Unlucky 13: How Ruben Amorim's nightmare start at Manchester United compares to 'Big Six' managers past and present
Published 04/02/2025 at 19:10 GMT
Ruben Amorim’s rocky start at Manchester United has fans worried, but how bad is it really? In the wake of United's 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday, we crunched the numbers from every 'Big Six' manager’s first 13 Premier League games since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Spoiler: Amorim’s struggles put him in some very unwanted company. But is there still hope for a turnaround?
'A really poor side' - Hargreaves and Savage rate Amorim's tenure at Man United
Video credit: TNT Sports
Since Sir Alex Ferguson hung up his hairdryer in 2013, Manchester United – and the rest of the so-called 'Big Six' – have been through a revolving door of managers, each trying (and often failing) to leave their mark.
With Ruben Amorim now 13 Premier League games into his reign following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace, we have crunched the numbers to see how he stacks up against the first 13-game records of the post-Fergie managerial alumni across Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham, and, of course, United themselves.
Spoiler alert: it doesn’t make for pretty reading. Whether it is points on the board, goals scored, or defensive disasters, Amorim’s start is already rubbing shoulders with some of the Premier League’s more disappointing chapters. But is it time to panic, or could there still be a Jurgen Klopp-style turnaround on the cards? Let us dive into the stats, provided by the good people at Opta.
Amorim vs other Man Utd managers in post-Fergie era
| Manager | GD | Points |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | +18 | 32 |
| Ralf Rangnick | +10 | 26 |
| Erik ten Hag | -1 | 23 |
| Louis van Gaal | +7 | 22 |
| David Moyes | +5 | 22 |
| Jose Mourinho | +3 | 20 |
| Ruben Amorim | -6 | 14 |
Unsurprisingly, Amorim stacks up poorly against the post-Ferguson carousel of managers at Old Trafford. His team’s measly return of 14 points from 13 games is six fewer than the next most-underwhelming start – that honour goes to Jose Mourinho, who, to his credit, still bagged the UEFA Europa League in his debut season.
There was genuine excitement during the Ole’s at the wheel days in early 2019, a period when it seemed like United had finally found their groove. But every other flicker of hope has been swiftly extinguished. The problem for Amorim? There has barely been a flicker, one proper performance at Anfield aside. Barring a smash-and-grab win in the Manchester derby and a late Amad Diallo hat-trick to scrape past Southampton, things could look even worse.
Amorim vs other 'Big Six' managers in post-Fergie era
Surely, somewhere in the post-Fergie chaos, another manager has underwhelmed more than Amorim at a big club, right? Err, sadly not.
Among the ‘Big Six’ - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd, and, somehow, Spurs – none of their post-Ferguson hires have started this poorly.
| Manager | Club | GD | Points |
| Arne Slot | Liverpool | +18 | 34 |
| Ole Gunnar Solskjaer | Man Utd | +18 | 32 |
| Antonio Conte | Chelsea | +19 | 31 |
| Pep Guardiola | Man City | +17 | 30 |
| Maurizio Sarri | Chelsea | +17 | 28 |
| Jose Mourinho (second spell) | Chelsea | +13 | 27 |
| Unai Emery | Arsenal | +12 | 27 |
| Ralf Rangnick | Man Utd | +10 | 26 |
| Frank Lampard (first spell) | Chelsea | +9 | 26 |
| Thomas Tuchel | Chelsea | +9 | 26 |
| Ange Postecoglou | Spurs | +8 | 26 |
| Tim Sherwood | Spurs | +6 | 26 |
| Manuel Pellegrini | Man City | +25 | 25 |
| Enzo Maresca | Chelsea | +12 | 25 |
| Antonio Conte | Spurs | +7 | 24 |
| Guus Hiddink (second spell) | Chelsea | +10 | 23 |
| Jose Mourinho | Spurs | +7 | 23 |
| Erik ten Hag | Man Utd | -1 | 23 |
| Louis van Gaal | Man Utd | +7 | 22 |
| David Moyes | Man Utd | +5 | 22 |
| Mikel Arteta | Arsenal | +5 | 20 |
| Jose Mourinho | Man Utd | +3 | 20 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | Spurs | +0 | 20 |
| Jurgen Klopp | Liverpool | +0 | 19 |
| Graham Potter | Chelsea | +2 | 18 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | Chelsea | +2 | 16 |
| Ruben Amorim | Man Utd | -6 | 14 |
In fact, only two managers from these clubs finished their first 13 league games with a negative goal difference. Any guesses? Yep, Erik ten Hag and Amorim. Ominously, Amorim’s record is worse than Chelsea short-termers Graham Potter and Mauricio Pochettino, neither of whom managed to last a full year at Stamford Bridge.
Still, let us not get ahead of ourselves. Thirteen games is, after all, just that – 13 games. Solskjaer did not go on to win the Premier League and Klopp’s early days at Liverpool did not stop him conquering at home and abroad. Few Arsenal fans would choose Unai Emery over Mikel Arteta, while no one looks back fondly at Tim Sherwood's spell at Tottenham (except Tim Sherwood, of course).
Amorim's attacking record vs 'Big Six' managers in post-Fergie era
| Manager | Club | Goals scored |
| Graham Potter | Chelsea | 14 |
| Ruben Amorim | Man Utd | 16 |
| Jurgen Klopp | Liverpool | 17 |
| Thomas Tuchel | Chelsea | 17 |
| Jose Mourinho | Man Utd | 18 |
| Erik ten Hag | Man Utd | 18 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | Spurs | 18 |
It is not all doom and gloom for Amorim. Almost, but not quite. Potter’s Chelsea only scored 14 goals in his first 13 league games – two fewer than Amorim’s lot have managed. So, there is that.
But again, a glance at Klopp and Pochettino’s rocky starts at Liverpool and Spurs respectively should serve as a reminder: it is early days. No need to roll out the crisis banners just yet.
Amorim's defensive record vs 'Big Six' managers in post-Fergie era
| Manager | Club | Goals conceded |
| Ruben Amorim | Man Utd | 22 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | Chelsea | 20 |
| Erik ten Hag | Man Utd | 19 |
| Frank Lampard | Chelsea | 19 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | Spurs | 18 |
| Jurgen Klopp | Liverpool | 17 |
| David Moyes | Man Utd | 17 |
| Ange Postecoglou | Spurs | 17 |
That said, Amorim’s reprieve from rock-bottom stats was short-lived. His leaky three-man defence has conceded 22 goals – the worst among his peers past and present. And ominously, he’s the only manager to feature in the bottom five for both points and goals conceded. Not exactly the kind of double you want to be chasing.
So can Amorim turn it around? Perhaps former Chelsea star turned TNT Sports expert Joe Cole said it best ahead of United's UEFA Europa League win over FCSB last week: "If you’re a Man Utd fan, strap in, because it’s going to be messy from now until the end of the season, and they have to get it right in the summer."
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