The numbers behind Neville’s most damning Amorim criticism yet

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Gary Neville has delivered his most damning verdict on Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United yet as the under-pressure Portuguese coach readies for a crunch clash against Sunderland this weekend.

Amorim fell to another sobering defeat as a rampant Brentford beat United 3-1 at the Gtech last weekend.

It denied Amorim the chance to end a dismal record of failing to secure back-to-back league games in the same season since May 2024. United now sit in 14th, having lost three games this season, losing two and drawing one of their six fixtures, which has prompted huge concerns for Neville.

“I’m very worried,” Neville told NBC, Sky’s US partner, following the 3-1 defeat at Brentford. “There’s no point in me sitting here and saying that I’m not.

“The levels of performance, the results, the substitutions…[at Brentford], I saw something [which happened] at the end of the Grimsby game that they lost in the Carabao Cup a couple of weeks ago, which was Mason Mount ending up at left wing back.

“Now, look, we admire managers who are resilient, who are stubborn around the system. We want them to stick to the plan.

“But when you’ve got Mason Mount playing at left wing-back, you’re going to look pretty stupid. And that’s happened twice now. It can’t happen. The first time I thought was unforgivable and it’s happened again.

“He changes his back three and his back five every single game. And the performances and the results are just unacceptable. So I’m really, really worried.

“I would never go on television – I know how difficult a manager’s job can be – and say that a manager should be sacked. But I suspect that the hierarchy at Manchester United are going to want to see a turnaround very quickly.”

The numbers behind Neville’s analysis

Impact of subs

Neville: “When you’ve got Mason Mount playing at left wing-back, you’re going to look pretty stupid.“

What the stats say: A manager’s substitutions are meant to help a team, but Ruben Amorim’s in-game changes at Manchester United have so far proven to be more of a hindrance. His Premier League substitutes have made more errors leading to goals than they have scored goals.

That is as damning as stats come for a coach. The tally stands at 3-2 since he took charge nearly 11 months ago. In six games this season, two of Amorim’s substitutes have made errors leading to a goal and none have scored off the bench.

The poor results

Neville: “The results are just unacceptable.”

What the stats say: Results have been bad ever since Amorim arrived, so it is difficult to tell what it would take for the situation to become intolerable for the decision-makers at Old Trafford.

Graham Potter was sacked by West Ham last weekend with a win percentage of 26.1 in the Premier League. Amorim’s stands at 27.27 per cent after 33 games.

For context, that is identical to Chris Wilder’s record at Sheffield United in the top-flight after 66 games.

Steve Bruce had a marginally better win rate when he was sacked by Newcastle, and so did Gary O’Neil at Wolves. This is the ballpark Amorim is in.

Compared to coaches at ‘Big Six’ clubs since that moniker came into being in the early 2010s, Amorim has the worst Premier League record of those with at least 30 games. Juande Ramos was not much better at Spurs (28.6 per cent), but the ‘Big Six’ didn’t exist then.

Constantly changing his back three

Neville: “He changes his back three and his back five every single game.”

What the stats say: Amorim has used 21 different back threes in his 33 Premier League games at United, which is by far and away the most of any other side in the competition during that timeframe. Southampton (13) and Wolves (10) are the closest behind.

A change to the back three worked against Amorim last time out, with Harry Maguire starting in the back three for the first time in the league last season and playing a part in the first goal United conceded.

Tinkering with his back line appears to be a consistent theme under Amorim. Leny Yoro, who started each of United’s first four league games of the season, hasn’t started since but has been introduced in the last two. Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw have both started all of United’s league games so far. However, Shaw has only completed 90 minutes in three of those games.

The lack of consistency at the back of United has proved to be a reflection of their lack of consistency in both results and performances.

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