Revealing the sudden outburst of Amolin: A Manchester United executive's demand ignites conflict! Sir Jim also intervenes in tactics

Ruben Amolin suddenly exploded before and after the Manchester United versus Leeds United game, continuously attacking the club’s transfer policies and management, lamenting that Sir Jim Ratcliffe had originally promised him the title of "manager," but now he was merely a coach. This declaration understandably upset Manchester United, resulting in the direct announcement of the termination of the 40-year-old Portuguese coach’s recently secured role.

BBC expert Simon Stone disclosed that although Sir Jim Ratcliffe believes Manchester United’s squad and this season’s situation are sufficient for a Champions League return, he set a lower benchmark for head coach Amolin. The club’s minimum target this season is to qualify for European competition, and if this goal is not met, Amolin’s future would be seriously questioned.

Currently, Manchester United is positioned sixth, within the European qualification zone, and considering the instability of other teams, Amolin’s chances of meeting the target remain high. Therefore, his sudden expression of dissatisfaction leading to his dismissal came as a surprise.

According to transfer expert Ben Jacobs from "GIVEMESPORT," the spark that ignited the powder keg was Sporting Director Jason Wilcox’s demand that Amolin "be more tactically adaptable," emphasizing that this needed to be implemented quickly to secure his coaching position.

Despite fans and commentators consistently advising Amolin to change his 3-4-3 formation, the Portuguese coach stubbornly stuck to the same system. In recent weeks, Amolin made some minor adjustments to the lineup and saw some positive results, but he soon reverted to the original setup, causing the team’s performance to decline again.

Tensions between Wilcox and Amolin have escalated, partly because Wilcox urged the coach to be more tactically flexible and partly due to Amolin’s dissatisfaction with the plan not to sign players in the winter transfer window. However, the senior management believes that instead of his outburst, Amolin should reflect on his coaching performance.

"Athletic" revealed that Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe openly expressed his desire for the club to switch to a four-defender system. Early in the season, Sir Jim even suggested deploying Mbemo as a wing-back.

Amolin initially agreed to change tactics, explaining that he intended to start with a 3-4-3, then adjust and add other formations once the players better understood his philosophy. However, last Friday, during discussions about the January transfer window with Wilcox at Carrington, Amolin proposed buying players, but Wilcox insisted on a gradual approach and again recommended a formation change for Manchester United.

The more Amolin thought about it, the angrier he became. He recalled how in the summer window he wanted Watkins and Emiliano Martinez, but the club bought Sheshko and Sena Rams instead. Now, with no signings planned for winter and pressure to abandon the 3-4-3 formation that even the Pope couldn’t change, the Portuguese coach couldn’t hold back and slammed the table, immediately expressing his desire to leave the club and contacting his agent.

Amolin’s reaction was so intense that the scheduled team meeting was completely canceled. Ironically, Wilcox, who often watched training sessions and was considered Amolin’s biggest ally, ended up no longer being the coach’s chief "protector."

The British Daily Mail reported that other senior Manchester United officials have privately expressed dissatisfaction with the club’s operations for some time. Among them, the biggest critic of Amolin has been Transfer Director Christopher Viveil. Scout Chief McCauley has also aligned with Viveil.

Reports say that after the 1-1 away draw with Fulham last August, Viveil, who is slightly younger than Amolin, was very frustrated to see Premier League opponents easily exploit the weaknesses in Manchester United’s 3-4-3 tactical system. That match was one of six this season where Manchester United failed to secure a win despite leading 1-0.

After the match, Fulham coach and Amolin’s Portuguese compatriot Marco Silva spoke candidly: "We clearly understood Manchester United’s defensive style and knew they like to break through from their five-man defensive line. As long as you deny those five defenders the chance to play out, you can create a numerical advantage in midfield. We knew United only deployed two midfielders, so I sent out three plus Alex Iwobi to boost our attack. It’s that simple."

Fulham forward Iwobi added, "We’ve long known how to exploit the space behind United’s two midfielders, forcing their center-backs to step forward in defense. That’s exactly what we took advantage of today."

British media revealed that Viveil was so shocked by this that he shared the information in Manchester United’s senior management chat group, emphasizing the need for a more unpredictable system rather than relying on the 3-4-3 formation every match.

Viveil and Amolin previously disagreed over the summer striker recruitment. Viveil, who has experience at Red Bull clubs, prefers scouting young talent and was the one who recommended Sheshko, while Amolin favored the more mature Aston Villa striker Watkins. Eventually, after multiple discussions with Sheshko, Amolin agreed to the €85 million signing. However, Sheshko failed to perform as expected within Amolin’s system.

Viveil plays a key role in shaping Manchester United’s long-term strategy. He believes Amolin’s tactical approach is too singular, and that an ideal formation should be adaptable to multiple systems, not just limited to 3-4-3. The fact that Manchester United’s youth academy does not use the 3-4-3 system speaks volumes, although employing the same tactics as the first team might help young players adapt faster when promoted.

Manchester United CEO Omar Belada and Wilcox were the main advocates recommending Sir Jim to hire Amolin, so they have always hoped for his success. Athletic explained that if Amolin were to be dismissed, attention might shift to Belada, Wilcox, and others involved in the decision. This is why they want to hold on and hope Amolin can turn things around.

With the fallout between Amolin and Wilcox, his dismissal became inevitable, as anyone who challenges their superiors cannot survive anywhere, and a tense working atmosphere never yields good results.

Thus, early Monday morning, Amolin packed his belongings into a box and waved goodbye to the Carrington training ground. Some players arriving later were surprised to see the coaches not setting up training equipment as usual but instead packing their bags. When asked where they were going, Amolin’s coaching staff replied, "Home."