'The life has been sucked out of them'

Paul Scholes finds it strange that “everything is focused on tactics” as Man Utd warm-up ahead of matches under Ruben Amorim.

The Red Devils have been having a terrible time this season with Amorim coming into replace Erik ten Hag in November after the Dutchman was sacked.

But Amorim has struggled to make much of a difference to results and performances with the squad at his disposal failing to adapt quickly to his style of play and ideas.

After their 2-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace, Man Utd are now 13th in the Premier League table and have won just eight of their 24 matches this season, while only four clubs have scored fewer goals than them.

Making a point about broader football, Man Utd legend Scholes has criticised the Red Devils’ warm-up under Amorim, which focuses on tactics rather than practising your touch.

Speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate, Scholes said: “When I was playing, I wanted to play with more freedom. I watch football all the time, but I don’t analyse the game as much anymore. Nowadays, with football being so tactical, I feel like the life has been sucked out of the players.

“I’ve been watching Manchester United the last few weeks, specifically how they’ve been warming up before matches, and I’ve noticed that they’re practising the team shape.

“They’ve got the back five defending the goal, with crosses coming into the box for the forwards to attack and they’ve even started practising set pieces in front of the fans, which just seems odd to me.

“The warm-up is there to enjoy, having the ball at your feet, practising your touch, but everything is focused on tactics and I’m not sure I’d be able to deal with it, if I was playing.”

And Scholes is frustrated with the way that football is played nowadays with too much focus on tactics and not enough on “good bits of play”.

The Man Utd legend continued: “Trying to work out the tactical element of football matches doesn’t fascinate me.

“I want to see good bits of play, defenders firing the ball into the midfield, a winger taking on their full back, so I’m not looking at the tactics, but maybe I should be.”

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One player in the Man Utd ranks who has been exciting to watch this season is Amad Diallo and ex-Red Devils striker Louis Saha has likened the winger to Ryan Giggs.

Saha told spaceportsweden.com: “Amad can go very far. He has the capacity to develop into one of the games superstars. I love his humility and at the same time, I love his determination. He’s a player with guts. He’s got the guts to grab the opportunity that he has been given. He’s got the skills and he’s also got good body strength.

“He reminds me a little bit of Raheem Sterling when he first broke through. People thought they would be able to knock him off the ball because of his size, but they couldn’t.

“What Amad’s done in terms of energy, in terms of his impact, it’s unbelievable.

“I remember back in the day, I saw Cristiano, I saw Wayne Rooney, I saw Giggsy train. He’s got the same dedication. He’s got the same desire. He’s got the same level of dedication.

“You can see that Amad is obsessed about his football, you can see that he wants to entertain the fans, and he’s got a real connection with the United fans. Ruben Amorim can play him in any position, and he knows that he will get a performance out of him. Amorim should give him the keys to this United team. They should build around this guy because he’s that good.

“I really like what he’s doing. The enthusiasm that he’s got, it’s brilliant. I watch football to see guys like Amad play.”

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