What Next For Ruben Amorim After Man United Debacle Against Grimsby?

GRIMSBY, ENGLAND – AUGUST 27: Ruben Amorim, Manager of Manchester United, looks dejected after his team concede during the Carabao Cup Second Round match between Grimsby Town and Manchester United at Blundell Park on August 27, 2025 in Grimsby, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

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Back in May, on the final day of the last Premier League season, Ruben Amorim promised Manchester United supporters that the future was bright.

“The good days are coming,” the Portuguese manager told the crowd at Old Trafford, after apologizing for what he described as a “disaster season”.

United finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league position since they were relegated in 1974, and surrendered meekly to Tottenham in the Europa League final.

Three games into the new campaign and the good days promised by Amorim in May seem as far as they have been at any point in his nine-month tenure.

United were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Grimsby Town on penalties on Wednesday night, only the third time in 30 years they have exited the competition in the second round.

The 20-time champions of England were eliminated York City in 1995 and by MK Dons in 2014. Both of their opponents at the time were in the third tier.

The debacle at Blundell Park may be even more ignominious than the 4-0 shellacking they suffered against MK Dons at the same stage of the competition under Louis Van Gaal 11 years ago.

United’s starting XI on Wednesday night was worth over £400m ($540m) and included their new signings Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, who arrived this summer for a combined £130m ($174m).

Bryan Mbeumo, who joined for £71m ($95m), came on in the second half.

Grimsby, who are fourth in the fourth tier of English football, spent a combined £3m ($4m) on their squad.

It did not matter, as the home side took a two-goal lead in the first half as Charles Vernam and Tyrell Warren capitalized on mistakes from Andre Onana.

Mbeumo and a late goal from Harry Maguire forced the game to penalties, where Cunha had the chance to settle the tie but had his penalty saved by Christy Pym.

Grimsby eventually prevailed 12-11 after Mbeumo missed the 26th penalty of the shootout by hitting the bar, condemning United to lose to a fourth-tier opponent for the first time in the competition.

The truth is United were lucky to take the game to penalties at all. Outfought and outtought by Grimsby, they looked as they have done far too often during Amorim’s tenure: easy to defend against and too frail defensively.

Could Ruben Amorim walk away from United?

Amorim has previously hinted he would walk away from the job if the board felt he was not the right man for the job, admitting he considered his future in February and again after United lost to Spurs in the Europa League final three months later.

On Wednesday night, he again sounded like a man ready to make a decision on his future on behalf of his employers.

“I think the players spoke really loudly about what they want today. Something has to change, and you’re not going to change 22 players again,” he told British broadcaster ITV.

“It’s hard to face everything. We move to the next game, then we have time to decide things.”

While Amorim’s first nine months in charge were a near-unmitigated disaster, the Portuguese retained the full backing of United’s minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and chief executive Omar Berrada.

The latter was recruited from Manchester City to replicate the same level of success and championed Amorim, who won two league titles in Portugal with Sporting, to replace Erik ten Hag in November.

Despite losing 14 of his first 27 Premier League games in charge, the 40-year-old had the support of the match-going fans.

There was a recognition Amorim’s predecessors had assembled a painfully lopsided squad, while the club had lacked a football structure since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in May 2013.

Ruben Amorim’s dogmatic approach must change

Whatever credit Amorim had in the bank has been rapidly used up and his dogmatic devotion to his preferred 3-4-3 formation is starting to grate on many. The Portuguese’s stubborn refusal to tweak his tactical approach is a major concern and could well cost him his job sooner rather than later.

There were promising green shoots in the defeat against Arsenal on the opening day of the Premier League season, a game United should have arguably won.

But they reverted to type against Fulham on Sunday, a promising start soon evaporating and they were lucky to escape Craven Cottage with a draw.

Then came Wednesday night and a performance so dismal even Amorim acknowledged has to be the nadir of his tenure.

“That is more than a result. That is the biggest problem in the team,” he said.

“I think it was really clear today. I would like to say very smart things and very important things but I have nothing to say.

“This is the biggest problem also – to see the same mistakes. I’m really sorry for our fans. It’s too much sometimes.

“You cannot change so much – you cannot change everything in one summer. You need to win games. You need to not show this kind of performance.”

Then there is the issue of recruitment. United have slowly began to rectify the decade-long mess left by the Ed Wooward regime and Sesko, Cunha and Mbeumo should prove to be smart signings.

And yet, with four days left in the transfer window, they remain in desperate need of a competent goalkeeper and of a dynamic central midfielder.

Neither Onana, arguably ten Hag’s worst signing, nor Altay Bayındır can be relied upon in goal and the lack of options in the middle of the park means Amorim is forced to deploy Bruno Fernandes out of position.

At the same time, United have struggled to offload players who have been jettonised by Amorim, such as Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Tyrrel Malacia.

Marcus Rashford has joined to Barcelona on loan until the end of the season, but could be back at United at the end of the season if the Catalans don’t exercise their option to buy.

Whether Amorim will last that long, remains to be seen. Drop points against Burnley on Saturday and United could well have a new manager in charge by the time the Premier League returns after the international break with the small matter of the Manchester derby on September 14.