Why the f*** would Ruben Amorim take this job? Because it’s Manchester United…

The chorus of ‘why the f*** would Ruben Amorim take this job?’ is loud across social media and there was even a hint of that close to home as we praised the rare moment of insight that led to Manchester United targeting the impressive Sporting manager but asked why he would take the risk. But isn’t it blindingly obvious? A super-club at its lowest ebb is surely the very best job of all.

It took brass balls to take over from Jurgen Klopp when Liverpool had enjoyed almost nine years of success allied with almost comedic levels of mutual admiration and it will require the ego of a US presidential candidate to take over from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. How do you follow a gazillion titles and achingly beautiful football? Almost inevitably with relative failure; you cannot climb a higher mountain than Everest.

But you know what’s a relative piece of p***? Pulling an expensively assembled but flawed Manchester United out of the bottom half of the Premier League. What would constitute success for the new Manchester United manager after a pitiful start to the season? Top six? Despite being 14th, United are just five points off that mark now.

And once that relatively low bar is cleared, the target for next season becomes a return to the Champions League. And you’re not even talking about trophies until deep into a second full season. A genuine Premier League title challenge in 2027/28? It sounds ludicrous until you remember that will be 15 years after the last.

Taking over a sinking ship buys you an awful lot of time and an awful lot of leeway; Amorim does not have to hit the ground running, just avoid absolutely stacking it and end up face-planting into the tarmac outside Old Trafford.

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We have said many times that Erik ten Hag was not the sole problem at Manchester United but he never looked like the solution either. Amorim already has an advantage over the Dutchman because he could be the solution. And that must be intoxicating for a prospective manager.

Will Arne Slot ever be loved more than Klopp? Probably not. Will any new Manchester City manager ever match Pep Guardiola’s achievements? Almost definitely not. But could Amorim be the greatest Manchester United manager since Sir Alex Ferguson? Almost definitely. And if he doesn’t think he can surpass the ‘success’ of Ten Hag, then he has no business being a manager.

We can laugh at This Is Manchester United Football Club We’re Talking About, but this is Manchester United Football Club we’re talking about, and this is an absolutely massive job. As deep as we are in their banter club era, United are still a behemoth. In terms of finances, fanbase and media interest, there are few clubs even close to being on par in world football.

Why would he leave Sporting for Manchester United? Why wouldn’t he leave Sporting for Manchester United? Forget league tables, forget recent silverware counts, this is a promotion. And that’s not English exceptionalism, but simply an acknowledgement of football’s hierarchy.

And right now it’s a promotion into a job that’s been absolutely f***ed up by his predecessor. Which absolutely has to be the best kind of job.