Man Utd source Ruben Amorim sacked over storm with Jason Wilcox

JAKARTA - The story behind the dismissal of Ruben Amorim as Manchester United manager, who was then replaced by Darren Fletcher as interim manager. The mystery of the dismissal was revealed that Amorim had a fight with Man Utd Football Director Jason Wilcox before the match against Leeds United which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Wilcox actually questioned the 3-4-3 pattern that Amorim did not want to change and the opportunity to evolve from the team's playing style. The meeting was very technical because Wilcox wanted to get feedback from Amorim after the 1-1 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers. The draw was for the umpteenth time to thwart Man Utd's attempt to enter the Champions League zone.

The question is, Wilcox is not a can. He is like Deco who became Sports Director at Barcelona. Deco is none other than the former Portugal national team player and played in top clubs, including Chelsea and Barca.

Wilcox was also a pillar of strength for Leeds United in the 2000s before being relegated. He also took Leeds, which was strengthened by young English stars at the time such as Alan Smith, Jonatan Woodgate, Rio Ferdinand, Lee Bowyer, Danny Mills, and David Batty to the 2001 Champions League semi-finals.

Together with Frank Lampard, John Terry and Joe Cole, they were touted as the new generation of England after the era of David Beckham et al.

But Leeds then faded and fell in class. But his players like Ferdinand and Mills skyrocketed. Ferdinand became the pillar of Man Utd's defense and Mills joined Liverpool.

Wilcox himself moved to Leicester City and ended his career as a player at Blackpool. With experience on the green field, he understands very well the condition of Man Utd which is still very unstable. In fact, they almost lost when they played against Wolves who were at the bottom of the standings.

Only Amorim's meeting with Wilcox outside the expected took place with high tension. Amorim, according to a source quoted by ESPN, looked very emotional when Wilcox alluded to Amorim's 3-4-3 strategy which seemed to be unchangeable. Wilcox also questioned the evolution of the same team that was completely invisible through Amorim's touch.

This means that the former Sporting Lisbon coach has not shown performance when he has changed the team for the better. In addition, they did not agree on the transfer of players which made Amorim unlikely to get new players in the January transfer window.

Amorim's emotional attitude during the meeting made their relationship strained. Ironically, Wilcox previously had a close relationship with Amorim. Even Wilcox did not hide that he admired the manager very much.

But after the meeting, they were no longer in agreement. The situation got hotter after Man Utd drew again against Leeds, Wilcox's former club. At the press conference after the match, Amorim even criticized Wilcox and challenged the club's top brass.

This time, the club did not support Amorim so that he was dismissed. However, it was not a dispute with Wilcox alone that was the cause of the dismissal. Club officials assessed that there were no signs of progress from the team during Amorim's tenure. The team is still fluctuating and difficult to be on the winning track.

After being fired, Amorim's position was temporarily replaced by Fletcher, a former Man Utd player. Interestingly, clubs like to gamble when appointing Fletcher as interim manager.

Even though he only briefly handled the Red Devils before the arrival of the permanent manager, Fletcher's appointment was still a surprise. Moreover, he still has minimal flight time as a coach because he has only been coaching the Man Utd U-18 team for one year.

From the junior team, there are two of his children, Jack and Tyler, who are now in the senior squad. The twins are a row of Man Utd youngsters who have made it into the senior team.

Fletcher is the fifth ex-pupil of the legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson who later managed Man Utd.

Previously, Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy who were Ferguson's pupils had designed Man Utd. Among them, only Solskjaer had been a permanent manager.

Will Fletcher follow in the footsteps of Solskjaer who started from an interim status and then was appointed as a manager or have the same fate as Van Nistelrooy et al who only briefly managed Man Utd. The match against Burnley is Fletcher's first test.