Amorim came to Manchester United in November 2024, off the back of 2 league titles in 4 full seasons at Sporting CP. Since joining Manchester United, it is fair to say that Ruben Amorim has struggled - he finished 15th in his first season at United, and has endured a difficult start to this season, losing to Grimsby in the first round of the Carabao Cup. What are the differences between Amorim's Sporting and United teams, and why has he found the Premier League such a tough nut to crack.

Amorim at Sporting

Amorim used his signature 3-4-3 at Sporting 79% of the time, and only used a 4 man defence once in his entire time at sporting (221 games). He coached for 4 full seasons, from 2020-21 to 2023-2024, finishing 1st, 2nd, 4th and 1st again. Overall, his Sporting teams won 2.29 points per match - it's fair to say that Amorim was very successful at Sporting CP.

Below are Amorim's most used teams over his four full seasons at Sporting:

There are some notable trends:

• Sebastian Coates is the centre centre-back in all 4 teams - he was a stalwart of the side and held together the defence when the young centre backs and wing backs were constantly changing.

• The front 3 is very flexible - in 2022-23 for example, Amorim played 3 "winger-type" players as the front 3, while in 2023-34 Amorim used a more traditional striker. Above all, it appears that Amorim valued pace and dribbling - Trincao and Goncalves epitomise Amorim's approach, averaging multiple take-ons per game.

• Strong cm partnership - of the 6 midfielders shown, 3 (Palhinia, Matheus Nunes and Ugarte) are now playing in the Premier League, and Hjulmand may soon be as well. Amorim had young (with the exception of Joao Mario), energetic centre midfielders that covered a lot of ground. All of these partnerships have two deeper lying centre mids, as opposed to a more attacking player.

At Manchester United:

This team can be seen (what many would consider the stronger Manchester United team, along with notable subs). How does it compare to Amorim at Sporting?

• Amorim has used de Ligt as the centre centre-back this season so far - a strong player, and perhaps one of the positives for Manchester United so far this season.

• After spending over £180 million this summer, Amorim should have the attackers he desires - Mbeumo, Cunha and Amad are all strong options for the wide wingers, and Sesko and Zirkzee represent strong options for a traditional number 9.

• The centre midfield partnership is most controversial - Ugarte is an Amorim player himself, having played for Sporting for 2 seasons. Casemiro has undeniable quality, having performed at the top level for Real Madrid in the past. His consistency can be questioned, but he has demonstrated across the past year that he can still be a strong part of this Man U team. Mainoo, a more creative midfielder who prefers to start from deep, is on paper a strong candidate for the more attacking midfield role. Fernandes is being preferred so far, and as a traditional number 10, is not necessarily a match made in heaven with Ruben Amorim.

Fernandes is a polarising figure at Manchester United. His attitude is constantly under fire, something that is not exemplary for a club captain, and his poor mentality can be clearly seen after his penalty miss against Fulham - a captain should be able to take responsibility for his actions. However, his quality is undeniable, meaning that Amorim feels that Fernandes must start. This has caused problems, as Amorim's system is clearly not working at Manchester United. Does Amorim yield, and change his formation to get the best out of Fernandes, or does he stick with a subdued, less effective version of his best asset

Another consideration is the strength and depth of the Premier League. More so this season, there are no easy games in the Premier League - all newly promoted sides look more competitive than last year's. For Amorim, this means there is nowhere to hide, and the pressure and scrutiny is much higher - as demonstrated after their defeat to League Two Grimsby Town. It may be the case that Amorim is just not cut out for the Premier League, especially not at a team with expectations as high as Manchester United's.

To conclude, Amorim has not been able to impose his system on the Premier League successfully, for reasons he must be scrambling to figure out. Manchester United have languished in the bottom half of the table under Amorim for too long, and time is running out for him to find solutions.