RUBEN AMORIM BREAKS GOLDEN RULE: GARY NEVILLE SPOTS SHOCK MAN UTD FORMATION CHANGE
Why are Man Utd annoyed by leak rumours? Gary Neville discusses the "secret" shift to a back four during the Bournemouth draw.
Gary Neville, the Man U ex-defender, gave his opinion on the talk about the team's formation shift during their 4-4 draw with AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Fans were surprised during the game because the starting lineup seemed like it would be a back five, but the team switched to more of a four during the match.
This is weird because head coach Ruben Amorim was adamant for the first year or so that he wouldn't change tactics. He'd made it clear he wouldn't move from a five to a four.
He said something like No one, not even the Pope, will change my tactics. This is my job, my responsibility, my life. I won't change it.
Neville talked about those quotes on the latest Stick To Football podcast before speaking about United's changes.
He said, So, he's basically saying he'll never change the system. But on Monday night, the average positions and the graphic showed something different.
I mean, honestly, sometimes I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me because I couldn't figure out what he was doing. It was clear at the end that he was in a 4-2-4, but even during the game, something was up.
Did he change it? For the last 20 minutes, he was definitely in a 4-4-2 or 4-2-4. But in the first part of the game, something was different that they'd spotted earlier that week.
Apparently, United are a little annoyed because word got out that he's going to switch to a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. He was super clear about not changing, but we've all wanted him to change and be more flexible. So where are we now? It's pretty clear he changed things on Monday.
At times, United looked like their old selves, but then old habits came back. Still, it's a good sign that the head coach is willing to adjust tactics.
But Bournemouth's coach, Andoni Iraola, didn't seem so sure about any changes. After the game, he said, I think it's the same system they always play; they just adjust based on who you're marking them with. In the end, it's a very flexible system.
Depending on the players, especially the outside players, they'll go lower if you mark them with a full-back and higher with a winger.
The positions in the middle, the six and eight, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes, and even us, we were changing. It's supposed to be two against two, but it's not really.
We suffered in the first 15 or 20 minutes until we matched up well. But after we put Alex [Scott] there, we felt much more solid without the ball. And when you feel solid, you usually attack better, too.
Given United's upcoming absences, we'll see if they keep those changes or if it was a one-time thing.
EX-CAPTAIN NEVILLE CLAIMS SUBSTITUTIONS MADE MANCHESTER UNITED "WORSE" AGAINST WOLVES
Gary Neville slams Ruben Amorim’s "weird" substitutions and tactical shifts after Manchester United's 1-1 draw with bottom-side Wolves.
Gary Neville said that the performance of Manchester United in their match against winless Wolves was ‘the baddest of the bad.’
United would have moved fourth in the league with a win at Old Trafford last night, although Wolves, who had two points in 18 games before kickoff, ended their record of 11 straight losses with a 1-1 draw.
Amorim’s team had been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by a League Two team, Grimsby, in August, but Neville was convinced that United had hit rock bottom in a game that could have been even more one-sided were it not for two important saves by Senne Lammens.
“That was the baddest of the bad," the former United captain declared on the Gary Neville podcast.
“They weren’t just booed off at the final whistle. The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They’ve gone backwards.”
United had won at Newcastle 1-0 on Boxing Day, despite being plagued by an injury list that already lacked skipper Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire, and Matthijs de Ligt, as well as three players on African Cup of Nations duty.
But they remained flat right from the first whistle, and the header by Ladislav Krejci just before the half bottled Joshua Zirkzee's deflected shot.
Amorim’s formation choice of 3-4-3 was brought into focus once more as the Portuguese opted to go back to his preferred tactic of four at the back against Newcastle.
“This isn’t right. I’ve watched enough of United over the last five or six weeks to know what looks right and what isn’t right,” Neville had declared 20 minutes into his commentary on Sky Sports.
“Because, when I see that we go back (to three at the back) after five minutes tonight, I’m thinking, no, Ruben, why have you done that?
"The manager has to look at that and think, I got that wrong. I complicated it."
However, Amorim decided to substitute Zirkzee at halftime and brought on an 18-year-old Jack Fletcher, who made his third appearance at the senior level.
Regarding substitutions made by Amorim, Neville further added, “They made Manchester United worse. Every single substitution was ridiculous.”
‘If Zirkzee was injured, and it was a tactical substitution, that was a very poor one.’ But Zirkzee isn't Eric Cantona, not by a long shot, and he had to get out there for physicality, for presence, for experience.”
SEE LISANDRO MARTINEZ’S FURIOUS REACTION AFTER MAN UTD’S SHOCK WOLVES DRAW
Lisandro Martinez demands more after Man Utd’s 1-1 draw with bottom-placed Wolves. United ended 2025 sixth in the Premier League.
Stand-in captain Lisandro Martinez was mad that Manchester United dropped points against Wolves, who are at the bottom of the league.
United came into the last game of 2025 after a good win against Newcastle on Boxing Day and were expected to easily beat Wolves.
Joshua Zirkzee scored first for United, but they didn't take their chances. Ladislav Krejci's header tied the game for Wolves, 1-1.
It was only their third point in 19 games, and it stopped their 11-game losing streak. United fans booed at the end of the game.
When Martinez was asked if it felt like a disappointing point, he said, 100 percent.
We are very disappointed. We can't keep drawing or losing points at home. We have to win.
We want to be at the top, competing with the best.
We can't drop points in games like this. We just have to accept it and be hungry for the next game.
Martinez was captain again because Bruno Fernandes is still recovering from an injury.
When United coach Ruben Amorim was asked about injured players for the game against Leeds on Sunday, he didn't give much away. Leeds are really wanting to beat United for the first time since 2010.
Martinez said to MUTV, You can either make excuses, or you can be strong and say, 'We're dropping points, so we need to go for the next one and show what we can do.'
We need to work together and do the easy things to get the three points.
United is in sixth place in the league at the end of 2025, only two points behind Liverpool for the last Champions League spot. Liverpool has a game in hand.
They could be in a better position if they had been better in both boxes. Leeds has been playing well lately, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin doing great up front.
Martinez added, It's about us. I don't like to think about other teams.
I'm thinking about what we can do to get better as a team every day, and we have to learn from this game.