Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has explained why Manchester United haven’t sacked manager Ruben Amorim. It comes after the Red Devils slumped to a 3-1 Premier League loss at Brentford on Saturday (September 27).
Igor Thiago’s 12-minute brace gave the hosts a two-goal cushion inside 20 minutes before Benjamin Sesko reduced arrears six minutes later. However, with an equaliser not forthcoming, Mathias Jensen scored in the 96th minute to give Brentford all three points.
Shearer said that United haven’t sacked Amorim yet, as the owners wouldn’t want to ‘admit’ that the former Sporting CP coach’s arrival was mistake. The all-time Premier League top scorer said on the Rest is Football podcast:
“Brentford without a doubt had their plan. He was out-schooled by Keith Andrews. What Brentford did, they did well, that will be his downfall unfortunately for him, he’s not going to budge – he’s right, and everyone is wrong. I know they really worked last week for their win, but it was back to normality.
“When you look at Graham Potter at West Ham, 26 per cent win percentage, and been fired for that, Amorim’s got 27 per cent win rate despite the fortunes that have been spent.”
Shearer added:
“Currently, the last time I checked they’re 14th despite all the money being spent. I genuinely believe the owners or the people owning the club have made that many errors in the last 18 months, it would look terrible to admit another error and sack.
“Whether it’s Dan Ashworth, the ticket increase, people losing their jobs, the new stadium, paying for Dan Ashworth then sacking him then going hellbent on a manager, paying a fee for him, demanding he comes now rather than when he wanted to come to them for them to go, ‘Sorry, we’re firing him, then paying out a huge chunk.’
He concluded:
“I genuinely believe that’s one of the reasons why (Amorim’s) still there. They’re not getting any better. They look miles off it, and if he’s not going to change, which he says he’s not, that will be his downfall.”
The defeat at Brenford means Manchester United are yet to win back-to-back league games since Amorim’s arrival in 2024, collecting 34 points from 33 outings. They are 14th in the standings, with seven points from six matches, winning two.
“There needs to be big changes” – Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney
Manchester United top scorer Wayne Rooney reckons he’s not confident that the club have what it takes to reclaim their former glory. The Red Devils finished a lowly 15th last season and are seemingly set for another bottom-half finish.
Having not won the league title since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, United splurged big this summer after an abysmal 2024-25 campaign. However, Rooney thinks more needs to be done to change the club’s fortunes.
“I am not seeing anything, which is giving me any confidence. There needs to be big changes, in my opinion,” Rooney said (as per the BBC). “Manager, players, whatever that is, whatever it takes to get Manchester Untied back.”
Rooney netted 253 times in a successful 13-year spell at Manchester United, winning five league titles, including three in a row (2007-09).
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Edited by Bhargav
