Things might not be running smoothly for Manchester United, but at least supporters of the Red Devils are able to rejoice at the hardship their city rivals are currently experiencing. Supporters like former Reds-winger Lee Sharpe, who wasn’t the only one taking great pleasure in watching Spurs tearing Man City a new one at the Etihad.
“My father-in-law is a Tottenham-fan, so him and his mates were all over social media Saturday night,” Lee Sharpe tells Tribalfootball on behalf of the Racing Tipster.
“It will be interesting to see how Man City respond now, as they’ve never been in this situation before. It is a real test of character,” Sharpie adds before turning his attention to Manchester United’s first match under Ruben Amorim. Much had been said and done in the build-up, but in the end, United were lucky to come away from Portman Road with a point.
“I don’t think there was too much difference from what’s been going on in the last three or four months, to be honest. The manager has not had more than a couple of days at the training ground which is no time to instil his methods and philosophy on the game.
“With the change of formation and players being away on international duty, I think it was a tough ask to expect big things to happen. Also, Ipswich are fighting for their lives and they're really not a bad side. I think they're actually better than the league position suggests,” Sharpe believes while taking away some positives for Manchester United.
“It was good to see Luke Shaw coming back. I thought Mazraoui looked fantastic as a third centre-back. Onana in goal has had a fantastic season after a real tough time when he first got to the club. Amad Diallo was fantastic and absolutely unbelievable for the goal.
“Rashford started off bright and we thought he was going to start doing things but then he just petered out yet again. Garnacho showed a little bit of brilliance but also some poor decision making in the final third at times. All in all, some good bits and some not so good bits and a lot of things for the manager to work on in training,” Sharpe concludes his take on the first game under Ruben Amorim.
Can Rashford himself can revive his career?
The latest Portuguese manager to take the rein at Old Trafford has been met with a level of hysteria which Sharpe doesn’t really get.
“I understand there’s been some frustrating times lately, but there was this level of euphoria when Erik ten Hag. There was a big hoo-ha when Louis van Gaal came in, there was a big hoo-ha when José Mourinho came in and we keep getting more of the same.
“One thing everyone was expecting on Sunday was a big lift in passion, a big lift in the work rate, and while I don’t know the actual stats, I’m guessing Ipswich outworked them. They created better chances, and if it wasn’t for the goalkeeper, Man United could have quite easily lost that game.
“I’m still positive with the manager, I think he’s got a strong charisma, a lot of strong ideas, but he’s got a lot to work on and beating Manchester City 4-1 with Sporting probably didn’t do him any favours in terms of expectations.”
A couple of the selections for the starting line-up on Sunday raised a few eyebrows, but Sharpe expects most of the 11 to also have a future on Ruben Amorim.
“André Onana will be there next season, De Ligt as well, Mazraoui, probably Dalot, Luke Shaw if he can keep himself fit, Amad Diallo, Bruno Fernandes, Højlund. I am not so sure about Marcus Rashford and I will be very surprised if Casemiro and Christian are there next season.”
Speaking of Marcus Rashford; is Amorim the man to revive his career?
“I think the only man who can do that is Marcus Rashford himself. For 18 months he performed on a level that no one could touch, but since then he’s been struggling to get back to that level. Someone pointed out to me the other day that he’s the same age now as Nemanja Matic was when he was signed by Manchester United and people said he was over the hill.
“That’s where Marcus Rashford is right now. Is he past his best and won’t be the same or will there be some kind of miraculous turnaround? We know on his day that he is unplayable, he’s super-fast, he’s got unbelievable feet, he can score goals, he can go past people like they are not really there, and every Man United fans wants to see that again, because he’s so exhilarating to watch when he is on top form,” says a hopeful Sharpe who believes Marcus Rashford is dealing with a mental struggle.
“There has to be. From what he produced a few seasons ago, scoring 30-odd goals, ripping through international teams for England, he was on top of his game and for some reason we’re just not seeing that on a consistent level. His body language seems to be a little bit off. It’s difficult to put a finger how to put it right.”
- Get breaking football news faster with the new Tribal Football app! Download now on iOS and Android to stay ahead of all the latest transfers and football updates. Download now: App Store, Google Play