WHEN Ruben Amorim arrives in Manchester, he has got a LOT of mess to sweep up in a short space of time.

I really like Amorim — he is an excellent coach and everything about him is world class, even the way he has conducted himself in leaving Sporting Lisbon.

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But he has a heck of a job.

I am not saying these United boys are not fit but they will be nowhere near fit enough for Amorim. His Sporting teams run their arses off.

There are going to be a lot of ups and downs between now and January 1 and then — oh my God — is he going to have to come out with a broom and sweep the lot.

If you’re walking into that s**tshow with that ball of yarn to untangle, where do you begin? Good luck with that, Ruben.

You’ve got to get rules in place, because sacked Erik ten Hag apparently tried to lead that club like a dictator and, from what I have heard, the Carrington training base is completely divided as a result.

The expectation is going to be high because United have just spent over £10million getting you and your coaching team over from Portugal.

You’re going to have your own fitness and nutrition guys in.

Can these players do what you want them to do? Are they fit enough? Probably not.

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FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

You’re going to have to tweak everything from gym work to the training routines and during that period you will have a few players dropping like flies because of it.

I am glad United got Amorim sorted quickly. Had they not, they would have gone down the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer route again with Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The new manager ‘bounce’ and 5-2 thrashing of Leicester in the Carabao Cup was always going to happen. It is no coincidence.

Ten Hag would have been watching, thinking ‘How f***ing frustrating is this?’ even if he did deserve to lose his job.

Bruno Fernandes scoring his first goals of the season and Casemiro suddenly firing in screamers with an Old Trafford hero like Van Nistelrooy on the sidelines.

But a club legend taking over, playing a seriously poor Leicester team in a cup, with a new manager on the way… that was always going to be the case.

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It is like when you’ve been with your partner for a long time.

You get dumped, so you go to the gym to get in shape to get someone new. It never lasts.

And make no mistake, after this weird ‘new-manager bounce’ phase, reality would have hit them again, because you cannot bulls**t it over the course of a season.

They’re 14th in the Premier League for a reason.

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With the games they have coming up after a free hit against Chelsea on Sunday — PAOK and Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League and Leicester, Ipswich and Everton in the Prem — suddenly United could have picked up some points and the board would think ‘Why not Ruud?’

But that would just be bulls**ting it again until the next tough run heading into December with Arsenal, Manchester City and Spurs in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.

I remember when Marco Silva was sacked at Watford and Javi Gracia came in and we went on a real run.

Why? Partly because we were a really fit team and that paved the way for a clean transition. It is a really underestimated part of it.

My one bit of advice to Ruben? Don’t keep Ruud on. You want to clear the decks once you are there, with only your people around you.

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The person who will come out of this the best? Ruud. He will have a nice pay packet.

His stock will rise and he won’t be tarnished with Ten Hag’s tenure.

Even if United lose 7-0 to Chelsea, Ruud can say: “It’s not my fault. The players were distracted by Ten Hag going and the new manager.”

My one bit of advice to Ruben? Don’t keep Ruud on. You want to clear the decks once you are there, with only your people around you.

Only then can you figure out what the problems are — and how to solve them.

VIN SNUB NOT ABOUT RACE

YOU look up ‘Ballon d’Or’ right now and the first name that comes up is: Vinicius Jr.

A lot has been made of him not turning up to the award ceremony after losing out to Rodri. Was it petulant? Yes. Embarrassing? It depends how you look at it.

Vinicius has been exceptional this year, winning LaLiga and the Champions League, but he didn’t do well for Brazil, and that is what has cost him.

You look at previous winners, like Lionel Messi last year — he was playing for Inter Miami but won the World Cup for Argentina.

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That’s what clinches a Ballon d’Or, it seems.

Rodri did the same with Spain at the Euros.

Had England beaten them in the final, it probably would have gone to Jude Bellingham.

In my opinion, Vinicius has had the wrong people in his ear telling him he was a cert to win it and it would be unanimous and, I imagine, that has got to him.

He has got caught up in it thinking he is going to be elevated to superstar status.

I don’t think we should be making this a race issue, which is what is perhaps being implied by his cryptic tweets in the aftermath.

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To think you’re going to win it, and then you don’t, it must take a lot out of you, especially after a bad weekend where his Real Madrid side have just been battered by Barcelona in El Clasico.

For what it’s worth, I think he should have won the Ballon d’Or.

Should he have gone to the award ceremony? Probably, but let’s not pile in on him too much.

