In the post-Ferguson era, managing Manchester United has proven a daunting challenge, with Erik ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy both trying their hand at the helm.
Now, as United seeks its sixth permanent manager since Sir Alex, all eyes turn to Ruben Amorim. The club’s struggles have created a cycle of hiring and firing, with each manager grappling with an overwhelming legacy and high expectations.
Amorim is coming in at a critical moment. Despite his relative inexperience in managing top-tier brands, his successful rebuild at Sporting Lisbon—from a crisis involving fan-player clashes in 2018 to guiding the team through COVID-related challenges—has positioned him as a promising candidate.
His trajectory and potential appear more critical to United’s decision-makers than an extensive record of past successes.
Erik ten Hag’s departure left United in need of a fresh vision, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s role in club management further complicating the landscape.
Supporters, accustomed to bemoaning the Glazers’ decisions, initially saw Ratcliffe’s influence as a new opportunity. However, the lack of decisive action under his guidance has led to growing frustration among fans.
At United, Amorim will face the unique task of managing not just a team but a roster of individual brands.
According to recruitment experts, his success will hinge on his ability to leverage United’s storied past while crafting a cohesive strategy amid modern football’s brand-oriented landscape.
For United’s board, the key was finally making a choice—something author Oliver Burkeman once noted as the antidote to indecision and stagnation.
Now that a decision has been made, the question remains: can the board craft and execute a plan to return United to its former glory, or will this be another short-lived chapter in the club’s turbulent saga?