“I’m excited for it because it’s new, but then you’re always excited for a new manager, aren’t you?” says Siobhan, grinning. She and her sister Shauna are heading to their perches in Old Trafford’s North Stand with a spring in their steps. A sort of not‑quite‑but-soon new head coach bounce, if you will.
With the ink now dry on Ruben Amorim’s contract, thoughts, imaginations even, of Manchester United supporters are future-facing. A future, everyone hopes, that will be significantly brighter than the present.
Amorim’s delayed start date – he arrives on 11 November – meant the 1-1 error-riddled draw with Chelsea on Sunday lacked Portuguese flags and T-shirts paying homage to their new head coach. There was not even a witty ditty or two from the Stretford End.
All of that will come soon. Still, it was impossible not to sense the anticipation of a fresh start, a new school year, as supporters arrived.
Nearly a week has now passed since Erik ten Hag received his P45. But even with that time to gather considered thoughts, finding a three-pronged plug socket on mainland Europe would be easier than locating anyone in Manchester’s red half willing to argue the Dutchman’s stint of two and a bit seasons should have run on further.
“Whatever else is going on in the club, whatever other problems we’ve got, with our squad 14th in the league after quarter of a season isn’t good enough,” Jack, a lifelong season‑ticket holder, says. “The decision was inevitable but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t disappointing.”
Arun says: “I still don’t understand what Ten Hag was trying to achieve. It’s been miserable coming here – no goals and a lot of losses.”
“When Erik first came in, we liked him,” Shauna says softly. “We still like him, and I don’t think he’s been treated very well. But it looked as though the players had downed tools.” She and her sibling insist the Old Trafford atmosphere under Ten Hag lacked the toxicity present during the later stages of the David Moyes and Louis van Gaal eras, with Siobhan telling the Guardian that there was “frustration, rather than dislike – all the patience had run out”.
Bobby, another season-ticket holder, says: “I’d give his reign a B- or a C+. There were some unbelievable moments, but there were big losses, concerns around recruitment and continual fitness issues for key players – I don’t remember the last time I saw Luke Shaw play.
“I have some sympathy with Jim Ratcliffe’s team. Ideally, they’d have replaced him after the FA Cup final win, but it would have been a very unpopular move and would have heaped a lot of pressure on any new manager.”
Last Wednesday night, a Carabao Cup thrashing of Leicester under United’s interim leader, Ruud van Nistelrooy, lifted the club’s mood. “Maybe it was relief,” Siobhan says. “But there was a bounce physically when you saw the players come out.”
There was a visible buoyancy to Van Nistelrooy on Sunday, too, as he dashed around his technical area dressed as the school’s trendy humanities teacher. He is desperate to stay on in some capacity but is equally desperate to enjoy what is in effect a three‑game testimonial.
In a week’s time, though, Van Nistelrooy will hand over a sizable task to Amorim. A decade of overpayment and underperformance, of misinformed mis-step after mis‑step, will require some undoing.
For Arun, the key is that Amorim carves out “some sort of identity, a philosophy that he sticks to”, saying: “This season, for me, is a bit of a write-off already. I don’t mind where we finish if we get that identity.”
Bobby, who sees positives in the way United and Sporting have negotiated the terms of Amorim’s job swap, says: “I suspect he’s got a lot of problems to solve, and a lot of fires to fight from day one. The way it’s been handled sensibly shows an element of forethought, which perhaps other appointments haven’t had. That gives me some confidence and hope.
“Over the coming months we’ll be dipping back into the Sporting coaching staff and the team to bolster the squad. So keeping relationships cordial and Amorim happy are important.”
Amorim, for whatever words are worth in football, has said he will not return to Lisbon for a spot of January poaching, although it is no secret that a gaggle of his backroom staff are expected to join him in Manchester.
The king is … well, he never quite obtained royal status, did he? Long live the king. When he arrives.
