‘Summed up’ - National media send Ruben Amorim clear Manchester United message after Chelsea draw

Manchester United played their first game since the appointment of new head coach Ruben Amorim at the weekend, although the new boss was watching from afar.

The current Sporting CP manager doesn’t officially start at Old Trafford until the upcoming international break, meaning that interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy was in the dugout for the Premier League clash against Chelsea. He will also be in charge for the upcoming matches against PAOK and Leicester City.

After overcoming Leicester in the Carabao Cup in the week, the clash against Chelsea was Van Nistelrooy's first league game as interim manager. Bruno Fernandes sparked celebrations from the Dutchman when he scored from the spot in the 70th minute after a foul from Robert Sanchez on Rasmus Hojlund.

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But those celebrations lasted just four minutes before Chelsea equalised through Moises Caicedo. Despite chances for both sides, that’s how the game would end.

With the spoils shared, concentration for the national media in attendance was on the job that lies before Amorim when he does take over. Here’s what just some had to say after watching the draw against Chelsea.

The Daily Mail, Ian Ladyman

“The new United manager will know already what he is walking in to. United’s squad is not as poor as it sometimes looked under Ten Hag but it is far short of those working at clubs such as Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. It is not at Chelsea’s level, either.

“Nevertheless, Amorim’s responsibility from the first moment will be to improve United quickly and fundamentally. This is a United squad and team that needs some coaching, some structure, some identity and something other than unpredictability and fallibility by which to recognise it.

“Amorim’s first significant transfer window remains eight months away. Opportunities in January are always limited. So the first stretch of his time in charge will very much be an examination of himself and his ability to impose his ideas on his players and build some kind of culture and belief system.”

The Independent, Richard Jolly

“Sir Alex Ferguson was appointed in November 1986. If it is unfair to expect Amorim to have the impact the Scot did, he may not get the time either: he has an initial two-and-a-half-year contract, whereas Ferguson did not win a trophy for three and a half after his arrival.

“Half a century ago, meanwhile, United also had nine league goals after 10 games. At Christmas, their goalkeeper, Alex Stepney, was their joint top scorer. At the end of the campaign, they were relegated. History is unlikely to repeat itself, unless Andre Onana reveals a clinical streak…

“Yet the nature of the opportunities is among the multitude of issues for Amorim to address. Some fall to the wrong players: Rasmus Hojlund had a lone touch in the box against Chelsea, though it did win a penalty. Marcus Rashford’s expected goals tally for the Premier League campaign is still under 1.0.”

The Telegraph, Simon Burt

“The in-tray for United’s next head coach, Ruben Amorim, who will have watched this game from his home in Portugal, will be large, daunting and near the top will be the need to get the basics right: signing players who are good enough.

“That will not be his responsibility, given the structure United have now put in place under sporting director Dan Ashworth, but the waste simply cannot go on especially after the half a billion spent under Erik ten Hag…

“…In a sense this game summed up United. It was neither one thing nor the other. It was a game that was far too open, too chaotic and yet not that exciting. They could have won and they could have lost. It had little sense of organisation, little identity and ended in an unsatisfactory no-man’s land of a draw. It was all a bit ‘meh’, in fact. It felt like drift which again raises the question whether United could have tried harder to bring Amorim in early and not during the international break. Are they wasting precious time or playing the long game?”

Sky Sports

Sky Sports pundits and United legends Gary Neville and Roy Keane had plenty to say on the appointment of Amorim at full-time of the draw against Chelsea. One of the things spoken about was the amount of time that the new man may need to turn things around.

"It took (Jurgen) Klopp four or five years, it might take Ruben Amorim four or five years to succeed," Neville said. "But you have got to have something [success] to hang your hat on."

Keane added: "You won't get that, he won't get three or four years. He has only signed a two-and-a-half year deal, the manager.”

Neville then said: "They are going to give him some time, you would imagine, and I wouldn't let him sign anyone in the transfer window. I would say look, let's see what these players can do for you for the next eight months."

But it was Keane who had the final word. "They say a type. They go after this manager, say he's going to be the one and the agreement, whatever, they give him a two-and-a-half-year deal," he said.

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