Latest news with #It'saHeartache
The National
21-04-2025
- Sport
- The National
Only Europe can save Manchester United from domestic turmoil
Two Portuguese managers took control of Premier League clubs before Christmas 2024. When Vitor Pereira became Wolves boss in December replacing Gary O'Neill, his side looked set for relegation and were 13 points behind Manchester United, where Ruben Amorim had been appointed. On Sunday at Old Trafford, Wolves completed a league double over United for the first time since 1980. It was their fifth league win in succession, their best top-flight run since 1972. The win, thanks to a 79th minute Paul Sarabia free-kick, saw Wolves move level with United on points. Sarabia had been on the pitch only three minutes when he made an impact none of the other players had managed. Only Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester City have picked up more points in the league than Wolves since Pereira was appointed. It was United's 15th league defeat of the season, the 13th time the team had failed to score. United have scored one goal in their last four league games in a woeful total of 22 all season against teams outside the bottom three. There is a plethora of statistics, almost all of them negative, that can be applied to Manchester United this season. Five league games remain to avoid finishing 17th. If the team don't finish 13th then it will be their worst league season since relegation in 1973-74. Amorim has lost half his 22 Premier League games so far – as many defeats as in his final 114 league games at his previous club, Sporting. His United side have taken only nine points from the last 10 league games – six of those against all but relegated Ipswich Town and Leicester City. It is relegation form. And still the fans applauded the players – including impressive youngsters Tyler Fredricson, Harry Amass and Chido Obi – as they left the pitch on Sunday. Other players applauded back, but so many of them are falling short of the expected standards that one wonders whether they have any future at Old Trafford. That question will be answered for several of those applauding on the pitch and who are out of contract, namely Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof. More recent signings including forward Rasmus Hojlund, who has just one goal in his last 28 games, will likely get more time but no successful football team functions with a strike force that seldom strikes. 'We say to the fans the truth,' said Amorim after the game. 'We lack things in our team and we miss chances. If we do not score, we won't win. We were the better team but if we don't score, nothing matters. What counts is the result.' And still the fans sing for their boss Amorim week after week, to the tune of Bonnie Tyler's 'It's a Heartache'. And it is that right now for United fans. To the outsider, this fan support could be baffling. United are having a terrible season by any metric, but there is significant mitigation. The team were stuttering when Amorim took charge in November, though they were only four points off a Champions League position then. Amorim said that he wanted to stay at Sporting until the end of the season, but United insisted he had to join and start his rebuild project in November, which he agreed to. It was always a very difficult job taking over a club with a complex dressing room and it looked even more difficult as his side lost six games in December alone – more than in any December since 1933. The one flicker of hope in United's tortuous season has been in Europe. The Reds' form in the Europa League sees them as the only unbeaten side of the 100 who entered the group stages of the Uefa Champions League, Europa League and Conference league this season. That record looked to have gone on Thursday night when Lyon led 4-2 after 113 minutes at Old Trafford. Seven of the craziest minutes ever in football later and it stood intact as United scored three goals to reach a semi-final against Athletic Club. So dramatic was Thursday's Europa League comeback that there was always going to be a feeling of Sunday's Wolves game being after the Lord Mayor's Show. The atmosphere was flatter, in part because the game didn't really matter. Wolves are happy to avoid relegation. United can't say that and need the Europa League to save their season. That would bring a much-needed trophy, access to next season's Champions League, more games and all the financial rewards that come with it, plus the attraction to potential summer recruits. 'We have a lot to do and to focus on improving the team step by step. Understanding that, until the end of this league, it is going to be like this,' Amorim said. United are still to play at Bournemouth, Brentford and Chelsea in the league, with home games against West Ham and Aston Villa. 'We created a lot of chances,' said Amorim after the Wolves defeat. 'We controlled the game, we blocked some good players, then one set-piece changes the game and that's that. It's really frustrating.' For United fans, he's not wrong. For Wolves, there was joy from the 3,000 fans in the away end. 'The most important thing is not me but to see the happiness in the faces of the players and the supporters,' said Pereira. His team is safe, his job is done this season. Amorim is barely past the starting post.
