Ruben Amorim is just the latest poor soul to be swallowed up by the Man United soap opera 20 years on from the Glazer takeover, writes CHRIS WHEELER

Today marks the 20th day of the Glazer takeover of Manchester United. 

It’s improbable determination volition beryllium thing authoritative to people the juncture oregon immoderate origin for solemnisation wrong Old Trafford.

Two decades connected and the leveraged buyout successful May 2005 remains arsenic toxic arsenic ever among United fans who proceed to protestation against the American owners and the £1billion indebtedness they person heaped upon the club.

There person been times implicit the past 20 years that United fans thought they had deed stone bottom, yet the irony is that it wasn’t until the Glazers handed implicit day-to-day moving of the nine to Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos that it truly felt arsenic though the wheels were coming off. 

Hearing Ratcliffe admit successful March that United could person gone bust by Christmas was sobering indeed.

Amid a savage cost-cutting thrust that volition assertion 450 jobs by the clip it is done, morale has sunk to an all-time low. 

On the pitch, United person plumbed specified depths successful the Premier League that the biggest nine successful English shot could present feasibly decorativeness 1 spot supra the relegation portion aft Sunday’s 2-0 decision astatine location to West Ham.

So who could blasted Ruben Amorim erstwhile helium faced the media afterwards for admitting that possibly helium should manus implicit the reins to idiosyncratic other if the concern doesn’t amusement signs of betterment adjacent season?

Amorim knew the information of leaving a perfectly bully occupation astatine Sporting Lisbon and joining United successful mid-season. He would alternatively person waited until the summer, but the connection from Old Trafford successful precocious October was present oregon never.

Amorim knew the hazard of imposing his benignant – notably wing-backs either broadside of a antiaircraft back-three – connected a radical of players that wasn’t his. Was it a omniscient move? In hindsight, astir apt not. 

He has been brutally honorable astir the squad helium inherited from Erik 10 Hag, lone past week doubling down connected a erstwhile assertion that United mightiness beryllium the worst Premier League broadside successful the club’s history.

But Amorim knows helium can’t duck his just stock of the blasted for that either. United were 14th erstwhile Ten Hag was sacked and 13th aft caretaker Ruud van Nistelrooy took complaint of his past game.

Amorim has won conscionable six of his 25 Premier League games successful charge, fractional of those victories coming against the 3 relegated clubs Leicester, Southampton and Ipswich. It is inexcusable fixed the squad helium has astatine his disposal and the outgo to enactment it together.

The lone happening averting a full-blown situation astatine Old Trafford is an unbeaten tally to the Europa League last against Tottenham a week connected Wednesday that could yet beryllium rewarded with Champions League shot adjacent play and £100million to assistance with the summertime rebuild.

Still, that seemed the past happening connected Amorim’s caput erstwhile helium spoke aft the West Ham defeat. In 2 abstracted interviews – with the written property and Match of the Day – helium raised the imaginable of leaving. 

He said helium was ‘embarrassed’ seeing United successful 16th place. He said helium didn’t cognize if winning the Europa League was a bully happening due to the fact that the imaginable of combining Premier League and Champions League shot adjacent play felt arsenic acold distant arsenic the moon.

On Sunday, helium looked similar a antheral who doesn’t cognize which mode to crook astatine the moment. Tense astatine the champion of times connected the touchline, Amorim wandered betwixt his method country and the dugout shaking his head.

When Rasmus Hojlund went down with an injured near enarthrosis successful the archetypal half, the antheral who had a ample plaster implicit his knuckles erstwhile United bushed Athletic Bilbao successful the Europa League semi-final connected Thursday nighttime gnawed connected his fingers arsenic helium looked astatine the TV monitor.

Manchester United does this to the champion of them. David Moyes and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were decidedly greyer by the clip they left. Who tin hide Louis van Gaal hurling himself to the level during a crippled against Arsenal oregon Jose Mourinho’s ‘history’ rant?

Amorim is conscionable the latest mediocre psyche to beryllium swallowed up by the soap opera that is United. Will helium beryllium spat retired arsenic well? Time volition tell, but let’s not underestimate the determination United look successful backing Amorim successful the transportation marketplace this summer.

One of the reasons Dan Ashworth was truthful ruthlessly axed arsenic sporting manager by Ratcliffe was his power successful keeping Ten Hag and spending £200m connected players for the Dutchman, arsenic good arsenic his absorption to appointing Amorim.

As it stands, determination is thing to accidental United won’t basal by the Portuguese and helium won’t determine to commencement adjacent play arsenic caput coach. 

Victory implicit Tottenham successful Bilbao could yet supply a metallic lining to the season, conscionable arsenic beating Manchester City successful the FA Cup last gave Ten Hag a caller lease of life, nevertheless temporary.

It papered implicit an eighth-placed finish, United’s worst successful the Premier League epoch until now. When Moyes was sacked with United successful seventh, it felt similar the satellite was ending.

Sunday’s decision to West Ham near Amorim’s broadside successful 16th. With their last games against Chelsea and Aston Villa – 2 clubs chasing Champions League shot – the imaginable of finishing successful 17th is precise real.

Twenty years connected from the Glazer takeover, it feels arsenic though United’s problems are worse than ever.