Old Trafford - Old For Amorim; Manchester In Dilemma

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim climbs down, and Darren Fletcher is all set to take charge. The club's struggles to match its expected results and discords with management result in the 40-year-old's stepping down. Manchester United, on the verge of qualification for the Champions League next season, getting caught by teams like Aston Villa, Leeds, Wolves, and Bournemouth recently in the Premier League had the management distraught over. The intensified internal tension with the sporting director, Jason Wilcox, and chief executive, Omar Berrada, over the transfer control and strategic decisions broke out as the sudden cause for United to sack their manager, along with the wicked performance of the team. Amorim's controversial public comments regarding his power struggle in the club, saying he wanted to be "manager, not just head coach", and remarks like asking the club staff to "do their job" conceivably accelerated his departure.

The Portuguese joined the club fourteen months back, after Eric Ten Hag stepped down from the position. He had the club lingering down to have 15 and 8 as their ordinal positions in the table during his time. It's been a while since the 'Red Devils' could keep up with their consistent supremacy in the Premier League and the Champions League. The former Sporting manager during the time of the takeover had clear and rigid plans and a style of play to take the team out of the miserable condition. This in turn made him stick to his preferred (3-4-2-1) system, unwilling to adapt, which in turn frustrated the management. This tactically dogmatic nature brought down his win percentage to just '38.10', which is worse than his Dutch predecessor's '54.69'. This win percentage is the least by any manager at the club since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down.

The arrival of players like Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko, and Bryan Mbeumo gave the fans a ray of hope at the beginning of the season, but the recent dip in form and unjustifiable style of play didn't match the players available. His negligence towards the academy players, like Kobbie Mainoo and Josua Zirkzee, who were eventually frozen out, showed his lack of efficiency in utilising the club resources.

The embarrassing penalty shootout defeat against Grimsby Town at Blundell Park, the first time United have ever lost a competitive game to a fourth-tier club, already had the fingers pointed towards him. The club aims to be a part of the Champions League with the sacking of Amorim, who has consistently underperformed for the club lately.

Amorim's unwise statements in public press conferences and his emotional turmoil smacked of the people who were about to admit the job was too much for them, only to climb down a couple of days later when he said emotions frequently get the better of him. His first interaction with the media on Friday included his last answer, which included the statement that he "would not quit". This ultimately let the club choose between backing or sacking him.

As per the terms Amorim signed when he took the charge, there are no clauses to enable a discounted exit, meaning the 'Red Devils' will have to pay out his contract in full. It was set to run until the summer of 2027 with the option of a further year. However, the former Benfica player's prospect as a manager is uncertain. Concurrently, United are really looking forward to a manager who can take the club back to the zenith of European football, which they haven't had for a decade, as they go on with the habit of terminating their managers – five managers have been fired from the club in the last ten years, along with a top possible finish in the Premier League and a ticket for the coming Champions League.