For fans of Manchester United it feels like a lifetime ago when Ruben Amorim was named head coach and optimism filled the air in Old Trafford. Well, it's only four months ago.
At that time, Amorim branded his side as 'perhaps the worst in the history of Manchester United' and has repeated how 'difficult' his job is on numerous occasions. It is fair to say that the atmosphere of optimism has disappeared into a pool of pessimism.
Even after scraping Ipswich, albeit with 10 men, United 14th is in the Premier League table, level on points with a similar wrestling Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham.
Normally, if United was in the vicinity of parties like that, you would assume that things would not go too bad. But as you can see from the competition position, that is not the case. Amorim's Eight League Nederies In 14 managers is hardly a record to be proud of.
In all honesty for the Portuguese boss, however, he had many problems fighting during his short but brutal saying in the Old Trafford Dugout. The unfortunate thing for him is that they just seem to grow, don't leave.
While the problems continue to support Amorim and his staff, Mail Sport looks a look at what the biggest obstacles he will have to try to trying in the last months of the season.
Assemble injuries
It seems to be the story of the season, right? Every team, but Liverpool has had a paralyzing amount of injuries that have derailed their season. Is that not good, Arsenal fans?
That was a joke, Gunners. Please don't come for me. It is clear that Arsenal is one of the many teams that have suffered under an overwhelming number of injuries for important players.
The same applies to Manchester United. It feels like the 20-way English champions have recently been decimated by fitness problems, with some of their most important stars on the sidelines.
Amad Diallo is one. The Ivorian winger has been a ray of sunshine in what a gloomy season has been for United, after he scored six goals and helped another six. The news of his damage to the ankle ligament two weeks ago, the spirits in the club seriously damped.
Diallo is ready for the season, just like Start Center-Back Lisandro Martinez who ran a front cross injury earlier this month in the defeat at home against Crystal Palace. Oh yes, and don't forget that Kobbie Mainoo has been out for several weeks.
These are all players you would expect to start for United Week in, and a week out, even if Amorim likes to rotate his squadron game per game. Their absence is therefore felt strongly and have a huge impact on both moral and quality within the United team.
Mason Mount and Luke Shaw are also long -term absent, even though they initially have only supposedly injuries in the short term. With their record on the sidelines at United, however, Amorim is quite used to having their heads without them.
The formation does not work
One of the most important problems of Manchester United among the predecessor of Amorim, Erik ten Hag, was that they had no identity. Most fans, experts and journalists found it difficult to explain what the Ten Hag system was.
The same cannot be said with Amorim, his idea is clear. United has set up a 3-4-2-1 formation. They sit with a high line and love to hold the ball, but the problem is that they do little with it.
A lack of player profiles that match the system does not help Amorim exactly. With the financial issues of United, however, the chance that they can splash the money on the right players is unlikely.
So it is certainly time that Amorim is adjustable, right? In short, that is not going to happen, he stays on his weapons. The United Boss has stated several times that he cannot 'change' his ideas only because of the results. It is a mantra that Ange Postecoglou also stays with it.
Amorim's challenge to adhere to his principles is admirable, but his players still don't seem to be sold to his ideas. Earlier this month, Mail Sport revealed that some players discussed themselves or a change of plan that is better suited for their playing style, perhaps the best way ahead.
United fans may not want to hear this, but perhaps, very perhaps, their head coach would have to get a magazine from the book by Arne Slot. Liverpool has enabled his tactical adaptability to jump every obstacle and sit comfortably in the pile.
Who plays Amorim in Doel?
Andre Onana must be fell, clear and simple. His terrible blunder that on Wednesday evening in Old Trafford led to the opener of Ipswich in Old Trafford, was certainly the last nail in the coffin for the goalkeeper.
Many thought that the Cameroonian had turned a corner at the start of the season, but his mistakes that lead to goals have recently returned. While his teammates have fired him against the tractor boys, that has not always been the case.
Only two games earlier, Onana was the fault for the only goal of United's meeting with Tottenham while he directly in the path of James Maddison Palde to tap home.
Amorim has to change between the sticks, but the problem he has is that both Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton are injured. Maybe he should just go with his 63-year-old keepers coach, Jorge Vital? I mean, he once brutally suggested that he would use him for Marcus Rashford.
The obvious choice would be to use Bayindir, which has never appeared in the Premier League when he is fit again after his series of good displays in cup competitions. The heroic version of the Turkish keeper to Arsenal to send United to the FA Cup Fourth round, will not be forgotten soon.
