Amad Diallo has been one of Man United's better players in these times of trouble. — AP
AFTER all the upheavals of last weekend when they crashed to an embarrassing home defeat at the hands of nifty Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester United will be well-advised to treat the Fulham game with much caution.
Any carelessness will almost surely lead to similar pain, but maybe not after the manager suggested that this is perhaps the worst Man United side ever.
He did backtrack on that midweek, but the point was already made.
That is how fragile the Red Devils are and have been for some time now.
Some say since the departure of Alex Ferguson, and not many disagree with that.
This squad, like a few other super-rich clubs, have great depth in talent but fail to live up to their true potential.
Instead, they do more talking and complaining, faking fouls and falling over too clumsily, than getting down to the nitty-gritty of top-class football, something that Liverpool, despite not having won anything yet, have shown in spades this season.Ruben Amorim, the Portuguese coach who took over in November and is statistically doing worse than Erik ten Hag whom he replaced, could face the chop if this poor run continues – say if they lose their next three or four league games, which is possible given their recent form.
Stuck in 13th place in the standings, this is a club that reportedly had revenue of €771mil (RM3.56bil) in the 2023-24 season – fourth in the world – and now relies on 22-year-old Ivory Coast international Amad Diallo to bail them out when the chips are down, and they have often been down.
Fulham are 10th and, on their own patch, could well leave Man United high and dry again. — By SHAUN ORANGE