Manchester United 'looked like a broken team' in draw with Everton, Ruben Amorim showing 'stubbornness' - Rio Ferdinand

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Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand questioned Ruben Amorim's approach to his team's struggles and said there were major problems with the side, as they struggled to a 2-2 draw with Everton after a desperate showing in the first half. Ferdinand praised the comeback but warned it could not be repeated in future games under the Portuguese manager.

'The scars are so deep' - Ferdinand reflects on Man Utd struggles at Everton

Video credit: TNT Sports

Rio Ferdinand said that Manchester United "looked like a broken team" for much of their 2-2 draw with Everton on Saturday afternoon.

Everton were 2-0 up until late in the second half, when Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte both struck late to earn a point.

The draw was far from secure, though, with Everton winning a penalty at the death when Ashley Young appeared to have been fouled, before the decision was overturned.

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Before the second half, Ferdinand blasted United’s players for their efforts - labelling their display in the first 45 minutes as "unforgivable", but he praised the comeback after the match.

He said: "I questioned the desire in this team, I questioned whether they had enough fight, whether they were willing to run hard enough, whether they could go toe-to-toe with this Everton team.

"Goals change games, and then we saw there was some fight from United. But they can't continue like this. They've got to start games on the front foot, they've got to start games like they mean it.

"The substitutions from the manager were big: [Alejandro] Garnacho comes on the pitch, changes things. There's so many things you can pick apart, but there were positives towards the end."

Ferdinand later looked deeper into the problems with United’s mindset, and suggested that manager Ruben Amorim may not be approaching the situation he is in with the required flexibility.

He added: "Up until they scored they looked like a broken team. They looked like a team that were mentally broken, they look scared, scared to take the ball, scared to pass to team-mates, to take any risks.

"One thing you heard about him [Amorim] there: he said 'we're going to stick to what we do, and we're not going to change things'.

"There's a stubbornness there, which I understand, but when you're so scared, and you haven't got confidence, to keep playing football is very difficult. So, sometimes, maybe go back to front a little bit.

'So poor, so passive' - Ferdinand and Ferguson assess Man Utd defending

Video credit: TNT Sports

He pointed out that Amorim’s stubbornness was not the way that United great Alex Ferguson approached matches at Everton’s home ground.

Ferdinand added: "We came here [Goodison Park] in our pomp when we were flying, and we had to change things, little details, not our whole philosophy or whole identity, but for moments of the game you do something a bit different, and then you feel your way into the game and go back to what makes you a great team and the philosophy you live and die by.

"You've got [Rasmus] Hojlund up front, never ran into the channel once. The ball's not going in there, and he's not running in there, [Joshua] Zirkzee the same.

"There's moments in games when you go to certain places in this country, it demands you to do different things. That's football, it's not going away from who you are."

Ferdinand: 'The scars on these players are so deep'

Ferdinand was so disappointed with the first-half performance that he suggested the players should re-watch their efforts in training, and be asked about their commitment.

He continued: "There's no hiding places for the Man United players there. That should be clipped up, that analysis there, put it on in the training ground, sit down and watch this. That for me isn't tactics. That's saying, are you willing to run?

"Are you understanding when you're meant to run, and are you willing to roll your sleeves up and run hard. Run hard, over the course of 90 minutes.

"We've had to wait until United get a goal, from the talisman, the inspirational Bruno Fernandes and then they woke up, then they're running. That's not good enough."

Ferdinand added: "You look at it and go, 'why is he not getting more out of these players?' When I sat with him, you sit there and listen to him, you think, the scars on these players are so deep."

The defender said that while Amorim might have inherited a squad with players he will look to overhaul, he needed to find a solution with the personnel at his disposal.

"I'm sure there are players there he doesn't want," he acknowledged. "That he thinks are dead wood, but you have got to work with them.

"Maybe that's why he didn't want to come during the season, maybe that's why he wanted to delay and come in the summer. But you're not often offered the opportunity to come to Man United, they gave him an ultimatum, and he said 'I have to take it'."

Looking ahead, Ferdinand said that recovering confidence is the most urgent problem to be addressed by Amorim, stating: "I think the biggest job he's got here, is re-building confidence in these players.

"They look shot of confidence, they look nervous, scared, and it was difficult to see watching the game and that is something that needs honing in on.

"We can talk about the tactics and set-up of his team, but doesn't matter what tactics you put in, when you're lacking confidence and lacking foundations of a solid base, it's difficult to build anything."