With Manchester United there is almost never a middle ground, but instead an ever -increasing extremes of a scale
Let me explain.
Last season United had a clear problem with their goals and build -up game – that was simply emphasized by their 44 goals in the Premier League, only three teams scored less.
So what did United do in this window? They spent around £ 200 million tackling that problem with the signing sessions of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo.
After a positive first performance of the season in their defeat against Arsenal – a large part of the conversation is now centered around the opposite end of the field with the goalkeeper department, the newest area that was concentrated after what seemed to be a mistake by Altay Bayindir against Mikel Arteta against Mikel Arteta side.
Ruben Amorim admitted in his first press conference of the season that he learned a lot last season. This included realizing how much he needs to protect his side against the amount of noise around the club on a weekly basis.
When I sat down with the United Boss prior to Sunday's trip to Fulham, Live on Sky Sports, it was an easy question – how did you start protecting the protection of the Subvoced goalkeepers this week?
“The first thing I have already said to my players is when you see so many critics, you get upset and that is normal,” Amorim explained to Sky Sports News.
“For me, the only way to protect myself and my players to tell them that they should see nothing.
“You have to be like a monk, especially if you have problems and then I try to present the facts because there is sometimes a story that is not true.
“Altay made one mistake, but last year he had very good performance, so I try to tell the players and then try to fight that story.
“But in the end they have to enjoy their lives with the players, work, enjoy their families and try nothing on TV or on the internet.”
Suffering, new signing sessions and freedom – they are linked
Many of the players have emphasized that they feel that the atmosphere and a band around the team have been different.
Yes, there is some hesitation to believe that after previous managers and false, but there seems to be really optimism after the reopening of their training ground, new and exciting players who come to the club and a positive first performance against Arsenal.
Amorim said: “Last year I was sometimes worried that I went to the games, but now I am excited, it's completely different.”
“We have been together so much (last season) and that can bind people – the mind is really good.”
“If you feel that the team is playing well, you have confident and you feel more free to play and if you are more free to play, you are happier.
“If you are happier, your daily day is better and it is like snowball.”
Amorim's attacking options have been reinforced with Premier League -beeted Mbeumo and Cunha – both who can play as no 10s or as the most important striker to share the load next to the young Sesko.
The threat they showed against Arsenal, whether it was Cunha's Mazy runs or Mbeumo's movements behind, fans in Old Trafford left behind with a renewed feeling of optimism and Amorim feels the same.
“We have various options this year, but sometimes football is more than just on the field,” said Amorim.
“She [Mbeumo and Cunha] Come in at a time when the mind is different, the place is different – sometimes we have many very good players, but the scars were there and that influenced the dynamics of the team.
“They can help us, not only on the field, but also outside the field, I feel that the boys are more free because they were not here at the very, very difficult moments – they see something else.”
A big part of or Amorim's United this season will really be something else, could be the young Slovenian Sesko – who had called Amorim 'football obsessed'.
He had already spoken about the potential of Sesko, 22, but I wondered – how exciting can it be for Amorim himself to work and develop a young player like the Slovenian?
Amorim explained: “If you are in a club like this, you want the best players, but you also have to imagine the future.
“That is so exciting – I would like to know the players, I would like to see the videos of the players and try to get all the information, but you want that confirmation and I felt that Sesko was even better than what I thought.
“I have to be careful, Sesko has been our striker for many, many years, so we have to put it in his head and let him settle, stay calm and enjoy his day because he is really as you said, obsessed.
“I am really happy – not just with him, but with Cunha, Diego (Leon) and Mbeumo – we know that we have the players and we know that we will have that basis in our future and that is really important to us.”
What is success this season?
We are only one match in the season, but if United can replicate their performance against Arsenal most weeks, especially without the distraction of European football, it could offer a promising chance for United to improve the 15th place of last season.
United, however, has to earn optimism from people outside the gates of Carrington and, as Amorim said before, it is only up to them to fight and change their own story.
They will only do that by appearing on the journey instead of concentrating on the destination.
“Success is to win titles, and we don't know if we're going to achieve that (this season),” said Amorim.
“We are not the moment we can say that we are clearly fighting for the competition – we just have to get the small steps and be the small steps to prepare every game as if it were a final.
“We want to be really competitive, try to dominate games, try to score goals and not bored our fans to see our games … So if we have the little things and we check, check, check, it will eventually get better.
“I think everyone knows that we have a goal – not for this season but in three years to win the Premier League title.
“We are going to do these steps to achieve that goal, but in this club you know that the story will be different every week, so we must be prepared for that, block the noise, do the work and try to win games.”