Even when Manchester United aren’t playing they are losing. Little sums up the epic disfunction at Old Trafford more than the bomb squad resurrection happening at clubs across Europe. It turns out the problem was never the cohort of misfits and malcontents shipped out, but those who passed judgment on them.
Rasmus Hojlund, who managed just four goals in 23 Premier League starts last season, has scored three in five matches since joining Napoli on loan. Two of those came in the Champions League this week, gorging on assists provided by Kevin De Bruyne, who likened the Dane to his old Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland. Crikey.
Older observers might have seen more of that post-war battering ram Nat Lofthouse in the goals that put away Sporting CP, the first galloping onto an exquisite pass from De Bruyne, the second bravely heading home an in-swinging cross. The link with arguably the greatest midfield connector of the age, De Bruyne, reinforces the argument that Hojlund’s failing at United was always about the poor service he received.
Kevin De Bruyne assists Rasmus Højlund again
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 1, 2025
The former cross-city rivals are linking up nicely for Napoli!
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At Barcelona, Marcus Rashford has turned into Marcus Rashford. His assist for the goal against Paris Saint-Germain deserved more than late defeat. The two Champions League goals he scored at Newcastle, a fabulous header followed by the kind of worldie once at the service of United, demonstrated the value of sound management.
Ok, he has one mark against him. Hansi Flick stood him down immediately for turning up late for training, but there appears to be no hard feelings and back in the side his play is full of the old penetrating swagger.
Even Antony is flourishing at Real Betis having made last season’s loan move permanent. Antony, who registered his first goal of the season with the late equaliser against Nottingham Forest in the Europa League last week, attributes his form to feeling valued. Money is important, he says, but happiness is worth more.
The rebounds of Hojlund, Rashford and Antony would suggest that the cultural reset supposedly undertaken since the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe 21 months ago has morphed into another kind of poison.
United’s fixture at home to Sunderland has become an engagement of improbable consequence, made so by the endless mismanagement that continues to stifle progress. At the heart of this is Ratcliffe’s incomprehensible belief in the viability of Ruben Amorim.
The messaging projected from the Ratcliffe bunker is one of patience. Ratcliffe, it is said, believes Amorim is deserving of a full season. Quite what he is expecting over the remaining 32 Premier League matches is not clear. Based on the evidence of the 33 games that Amorim has already overseen, United will struggle to reach 40 points, a total traditionally associated with relegation candidates.
Upon his arrival on Christmas Eve of 2023, Ratcliffe identified outmoded culture and practices as the principal issues holding back United. He has since introduced a new hierarchy, sweeping away the old executive structure under the Glazer family. He has cut the ribbon on a £50m training ground upgrade and reduced staffing by a third with the shedding of more than 400 jobs.
That’s some cultural shift. But what is culture if not people, and specifically the people running things, which includes Amorim? If the old culture was responsible for poor performance, then current results must be conditioned by the culture that replaced it. Thus is Ratcliffe hemmed in by his own logic.
He acted with alacrity to clean up the old mess, but in doing so appears to have created a new shitshow. So why is he not responding accordingly? What might be different about the next 32 fixtures, given that the six matches this season have followed the pattern set in the 27 games Amorim oversaw last term.
United have lost more matches than they have won, including one to fourth-tier Grimsby, conceded more than they have scored and returned an average of one point a match. Despite the addition of a brand new forward line comprising proven Premier League match-winners plus a highly rated, if unproven, centre-forward in Benjamin Sesko, Amorim’s team displays exactly the same flaws.
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That might be because the fundamental issues remain, namely the absence of credible defensive midfielder capable of controlling games, the lack of a goalkeeper capable of keeping the ball out of the net, and a coach overwhelmed by the setting.
Amorim appears a likeable soul whose analysis of outcomes is pretty much spot on. It is not that he can’t see what is happening, nor identify the flaws. The problem is he can’t fix them. Settling into pained crouches in the technical area is not coaching.
The pacing in ever decreasing circles, running a mile from penalty kicks, delivering anguished post-match commentaries are not the behaviours of an alpha coach, but a cry for help from a distressed performer swamped by the experience. Not waving, but drowning.
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