As Ruben Amorim will attest to, it’s not a great time to be the current Manchester United manager, with the Portuguese staring down the barrel after collecting just 31 points from 31 Premier League games in charge.
Whether it is comfort to him or not, it is also worth noting that it isn’t exactly ideal to be a former United boss either, with the past few weeks having seen numerous high-profile names depart their posts.
Indeed, Jose Mourinho’s failure to steer Fenerbahce into the Champions League saw him replaced last month, with the enigmatic coach now looking set to return to his homeland amid the chance to replace Bruno Lage at Benfica.
Elsewhere in Turkey, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s own European misfortunes ensured he was relieved of his role at Besiktas that same week, with the Norwegian’s first coaching position since leaving Old Trafford having lasted just over six months.
Perhaps the most brutal of the lot, however, was Erik ten Hag’s dismissal at Bayer Leverkusen, abruptly ending a tenure that lasted – checks notes – just two games in charge of the Bundesliga outfit. Ouch.
All of those men tried, and ultimately failed, to take the Red Devils back to the top of the European and English game, with Amorim, unfortunately, in danger of following suit.
Ranking every post-Ferguson manager at Man Utd
Only three managers in United’s entire history – Ernest Mangnall, Sir Matt Busby, and Sir Alex Ferguson – have won a league title while in charge of the club, with the latter of such esteemed figures leaving a legacy that continues to burden those in his wake.
David Moyes – or ‘The Chosen One’ – was first up in attempting to fill that void, although nine months into his six-year contract, the struggling Scotsman was sacked, even with United narrowly defeated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final.
In 51 games in all at Old Trafford, the current Everton boss won 27 games, as per Transfermarkt. For context, Amorim has won only 18 games from 47 games at the helm to date.
That pairing unsurprisingly rank lowly on this list, but bottom of the pile is the interim Ralf Rangnick. The German won 11 of 29 games in charge, but this short-term fit was ill-suited right from the off.
While his honesty in press conferences may have charmed some, the veteran coach did little to lift the toxic mood, arguably holding more focus on improving his own standing than actually improving matters on and off the pitch.
Louis van Gaal, meanwhile, endured his own turbulent, chaotic stint. A dismal recruitment record saw the likes of Angel Di Maria, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin – to name just a few – underwhelm, although the unique Dutchman did oversee the rise of a young Marcus Rashford, while claiming an FA Cup triumph to boot.
Sticking with the Netherlands, Ten Hag’s own success can be seen in his Carabao Cup and FA Cup heroics, as well as the nurturing of Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, although few United managers have sunk to such lows – losing 7-0 at Anfield the obvious case in point.
Under Mourinho, the ‘poor man’s treble’ was claimed in 2016/17, while his 81-point tally the following season remains the best return post-Fergie. A winner undeniably, but Mourinho’s football was forgettable, with hardly a week passing without some kind of feud with Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and the like.
The Portuguese coach had left a dark cloud over Manchester upon his exit in December 2018, but Solskjaer – perhaps the best of the bunch – swiftly lifted it, winning 14 of his first 17 games in charge while famously seeing off Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes.
GK
David De Gea
RB
Eric Bailly
CB
Chris Smalling
CB
Victor Lindelof
LB
Luke Shaw
RM
Ashley Young
CM
Scott McTominay
CM
Fred
LM
Andreas Pereira
ST
Marcus Rashford
ST
Romelu Lukaku
A trophy may have alluded him, but second and third-place finishes marked signs of progress, with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo likely to remain a ‘what if’ moment amid the eventual collapse of his reign.
The treble winner wasn’t without fault, and nor was his football, but he was a steady pair of hands who revived the atmosphere at the club. Could a change this summer do the same?
Why Man Utd could turn to the next Solskjaer
The final days of ‘Ole at the wheel’ were dour, with defeats at home to Liverpool and Manchester City suggesting that time was up for the beloved coach in the Old Trafford dugout.
Departing without silverware, having agonisingly lost the 2021 Europa League final, Solskjaer’s stint may be looked back upon as a failure to some, yet as already noted, the progress pre-Ronaldo was clear to see.
Perhaps the Covid-era of football, and the lack of supporters, played a factor in United’s rise in those years, but the feel-good factor had undoubtedly returned, after the dark days of Jose. Even Solskjaer’s biggest critic would have been hard-pressed not to get teary-eyed at his emotional exit interview from the club.
At another time of crisis, there is a sense that United are again in need of someone to steady the ship. Someone to cultivate a positive environment again behind the scenes.
If recent suggestions are to be believed, one man who could be in line to do that job, should Amorim depart, is Sir Gareth Southgate, with the ex-England boss yet to return to the dugout after leaving the Three Lions last summer.
Of course, while Solskjaer’s return was met with glee among adoring supporters six years ago, there would be undeniable “scepticism” surrounding Southgate, as noted by Gary Neville last year, with the 55-year-old having been unable to get his country over the line in two European Championship finals.
A nearly man to some – having been described as like “Solskjaer in an international guise” by talkSPORT’s Simon Jordan – Southgate’s failure to claim silverware was ultimately his undoing. At international level, it can be seen as win or bust.
That summary of his time at the helm doesn’t tell the full story, however. Like Solskjaer, the ex-England international revived the spirit and atmosphere at a time when the national team was broken, following the Iceland debacle and Sam Allardyce’s brief tenure.
Described by Jude Bellingham as “one of the best coaches in the history of the national team but also an unbelievable human being”, Southgate is credited for England’s recent revival and for raising the level – a point notably made by Marcus Rashford:
“Maybe before it was a bit of an issue in terms of quality of training, and people’s dedication to training, but since Gareth has been manager it’s been intense. Everyone is ready to step in when needed.”
A stoic figure and a leader on the touchline, it’s difficult to see Southgate shrinking in the United dugout. As Neville has claimed, “one thing Gareth would do is weed out the nonsense in that dressing room”.
Like Solskjaer’s time at United, the out-of-work coach had players wanting to play for him at international level. The football may not have been thrilling, but it was effective and efficient.
INEOS have gambled on Amorim, but so far that risk hasn’t paid off. A man to steady the ship – like Solskjaer not too long ago – could be just what is needed.
Who knows, in a similar vein to the Norwegian, Southgate could well surprise a few.
