Manchester United suffered an embarrassing defeat to Manchester City yesterday, Sunday, 14 September at the Etihad Stadium. The Reds lost against their rivals in a 0-3 derby with a brace from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden.

In reaction to this, former club captain and record goalscorer Wayne Rooney has turned on Amorim, expressing his disappointment at how the team keeps regressing when fans anticipated a turnaround after the dismissal of Erik ten Hag in October 2024 for his poor run.

Man Utd appointed Ruben Amorim in November, and for about ten months now, the Reds haven’t seen any significant revival in their fortunes.

Speaking during a BBC podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show, one of the greatest goal scorers in history, mentioned that fans were so disappointed that they began to leave the stadium with chants of Amorim’s name. There are no signs of recovery for the once celebrated and results-oriented Man Utd that had its name on the lips of fans all the time.

“I think if the manager is honest with himself, it has got worse. I want to be as supportive and positive as I can be on the manager and the players. But it is very difficult to sit here and say we are seeing progression, and at least we’re seeing things that will get results in the near future.

“I think after the last year when Ten Hag got sacked and Ruben came in, we’re hearing how they’re going to play and it is going to change,” said Rooney, who scored 253 goals for United between 2004 and 2017.

“We’re seeing none of that, and it is very difficult. There was an image towards the end of the game where I saw the Manchester United fans leaving. You could hear the fans singing Amorim’s name, but I think that is so powerful that the United fans were leaving the game. You know the game is over, and I think they were very disappointed in what they were seeing. It is hard to see how it continues”, he questioned.

He went on to question, “What are the patterns? What are we seeing that might improve the team moving forward?”

United finished 15th in the league last term with 42 points, their lowest position since 1989–90. They earned their fewest points in a top-flight season since they were last relegated in 1973–74.Since Amorim’s arrival, they have spent about £250m on new signings, while shipping out most of their so-called ‘bomb squad’.

This has allowed the 40-year-old coach to revamp his side into a 3-4-3 system that he has vowed not to deviate from after enjoying success with Sporting.

However, many of last season’s problems already appear to be resurfacing.

Rooney fears Man Utd heading into relegationStatistics have it that, Amorim has only won 36% of all matches with Manchester United setting a record as a permanent manager with the least win rate Old Trafford since World War II.

In the league specifically, he’s only won 26% of games, which is very poor.

Looking at the 17 clubs that have stayed in the Premier League since he took over, United’s record under Amorim is the worst, tied with Tottenham only 31 points from 31 league matches which means the team ears a point per game.

“Quite a lot of league seasons that is relegation form,” said Rooney.“What is important when you’re trying to implement a new style is you win games as well while you’re doing that.”

Rooney also echoed comments made by other former players now working in the media when he addressed Amorim’s insistence on deploying two central midfielders, often against opposition sides featuring three.

“The problem with this [3-4-3] system is having two in [central] midfield. The players do not have the energy and legs to cover the full width of the pitch and go up and down. They’re getting overrun and overpowered in that midfield," he added.

Speaking in a post-match conference, Amorim addressed some mistakes made by his side, highlighting the confused state of the players at times. According to him, some goals could have been avoided, but he admits he made poor decisions during the game.

“If you look at the goals, we can avoid those kinds of goals... The second goal, in the moment of the game that we are pressing City, we suffer a goal from the throw-in... And then the third goal, Haaland has all the space, confusion with our players... In those moments, they were better than us”, he continued.

On his tactical philosophy, which has come under massive attack, particularly after the derby defeat against City, he reiterated that he will not change it. Some critics have slammed him for his 3-4-3 setup, which appears to be affecting players like Bruno Fernandes or Benjamin Šeško, given United’s current position on the league table.

“It’s not a record that you should have at Manchester United... But I’m not going to change. When I want to change my philosophy, I will change. If not, you have to change the man.”

Despite sitting in 14th place on the league table, Amorim insists that Man Utd is doing better, citing that fans walking out of the stadium is not a new thing given the results from the match.

"We are doing better and the results don’t show that, the record says everything, I understand. But I don't accept that we are not doing better."

“That is normal with the results... I accept that. I see that we are doing better, but then the results don’t show that.”

He left a note for fans and stakeholders, “My message is that I am going to give everything. I will do everything, always thinking about what is best for the club... I really want to win games. I am suffering more than them.”