However, the 26-year-old is also susceptible to an error or also, as can be seen in a 4-3 defeat at Spurs in the Carabao Cup in December. So, Amorim's problems in that department will not be solved exactly by bringing him in, but it is definitely worth trying.
Shot-Shy Spiters
As you have probably gathered now, the problems for Amorim and United are everywhere and everywhere from behind. One of the most apparent of the party is at the top of the field.
The fact is the struggle to take the trouble to score goals. Whether it is Rasmus Hojlund at the top or Joshua Zirkzee, or to be honest even both, they just can't find the back of the net.
Hojlund and Zirkzee have only managed eight shots on target in each in the Premier League. I mean, that's pretty terrible. Even Center-back Matthijs de Ligt has managed the same amount.
It can be a good explanation why the couple of them only managed five goals between them in the competition throughout the season. They rarely cross the tractor, so how should they score?
Part of it will be the service they get. In the draw of United in Everton last weekend, Hojlund seemed lost at the top of the field, he hardly got a staircase. He is certainly someone who does not fit with the Amorim system, that's for sure.
However, it is not as if they have many other options that can penetrate and save the day. The 17-year-old Chido Obi could be the answer, but Amorim just promoted him to the first team.
Time to concentrate on the cups?
Amorim has a bit of a mystery on his hands, it must be said. I think it is fair to say that the European qualification of United is ready through the competition. It is difficult to see them overhaul the ten -point gap to Bournemouth, currently occupied seventh.
It is of course not excluded. United can go in a miraculous way in a normal form that sees them fly on the table before the end of the season. However, it is pretty unlikely.
That means that Amorim must now decide whether he should give priority to the FA Cup and Europa League above the Premier League. Trophies are the currency of success in football and they can also lead to European qualification, with the winners of the Europa League a pass in the Champions League of next season.
That makes this crucial for the United season next week. On Sunday they organize Fulham in the fifth round of the FA Cup before a trip to Spain to face Real Sociedad in the first stage of their European League Last 16 Encounter.
Losing both and their season is over. But both, or even just one, have something to fight for in the last few months. I mean, who wants their campaign to become a dead rubber as soon as March? Nobody.
Dorgu's three-match prohibition
As if the injuries were not enough for important players, Amorim will have to do without winter transfer that Patrick Dorgu signs after he received a straight red card during the victory over Ipswich.
Every time you view Dorgu's challenge on Omari Hutchinson, it just gets worse. He planted his studs slap in the middle of the shin of Hutchinson, so as soon as Var became involved, the red was inevitable.
The suspension is really a bad timing as it comes, just when Dorgu started to leave his mark in the left wing -like roll. It is not exactly a position that United is bleeding of talent, so he will be a real miss.
Amorim will now have to turn his already restless backline into the interior, where Diogo Dalot will probably exchange flanks to cover Dorgu, while Noussair Mazraoui could go to the right wing. Far from ideal for the United Boss.
Financial weaknesses
Where to start, right? Man United has made a series of reckless financial movements over the past decade and it started to catch up with them. A series of short -term loans has left the club with a large pile of money they need to pay back.
Under the new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, United has made a number of painful financial movements in an attempt to save costs as they create more financial twist space.
United has made 250 employees superfluous and this week announced that 200 jobs could be jeopardized as part of Savage cuts aimed at bringing financial stability for the club.
Other measures have also been taken. Ratcliffe has sanctioned the removal of free staff meals, cropping Christmas bonuses, lowering the salaries of club ambassadors and canceling charity donations – including the annual donation of £ 40,000 to the Association or former players of Manchester United.
Mediumness on the field has led to a continuous cycle of loss -making, which in turn entails his challenges when it comes to the market. In short, Amorim will have a very small budget in the summer.
The Portuguese coach may have to dive on the free agent market to find what he wants. Maybe Mohamed Salah could make the switch? That is clearly another joke. Even if Salah Liverpool leaves, I am pretty sure that Old Trafford is the last place that we can expect to end up.
Players such as Leroy Sane, Jonathan David and even former Red Devil Angel Gomez, can be free for picking up in 1 June.
However, if Amorim wants to generate a pot of money, senior players may have to be moved. The will of Marcus Rashford, who is on loan in Aston Villa, Casemiro and Christian Eriksen all have large contracts and can all be shown the door.
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