Man United legend claims Ruben Amorim paid price for being ‘stubborn’ and questions need for sporting director after spat with Jason Wilcox
Former Manchester United defender Gary Pallister believes Ruben Amorim paid the price for being too ‘stubborn’ and has questioned the wisdom of having a sporting director at Old Trafford.
Amorim was sacked on Monday after clashing with the United hierarchy over his system of playing three central defenders in aback-five system, with Darren Fletcher taking over on a caretaker basis.
The Portuguese coach was critical of the situation behind the scenes and took aim at director of football Jason Wilcox in particular before his 14-month reign came to an end.
Amorim famously said that not even the Pope could make him compromise his football principles, and Pallister agreed that was ultimately his undoing.
‘I think because he was so stubborn with it, yes,’ said the ex-United centre-back. ‘Looking at it as a fan, I look at games like Newcastle (on Boxing Day). Newcastle probably deserved something from that game, but we won 1-0, kept a clean sheet, played a back-four, had Lisandro Martinez in the team with Ayden Heaven and defended really well.
‘Then a few days later we play Wolves, who statistically are the worst team in the Premier League, and we go back to a back-five. When a lot of people saw that, they were scratching their heads.
Ruben Amorim (left), pictured with Jason Wilcox (right) at the British Grand Prix last July, clashed with the Man United director of football and was sacked earlier this week
‘You changed [the formation], something you said you weren’t going to change. Then you change, got a positive result, then went back to the system with a back-five against the weakest team in the league. It baffled a lot of people – maybe the hierarchy as well. It was very surprising. I think questions would have been asked.
‘Whether he felt he was losing the faith of the board and that’s why he said what he did, who knows?’ But it did take a lot of people by surprise. I don’t think many expected him to come out quite so strong, but he did.
‘Now he’s gone, we’re back to square one again, searching for the next man to take Manchester United forward.’
Pallister, who spent his entire United career playing under one manager in Sir Alex Ferguson, isn’t convinced by the idea of a director of football. Wilcox replaced Dan Ashworth little more than five months after he had been brought in to take over from John Murtough.
‘The new system does baffle me how sporting directors work hand in hand with managers,’ Pallister told hardrock.bet. ‘I’ve spoken to quite a few managers over the years since that structure became a thing, and there does seem to be a fair bit of friction.
‘Maybe that’s the case at Man United. I’m not saying it is. I don’t know what the relationship was like with Jason Wilcox or others with Ruben, but clearly something wasn’t right in the end.
‘The manager has to be allowed to manage the team. You’ve accepted the role of head coach, but has that taken away some of the responsibility of being in charge of what the team does on a Saturday? I don’t know what the working relationship was like with Jason Wilcox and Ruben Amorim, nobody can second guess that.
‘I look back to working under Terry Venables, Sir Alex Ferguson, even Bruce Rioch at Middlesbrough in my early days. They were managers. They were in charge of everything – the team, recruitment, style of play and how they were performing on a Saturday afternoon.
Man United legend Gary Pallister accused Amorim of being ‘stubborn’ during his tenure
‘But I think if you are the manager of the club then the decision of who is playing in the team, the style of play you have is down to the manager. You picked that man to be in charge and he has to have full control of the team on a Saturday afternoon.
‘He has to play the style of football in his mind that is best for the football club, otherwise if you are constantly going against the manager then maybe you shouldn’t have picked him in the first place.’
United will appoint an interim head coach until the end of the season once Fletcher has taken charge of Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Brighton, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick competing for the job.
They previously worked together when Solskjaer was manager between 20118-2021, and Pallister is in favour of them teaming up again despite harbouring some reservations.
‘Ole finished second. If he could emulate that or get anywhere near that again, fans would see it as an improvement, and he may get the job back full-time. But it is difficult going back. We’ve seen it with managers like Jose Mourinho (at Chelsea). It’s never quite the same second time around.
‘He knows the club inside out, Ole, alongside Darren and Michael, and we have all seen that we have lost our identity. But those three could certainly bring it back to the club.
‘I’d be happy to give Ole and Carrick another shot. They understand football club, the animal that is Manchester United. They understand the fans, the philosophy, the DNA and have a connection with the fans. The fans will understand they will want to be playing the Manchester United way.
‘We’ve diverted from that over a number of years. It’s hard to follow into the footsteps of somebody like Sir Alex. Unless you get Pep from Manchester City (there’s no guarantees) and that isn’t going to happen. We need someone who understands the history, the tradition and the DNA of the football club.’
