5 hours ago
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Ruben Amorim was 55 seconds into a post-match press conference that lasted less than three-and-a-half minutes at Old Trafford on Sunday when he was asked a question that made him flinch back and raise his eyebrows in disbelief.
It concerned his goalkeeper and whether he had given any consideration to picking veteran former England man Tom Heaton ahead of Altay Bayindir for the Premier League defeat by Arsenal.
"Why?" came the response, the stare accompanying it unwavering.
What followed was the kind of exchange that used to be commonplace at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson was the manager.
Essentially, journalists frequently asked questions that Ferguson either felt were genuinely ridiculous or that threatened exposing a weakness. Either, Ferguson reasoned, demanded a fierce rebuttal and a circling of the wagons.
"You are either with us, or against us," was Ferguson's mantra. The Scot viewed almost every journalist in the 'against us' camp, so he tended to treat their opinions with disdain, irrespective of their validity.
Amorim spoke to Ferguson just over a week ago, at the opening of United's revamped training ground. Whether tactics in dealing with the media were discussed is open to question.
But Amorim has certainly used this summer to try and create a tight bond with his squad, which lies behind how Sunday unfolded.
Events can change situations quickly when a transfer window is nearing its close and it has been established Andre Onana's former club Inter Milan are looking at bringing in a new goalkeeper. However, it is still the view of those at United on Monday there will be no additions to that part of their squad.
United chose to refresh their attacking positions with the finance that was available to the club this summer. When it became apparent Gianluigi Donnarumma was likely to be available as he is no longer required at Paris St Germain, the word coming out of Old Trafford was the Italian goalkeeper would not be heading their way. That stance is not thought to have changed.
Picking Onana against Arsenal is bound to have come into Amorim's thinking. After all, it couldn't have been any clearer who his first choice was when the 29-year-old was picked for the Europa League final in May even though he had made high-profile mistakes in the build-up to the defeat by Tottenham in Bilbao.
However, while Amorim said in his pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon the Cameroon international was available to face Mikel Arteta's side, by kick-off, he had only three full training sessions behind him after suffering a hamstring injury early in July.
In Onana's absence, Amorim thought Bayindir had performed well during a summer campaign across three countries in which United remained unbeaten and the 27-year-old had featured in three-and-a-half of the five games.
It was on that basis Amorim concluded in order for players to believe his 'group' philosophy, it would be the wrong decision to axe Bayindir, who in his eyes had done nothing to deserve it, for Onana, whose fitness had to be taken on trust.
That he chose to get on the front foot in his post-match press conference after his decision had been questioned seemed to be part of a wider strategy.
After all, if former England goalkeeper Joe Hart felt able to tell BBC Radio Five Live that while he was initially minded to defend Bayindir, having seen a replay of the goal, he thought the player had made a mistake and could have used one hand to get William Saliba out of his way as he went to punch the ball with the other, it was fair to hold Amorim to account.
The former Sporting boss was forceful in his rebuttal: "He suffered a goal like this where?" he countered, when it was put to him Bayindir had conceded in similar manner - unable to deal with a set-piece superbly delivered under his crossbar – before.
When the game – an EFL Cup tie at Tottenham last December when Son Heung-min scored direct from a corner – was mentioned, Amorim's reply was instant: "Without VAR," he said. "With VAR it is a foul."
Amorim maintained his offensive by talking about Bayindir's next appearance, the FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal a month later, when his goalkeeper was awarded man of the match in a shock penalty shoot-out win.
"You don't remember the game?" Amorim said, without giving his inquisitor a chance to reply. "I remember the game. Altay was unbelievable."
And from that background Amorim made yesterday's call.
"I didn't drop Onana from the squad," he added. "After just one week, without seeing a game, without training...."
Twice Amorim was then asked if he was happy with his three goalkeepers. He talked round the situation on the first occasion. When he was asked again, his reply confirming he was, was followed by a shake of the head, as if to say 'are you actually listening to me?'.
Twenty seconds later, he had left.
Amorim is not due to speak to the media again until Friday, when it is almost guaranteed he will be asked who will be in goal against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday and it is equally likely he will refuse to say.
Most expect Onana to get the call.
History suggests that selection is not without risk. Amorim will hope not to spend the aftermath of the game having to defend it.
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