The Red Devils need to compensate for a shambolic last campaign and the coach has all the resources he lacked last time
Ruben Amorim had only been in the Manchester United job for a couple of weeks when he bluntly declared "the storm will come" and he was absolutely right. The Portuguese presided over the club's worst points total, lowest league finish and lowest goal count since they were relegated 51 years ago and then oversaw defeat in the Europa League final to a Tottenham side that had finished even lower than his team and had not won a trophy in 17 years.
Just days after the defeat in Bilbao, which left United without any European football for the first time in 11 years, Amorim faced down the Old Trafford crowd and apologised to them. But he also made a pledge: "I said the storm was coming. Today, after this disaster season, I want to tell you the good days are coming."
Amorim better be right because while he has talked a very good game in his 10 months in charge at Old Trafford, he has largely been unable to get the best out of his players. But that surely has to change in his first full season, especially after being granted three top-class forwards in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, who scored 48 goals between them last term.
The coach has also been given the power to root out problem players like Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford and those who are not good enough such as Antony. He has effectively been given everything he has asked for. Now it is up to him to make it work.
Getty Images SportMood around Old Trafford
Only United supporters born in the 1960s or earlier could recall a worse season than last and there is understandable optimism heading into the new campaign as things can surely only get better.
The club have addressed a long-running problem of not scoring enough goals (only breaching the 70-goal mark once in 12 years) by unveiling a brand new front three and there is huge excitement about Matheus Cunha in particular, with some people, including CEO Omar Berrada, already comparing him to Eric Cantona.
There is some trepidation about Benjamin Sesko given he is replacing Rasmus Hojlund, another young striker who arrived for a lot of money without a truly prolific strike record. But while Sesko has potential, Bryan Mbeumo has proven Premier League quality and should go a long way to lifting the team's goal count.
Many fans do believe that another central midfielder is needed and are hopeful that a deal can be done for Carlos Baleba and there are also lingering doubts about Andre Onana. Fans mostly back Amorim, certainly in public, although there was a lot of anger about the manner of the defeat in the Europa League final and if the team do not make a good start then expect unrest to appear.
AdvertisementGetty Transfer business
United showed their intentions in the transfer market as soon as the season had finished by signing Matheus Cunha from Wolves after paying his £62.5m release clause. The Brazilian had tormented United in the past, including scoring against them directly from a corner last season.
Then followed a long process to try and land Bryan Mbeumo, who finally signed in July after United agreed a fee of up to £71m with Brentford for the man who had scored 20 Premier League goals last season, a feat no Red Devils' player has managed since Robin van Persie 12 years ago. United then added Benjamin Sesko to their brand new front three, agreeing to pay RB Leipzig up to £74m for the Slovenian who first appeared on their radar when he was 16. Diego Leon completed his move from Paraguayan club Cerro Porteno which had already been agreed in January for a fee rising to £7m.
United bid farewell to the retiring Jonny Evans at the end of last season as well as Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof after their contracts finished. Marcus Rashford has since gone on loan to Barcelona, with academy graduates Ethan Wheatley and Daniel Gore going on loans to Northampton and Rotherham respectively.
Many more departures are on the horizon. Alejandro Garnacho is close to moving to Chelsea, while United need to find new destinations for Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia. Rasmus Hojlund, meanwhile, is set to return to Serie A by joining AC Milan on loan. Some more incomings should not be ruled out either as the club are hoping to bolster their midfield by adding Baleba from Brighton.
GettyPre-season performances
United began their pre-season run of five matches with an underwhelming 0-0 draw against Leeds in Stockholm which led to Amorim complaining of a "lack of pace" in the midfield. They then embarked on a third consecutive tour of the United States, beating West Ham 2-1, thrashing Bournemouth 4-1 and drawing 2-2 with Everton to win the Premier League's summer series.
Amorim's side rounded off their preparations for the season with a 1-1 draw against David de Gea's Fiorentina at Old Trafford, winning the subsequent penalty shootout. The dominant displays against West Ham and Bournemouth gave fans reasons to be optimistic as the team played with pace and fluidity, with Fernandes linking up well with Cunha and Patrick Dorgu taking a big step forward from last season.
But there were also reasons to be cautious. Against Everton the team showed a worrying slowness to get back and close opponents down after losing the ball, prompting Fernandes to call his team-mates "lazy" and demand more signings. It is also worth saying that although the team remained unbeaten, they did not come up against opponents of real pedigree and did not really test themselves.
"I think they look a lot more physical, there's a lot more presence about them especially with the new signings so it's an improvement," former United midfielder Nicky Butt told GOAL, viaBetMGM. "But I think pre-season is really false. You don't know how far you are in development until you come up against a Premier League team, and that's when you probably know after about two or three games, but it's looking better than it did towards the end of the season."
Getty Talking tactics
Amorim has been very up front about the team's diabolical results under his watch. Who can forget him calling his side "maybe the worst Manchester United side in history" after losing to Brighton? He has also been frank about the fact that he should be under more pressure. As he said during the pre-season tour: "If you try to remember one big team that lost so many games and the manager kept their job, you will not find it."
But now Amorim has had a full pre-season and been given a £200m-plus war chest to spend on a brand new strike force, the wall of protection that has accompanied him so far at Old Trafford is about to be taken away. The coach and his backers will also be unable to point to a lack of time on the training ground or fixture congestion as a reason for bad results as United have no European football to worry about.
His team do have a daunting set of opening fixtures which sees them face Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool within their first eight games but there can be little margin for error against the mid and lower-table teams. Amorim has pledged to stick with the 3-4-2-1 formation he has played throughout his coaching career but crucially he will be able to play players who fit into it. Cunha played as a narrow No.10 at Wolves while Dorgu and Amad Diallo have been mastering the trade of wing-back over the summer.
"The system's fine, the problem is trying to put players into a system that don't suit it," added Butt. "When you get the confidence up and you get the right players within the club and the manager puts his authority down then it doesn't really matter about the system. For me systems are really an excuse. But he's now got players that can play how he wants to play within that system."