New York Times
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘Ruben Amorim, he'll bring the glory days again' – Man Utd fans explain their song of defiance
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement '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. Advertisement '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.
New York Times
22-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ruben Amorim has the support of Manchester United's fans – but he needs results like David Moyes
After losing six games in December, improved results in 2025 do not reflect the mood at Manchester United. They have played 10 matches in all competitions this year, winning six, drawing one, and losing three. Given the team avoided defeat at Anfield and knocked Arsenal out of the FA Cup after a penalty shootout victory at the Emirates Stadium, you might expect more positivity, but those results mask reality. Injuries and performances are two football-relevant reasons for despondency, while United's poor financial results point to more staff cuts. Talks have taken place between Sir Jim Ratcliffe and United's fan advisory board on rising ticket prices. United were awful in the first half of their fourth-round FA Cup win against Leicester City. Two of the 2025 victories came in the weaker Europa League, the competition where United have looked most convincing this season. In the Premier League, they have slipped to 15th and lost five of their last six home games. There is no way of spinning this. Advertisement United's players are anxious at Old Trafford and must still play Arsenal, Manchester City, Aston Villa, Ipswich Town, Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United in their remaining home league games. The latter three are below United in the league. Fans were used to six-pointer games at the top of the table, not the bottom end. Given the sour mood, Ruben Amorim is remarkably well supported by fans, who have been singing his name to a tune taken from Bonnie Tyler's It's a Heartache. (It certainly is right now.) Some fans are invested in Amorim delivering a brighter future and there are several reasons for that, not least admiration for his brutal honesty. For the media, he delivers headlines most weeks — and does so while smiling, not with menace. He's charismatic, shows deep emotional intelligence and speaks excellent English. Fans see that something had to change at United and there's an acceptance he's the one holding the bomb as it goes off. Many supporters wanted him to bring significant change to style and personnel, rather than just sticking plasters. They also wanted that change while still winning enough matches. The reality is far more uncomfortable. United have become worse under the new coach, winning fewer points and scoring fewer goals. If there's a discernible improvement in the football then it's hard to see when teams at the bottom of the table come to Old Trafford and dominate for long periods. United have weaknesses and problems all over the pitch. But just as the coach would be praised if he was doing well, there are legitimate questions to be asked when he isn't. It was the same with his predecessor, Erik ten Hag, Amorim excelled in a smaller league where his team was expected to dominate and win matches, which they usually did. Now he's up against tougher opponents in a tougher league and his previous achievements count for little. There is goodwill towards Amorim from fans and no desire for another expensive managerial change, but United fans are desperately hedging their bets on an idealised brighter future, even as the team sink. We don't know if Amorim will succeed in the Premier League. He was trusted to bring a large team of coaches, but we don't know if they are the right people, either. And for the much-vaunted 'best in class' appointments, let's judge that after two years when they've had time to do their job under their new structure. For all their attributes, Sir Dave Brailsford, Collette Roche, Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada didn't come as a ready-made fantastic four to sort the football side out. They're learning on the Manchester United job as they are going along. GO DEEPER Manchester United is Sir Dave Brailsford's toughest challenge - can 'Mission 21' fix a faltering club? Just as fans craved honesty from their coach, he craved time on the training pitch with his players. He's had that in recent weeks, yet the most notable change has been serious injuries to Amad and Kobbie Mainoo, two young players who are important to the first team. Why did they pick up serious injuries in training? Advertisement Most significantly, Amorim appears willing to die on the hill of the tactical system he wants to implement — and the club have backed him to do that. He talks of his system being flexible when it appears the opposite, while the players he has were not bought for that system. But