Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports, Manchester United player Gordon Strachan has given his assessment of Amorim's system, whether he's the man to take the club forward or if Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner could be better suited to the role.
The Scotland icon has given his thoughts on new signing Benjamin Sesko, but quashes talk that he could emulate the playmaking ability of a Harry Kane and even suggests the club could be in for another striker come January with Jean-Philippe Mateta highlighted as an option.
Elsewhere, the former midfielder took a look at the current balance in the Manchester United midfield and whether Baleba or Wharton could emulate the success of former Superstar Paul Scholes at the club, or if a return for Scotsman Scott McTominay could be an option.
Ruben Amorim
Amorim’s System
It's a W formation in attack; they've been using that since the early '50s. Nothing's new. But you're a man short in the press at times. You need to be really brave, and I think they're getting better at it, but especially when Luke Shaw does it, he really goes into midfield and he's comfortable in there. So I think they're getting better at it.
I think Shaw's helped when he comes back in there and goes and plays. But some of the centre-backs are not comfortable about going right in there and getting up against it and joining the press. I think once they get that right, they'll be fine. It has to be three years with Ruben Amorim, I think that's a must. I think it's a must, the reason being that in the transfer windows now, they've signed two players to play in the eight/ten positions, and they've not got any wingers at the club now as such.
It's wing-backs or forwards that play 8 or 10 that can go wide. So if you actually change the manager and you brought somebody in who wants to play, say, a 4-3-3, a 4-4-1-1 or whatever, they have to find wingers. That's got to cost you a fortune. You've got to get wingers like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Anthony. The wingers have gone now. So if you decide to bring a new manager who doesn't play with three at the back, then you've got to rip it all up and get another six players in. So you have to stick with this for a while to see where we're going with it.
Glasner And Amorim Similarities
Ruben Amorim’s hypothetical replacement would have to be someone who wants to play a certain way, or do you stick with the current manager? I think they've decided to stick with the manager. Fabian Hurzuler, it's literally 4-4-2. But when they attack, it transforms. They have great things happening there at Brighton.
Who Would Do A Better Job?
Benjamin Sesko
Sesko’s Striking Solution
What Benjamin Sesko can't change is his appearance or dynamism. He's not that type of player. The problem with a more languid, staid, robotic player is that fans don't identify with a ‘thinking striker. They identify with players who run about, crash into tackles, and dribble. That's what we identify with. So there has to be a player in there. But like anything, he has to be scoring goals.
I think that's the difference between England and Germany. I think you'll find a lot more goals there, quite easily, than you would here. Sometimes in Germany, they just abandon defence to attack everywhere, but there's more thought put into it in England. Again, it might be another slow burner, or it might just be that this is not the club for them. But at the moment, they've got to remember what I keep going back to, it took me a year to get going at Aberdeen. And there are strange things that can just change your career over that period of time. So fingers crossed, it's got to be fine.
But as I said, at the moment it's not really working for him, but we can't make up our mind this early that he's a good or bad player. At this moment, you'd say it's probably not working for him, but he's worked hard, he tries hard. But at Manchester United, we've had a lot of strikers come along and try and have no rest. Its goals, it's making goals.
Could Sesko Be A Playmaker?
Can Benjamin Sesko be a playmaker like Harry Kane? No, he doesn't have that in his locker. Harry Kane is world-class and probably the best number nine in the world. Erling Haaland might be the best number nine goalscorer, but the best all-round number nine is Harry Kane, including Kylian Mbappe. He's just that good. But as I said, it's not easy.
Sesko came from Leipzig; he's still young and learning. When I look at some of the strikers, especially the bigger ones, they take longer to understand what their body can and cannot do. But he's at a club where it's helpful because, as I said, the reason Haaland scores a lot of goals is that they fill the eight and ten positions, so he doesn't have to come to the ball. It's funny, I hear pundits saying: ‘I wish his link-up play was better.
Really? Don't get him linking up at all. Just be the last man in the move. If you've got a striker like that, make sure you're the last man in the move. Because if you're in the build-up, you're not going to be the last man in the move. Harry Kane's the only one, I think, who can buck the trend, going back and being one of the best number tens in the world, then going up and being the best number nine in the world. So he's freaky. But the rest of us, like Haaland, know what he's good at.
He's quite prepared to just stay away from the ball to be the last man in the move. We used to say that about James Beattie at Southampton. If he was the last man in the move, brilliant. So we designed a team around that he didn't really want to come to the ball. He could be a target man, but there's more to physical size. There's concentration and real determination, understanding how tough this league is.
Transfer Needs
Move For Mateta!
I'm not a football madman who watches everything and knows what's going on around the world. But when I go to Italy and Germany, I see players and think: ‘Oh, you're a decent player.’ So there are players out there. There are definitely players out there. Could I tell you who the number nine is at the moment?
The big lad at Crystal Palace, Jean-Philippe Mateta, I always thought he was decent. Even when he wasn't playing that well, I thought: ‘You're a handful. He's one of those guys where reports say he's a good person and a good teammate. So there's that. I'm not very good at recruitment, to be honest. My record proves that.
The Need For Legs
I think you need midfield players with good legs. If you look at Real Madrid, their midfield players have good legs and technique. You can't just have someone running about bumping into people, but there are good players out there you can definitely pick up.
I'm not talking about getting rid of Bruno Fernandes; he can play as an eight or a ten. I'm saying you can't just have one or two players for those positions. You probably want four players to play eight and ten the way they're playing just now, but you need legs in the middle of the park.
Transfer Choice: Wharton vs Baleba
Adam Wharton or Carlos Baleba at Man Utd? I'd take both of them, but I would take Adam Wharton first. I like him as a midfield player because he plays through people.
Paul Scholes could have had a huge diagonal ball, and he scored goals, but he could have played 10-yard passes through you that eliminated four midfield players at the one time. That one 10-yard pass could eliminate four midfield players because you could play it around the corner, outside his foot, whatever.
Somebody like that who can eliminate players from that position with a pass.
What's Man Utd's Biggest Transfer Need?
Scott McTominay
McTominay Return Prospects
It's amazing; it was said that he didn’t fit the system, and Erik ten Hag sold him off. He didn't suit him. So that's what happens when you change managers whose systems are different. So he didn't suit Ten Hag at that time. But going back now, he could play as an eight or a ten, or just off the front man. He could play six, eight, ten, but eight and ten seem to be the thing for him now. Or just behind a striker.
You have to be adaptable at times. So that was obviously a mistake. But that's what happens when you give the manager the freedom to get rid of people and bring them in. So you bring in Antony and get rid of McTominay. There's nearly 200 million pounds of a switch there, with losses both ways. I’m not sure how simple it is to go back.
Bet on Football Odds at BOYLE Sports
*Prices are subject to fluctuation
Remember, Always Gamble Responsibly
