Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United comments ‘bizarre and ridiculous’, says Jamie Carragher | Football news
Jamie Carragher says he was baffled by Ruben Amorim calling his Manchester United team “perhaps the worst” in the club’s history and believes it could backfire on the manager.
The United boss delivered a brutal assessment of his side following their 3-1 defeat at home to Brighton, a result which left the Old Trafford outfit languishing in 13th place in the Premier League.
“In 10 games in the Premier League, we won two,” said Amorim. “We are possibly the worst team in the history of Manchester United. I know you want titles, but I say this because we have to admit it and change it. Here you go, your titles.”
Carragher says United’s struggles this season are clear and Amorim’s harsh words only serve to attract further criticism of the club and players.
“I don’t know the history of Man Utd as well as Gary Neville, but I have to say that was one of the most bizarre and ridiculous things I’ve ever heard from a manager,” Carragher said on Sky Sports News front Monday Night Football.
“Why would you make such a comment… that’s the type of comment that an expert would make, someone in my position, and you would have to defend it. I don’t know what he’s getting out of it, what’s the benefit.
“We all know it’s a bad Man Utd team. They’ve lost another game at home to Brighton, they’ve done that in the last few years anyway. We know it’s a tough season, we know it’s a bad team. He’s just cut loose. That will be the quote that follows him until the end of the season.
“He told the press there ‘I’ll give you your title’. Why you’d want to do that as a manager I’ll never know.”
Carragher believes the comments are unlikely to go down well with the squad and could pose a problem for Amorim when he tries to motivate them ahead of games this season.
“It doesn’t help your confidence going forward,” Carragher said when asked about the impact of Amorim’s words on the players.
“I don’t have much sympathy for the players in the Man Utd dressing room, they’ve been a joke for a few years now. A few weeks ago, after they played Liverpool, Lisandro Martinez spoke about the mentality being different – I almost couldn’t stop laughing when I it’s seen how many times Man Utd have thrown in the towel with poor performances in the last four or five years.
“What I would say is how the manager can go into the dressing room between now and the end of the season and constantly try to build them up and give them the belief that they will beat the opposition, whoever they face, when he said ‘Are you one of the worst teams in the history of Man Utd? I can’t see what he’s going to get out of it at any point.”
Man Utd transfers: Better to postpone until the summer, says Carra
As for United’s poor form, Carragher insists they should hold off on big signings until the summer, when they will have a better chance of bringing in the players Amorim needs to make his system work.
“I don’t think he’s going to get the players he wants in January. We know it’s a tough market to sell players or bring players in. It’s doubly tough this season because the European competitions have gone into January,” Carragher said.
“If I were Man Utd I would keep my powder dry in the summer, there will be a lot more movement where you can bring players in and get them out. What you don’t want to do is end up spending money and then come to the summer and think those players they are not good enough to improve this team or system.
“He will have to go through a lot of pain – we all know that and accept that. I don’t think there is too much criticism about the manager. They had some good results away from home, against Arsenal in the FA Cup and Liverpool in the Premier League.
“We know it’s going to be a rollercoaster because the players are not good enough – they’ve shown that with different managers and different systems.
“I can’t get away from the quote he said, I don’t believe it was in his best interest.”