how long will that be his get-out-of-jail card? United cannot keep losing, cannot keep getting worse. There can't be a postmortem after most league matches that says only major surgery will solve things sometime in a notional future. There are too many costs — financial (every Premier League position is worth almost £4million/$5m) and emotional (fans and players are likely to lose faith in the system). Amorim had an idea of what he was walking into. He didn't want to take the United job mid-season but was persuaded by Berrada. Perhaps Berrada knew Amorim was on City's radar before Pep Guardiola signed a new contract in November. United once lost out on Guardiola because City got there first when the Catalan was at Bayern Munich. United got their man this time and if Amorim is going to be a long-term answer then it will be worth the short-term pain. There are other reasons he's getting support: he's still in the relatively early stages. Recent history shows that United managers last for between two and two and a half years. Not that the plan is to change — with the subsequent vast squad turnover that follows to no discernible improvement — every two or three years. Amorim's only 21 games in, though he's already lost nine, one more than Ralf Rangnick, the last manager who said United needed 'open-heart surgery'. It was also awful under Rangnick (not a permanent appointment) but he managed eight more games than Amorim has and lost one fewer. There's mitigation. It's not Amorim's fault that United used to be great but are no longer, or that he took over a complex dressing room. Nor is it his fault that the team he inherited mid-season is not his. Or that the much-touted — and well respected by United players — sporting director Dan Ashworth lasted months and was another paid off in a costly departure. GO DEEPER Inside Dan Ashworth's shock Man United exit: What irritated Ratcliffe and how it ended This season is becoming a squeaky bum one for the wrong reasons and there's much for Amorim's coaches to ponder as they hunker down in their temporary accommodation while the Carrington training complex is redeveloped. They're confined to small rooms at present, the opposite of the open-plan ideas room to prompt collaboration that INEOS wants to implement when construction is completed. That construction at least will be funded by INEOS, which has put money in, rather than taken it out as the Glazers did. And United, with justification, have not written off this season yet. There's still much to play for: an improved league position, retaining the FA Cup, and winning the Europa League, with a possible route to the Champions League next season. United resume in Europe in two weeks. Before then, a game at Everton today where former United boss David Moyes has given the club a lift that fans hoped Amorim would give United. Moyes' mission was to keep Everton in the Premier League. They're now above United. "David Moyes is doing a better job than me, it's quite simple," Amorim said yesterday. Advertisement It's grim, but what can United fans do? Actually, quite a lot. Get behind the team and coach, help rather than hinder what fragile confidence there is. It's hard in the face of possible rising ticket prices, hard when your team loses as much as it wins, when there are doubts about everyone from the decision makers to the players and the presence of the Glazers still causes consternation, but it's also at times like those that supporters must do exactly that: support.
New York Times
08-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Manchester United won (just) and Ruben Amorim started Patrick Dorgu on the right
Ruben Amorim started Patrick Dorgu at right wing-back against Leicester City. Two matches into Manchester United's 2024-25 FA Cup campaign, this team has already provided plenty of dramatic moments that will do well in an end-0f-season highlights package. They followed up their gritty, hard-fought penalty shootout win over Arsenal in the third round with victory over Leicester City in the fourth thanks to a goal scored in the 93rd minute. Advertisement Was it offside? Maybe a little, (maybe a lot), but United made it through to the FA Cup fifth round — with a goal scored in 'Fergie Time' while Sir Alex Ferguson watching at Old Trafford, no less. This team found a way to turn what could have been an embarrassing defeat into a triumphant – and cathartic – 2-1 victory. But before we can get into all of that, we have to repeat ourselves: Ruben Amorim started Patrick Dorgu at right wing-back against Leicester City. United spent the majority of last year without a left-footed player who could play at left-back or left wing-back. It was a problem that put a hard ceiling on what this team could achieve — be it under Erik ten Hag, interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy or Amorim himself. Several players tried their best to moonlight in the