Scholes and Butt Criticise Manchester United After £200m Summer Spend as Pressure Mounts on Ruben Amorim
Former United midfielders say squad lacks quality and predictability in shape after 3-0 derby defeat and poor start to the season
Manchester United legends Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt delivered a withering assessment of the club's playing squad on Monday, saying the team is predictable and lacks the quality required to compete after a £200 million summer recruitment drive.
Their comments came in the wake of a 3-0 defeat by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday — United's worst start to a Premier League season in 33 years — and an earlier Carabao Cup exit to League Two Grimsby Town. United have four points from four league games.
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Scholes criticised manager Ruben Amorim's tactical approach, saying opponents can now prepare easily for United. "There are so many clever coaches these days in England and all around the world and they work it out quite easily. They know exactly the way Manchester United are going to play every single week," Scholes said. "With Amorim, everybody knows. It's easy to play against and easy to work out because the coaches are that clever now."
Butt echoed those concerns and argued that formation changes would not address what he described as fundamental deficiencies in the playing squad. "Forget the system," Butt said. "The players are just not at the level that Manchester United need. They're not aggressive enough, they're not quick enough, they've not got the legs in midfield."
Amorim, who replaced Erik ten Hag in November, has the backing of club owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Old Trafford board, sources said. Club officials have pointed to injuries to key summer signings as a factor in a squad still being rebuilt to the Portuguese coach's specifications.
However, media images from the derby showed Ratcliffe watching from the directors' box alongside new chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox, underlining the scrutiny on Amorim and his players. Sources said the manager had not lost the dressing room, but acknowledged some players have expressed discomfort with his preferred 3-4-2-1 shape; reports suggested captain Bruno Fernandes is among those struggling in a deeper midfield role.
Scholes questioned whether even a change to a 4-3-3 would solve the issues, saying he doubted the current crop of players were "quite good enough." Butt warned Amorim that tactical inflexibility would risk further defeats if adjustments were not made. "If they want results and he wants to keep his job in the long run, he's going to have to bite the bullet and change a little bit," Butt said.
United's summer spending was intended to assemble players suited to Amorim's system, but criticism from high-profile former players highlights growing concern about the alignment between recruitment and on-field performance. The club's early-season form has compounded that unease, with inconsistency across competitions.
United travel to face Chelsea next weekend, before matches against Brentford and Sunderland, fixtures that club officials and supporters expect will be closely watched as the board evaluates the trajectory of Amorim's tenure and the immediate prospects of a squad rebuilt at significant cost.