Jamie Carragher has ripped Ruben Amorim apart in an astonishing dressing down of the Manchester United manager after his explosive outburst against the club’s hierarchy on Sunday.
During his stormy post-match interview with the media after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Leeds at Elland Road, Amorim demanded to be viewed as the club’s manager rather than head coach, implying that he was promised more authority when he was hired by Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos in November 2024.
The Portuguese boss, who was officially appointed as United’s head coach when he was appointed, was asked about his sullen demeanour on Friday when it emerged that there is growing tensions behind the scenes.
Casting doubt over his future at Old Trafford, Amorim responded defiantly by insisting he will do things his way for the remainder of his contract, which expires in 18 months, while also firing shots at the club’s scouting department, sporting director Jason Wilcox and ex-captain Gary Neville, who has frequently criticised his methods.
Reacting to his explosive press conference remarks, Carragher pulled no punches as he described Amorim as a ‘barely competent’ Premier League manager and told the Portuguese he is in ‘no position’ to criticise the club’s hierarchy.
‘It can only be two things – it can either be about the January transfer market and feeling that he’s not being backed, or the people above him are questioning the fact that, at this moment, he’s been flip-flopping between systems,’ the Liverpool legend said on Sky Sports.
‘It started to look like maybe he was getting somewhere moving to a back four, he went back to five at the back against Wolves and it brought possibly one of the worst performances of the season from a team.
‘No matter what it is, I don’t think he is in any position whatsoever to be questioning the people who appointed him.
‘He’s not good enough. He’s not good enough to be Manchester United’s manager. He’s barely competent enough to be a Premier League manager right now.
‘That’s not me being disrespectful to Amorim. He’s been there well over 12 months now and I think almost all managers in the Premier League who are managing different clubs at different ends of the table would look at Manchester United and think “I’d get more points than that”.
‘This is a guy who said at one stage this is possibly the worst Manchester United team in history. He’s managing it.’
United, who sit fifth in the Premier League table on 31 points after 20 matches, splashed out £225million on new signings in the summer transfer window, bolstering Amorim’s attack with the likes of Matheus Cunha, Benjamin Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo, who is currently away with Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Rubbishing the idea that Amorim has not been given ample support by United’s ownership, Carragher added: ‘He’s been more than backed. He couldn’t have had too many complaints if the club parted company with him in the summer, with how poor it was last season.
‘They then went into the market and spent a lot of money. I’m sure he was heavily involved in that. He’s playing a system that is not in the traditions of Man United, so there was no way they could go out and recruit all the attacking players, and the wing backs and perhaps the centre backs.
‘It was going to be a long term plan in terms of windows. He can’t be complaining now about the funds in January. Manchester United spent a huge amount in the summer. Don’t forget, they had no Champions League football, no European football and a lot of that was down to him.
‘Let’s not forget, when he was brought in, the idea was to get them back to Champions League football. They were four points off the Champions League when he came in. They finished 15th. So when you talk about the lack of funds, that was down to him and the team, and there’s no way he’s going to get everything he wants in one window.’
He continued: ‘Of course they need need better players but it can’t come in one window. He – or the club – decided to go with attacking players, they could have maybe gone with one midfielder, one attacking player, one wing-back but they didn’t and maybe they’ll come in future windows.
‘But the people he seems to be having a go at – (chief executive) Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox – they’re the ones who brought him in and were probably the ones who were fighting in the summer to keep him in a job.
‘I’m sure Jim Ratcliffe is looking at the situation and thinking you’ve brought in a guy, he doesn’t play the way Manchester United have in the past and the results are horrendous.’
Carragher finished by warning Amorim he could suffer the same fate as Enzo Maresca, who made a shock exit from Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Day after falling out with Chelsea’s hierarchy.
‘This could be over very quickly,’ he admitted. ‘But Maresca was in a much stronger position to challenge his board and the owner than Amorim. He won the Club World Cup. He got the team into the Champions League.
‘He did everything he was asked to do last season. I still didn’t think it was acceptable to challenge the people above him.
‘Amorim is in no position whatsoever to speak like that. As I said, he’s a barely competent Premier League manager so far on what he has shown.’
After disappointing back-to-back draws against Wolves and Leeds, Amorim’s United will now travel to Turf Moor for a must-win clash against relegation candidates Burnley.
Following that, the Red Devils jump into a testing spell of matches, starting with Brighton in the FA Cup before Premier League clashes against rivals Manchester City and title favourites Arsenal.