position, but their discomfort at passing and receiving the ball on their left foot eventually became apparent. United struggle to hold width down the left flank. They struggle to deliver crosses from the left. United fans have taken to singing the Bonnie Tyler song It's a Heartache to get behind Amorim, but her other famous record — Holding Out For A Hero – could be retrofitted for a player chant for whoever makes that left wing-back role their own. United needed a left-footed defender to help improve them. The need became even more pressing in a week where fans learned Lisandro Martinez would be unavailable for the remainder of the season with an ACL injury, and Luke Shaw suffered a small setback. United spent £25.2million ($31.2m; €30m) to secure Dorgu from Leece in the winter window… only for Amorim to play him at right wing-back. GO DEEPER Patrick Dorgu joins Man United - His strengths, weaknesses and what he can bring to Amorim's side Three matches into his United tenure, Amorim told fans that 'the storm will come'. Against Leicester City, he momentarily steered against the waves, playing his long sought-after left-footer on the opposite side for the first 45 minutes. 'He played a lot of time at Lecce on the right and the left,' said the head coach in his post-match press conference. 'That is one of the characteristics we pay attention to a lot, to have a player like him. He was a little bit anxious with the first touch of the ball. It's a different league for him, different speed of the game, but he did well.' Dorgu performed well across his 45-minute debut on the right. He dovetailed with Amad Diallo ahead of him and dropped back when needed to protect Leny Yoro. He was a useful, outlet out wide for a team that can be hesitant to take the initiative. Amorim did not reveal why took Dorgu off at half time for Alejandro Garnacho, but it was a promising performance. Amorim suggested afterwards that he may continue selecting him on the right. 'If you see the history of Dorgu in the last team he played a lot of games on the right,' said Amorim. 'We have to have wingers who can play both sides like (Diogo) Dalot. It's a really important thing; sometimes you need a left foot on the right side to come inside and connect in a different way, and sometimes you need a right-footer to connect and cross more balls.' Advertisement The head coach has form for using left-footed players at right wing-back. Geovany Quenda impressed many with his performances there, most notably in Sporting CP's 4-1 victory over Manchester City earlier this season. But United do not appear capable of the football with which Amorim's previous team had such success. They beat Leicester and secured passage to the FA Cup fifth round but, in the coach's own words, 'it was a good result, not a good performance.' This was yet another game where United were stuck slowly passing the ball in a horseshoe from one wing-back, through the back three, and into the other. It was another game where United's midfielders struggled to receive, turn and carry the ball through central areas. It was another game where Rasmus Hojlund struggled for service in the final third. When Bobby De Cordova-Reid gave the away side the lead in the 42nd minute, another Old Trafford defeat for Amorim loomed. GO DEEPER The Briefing: Man United 2 Leicester 1 - The Garnacho effect, that first-half dirge, Dorgu on the right? The head coach threw a surprise into this game with Dorgu but also then made sensible tactical tweaks. To cover for Martinez's absence, Noussair Mazraoui moved into the left centre-back role in the first half, before Yoro stepped in for the second. When United went in search of an equaliser, Joshua Zirkzee was brought on for Kobbie Mainoo, to help link play and battle for the ball in the air. Yet it was swapping Dorgu for Garnacho that provided the spark for change. Save for a notable instance where he shot at the near post, rather than square the ball to Hojlund, Garnacho supplied multiple passes into attacking areas to get his side into a rhythm in the second half. Zirkzee's 68th-minute equaliser calmed nerves, before Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and a controversial decision from an assistant referee got this team over the line. Was it a deserved win? Perhaps, perhaps not. Cup competitions rarely pay attention to who is entitled to what. This team were flat in the first half. They were courageous when they needed to be in the second. Advertisement 'Today is a feeling of the win and the fans go home with that feeling of win,' said Amorim. 'They perform really well, help us a lot to change the game. It's hard to point to something to give them confidence, just the spirit in the second half, more energy, more second balls. 'The rest, there is a lot to improve. We already knew that, we need to do better.' United can get better than this. They need a bit more help, and consistency, in doing so.