Ballon d’Or 2024 results

• 1: Rodri, Man City and Spain

• 2: Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid and Brazil

• 3: Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid and England

• 4: Dani Carvajal, Real Madrid and Spain

• 5: Erling Haaland, Man City and Norway

• 6: Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid and France

• 7: Lautaro Martinz, Inter Milan and Argentina

• 8: Lamine Yamal, Barcelona and Spain

• 9: Toni Kroos, Real Madrid and Germany

• 10: Harry Kane, Bayern Munich and England

• 11: Phil Foden, Man City and England

• 12: Florian Wirtz, Bayer Leverkusen and Germany

• 13: Dani Olmo, Barcelona and Spain

• 14: Ademola Lookman, Atalanta and Nigeria

• 15: Nico Williams, Athletic Bilbao and Spain

• 16: Granit Xhaka, Bayer Leverkusen and Switzerland

• 17: Federico Valverde, Real Madrid and Uruguay

• 18: Emi Martinez, Aston Villa and Argentina

• 19: Martin Odegaard, Arsenal and Norway

• 20: Hakan Calhanoglu, Inter Milan and Turkey

• 21: Bukayo Saka, Arsenal and England

• 22: Antonio Rudiger, Real Madrid and Germany

• 23: Ruben Dias, Man City and Portugal

• 24: William Saliba, Arsenal and France

• 25: Cole Palmer, Chelsea and England

• 26: Declan Rice, Arsenal and England

• 27: Vitinha, PSG and Portugal

• 28: Alejandro Grimaldo, Bayer Leverkusen and Spain

• 29: Mats Hummels, Roma and Germany

• 30: Artem Dovbyk, Roma and Ukraine

Haas driver Kevin Magnussen will miss Friday running and Saturday’s sprint race at Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix, with reserve driver Oliver Bearman taking over the Dane’s car.

On Friday morning Haas announced Magnussen was unwell and would not be able to drive the VF-24 at Interlagos all day.

“Kevin Magnussen will not participate in Friday’s track running at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix after suffering with sickness,” a statement from Haas said.

“Official reserve driver Oliver Bearman will take over driving duties. The team wishes Kevin a quick recovery and will provide a further update in due course.”

As Brazil is a sprint weekend that means Magnussen will miss both Friday’s sole free practice session and sprint qualifying, meaning Bearman will also be in the Haas car for Saturday morning’s sprint race.

It remains to be seen if Magnussen can recover in time for Saturday afternoon’s qualifying for the grand prix.

Magnussen will still be eligible to take over his car again from Saturday’s grand prix qualifying onwards, provided he is fit enough to drive.

An FIA statement explained: “In accordance with Article 32.2 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations, the Stewards grant permission for the driver, Oliver Bearman, with the car number 50, to participate in the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix in place of Kevin Magnussen until further notice.

“The driver of car 50 is required to use the engine, gearbox and tyres which were allocated to the original driver, Kevin Magnussen as detailed under Article 32.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations.”

In any case, Saturday’s sprint race will be Bearman’s third competitive F1 outing and his second for Haas, after replacing Magnussen in Baku when the Danish driver sat out a one-race ban for accumulating too many penalty points.

Ferrari junior Bearman, who has been signed by Haas to step up to a full-time race seat in 2025, also deputised for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in Saudi Arabia when the Spaniard was treated for appendicitis.

Harlequins moved up to third in the Premiership Women’s Rugby table with a 34-19 win at Bristol Bears.

After Millie David’s try had given the hosts an early lead, Harlequins battled back to lead 20-19 at the end of a tight first half with tries from Lauren Torley and Ellie Kildunne.

There was little to separate the two sides after the break until the visitors finally broke down the Bristol defence with a Carys Phillips try.

It moved Quins 27-19 up and they wrapped up the win when Alex Callender crossed and Lagi Tuima added the conversion.

The victory was Harlequins’ third in the early stages of this season and moved them above Bristol Bears.

ALL the messages coming out of Manchester United were very positive.

The appointment of a coach who “has proved himself to be one of the most exciting and successful coaches in Europe, renowned for his team’s attractive, attacking football and commitment to youth”.

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That was April 21, 2022, and the words of then football director John Murtough on the announcement that Erik ten Hag was becoming the new manager of Manchester United.

Hang on, haven’t we heard all of this before?

Remember, there was also the bloke after Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013 who had “all the skills needed to build on United’s phenomenal legacy”.

