For all the optimistic talk about “looking better” against Arsenal, Manchester United returned to the factory institutions in their 1-1 draw with Fulham.
And the expression “relegation Dogfight” could no longer be a far -fetched joke among rival fans.
The Windless starts of the season and the statistical comparisons with managers who have suffered the decrease are grim memories of the current situation of United, with club legend Wayne Rooney who demands quick results.
Baas Ruben Amorim has only won 28 points of 29 Premier League matches, so he must get results in the form of points on the board.
His Prem Win percentage of 24.7 percent is the same as Neil Warnock's about his 112 games in the English top flight, while he was regularly in charge of relegation-threatened parties.
And with matches against Manchester City and Chelsea next month, with a match against Brentford there too, there is little prospect of a winning streak.
After the worst season in three decades, Amorim United hoped to let the blocks fly after a full preseason with his team for the first time.
Although it is easy to point out fingers to a team in transition and a minority property group who still finds his feet, the spotlights must fall on the man in the dugout.
As United to avoid the unthinkable, there are four things that Amorim urgently needs to find out.
Be flexible
Amorim's 3-4-2-1 system was a master class at Sporting Lisbon, but it doesn't work at Old Trafford.
The formation is based on specific player profiles that are simply not at his disposal- so he has to adjust his approach.
Instead of trying to force a system on a team that does not fit, Amorim must show tactical flexibility – a basic requirement of a manager.
It is time for him to stop fitting square pins in round holes and to use the best that he can get out of his players.
The system asks for creative playmaker Bruno Fernandes to drop deeply and to become a defensive midfielder to make way for new signing sessions Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha in the two no. 10 roles.
And Fernandes forms in a no. 6, keeps England's Euro 2024 star Kobbie Mainoo from the team.
The system also has a negative influence on winger Amad Diallo, who wants to attack the flanks, but is forced to deteriorate in his unnatural wing-back position.
A return to a back-four, a more traditional and well-known arrangement for the most part of the team, could offer the defensive stability that the team is so desperately missing.
Play a striker
United needs goals and Amorim refuses to play a striker.
More than £ 200 million has been spent on a new forward line this summer, but United has to score a team goal this season.
In Craven Cottage, Leny Yoro explained pressure on Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz, who turned the ball into his own net to lead visitors.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta wasted no time in fitting Viktor Gyokeres in his team – and has two goals to show for it – but the newest £ 74 million from United that signed Benjamin Sesko has not yet started.
Instead, it seems that Amorim chooses to bench Slovenian no. 9 to accommodate Mason Mount, while Rasmus Hojlund is excluded from both games this season while Napoli is taking out a loan movement for the attacker.
Former Wolves -Man Cunha, who is the best as the left or no. 10, started the first two games of the season at the top, with Mount as one of the two no. 10s.
The former Chelsea star had some good accents against Fulham, and the week before against Arsenal, but he scores no goals and United is deprived.
Amorim then moved the mountain to one of the two Hulden midfielders during his last 10 minutes after he brought Sesko to Marco Silva's side in the 50th minute.
Sesko, 22, should start on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup against Grimsby against Grimsby and against Burnley next weekend – despite Gary Neville that he “is not yet capable of”.
Get a keeper
Amorim has to sign a new keeper next Monday before the end of the summer window.
For a club that built his modern dynasty on the foundation of Peter Schmeichel and Edwin van der Sar, the current situation between the sticks is nothing less than a crisis.
The fact that Amorim has chosen to start No. 2 Stopper Altay Bayindir, even after his fault against Arsenal, speaks volumes about the lack of trust in Andre Onana, who was back on the couch against Fulham on Sunday.
A team tries to claw its way back to the top, or even in the top eight in the table, cannot compete without a commander and reliable presence in the goal.
Amorim could not even see United how United Corners defended against Fulham – looking at the floor during the routines – and Bayindir finally claps to the floor during almost every one.
The defense, which is already struggling, looks even more nervous, knowing that a moment of hesitation of their keeper could lead to a goal.
The Red Devils are on the nodules of signing Senne Lammens from Antwerp, but can the 23-year-old make the leap of performance for 12,000 fans in Belgium to 70,000 at Old Trafford?
Midfield Miss Control
The midfield of United was a mess in the second half against Fulham.
After going up 1-0, Amorim's side did not succeed in creating opportunities and lost control of the game, with Fulham's Calvin Bassey who points to the dominance from his side in that area of ​​the field after the game.
Amorim started with the 33-year-old Casemiro and skipper Fernandes as his central combination, with the latter missing a fine of the first half when Mainoo remained an unused sub.
After the balloon of his sentence over the bar, Fernandes did not succeed in following Fulham goal scorer Emile Smith Rowe, but he stayed for 90 minutes.
Amorim's Subs missed conviction and invited pressure by achieving Manuel Ugarte, a defensive approach that the team could not prevent an equalizer.
Mainoo should have a chance in the midweek, he is that the player fans call on fans. Yet the best midfield of the team remains unclear.
But this will be a problem that the entire season could last.