WHEN legend Sir Alex Ferguson won the Treble at Manchester United they called it ‘The Impossible Dream’.
But now, 25 years on, Ruben Amorim will walk into Old Trafford with plenty saying it’s become the Impossible Job.
Well I’ve got news for all of them — Sir Alex had the last laugh in 1999 and I’m convinced United’s new manager will do the same.
Not by winning everything in sight, before you think I’ve lost the plot. I am not suggesting three trophies and an open-top bus parade around Manchester in May.
But I do see this as the perfect chance for Amorim to make himself a hero.
It is actually the dream job and the perfect time to take on one of the biggest four or five clubs in the world.
You see, if you’re at an all-time low, like United are now, there’s only one way to go. It was the same for me when I went to Spurs in 2008.
I took over a side that was rock bottom, without a win after eight games, and where chins were on the floor. But I looked around on that first day and knew we wouldn’t be there for long.
Not with the likes of Luka Modric, a young Gareth Bale, Jermaine Jenas, Aaron Lennon. Top talent all over the place.
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Amorim’s got his fair share at United, too.
Alejandro Garnacho — a player I love — Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford would walk into most sides in the Prem.
Obviously results must improve and the manager will want to bring in one or two new faces and make the odd tweak.
But we’re not talking a complete overhaul.
This isn’t the United David Moyes inherited when he replaced Sir Alex in 2013.
One that may have been champions but — with all due respect — certainly wasn’t anywhere near their finest.
Fergie got them over the line but so many players were nearing the end and a total rebuild was on the cards.
Harry didn’t always have the easiest of rides under Erik ten Hag — and that’s putting it mildly — and a lot of money was spent on new central defenders.
Harry Redknapp
It was nothing like the current squad, one which just needs a bit of fine-tuning. So ignore rubbish about how this season is already a write-off.
With so many games left, if United go on a run — and there is no reason why not — they could get fourth spot.
Chelsea are probably favourites but no one’s grabbing it by the horns.
Tottenham are in and out and Aston Villa have the Champions League to deal with as well.
The immediate job for Amorim is to bring back the confidence, to make them feel good again, like I had to at Spurs.
I remember looking at Jonathan Woodgate, Ledley King, Vedran Corluka and the rest and thinking, ‘If I can’t get this lot playing better, something really is wrong’.
They didn’t need me to tell them it hadn’t been good enough — even though I did!
I also told everyone it was a level playing field as they were all starting from the same point.
Whoever was out of favour before, it didn’t bother me. This was a fresh start and I’d pick a side based on who impressed me in training.
That was the challenge, and they all took it on.
It’s a tough job, for sure, as tough as it comes. But an impossible one? Not a chance.
Harry Redknapp
I wanted to find the players I could rely on, just as Amorim has to at United. And I’d be amazed if Harry Maguire isn’t top of that list.
Harry didn’t always have the easiest of rides under Erik ten Hag — and that’s putting it mildly — and a lot of money was spent on new central defenders.
But Maguire kept his head down throughout it all, didn’t cause a fuss, waited for his chance and always gave 100 per cent when it arrived.
There might be more glamorous names at United, but no one gives more, wants to win more, or cares quite as much.
By Charlie Wyett
RUBEN AMORIM would have preferred to leave Lisbon in a blaze of glory after winning a third Primeira Liga title.
Yet football does not work like that. And in what was surely his final game before taking charge of Manchester United, Amorim prepared to say his goodbyes at a half-empty Estadio Jose Alvalade in a League Cup quarter-final against Nacional.
Sporting won 3-1 thanks to second-half goals by captain Morten Hjulmand and Viktor Gyokeres, who scored two.
Luis Esteves pulled back for Madeira-based Nacional.
The stadium will be a good deal more lively on Tuesday when Manchester City are here for a Champions League match — although Amorim should by then have his feet firmly under his desk at Old Trafford.
Liverpool and Aston Villa were both interested in Europe’s most sought-after coach. Even City could have been a possible destination post-Pep Guardiola.
Yet the United job is one Amorim, 39, could not turn down — even if not everyone saw it that way at Sporting last night.
There is clearly a huge split in the Portuguese club’s fan base over their coach leaving at this stage of the season with many believing he should have seen the job through.
Yet Amorim, along with the three-man coaching team who are expected to follow him, leaves a club in a much better state than when he arrived here in 2020.
Inside the stadium, there was applause — albeit muted — when his name was read out before the game along with the line-ups.
And there did not appear to be any jeers when Amorim shuffled out from the tunnel awkwardly towards the dugout.
So, while his departure is hard to take for some, none of the fans will forget his legacy.
This is a club which is back as the dominant force in Portugal. Even this term, Sporting have won their first nine league games, scoring 30 goals and conceding just two.
They are also eighth in the Champions League table, which is one hell of an effort.
In contrast, Lisbon was not exactly hit by League Cup fever last night.
Amorim made lots of changes, which saw Sporting’s star man Gyokeres, the former Coventry striker, start on the bench.
There was, however, a first appearance in six weeks for former Tottenham winger Marcus Edwards.
He is certainly one player who has been transformed by Amorim since arriving at the club from Vitoria in 2022 and will be sorry to see the coach leave.
While he changed his team, Amorim stuck with his tried and trusted formation of a back three.
It will certainly be something Manchester United’s fans will have to get used to over the coming months.
But looking at the Premier League table, none of them will be complaining about the change.
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Maguire’s the sort of player every new manager needs and I’m sure it won’t take Amorim long to realise that.
He’ll soon discover the Premier League is a world away from the one he leaves behind in Portugal and there’s a lot of hard work ahead.
It’s a tough job, for sure, as tough as it comes. But an impossible one? Not a chance.
