Both Nancy and Amorim are promising young managers with a bright future. They are also unemployed, as of this week.
In August 2025, one of the greatest managers in history, José Mourinho, was interviewed by Portuguese channel Canal 11. Of course, it isn’t a Mourinho interview without an iconic, slightly inflammatory, but ultimately true quote.
“My friend, if you died by your ideas, you are stupid.”
On January 5, 2026, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was sacked, bringing an end to a frustrating 14-month spell. Five hours later, Scottish Premiership side Celtic FC did likewise with their manager, Wilfried Nancy. The Frenchman was in charge for just over a month. Both of them died by their ideas.
Now, both Amorim and Nancy are good managers. Amorim’s Sporting CP side was one of the most feared in Europe when he left, notably thrashing Manchester City 4-1 in his last Champions League game. Nancy, meanwhile, overperformed with CF Montreal before winning the MLS Cup and Leagues Cup in Columbus.
Both managers prefer attacking approaches with three at the back. This could lead to high-scoring, exciting teams if done correctly, but could also backfire in a big way. Because of this, such a style requires players with specific skill sets. This is why Amorim immediately spent big on Danish wing-back Patrick Dorgu, among others.
The former Sporting manager routinely asked fans for patience — as did Nancy in Scotland. The difference is that Nancy never got a preseason or even a single transfer window. He inherited what is — by Celtic’s standards — a poor squad, and while only two wins in eight games is unacceptable, he hardly had time to implement his tactics. If 14 months weren’t enough for Amorim, how is one month and no signings enough for Nancy?
It all comes back to what Mourinho said — you shouldn’t die by your own ideas.
Nancy knew going into his hiring the players he had available and their quality. He surely knew that Celtic had not played that way under Martin O’Neill or Brendan Rodgers that season, or in the years previously. With Celtic approaching a crucial run of games — including title candidates Hearts, a Europa League fixture against Roma, a cup final, and the Old Firm Derby — it was straight into the deep end.
A more cautious approach to start, similar to what had worked under interim Martin O’Neill, would have yielded better results and bought Nancy more time. Later, he could have bought players who could work in his system, and he’d even get a preseason to implement his tactics, instead of jumping right into it with European nights and the biggest rivalry in Scotland. That didn’t happen, the club kept losing, and now Nancy will never get a chance to show his ideal Celtic team.
Amorim is the opposite. More than a year in charge and two transfer windows is a lot of time. To his credit, results did pick up in his second season, with the Red Devils sixth in the Premier League when he was sacked. However, there have been ugly moments, with the club finishing 15th last season, and, more recently, losing in the Carabao Cup to Grimsby Town and failing to beat a historically bad Wolves side at home. Despite struggling, he rarely changed his approach.
Amorim claimed that, “if we have to play a perfect 3-4-3, we need to spend a lot of money and we need time,” in one of his final interviews as Manchester United manager. As he acknowledged this likely wouldn’t happen, why persist in playing that way, and why continue to ignore talented players like Kobbie Mainoo on the bench just because they don’t fit the system?
The best managers in the game know when to make changes. Mourinho is often criticized for his defensive play style, but he gets results. Antonio Conte, who famously prefers three at the back with wing-backs, has often used a back four with Napoli with great success.
Pep Guardiola, who has changed the sport entirely, constantly makes changes to his teams. Last season, Manchester City had some of the worst form in Europe; now, they are challenging for the title once again.
There are younger or less established managers who adapt in today’s game, of course.
Look at Vincent Kompany, for instance. The Belgian was viewed as somewhat stubborn with Burnley as his side won the Championship in style before being sent right back down. In Munich, however, he’s been very flexible in his approach. Against PSG in the Champions League, Bayern came flying out of the gates before moving to a much more defensive approach in the second half. The ten-man Bavarians came away with a 2-1 win over the defending treble-winners.
One last example: Getafe manager José Bordalás. He’s done incredible things with a club that is nowhere near the elite La Liga sides, including qualifying for the Europa League and reaching the Round of 16. In the process, his sides have played some borderline unwatchable stuff.
That doesn’t matter to Bordalás or Getafe, though. His job is to win with limited resources. He signed midfielder Christantus Uche from the third tier of Spain, turned him into a striker, watched him become a solid goalscorer… and then immediately had to sell him to Crystal Palace. Bordalás can’t complain about not getting the signings he wants, he just has to get results.
Now, not everyone should play like the Spaniard. Keeping only 16% possession in the Copa del Rey against fourth-tier opposition Pontevedra last season seems a bit extreme. Still, Getafe came away with the 1-0 win after scoring in the second minute. At the end of the day, managers need results to survive.
It’s admirable that Nancy and Amorim are so committed to their approaches. Unfortunately for them, not every club is willing to give them the patience they repeatedly asked for. It doesn’t matter how well your system could do down the road if you don’t last that long.
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Image via manutd.com.
