Sports News

Manchester United sack Ruben Amorim after 14 months: a row over titles, or the results?

Manchester United sacked head coach Ruben Amorim on Monday, 5 January, ending a spell of about 14 months. The decision came a day after a 1-1 draw at Leeds left United sixth in the Premier League. Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher will take charge for Wednesday's game against Burnley.

CBS Sports tied the timing to Amorim's press conference after the Leeds draw, where he insisted he had come to be the club's “manager”, not its “head coach”. It noted he had led United to the Europa League final in Bilbao in May but won only 15 of 47 Premier League matches.

RTHK, carrying an AFP report, set out the wider record: 25 wins from 63 games in all competitions, a 32% win ratio and the lowest clean-sheet ratio of any United Premier League boss. It added that he had told the scouting department and director of football Jason Wilcox “to do their job”, and that reports on Monday put the decision down to a lack of progress rather than a power struggle.

“The club's leadership has reluctantly made the decision that it is the right time to make a change.” — Manchester United statement, via RTHK

How each outlet framed it

• CBS Sports — the trigger: a public row over his job title and transfer spending.
• RTHK (AFP) — the numbers: worst win ratio, £200 million spent in the summer, and United's seventh permanent manager since Alex Ferguson.

What we don't know yet: who comes next. RTHK listed Enzo Maresca, Oliver Glasner and Gareth Southgate among names linked to the job; CBS Sports said United would not rush a permanent appointment.