So said chief executive Ed Woodward and yet just ten months into a six-year contract, David Moyes was gone.

Wait. Then Woodward also introduced the next man who had “a track record of winning leagues and cups across Europe making him the perfect choice… we have secured the services of one of the outstanding managers in the game today”.

That was Louis van Gaal, who went on to bore Old Trafford rigid with his football and get the boot straight after winning an FA Cup.

Fear not! Because in May 2016 it was announced by Woodward that United had secured “quite simply the best manager in the game today”.

A man Woodward was barely on speaking terms with two and a half years later as Jose Mourinho exited after two cups and a second-placed finish, which the Special One described as one of his greatest achievements.

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He was not even ‘Special’ enough.

So, that was five years since Sir Alex went and three bosses down.

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It was now time to rediscover ‘the soul’ of Manchester United under a man who said he knew it’s DNA.

He would also find the revolving door at Old Trafford that had spun out those who went before.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left with tears in his eyes after believing he had come “so close” to achieving something special.

Let’s not forget too all the interims and caretakers along the way — Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and, of course, Ralf Rangnick, who told the club they needed “open heart surgery” and now Ruud van Nistelrooy after Dutchman Ten Hag’s sacking on Monday.

But the club believe they really have cracked it this time because in Ruben Amorim they have, as a club statement said, “one of the most exciting and highly rated young coaches in European football”.

Sorry, I thought that was Ten Hag.

The 39-year-old is also “highly decorated as both a player and coach”.

Highly decorated in Portugal anyway, as Ten Hag was in Holland.

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The Premier League, however, is another level again and 11 years since Sir Alex bid farewell, the club is as far away as ever from challenging to win it.

The point here is that there are no guarantees coming with this bloke either.

Ten Hag had studied United long before Murtagh and the then chief executive Richard Arnold arrived to interview him.

They were bowled over by the amount of information he had on them and the details of his plans to put United back on track.

He will claim he did just that with two trophies but after that first season it just never looked right.

The club wanted a disciplinarian and yet the way he handled Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho was, in the end, used as a stick to beat him with.

Ruben Amorim is ‘Mourinho 2.0’ who turned Sporting from ‘walking dead’ into Portuguese champs… he can revive Man Utd

WHEN Ruben Amorim took charge of Sporting Lisbon in March 2020, one club official compared their situation to the “walking dead”, writes Jordan Davies.

Optimism and hope was at an all-time low.

But the Amorim-effect was almost instantaneous, guiding the Portuguese sleeping giants to their first league title for 19 years in 2020/21, losing just once and only conceding 20 goals.

Since then, Sporting have lifted another league title in 2023/24 – as well as two League Cups – and currently sit top with nine wins from nine this term.

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He may be young, but Amorim already has an eye for rebuilding and revitalising fallen super powers with his infectious charisma and intense tactical philosophy that hardly ever wavers. 

The “walking dead” at Manchester United must be praying for a similar sort of revival.

And they may just get it from one of the most talented young coaches on the continent – a man accustomed to breathing new life back into crumbling institutions such as Old Trafford.

Amorim has spent the last decade dreaming of one day gracing England’s Premier League, such was his admiration for an ex-United boss in Jose Mourinho growing up.

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Often nicknamed ‘Mourinho 2.0’, Amorim spent a week with his coaching idol in an internship capacity at United’s Carrington training base in 2018, going on to cite him as his “reference point”.

United should not be expecting a mini-Mourinho, as Amorim said himself: “Mourinho is one of a kind. There won’t be another Mourinho. Mourinho is unique.”

And yet, you cannot help but compare the two.

For all the mismanagement in the Old Trafford hot seats over the years, this would be a real get – finally a slap in the face United’s Prem rivals have no answer for.

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‘Head coach’ Amorim will find dealing with this club and this level of player very different to Sporting Lisbon, where he was the highly lauded and respected boss who landed them two titles.

The players responded to him, the football was marvellous — and he is now going to try and make that happen at Old Trafford.

There will no doubt be a jump when he first arrives, there always is under a new boss. Ole won ten of his first 11 games.

The problem comes when performances dip and you are left dealing with a dressing room of highly paid stars all too ready to down tools because they know, in the end, the manager will carry the can.

This is probably a bigger job now than it was for any manager post-Fergie.

That has happened in every instance since Sir Alex went. So why won’t it happen again?

