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Michael Owen says it’s ‘embarrassing’ to blame Ruben Amorim’s back-three system for the problems at Manchester United.
Owen agrees with the United boss that pundits criticising Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation might have got into his players’ heads and made them question it.
Several former Red Devils stars, including Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney, have been critical of Amorim's stubbornness not to ditch the system, which has seen United win less than half of their Premier League games this season and crash out of the Carabao Cup to Grimsby Town in the second round on penalties.
But former United striker Owen insists the club’s problems run much deeper than the tactical changes made by the Portuguese head coach who is under pressure as he approaches his first anniversary in charge.
‘They have changed the manager numerous times since Fergie left,’ said Owen. ‘Then they blamed the players; spent billions on players and got some of the best players in the world, only for the club to be seen as a bit of a graveyard for players in the last decade.
‘Next it was the people buying the players, so everyone wanted rid of them. Then it was the board, so the board was shuffled around when Sir Jim Ratcliffe got involved.
Michael Owen has come out in defence of struggling Ruben Amorim’s back-three system
Amorim has refused to compromise on his philosophy despite United's faltering from so far
Man United legends Wayne Rooney (left) and Gary Neville (right) criticised the 3-4-2-1 system
‘Then it's the fault of the facilities so they wanted to revamp the training ground and put plans in for a new stadium.
‘Then it's the staff, so half the backroom staff, physios, doctors, canteen lady, the whole thing, wiped clean and a new start there.
‘The latest one is it’s because they're playing a back-three. If I'm not wrong, I watched Erik Ten Hag about a year ago playing a back-four, and it was some of the most awful football I've ever seen from a Manchester United team.
‘Some great teams over the years have played with a back-three. I'm not saying that's my favourite formation at all, and I'm not saying that Amorim is right to be steadfast in his beliefs in that formation.
‘But I certainly don't think all of United's problems now are because they play with the back-three.
‘It's embarrassing if you're going to say the main reason for the downturn is because they play a back-three. I mean, it really isn't. They could go back to a back-four and play as bad as they did under Ten Hag, then the screams would be equally as loud.’
Speaking to casino.co.uk, Owen said he understands Amorim’s concern that negative comments from pundits about his philosophy might be influencing the United squad.
‘I could totally buy that,’ he added. ‘Players aren't sheltered away from everything. They're driving cars to training, putting the radio on. They sit at home in the lounge with the TV on. They read social media. They can do all these things. If you're interested in football, you can't get away from what people are thinking and saying about it.
United have won less than half their games in the Premier League and are already out of the Carabao Cup, having crashed out in the second round against Grimsby Town on penalties
Former Manchester United striker Owen, pictured with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, believes it’s only a matter of time before the sleeping Premier League giants are successful again
‘Whether footballers should be swayed by those comments or impacted by them, that's a different argument. But I've got no doubt that people will watch and will listen to people they probably respected and thought were great players growing up. They’ll listen to those opinions.
‘If they're saying certain things, then it might enter their head, and they could perhaps wonder if the manager is doing the right thing. They might have their own ideas, but that's not a new phenomenon.
‘That will never change. It never has changed, but I do think it is a relevant point to make by Amorim.’
Owen believes it’s only a matter of time before United are successful again, but warned that Amorim has to give fans a reason to hope that he can be the man to bring back the glory days.
‘The United fans will be patient if they can see something,’ he said. ‘I don't think anybody expects them to go from what they've been over the last 10 years to suddenly winning the league.
‘The supporters’ just want to see a bit of a plan, even if they get beaten. They want to see some progress, something to hang their hat on.
‘I think that's the bit that Manchester United fans are struggling with now – renewed hope with a new manager. Amorim hasn't produced results and hasn't given them anything to think that things could be hugely better in the future, and that's the problem.
‘Pundits and fans do just go around in circles. When you look at what's been wrong with Manchester United over the years, it was the manager who was blamed.
Owen pictured next to Paul Scholes (left) and Ryan Giggs (right) after winning the league title
‘These projects do happen with the big teams. It happened at Liverpool in the 90s, It happened slightly to Arsenal after Wenger left, trying to find the right manager, the right players, the right fix.
‘It’s taken a while at Manchester United, and although there's no sign of them doing it now, it will click eventually. It might be two years, might be four, it might be six, it might even be 10 years, but everyone knows that Manchester United will win the Premier League again.
‘They're too big, too rich and too good of a club to not do that. It's just a question of when they can get it all right.’
