Amorim sack inevitable amid obvious 'ultimatum exclusive' as Ratcliffe exposed by naive 'belief'

Ruben Amorim is doomed at Manchester United as he’s been set an ‘ultimatum’ that everyone was aware of before this afternoon’s ‘exclusive’ was released…

As usual, Amorim and Ratcliffe have been in the headlines as the INEOS chief has ‘flown in’ to hold ‘talks’ with the Man Utd head coach.

This comes amid a dire start to the 2025/26 campaign for Man Utd, who look no better this season than they did in 2024/25 as they sit 14th after four games.

Their situation is not helped by Amorim still refusing to budge from his favoured 3-4-3 formation, despite it being clear for all to see that it is not working and doesn’t suit this group of players.

All indications are that Amorim is bullishly insisting that his tactics are not the problem, even though he suggested on Friday that his side is “playing well until the boxes”, which indicates a pretty major flaw regarding system and/or personnel.

Alan Shearer reckons Amorim will continue to stick to his current tactics and “die on his sword” at Man Utd, and it’s hard to look past this being the outcome of his sorry saga at Old Trafford.

READ: Rashford U-turn confirmed after Amorim somehow receives ‘pointed message’ from ‘toxic’ star

And Amorim’s exit from Man Utd has moved a step closer following his meeting with Ratcliffe, with talkSPORT’s ‘exclusive’ revealing that he has been ‘given an ultimatum’.

‘Ratcliffe believes the United squad assembled is capable of a top-five finish, although Champions League is not the stated or budgeted goal for 2025/26.

‘However, returning to some form of European football is seen as essential by the United hierarchy.’

First of all, it is pretty bold of talkSPORT to label this as an ‘exclusive’, because everyone knows that Man Utd’s minimum aim in any season is to qualify for some European competition, with this especially the case following another summer of huge spending.

This is just common sense, but it does mean that Amorim is doomed, as a seismic change brought about by a change of formation and/or a couple of marquee signings in January is required to give Man Utd any hope of anything more than back-to-back bottom-half finishes in the Premier League.

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Amorim and Man Utd would have a greater chance of achieving an upturn in results and performances if there is a transition to a far more suited 4-2-3-1 formation, as the head coach is yet to come close to getting the maximum out of this squad.

However, Ratcliffe’s assertion that this Man Utd side is ‘capable of a top-five finish’ is naive beyond belief and exposes his lack of know-how.

The squads of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea are far superior to Man Utd’s, while they can also make a strong case that Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are better.

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