Sir Alex has already given his verdict on how Ruben Amorim managed Man Utd against Everton, ‘What’s the point…’

If losing to ten-man Everton wasn’t already bad enough, Ruben Amorim would have clearly annoyed Sir Alex Ferguson in the process, too, with how he managed in the loss.

Ruben Amorim has consistently said that he “gets” the club, in terms of its ethos, identity, the non-negotiables, and the pride one should have while wearing the shirt.

However, for all the talk, his reticence to use youth players, the team being allergic to scoring goals, and the general drop in standards are in stark contrast to his words.

The biggest cynicism arrived after the Everton game, where Sir Alex Ferguson’s verdict on such games resurfaced, painting Amorim in an extremely poor light.

Sir Alex Ferguson would have been annoyed with Ruben Amorim

Generally, a Man Utd side shouldn’t need to throw the kitchen sink to beat a ten-man Everton side at Old Trafford, but even a bad day can be excused.

What can’t be excused, however, is a lack of initiative and desire to change things or shake them up because of unrealistic insistence upon a “system”.

Against Everton, trailing 0-1, Amorim’s substitutions were as follows-

• Mason Mount for Noussair Mazraoui (46th minute)
• Kobbie Mainoo for Casemiro (58th minute)
• Diogo Dalot for Patrick Dorgu (58th minute)

Needless to say, two out of those three substitutions are like-for-like, and Mount for Mazraoui basically fixed Amorim’s error of not playing Amad as the wing-back from the start.

Sir Alex Ferguson, in an earlier interview with Gary Neville, said something about trying to win these games, which should be necessary hearing for Amorim.

He said: “What’s the point in sitting with your back four, your regular midfield, and two strikers? What’s the point? The risk is to shove people in the box. The other team react to that. You shove 3-4 in the box, get the ball in there, and there’s the risk of a breakaway. We’ve lost games that way.

“But the value is, you score in the last minute, the dressing room is electric. The fans going home can’t wait to go to the pub to talk about it. That’s the value. If you’re playing for our club, that risk should always be there.”

Players are underperforming, but it looks systematic

That last paragraph is particularly damning for Amorim, because he’s become increasingly risk-averse this season after suffering the nightmare of last season.

There’s no rolling the dice on an academy product, as Shea Lacey watched from the bench against Everton while United huffed and puffed to no avail.

There’s no abandoning the system and going gung-ho for the win, as was seen in the win against Lyon in the Europa League last year.

What there is is a stubborn attachment to a system that hides the strengths of most of his players and exposes their weaknesses.

It’s true that the players are underperforming because no system should prevent top players from beating a ten-man Everton at home.

But, there’s something to be said about the system if the players giving their all feel they are not at their best while trying to execute it.