Sometimes, You Just Need to Keep It Simple
Football has a habit of punishing overthinking, and Manchester United’s recent struggles are a perfect example of that truth. Amorim was clear in his assessment: this midfield duo would not work. Yet football is not played on a tactics board alone. It is played by players with instincts, habits, and strengths that are often dulled when they are forced into roles that do not suit them. What Carrick showed in his short spell was not tactical genius, but something arguably more important — clarity.
When Carrick stepped in, the approach was refreshingly straightforward. Bruno was played in his natural attacking position, closer to goal, where his creativity and risk-taking actually matter. Amad was trusted higher up the pitch, where his dribbling and flair could hurt opponents instead of being wasted in rigid structural roles. Dorgu was introduced in his natural position, allowed to focus on what he does best rather than learning a hybrid role mid-season. And crucially, the same midfield duo Amorim had publicly doubted was trusted in two of the most important games of the campaign.
The result? Balance. Not perfection, not dominance, but balance — something United have sorely lacked. The midfield looked functional rather than forced. Transitions were cleaner. Players looked more comfortable, more confident, and more connected to one another. This was not because Carrick had unlocked some revolutionary system, but because he stopped fighting the squad he had and worked with it instead.
Amorim’s biggest flaw at United was not his philosophy, but his stubbornness. Systems are only as good as the players executing them. Persisting with a structure that clearly did not suit the squad, especially in the middle of a turbulent season, was always going to end badly. Rather than adapting his ideas to the players available, Amorim tried to mould the players into his ideas — and lost them in the process. Confidence dropped, performances suffered, and results followed the same downward trend.
What made it more frustrating was that the solution did not require major sacrifices or long-term compromises. Playing players in their natural positions is not a betrayal of philosophy; it is the foundation of good management. The best coaches adapt without abandoning their principles. Amorim, unfortunately, treated adaptation as weakness, and that rigidity ultimately cost him his job.
United’s season could have looked very different with a more pragmatic approach. Points dropped in games where players looked confused or uncomfortable might have been avoided. Momentum, once lost, is hard to recover — and United never truly recovered under Amorim.
Carrick’s brief stint served as a reminder that football does not always need to be complex. Sometimes, clarity beats cleverness. Sometimes, trust beats theory. And sometimes, the simplest decision — putting players where they naturally thrive — is the most effective one of all.
