Amorim’s 36.17% win rate: Manchester United’s worst since World War II and a reflection of Neville’s Valencia disaster

Ruben Amorim was hired to restore Manchester United’s glory. Instead, eight months later, he has delivered a win rate of just 36.17 percent, the worst of any permanent United manager since World War II. The number is alarming because it almost mirrors Gary Neville’s infamous spell at Valencia, where he left with a 35.7 percent win rate. For United fans, the comparison is as painful as it is telling.

Numbers don’t lie

Neville at Valencia (2015-16): 28 games, 10 wins, 35.7 percent win rate

Amorim at United (2024-25): 47 games, 17 wins, 36.17 percent win rate

Both endured relegation form at top clubs, but United’s stature on the world stage makes Amorim’s record even harder to swallow.

Different roads, same destination

Neville’s Valencia story was doomed from the start. A television pundit with no senior management experience, unable to speak the language or grasp the culture, he was gone within four months.

Amorim’s case is different and more concerning. This is a proven coach with two Primeira Liga titles. Yet his rigid 3-4-3 system, which brought him glory in Portugal, has failed to translate at Old Trafford.

Recruitment has deepened the problem. INEOS’s decision not to sign a midfielder and to spend heavily on attackers has left Amorim short of key options. Rather than adapt, he has forced players into ill-fitting roles, most notably Bruno Fernandes in a double pivot, where his creativity is stifled and his defensive weaknesses exposed. United’s problems are as much structural as they are tactical.

The pressure cooker

The issue is not incompetence but inflexibility. Neville could not adapt to La Liga’s culture. Amorim has not adapted to the Premier League’s demands or his squad’s limitations. At a global giant like United, every flaw is magnified and every defeat dissected. Some managers evolve under the spotlight, while others see their reputations unravel in real time.

Warning signs

United should see this parallel as a serious warning. When an aspiring young manager produces results that resemble football’s most infamous coaching failure, the alarm bells cannot be ignored.

The question is not whether Amorim can coach. His record in Lisbon already answered that. The real question is whether he can learn from mistakes, adjust his system, handle pressure, and find a formula to succeed at a club of Manchester United’s stature.

The lesson is simple. Successful managers adapt their ideas to the players they have. If Amorim fails to bend, he risks going down not as Sporting’s visionary, but as Manchester United’s Neville. And yet this pattern of poor fits and repeated struggles has become a recurring theme at Old Trafford since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement.