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Peter Schmeichel Slams Man Utd’s Decision to Sack Ruben Amorim
After a tumultuous 14 months in the Old Trafford dugout, it was announced on Monday morning that Manchester United higher-ups had reluctantly parted ways with Ruben Amorim and former club goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel is being praised for his take on the Portuguese tactician’s premature sacking.
A man who filled the fanbase with hope after fronting the media with brutal honesty, things had become untenable for Amorim, who had accrued a points-per-match rate of just 1.43 from his first match – a 1-1 draw with Ipswich Town – until his final encounter in the dugout, a 1-1 draw with Leeds United.
In his place on an interim basis is Darren Fletcher, a former midfielder and current Under-18s manager. The consensus is that United will hire a caretaker until the end of the 2025/26 campaign before finding a permanent replacement in the summer months; Thomas Tuchel and Oliver Glasner are admired.
‘Why? Why Now?’ – Peter Schmeichel Slams Man Utd for Sacking Ruben Amorim
Following Arsenal and Liverpool’s 0-0 draw on Thursday night, the question about Amorim and whether it was the correct decision to let him go arose between Schmeichel and Viaplay. Instead of agreeing with other pundits, who have claimed Old Trafford bosses have made the right decision, Schmeichel – who played 398 times for the Red Devils – was utterly perplexed.
“I was really, really surprised,” the Dane said. “I hadn’t seen that coming, and I can’t make sense of it. I still cannot make sense of why. When you speak to people from within, they say ‘It was about time we did that, we’ve been unhappy’. But why pick that moment? That moment, it doesn’t make sense to me. Why?
“Why now? Why not back in October, for instance?” he said before firing a shot in the direction of Jason Wilcox, the Director of Football at United. “If Jason Wilcox feels that he was insulted by whatever happened in that meeting, then it’s not his ego that determines or decides who the manager is.
“They can say, ‘Okay, that’s not great. It’s difficult to work with this guy.’ Whatever they’re thinking, pick your time. And why put the club back again? No matter what they do now, it’s always going to put them back.”
Sir Alex Ferguson Named Manchester United’s Greatest Ever Goalkeeper
Ferguson had no hesitation with his choice.
Schmeichel, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the Premier League, then insisted that relieving Amorim of his duties was the ‘wrong decision’ given there was no contigency plan in place. “It’s the wrong decision to sack Ruben Amorim – at this point – when you don’t have another plan,” he wrote. “That’s what I think. I can’t make sense of it.”
“Now, they’ve done it. So what I really, really want them to do now is to take a long, long, long, deep breath and start to think about what Manchester United is supposed to be. So give the whole plan an identity: this is who we want to be, this is what we want to look like, this is the play we want to play.” Schmeichel then continued: “And then when you get that, so you’ve done that bit of work, then you go out and look at the market and go, ‘Okay, what person out there can deliver that for us?’”
Schmeichel’s Opinion Draws Praise From Man Utd Fans
Schmeichel’s take echoes the sentiments of striker-turned-pundit Troy Deeney, who claimed that his initial reaction to the news was one of shock. The former Watford man then claimed that Amorim should be praised for making big calls such as offloading the likes of Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.
Elsewhere, Schmeichel’s take has drawn praise from the Old Trafford faithful. One wrote: “Man is spitting facts… it was ego that made the board sack Amorim. Because he called them out for not doing what is right, what was meant to be done for the club to keep pushing forward. They care about themselves and not the club. That’s the simple truth.”
“Absolutely spot on. These owners are clueless. They keep making bad decisions. Now they’ve set the club back, it becomes worse because it is clear they did not have a concrete plan of what to do after the sacking. The sack was a knee-jerk reaction.”
“That’s rare, a United legend speaking sense and putting the club ahead of their own personal agendas,” a third said as another added: “After a week of woeful punditry, it’s nice to hear something sensible.”
“Absolutely spot on, but can you trust the club to make the right decision? In 12 or 18 months’ time, we will be in exactly the same position again, no doubt,” another wrote. “Spoken like a true legend,” a sixth fan said in spite of the likes of Gary Neville and Roy Keane. On the same note, a final supporter wrote: “Absolutely nailed it. Well done Peter.”
