When Man Utd's truth was exposed

Bruno Fernandes could not save MU.

For Manchester United, the fall at Blundell Park to Grimsby Town - a team from the Fourth Division of England - in the early morning of August 28 after a penalty shootout was not only a shock in the Carabao Cup. It was also like a mirror reflecting the chaos, helplessness and deadlock surrounding Ruben Amorim and the team he led.

A historical shock

Losing to Grimsby was humiliating enough, but the manner of the defeat was even more humiliating. United fielded a £401.61m squad, including Benjamin Sesko, Manuel Ugarte, Andre Onana, Harry Maguire, Matheus Cunha - not the unknown youth squad they had when they lost to MK Dons in 2014. Yet, within 45 minutes, they looked even more frail than that team.

The jeers from the stands – “They’ll be sacked tomorrow morning”, “Premier League, what a joke” – were not just directed at Amorim, but at an empire that once prided itself on being the dominant force in English football. Bryan Mbeumo’s penalty miss capped the tragedy, turning the 11-12 defeat to Grimsby into a historic blemish, alongside Bournemouth in 1984, York City in 1995, Southend in 2006, Leeds in 2010 and MK Dons in 2014.

Just a month ago, Ruben Amorim was a young, confident, radiant face on the tour of Chicago (USA). But at Blundell Park, in the pouring rain, he was just the image of a distraught coach, arguing with assistant Carlos Fernandes, then quietly enduring the battle on the sidelines.

Ruben Amorim's eyes were blank after the defeat at Carabao Cup.

The contrast is not just visual. It reflects the dizzying speed of decline of a leader who seemed to bring hope.

Tactical mistakes followed one another: rotating the goalkeeper, causing Onana to lose confidence, using players in the wrong roles, not finding the right formula for Sesko or Ugarte. The result: a bleak, disjointed, soulless team.

When Ugarte lay on the field waiting for the whistle instead of continuing to fight, allowing Vernam to comfortably score the opening goal, it said it all. It was not just an individual giving up, but also a sign of the collective spirit faltering. Benjamin Sesko was lost, Onana continued to make mistakes, and Maguire - despite scoring - could not save a collapsing system.

In the stands, more than 1,200 United fans sang “We’ll never die” as a self-consolation, amid the idyllic setting of the Fourth Division stadium. When the audience turned to singing bitterly instead of cheering, it was a sign that faith had run out.

The system is caught.

Amorim brought to Old Trafford the 3-4-3 philosophy that had served him well at Sporting Lisbon. But the Premier League, and English football more broadly, is not easily conquered by a rigid system. United have a lot of possession, but attack harmlessly and defend weakly. Fourth-tier opponents just have to play aggressively, wait for an opening, and United will hand themselves the victory.

Ruben Amorim is too conservative.

In football, a philosophy can fail, but if a coach shows flexibility, he still has a chance to do it again. The problem is that Amorim shows confusion, conservatism, and lacks timely adjustments.

Compared to Van Gaal in 2014, at least the Dutch coach still appeared calm, signing autographs for fans after the defeat against MK Dons. Amorim almost collapsed, helpless in front of 8,647 spectators packed into the stadium. He was no longer the young coach full of ideas, but more like someone who had been pushed off the rails by fate.

The crowd's trust was gone. The dressing room was shaky. The tactical system was exposed. At Old Trafford, these are often the signs of the end.

The Carabao Cup is a secondary competition, but defeat to Grimsby exposed the truth: Ruben Amorim is gradually falling apart, and with it, Manchester United is also being pushed into a new spiral of chaos.

Source: https://znews.vn/khi-man-utd-bi-lot-tran-su-that-post1580655.html