Manchester United: Key questions for Ruben Amorim and Man Utd after Europa League final defeat

Manchester United’s season, already their worst ever in the Premier League, hit a new low in Bilbao as they lost to Spurs in the Europa League final.

Victory would not have turned United’s season into a positive, but it would have provided a glimmer of light and reason for optimism.

Instead, after losing for the fourth time this season to the team 17th in the Premier League, United’s road back to the elite looks longer than ever. Once again, more questions are being asked of Manchester United and their head coach than answers are being provided.

What is the identity of Amorim’s United?

United’s performance in Bilbao raised familiar concerns, not merely about their quality but also their style. Amorim stuck rigidly to his favoured 3-4-3 formation even into the final stages when every Tottenham player was behind the ball. “I will not change,” Amorim repeated afterwards and his resilience is admirable.

But the evidence this formation does not suit his players is close to overwhelming, a consistent pattern of play still has not emerged, and Amorim’s belief in his system felt a stubborn streak too far deep into the final stages in Bilbao when United, predictable and stifled, kept three centre-halves on the pitch despite Tottenham’s obvious refusal to leave their own half.

Is the head coach’s position under threat?

If it is, it should not be. Amorim needs more time and, given the size of the problems he inherited, deserves it too. Practically, United probably could not afford to change their head coach again, and certainly could not afford to accept that if Amorim goes, everyone involved in his appointment will have to go too.

But it is also fair to say that Amorim had a very bad night in Bilbao. Never mind the formation, what about the team selection? Starting Mason Mount was a colossal misjudgement, immediately exposed when Alejandro Garnacho did more in his first five minutes on the pitch than Mount had done in the previous 70. Ange Postecoglou did not only beat Amorim tactically, he also won the selection battle – the decision to start Richarlison and leave Heung-Min Son on the bench was comprehensively vindicated.

Amorim showed up well in his post-game press conference. But he almost always does. Likewise, Luke Shaw was outstanding in his summing up of the situation and post-final support of his head coach. The problem is that United only ever seem to impress these days in their off-field media duties.

How many players do United need, to the nearest 10?

Ouch. It is a question that was posed midway through the final and it is tough to answer it is only 10.

Think of it this way, West Ham are the team directly above United in the Premier League table. But how many United players would they take outside of Bruno Fernandes? Given that Amad would be competing with Jarrod Bowen on the right, it is not clear that the answer does not stop with Fernandes.

Do United have the finances and clout to overhaul their squad?

While Amorim predicted at the start of the week that a win would only help deliver one more summer signing, the bottom line is that victory in Bilbao would have been worth an estimated £100m for a club who have lost £300m over the last three years.

United simply may not possess the financial clout this summer to overhaul their squad half as much as they want or need to.

It was especially worrying to hear Fernandes acknowledge as much late on Wednesday night.

“If the club thinks it’s time to part ways because they want to do some cash in or whatever, it’s what it is,” said the United captain.

Hardly the assurance.

What is Matheus Cunha thinking now?

And what about Liam Delap?

United will not have any sort of European football next season.

Never mind the finances, and they are a huge obstacle to the overhaul, do United still have the pulling power?

Andre Onana – twist or twist?

From a footballing perspective, it is tough to argue that United’s worst decision in the last few years has not been replacing David de Gea with Onana. There have been flashes but no more than that. What there has not been is enough saves or convincing performances. United need a new goalkeeper. But they also need at least two new forwards, a couple of wing-backs and some authority in midfield. Given the choice, where do you place a goalkeeper in that list of actions?

Do ‘pure profits’ Mainoo and Garnacho have to be sold now?

From an all-important PSR perspective, selling ‘homegrown’ Kobbie Mainoo and Garnacho would be hugely beneficial. But when an overhaul begins with selling your best players, just how far back are you?

Does playing once a week, with up to 10 teams in Europe next season, actually help United?

It does and it does not.

Postecoglou was very clear after the final that he had given up on the Premier League in order to focus on the Europa League. But there was a whiff of convenience to that explanation. To what extent are Tottenham simply not that good? The problem with the Premier League is that there is not an equivalent of playing Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final and United may well find, even with the extra rest of inactivity, that it makes no decent difference without good enough players. True, they will not be tired. But just because they are not tired does not mean they will not be terrible.

What United really need is new players, and a lot of them, to start hauling themselves out of this rut, and it is far, far harder to attract and finance those new players without European football.

Champions League qualification was not a cure for all their ills but it would have been a significant route forward in their road to recovery.

It would have been both an escape route and escapism.

Now United have neither.