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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
‘Something has to change’: Manchester United plunges to new low
against fourth-division Grimsby Town
By Ben Church, CNN
Updated:
6:37 AM EDT, Fri August 29, 2025
Source: CNN
Just when fans thought it couldn’t get any worse, up steps
fourth-division side Grimsby Town to plunge the once-great club even
further in the mire.
The League Two minnow – sitting three divisions below Manchester
United – was well worthy of its League Cup win on Wednesday, beating
’s team 2-2 (12-11) in a marathon penalty shootout that came after a
rollercoaster game at Grimsby’s Blundell Park.
The host, by far the better team in the first half, led its Premier
League opponent 2-0 heading into the final 15 minutes of the match. Two
late goals from the Red Devils, though, looked to have denied Grimsby a
historic victory, but the underdog bit back in an astonishing shootout
which United manager Amorim couldn’t bring himself to watch.
And while the night should be remembered for the Grimsby Town
celebrations at full-time – it is arguably the greatest result in the
club’s history – it’s hard not to question what on earth is going
on at United.
The scene looked all the more bleak after a mammoth thunderstorm
drenched the ground in the second half, with the image of a soaking-wet
Amorim frantically consulting his tactics board serving as the perfect
metaphor for the club’s current state.
Amorim dejected
“I just want to apologize to our fans,” a furious Amorim told ITV
Sport after the humiliating defeat.
“You can feel it. Something has to change. I don’t know what to say
anymore to our fans. It’s hard to face.”
He later added to reporters: “We were completely lost and it’s hard
to explain and that’s why I think they spoke really loud.
“I know the best team won today. The best players lost – because
when you are a team you can win any game. It was really fair the
football today.”
Amorim’s counterpart, the victorious Grimsby manager David Artell,
reflected on surely the greatest night in club history, in an interview
with Thursday, saying that he has sympathy for the United manager.
“Football management is a tough gig,” Artell told World Sport’s
Patrick Snell in reference to Amorim coming under increasing pressure
at Old Trafford.
“He needs time. He’s a good guy. You can see that they’ve
recruited some really good players, and they’re not going to do it
all in one transfer window.
“He’s an excellent coach. You don’t become head coach of
Manchester United if you don’t know what you’re doing.”
The Portuguese manager has now been at United for nine months and
pressure to get results is looming larger than ever – he has so far
overseen just 16 wins in 44 games.
Given he arrived part-way through last season and told fans he would
need time to implement his style of play, many gave him some leeway for
the team’s 15th-place finish in the league.
But after an entire preseason schedule and backing in the transfer
market – the club has signed an entirely new frontline in Bryan
Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško and Matheus Cunha – there is very little
credit left in the bank.
To put it simply, there is still so much wrong with the team which has
picked up just one point from its first two Premier League games of the
new season.
The goalkeeper situation, for one, has become untenable. Both André
Onana and Altay Bayındır have been used in the three games this
season and both have made blunders that have led to conceded goals.
The defense, certainly against Grimsby, looked incredibly unsure of
itself and the attackers are struggling to convert the very few chances
they are creating.
Both new signings, Cunha and Mbeumo, missed vital penalties in
Wednesday’s defeat. New star striker Šeško also opted to be the
last outfield player to take a spotkick.
“It was obviously not good enough today,” United defender Diogo
Dalot told ITV Sport. “We cannot give up, whatever the situation but,
like I said, it’s not good enough and I think its something we need
to look deeply into ourselves.
“Tomorrow is a new day, we need to fight back and show to ourselves
that, to be at this club, we need to do more much.”
Identity or stubbornness?
There is also the sticky situation about the team’s formation.
Amorim was praised on his arrival at the club for having a distinct
style of play. The 3-4-3 formation had worked so well at his former
club, Sporting CP, and many felt a strong identity was exactly what a
rudderless Manchester United needed.
But Amorim’s dedication to his system, which was once deemed a
strength, is now turning into a weakness. Even if it’s not working,
or if the players are struggling to adapt, the manager is seemingly not
changing his mind.
Last season, the Portuguese boss said things would get worse before
they got better. United fans, though, are running out of patience,
despite some brief signs of improvement during spells of matches this
season.
“It’s not about the formation,” Amorim insisted again on
Wednesday. “The system is not important. We can play with three
defenders, four defenders, five defenders, that doesn’t matter.
“What matters is that we need to be different, and that’s the job
of the coach, and you can see that nothing has changed.”
There is still a week left in this summer’s transfer window and
Manchester United will likely be busy – perhaps more so with
outgoings.
There are still several players, including Antony, Jadon Sancho and
Alejandro Garnacho, who are seemingly surplus to requirements at
United, as Amorim looks to freshen up a team which has been thrown from
one disaster to the next in recent years.
The clear out, which has seen the likes of on loan, was supposed to
usher in a new era of positivity at the 20-time top-flight champion.
The club’s new minority owner, billionaire Jim Ratcliffe, has backed
the need for change, investing in a renovated training center and .
Already, though, this ‘new’ Manchester United has lurched into its
latest calamitous chapter.
Next up for the team is a Premier League fixture against newly-promoted
Burnley on Saturday. Nothing but a comfortable win will ease the
growing pressure on Amorim and his job as manager of the Red Devils.
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