Amorim will have his own ideas on how to play in a 3-4-3 as he tries to reprogramme players and club who have been reprogrammed so many times it is a wonder Carrington has not short-circuited.

The facts are that while £545.9million was lavished on this squad under Ten Hag, it is still not very good.

The first team can be beaten by anyone in the Premier League. At their best they are not as good as any club currently in the top six.

The mood in the dressing room is rock-bottom and there are sulky stars everywhere you look.

This is probably a bigger job now than it was for any manager post-Fergie.

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This club is a giant, a monster and nobody seems able to control it.

It has eaten up and spat out some of the biggest and best names in the game.

Now we have someone who it clearly seems won’t have it all his own way as he is the first to be named ‘head coach’ in the club’s history rather than the manager.

Which suggests there will be plenty of influence from the management team assembled above him by new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

Dan Ashworth and Jason Wilcox are set to be much more hands-on than they felt able to be in their brief time working with Ten Hag.

So, welcome Ruben, hope it goes well… until the next best coach in Europe is left to pick up the pieces.

Above them, new chief exec Omar Berrada has spoken about a three-year plan to have the club winning the Prem by the 2027-28 season and celebrate their 150th year in style.

Amorim will still be in charge at Old Trafford then, if the club have triggered the year extension in his contract — but nobody should be holding their breath.

The state the club are in at the moment, it will take until then just to get back into the top four.

Sorry to sound cynical but how else can you view the current situation on the evidence of the last decade or more.

So, welcome Ruben, hope it goes well… until the next best coach in Europe is left to pick up the pieces.

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Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has offered suggestions to how Kevin Magnussen might work with the team next year, since he will not form part of its Formula 1 driving line-up in 2025.

Although Magnussen has been replaced at the team by Esteban Ocon, Komatsu is particularly keen to keep working with the Dane – and vice versa, as Magnussen is keen to remain involved with a different role at Haas if he does not get a race seat in 2025.

Previously, Magnussen stated that he was open to “some kind of role – advisory, or however they see fit” given his lengthy association with the team that started in 2017 after he left Renault.

Komatsu has revealed a few options that Magnussen has with the team, which extends to setting benchmarks with the testing of previous cars (TPC) programme that Haas can now start running with Toyota’s involvement, along with occasional simulator and reserve roles.

It was announced earlier today that Magnussen will miss Friday running and Saturday’s sprint race at this weekend’s Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix due to illness, with reserve driver Oliver Bearman taking over the Dane’s car.

“We can do up to 20 days (of TPC) next year, but current race drivers, the mileage you can put in is limited to 1,000 kilometres. We’re going to do TPC in January before the season starts with our new race drivers,” Komatsu explained.

“I expect most of those mileage is basically used up by the end of January with Esteban and Ollie [Bearman].

“But when we do TPC in season, that’s much more for young driver development and then to have reference with somebody like Kevin, especially the way he’s driving now, he can provide a proper reference.

Kevin Magnussen, Haas VF-24

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

“Also the simulator in Banbury, we are installing it. When he was at McLaren, before he actually became a F1 race driver, he was very highly-rated at McLaren as a simulator driver and that’s something where he can contribute as well.

“So there’s many ways we can use Kevin. And also, he can be a reserve driver in some circuits, not everywhere, but again, look at how strong he’s performing. We are openly discussing and then trying to find out something hopefully soon.

“He’s a family man, he doesn’t want to do 24 races anyway so certainly he doesn’t want to be at the racing circuit 24 times when he’s not driving.

“So again, that’s the thing, Europe is not a problem – but we’re looking at all the aspects.’

Esteban Ocon, Alpine F1 Team

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Ocon to drive Haas in end-of-season Abu Dhabi test

Komatsu revealed that the decks were clear to run Ocon during the end-of-season test at the Yas Marina Circuit, and that it was important to give the Frenchman mileage in this year’s VF-24 to prepare him for next year.

The test has been used as a Pirelli test and a young driver test – the latter of which Bearman is eligible for as the Briton has driven just two F1 races to date.

“That would be the first time for Esteban to drive our car, which is important because obviously regulations are stable. So next year’s car is the evolution of this car,” said Komatsu.

“So at least it’s good that he tastes this car before January or as soon as possible to see what our cars are like, strengths and weakness.

“And then if he had input, we can still work on it during the development. Also, Ollie’s been driving this car – okay, limited by in FP1s and one race. But Ollie’s going to be driving as well, to have the opportunity to work with the team. Everything helps, right?”