In Deeper Trouble – By Frank Ofili

With Amad Diallo out for the remainder of the season, there is no doubt that Man United are in deeper trouble, perhaps more than they have ever been in the club’s history.

After 14 EPL games in charge at Old Trafford with 4 wins, 2 draws and 8 losses, I am beginning to change my opinion about manager Amorim. Seems the guy is poor in man management. His handling of Marcus Rashford matter leaves much to be desired.

No doubt Rashford was up till recently in one of his worst times at the club. He wasn’t delivering the results on the pitch of play due largely to some domestic issues, and the style Amorim introduced on arrival at Old Trafford.

It was obvious Rashford was having difficulty adjusting to Amorim’s style – perhaps more than the other team members – a situation that required patience, understanding and some psychological pep talk from the manager. But instead, what did Amorim do? He decided to malign Rashford and publicly excoriate him at every given opportunity to the extent that the kid was forced to respond at some point.

Thus worsened the relationship between player and manager and Rashford’s attitude to training became seriously affected.

A first-class manager ought not to single out any one of his team members for public criticism. The entire Man United team is horrible – it has been so for a while now, even before Amorim’s arrival. So, any new manager taking over ought to know that the first task is to rebuild team moral and confidence, not introduce disruptive managerial tactics that would end up confusing the players the more. No doubt, new (disruptive) tactics will inevitably come at some point, but not in the immediate when team balance is badly needed.

Now, the talisman (in a manner of speaking) Amad Diallo, who has been scoring critical goals for Man United even in their current poor form, is out for the rest of the season, and Rashford – until recently a proven goal scorer – has been shipped out on loan to Aston Villa, I imagine Man United troubles has multiplied. With 12 players currently out to injury, the options are now severely limited.

It is instructive to check out Rashford’s performance in the two games he has played so far under Unai Emery at Villa Park. Top class!

I insist that what Rashford needed at Man United was not a condemnation and a ship out but psychological handling that would rebuild his confidence. I think that is what Emery is doing with him at Villa Park.

I still want to give Amorim the benefit of doubt, but he has to re-appraise his tactics. Right now, those tactics are not paying off.