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Ruben Amorim's dogmatic stance at Manchester United has baffled many observers. Why does the Portuguese not alter his three-at-the-back system to one that is more suited to his current

squad? It is a question that plenty of fans and pundits have asked in recent weeks as United stumble between limp defeats or unconvincing draws. Even in victory, there have been loud calls

for the former Sporting boss to change until he gets the players he badly needs to play his unorthodox system. But maybe there is method to Amorim's perceived madness. You just need to

look at what happened to Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford to understand why the 40-year-old may be doing the right thing, even as results continue to deteriorate at M16. The Dutchman altered his

philosophy to become more direct just two games into his United reign after the Reds lost 2-1 at home to Brighton before being hammered 4-0 at Brentford in August 2022. Results immediately

improved under Ten Hag, with wins against Liverpool, Southampton, Leicester City, and Arsenal. Later that season, United ended their six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup before

finishing third in the Premier League. But Ten Hag was never able to fully implement the style of football that got him the United job in the first place. His Ajax team were a swashbuckling

side that dominated Real Madrid on the way to a Champions League semi-final in 2019. Ten Hag's reign at M16 ultimately ended in failure, with it often commented on how the players at

his disposal looked poorly coached. The Dutchman's decision to change how he approached things after just two games ended up costing him in the long term, even if it gave him some

short-term gain. And now Amorim is facing a similar conundrum. Switching to a back four may improve results this season, but what long-term cost could that have on United's squad, which

has been asked to adapt to a new way of playing? The whole point of bringing Amorim in was surely to play the way which brought him so much success in Portugal. Many will argue that winning

the Europa League, for example, is much more important than working on a system which may or may not garner better results in the future. However, Amorim will say that the formation he

demands his team to play is not what is hindering them and that there is no point in changing things now to go back to square one in the summer. The concern for United will be that Amorim,

like many others before him, is never going to work at Old Trafford, and the Reds will spend millions on players to suit a doomed system. The start of next season should offer a clearer

indication of whether Amorim will be a success at United. Until then, Ineos will be worried that they've made another expensive mistake, and questions over Amorim's system will

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