“Life sucked out of the players” – Man Utd icon tells Ruben Amorim he’s doing one thing wrong | OneFootball

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes isn’t a fan of the warm-up routine implemented by Ruben Amorim and his technical staff.

The 50-year-old is a genuine old-schooler who enjoys the pure facet of the sport, so he’s not one to embark on tactical analyses which have become the order of the day.

Hence, the 1999 treble-winning star was left disgruntled by the club’s warm-up methods under Amorim, considering it one of the aspects that have been sucking the life out of footballers in general, and Man Utd stars in particular.

“When I was playing, I wanted to play with more freedom. I watch football all the time, but I don’t analyse the game as much anymore. Nowadays, with football being so tactical, I feel like the life has been sucked out of the players,” said Scholes in his interview with Sky Sports.

“I’ve been watching Manchester United the last few weeks, specifically how they’ve been warming up before matches, and I’ve noticed that they’re practising the team shape. They’ve got the back five defending the goal, with crosses coming into the box for the forwards to attack and they’ve even started practising set pieces in front of the fans, which just seems odd to me.

“The warm-up is there to enjoy, having the ball at your feet, practising your touch, but everything is focused on tactics and I’m not sure I’d be able to deal with it, if I was playing.”

Paul Scholes believes Ruben Amorim is doing it all wrong in pre-match warm-ups

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The iconic midfielder explains why isn’t too enticed by the tactical aspect, as he’s much more mesmerised by individual genius.

“Trying to work out the tactical element of football matches doesn’t fascinate me. I want to see good bits of play, defenders firing the ball into the midfield, a winger taking on their full-back, so I’m not looking at the tactics, but maybe I should be.”

While many fans and observers would resonate with Scholes’ statement, Amorim is unlikely to change his methods, as he’s been a staunch defender of his ways despite the poor results the club has been registering since his arrival at the club.

For instance, the Portuguese manager insists on deploying his favourite 3-4-2-1 system, and also demonstrated his rigidity with the way he handled the whole Marcus Rashford saga.