they end his time in charge, the better. It’s a disaster.”

Concerns over Amorim’s state of mind; Man Utd must wait for preferred successor

With speculation over Amorim’s future growing, it’s little surprise to see United seemingly casting their net out for would-be replacements.

And on that, a report on Monday claimed Ratcliffe had identified his top choice to succeed the Portuguese in the hotseat, though United learned they would need to wait for the appointment of the much-heralded Premier League boss for TWO big reasons.

Off the back of that, our reporter Fraser Fletcher revealed on Monday that, in the corridors of power at Old Trafford, whispers of uncertainty are growing louder, with the Portuguese tactician seemingly buckling under mounting pressure.

Insiders acknowledge that the squad lacks the personnel to execute his rigid 3-4-2-1 formation effectively – defensive frailties and midfield imbalances have been glaring and came to the fore yet again on Saturday during a frustrating 3-1 setback at Brentford.

A source at United exclusively told TEAMtalk: “He [Amorim] looks knackered, he knows it’s not working.”

In light of Fletcher’s report, a new update has now come to the fore about the emotional turmoil the 40-year-old is suffering – and the Portuguese is now a shadow of the manager who bounced in at Old Trafford some 11 months ago.

To that end, a new report has described Amorim as a “lonely”, somewhat sullen individual at the club’s training complex, with a source questioning the manager’s state of mind by saying the job has “broken him mentally” and he “looks like a ghost of his former self”.

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