‘Ruben Amorim, he'll bring the glory days again' – Man Utd fans explain their song of defiance

New York Times

16-04-2025

Although an impressive and in-form Newcastle United led 4-1 on Sunday against Manchester United, making most of the noise were the Manchester United contingent high on the top tier of the Leazes End.
Plenty of the 3,000-strong travelling fans left St James' Park before the end of the game to begin another disappointing journey home, but the majority stayed and sang a terrace hit that has become popular among fans in recent months.
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Sung to the tune of It's a Heartache by the Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler, the United version goes: 'Ruben Amorim, he'll bring the glory days again. We'll back him from the Stretford End, he'll turn the Reds around.'
The original lyrics share the pain of falling in love with someone who won't love you back. Hence, the heartache being a fool's game. United fans hope that won't be the case with the Portuguese, who has led his team to only six league wins in 21 games.
Released in 1977, It's a Heartache was a global hit. Bonnie Tyler isn't a United fan — though she has had lunch with Sir Alex Ferguson several times — but Matt, who has played guitar in Tyler's band for the past 27 years, is a proud Red.
So they're happy about the song sounding out from the terraces, but the question is: why were fans singing so loudly and proudly when their team were trailing 4-1 during their 14th Premier League defeat of the season?
At other clubs, the managers would be getting criticised rather than sung about, but not at Manchester United, where there's a strong trait among match-going fans to sing for their managers. Every United boss in the post-Ferguson era has appreciated this greatly, but Sunday's singing provoked debate online among those who question whether the support is deserved when the team is so bad.
Amorim is firmly backed at matches. Part defiance amid the disappointment, part an expectation that supporters should do just that, support, because if you can't do that in the bad times, then you're not much of a supporter.
'I go to games to support the team, whatever the result,' said Harry, 24, who travelled from Manchester and was in the away end as Newcastle did their first league double over Manchester United since 1930-31. 'That might not mean singing about players while we're 4-1 down, but you support your club for two reasons.
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'One, because the players need it. The pressure of playing for United is big enough without having your own fans on your back. If we want to celebrate their future successes, we should back them through the troughs and give them a reason to give everything for this club. Yes, they should do that anyway, but anyone who's played sport knows that support can give you a bit extra you didn't know you had.
'It's also about representing United. Some people aren't arsed and embrace the hatred for United, but I also want everyone to leave any interaction with United or us as fans thinking, 'They're the best in the world'. So you want to show resilience, you want to show that you back the club through anything.'
But why for Amorim when you're 4-1 down?
'Normally in these scenarios you get a long rendition of the United Calypso (a terrace classic first released on record in 1957), to show support for the team rather than specific players. But in this case, it was the manager. That's because fans have seen the last decade.
'We know good managers have come here and failed. We see the rest of the world trying to get them down, see journalists smarming that they've helped get them sacked, and there's one group of people who should back them through thick and thin, and that's supporters. Supporters, not customers, is the key.'
'I was proud to sing for the gaffer,' added Neil Mullen, who travelled by coach from north Manchester to Newcastle. 'I've always been a big believer in that you back the manager until the very end. I feel that United fans are good with the managers in general, maybe partly because the stick Fergie got in the early days is a reminder of how it can turn.
'Beyond that, Amorim is a very impressive man, very likeable and clearly a good young coach. There's also no appetite from anyone for yet another new manager. I also think you can never judge a manager until he has at least five of his own players in his squad.
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'There are definite signs of things getting better under Amorim and I believe that if you prove your loyalty in the dark times, then you deserve to enjoy the good times more. The manager will appreciate it and that'll probably make him even more determined to succeed.'
The theme is consistent.
'We went all the way to Newcastle to support our beloved Manchester United and I'd always rather stay and sing than walk out early,' says Nathan Thomas, from Irlam, Salford. 'Because for me, being side by side with other fans who've devoted their life to United through both the good times and the bad times is one of the things that makes it special.
'I also think we're building something with Amorim and in these early days, he needs our support. I like him and a lot of what he says, so singing his name when the players on the pitch haven't done so well feels quite right.'
James Mawdsley, a 21-year-old season-ticket holder who has only missed the away games at Crystal Palace and Viktoria Plzen this season, was another who stayed until the end, giving the song his all.
'My coach home wasn't going to leave until well after the final whistle, so there was no point leaving early, but the players and manager need the support from fans more than ever right now,' he said. 'I don't like the divide in the fans and think we should all back the manager, but I also really like the new Amorim song.
'It's original and when it gets properly going, like at Leicester away, it sounds really good. We have to hope that we'll be singing it in the streets of Bilbao in May, otherwise this season will be remembered for nothing but misery and disappointment.'
It's Bilbao or bust for Manchester United this season, heartache or happiness this month or next. But the fans will have done their bit.