GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Jan. 6 - Manchester United have sacked Ruben Amorim after 14 months in charge, an AFCON last 16 round-up, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
Editor’s Note: We’re aware that some readers with Yahoo email addresses did not receive yesterday’s newsletter due to a network error. You can access that edition here.
KEY FIXTURE
Premier League MD21 (6 Jan): West Ham United vs. Nottingham Forest, 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET. West Ham are winless in their last nine Premier League games, including a loss to Wolves who secured their first league win of the season. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest have endured their joint-longest losing run of the campaign and could also now suffer four straight losses on the road, where they have already failed to score in five Premier League games in 2025-26. See upcoming Premier League fixtures here.
Results…
AFCON last 16: Egypt 3-1 Benin | Nigeria 4-0 Mozambique
Championship: Leicester 2-1 West Brom (Table)
TOP TALKING POINTS
United Sack Amorim
Manchester United have sacked head coach Ruben Amorim after 14 months in charge. The decision comes following a breakdown in Amorim’s relationship with the club hierarchy, including chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox. The club, which paid a £9.25m release clause to Sporting in November 2024, will pay Amorim’s contract in full. Between 2012 and 2025, Man United have paid at least £55m in compensation packages for coaching staff, not including Amorim.
In October, co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said Amorim would be given three years to "demonstrate he is a great coach" and that the club needed to be "patient". However, sources suggest the club’s board hadn’t seen any evolution, with tensions centred on Amorim’s tactical philosophy. His preference for a back-three formation, despite having had success with a 4-2-3-1 against Newcastle, drew internal criticism. The club also viewed Amorim as unreceptive to feedback, with reports suggesting (unverified) Amorim “blew up” in a recent meeting when questioned about his formation.
Under Amorim, United finished 15th last season, the club’s worst league finish since 1974, failed to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2014-15, and recorded the worst win ratio (31.9%) of any permanent United manager.
Former midfielder and current Under-18s coach Darren Fletcher will take charge on an interim basis. Crystal Palace manager Olivier Glasner is reportedly the top target to become the next Man United head coach–see all contenders here.
… and Celtic Sack Nancy
Celtic have sacked manager Wilfried Nancy after just 33 days in charge, despite signing a two-and-a-half-year contract. The Frenchman suffered six defeats in eight matches after replacing interim manager Martin O’Neill, who had won seven of his eight games before Nancy arrived. The 48-year-old has recorded the shortest spell of any permanent manager in Celtic’s history.
Nancy, who won the MLS Cup with the Columbus Crew in 2023, came under pressure for immediately introducing a 3-4-3 formation and persisting with it. Following a 3-1 home defeat to Rangers, Celtic supporters gathered outside Celtic Park to protest, calling for his dismissal.
Nancy became the first Celtic manager to lose his first two games in charge, and it marked the club’s first four-game losing streak since 1978 under Jock Stein. Celtic now sit six points behind leaders Hearts and are level on points with third-placed Rangers. Martin O’Neill will return as manager for the remainder of the season.
AFCON Round-Up
Six teams have already qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals, which take place on Friday (9 Jan) and Saturday (10 Jan). Hosts Morocco will face Cameroon, while Mali will play Senegal. Elsewhere, Egypt will face either Cote d’Ivoire or Burkina Faso, and Nigeria will meet Algeria or DR Congo.
On Monday, Yasser Ibrahim and Mohamed Salah scored in extra time as Egypt beat Benin 3-1 to book a quarter-final spot. Meanwhile, tournament favourites Morocco relied on a solo goal from Real Madrid’s Brahim Diaz for a 1-0 victory over Tanzania. Diaz is the tournament’s leading scorer with four goals, having scored in every match so far. Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Ayoub El Kaabi, Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen, and Lassine Sinayoko are all on three goals.
The final two quarter-final places will be decided on Tuesday (Jan 6), with Cote d’Ivoire vs Burkina Faso and Algeria vs DR Congo.
POLL
Should managers stick to their tactical philosophy even if it puts their job at risk?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> West Ham United have no immediate plans to sack head coach Nuno Espirito Santo following his side’s 3-0 loss to Wolves (More) | Callum Wilson is in talks to leave West Ham five months after joining as the club buys two new strikers (More)
> Manchester City have confirmed that Josko Gvardiol has suffered a leg fracture and is set to undergo surgery this week with a unknown return date (More)
> Real Madrid look set to rival Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United for Crystal Palace's 21-year-old England midfielder Adam Wharton (More)
> A public holiday will mark Scotland's men's national team playing in its first World Cup since 1998 (More)
Americas
> MLS Cup champions Inter Miami CF have signed 2025 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Dayne St. Clair, who was a free agent after spending seven seasons with Minnesota United (More); see every MLS signing (More)
> Sporting Kansas City named Raphael Wicky as the fifth permanent head coach in franchise history (More)
> USL Championship’s Loudoun FC has appointed Alen Marcina as the club's new Sporting Director on a multi-year agreement, overseeing all sporting operations and long-term competitive strategy for the club (More)
Rest of the World
> Indonesian rescuers recovered a second body in the ongoing search for a Spanish football coach and two of his children who went missing (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Editor’s note: This poll question was asked before Ruben Amorim’s sacking on Monday. It seems the majority of Routers disagree with Man United’s decision.
Yesterday’s Poll: Should Manchester United stick or twist with Ruben Amorim?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 💪 Stick (62%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🔄 Twist (35%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (3%)
Your punditry takes:
💪 M.G: “This is a hard one. As United fans, we know the team isn’t good enough and will take time (at least the minimum of Amorim’s tenure) to overhaul. Chopping and changing managers or coaches can be detrimental. The fact that things are happening – disruptive and dead wood players being moved on, better quality players being brought in is a good thing. You can see green shoots of improvement, work rate up, fighting for the team, balls and the game, and just when you think you’ve turned a corner, the inconsistency and errors return, which is the most frustrating thing. The coach’s inflexibility in tactics is confusing to fans. The media doesn’t help, but being the manager of Manchester United, criticism is part of the job. Statistics don't help, as football is a results game that ultimately dictates what happens. Let him work without significant interference and be accountable only to the board, not to anyone else.”
💪 R.M: “Better the devil you know. Give him more time, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. If someone else was brought in, we would be starting at the beginning again and getting nowhere for years, leave him be.”
🔄 T: “He is not willing, by choice, to change the playing set-up of Man United. Sticking to something that doesn't work will get you fired. The Premier League is a results-oriented animal, and if you don't get the winning percentage, then your job is in jeopardy.”
EXTRA TIME
Every transfer in Europe’s top five leagues.
Amorim walks with his wife straight after sacking.
Why did Wirtz’s ‘offside’ goal stand?
Portland’s USL club drops unique ‘lighthouse’ kit.
The best stats from the weekend’s football.
Behind the scenes of John Terry’s auction collection.
Can US women’s football keep up with the global market?
How Danny Rohl has turned Rangers’ season around.
The Liga MX curse that is now a thing of the past.
GAME FACE ON
Name the last five players to have worn the Real Madrid no. 10 shirt.
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
Bayern’s a very, very big club, and it’s a dream to play there, but some day I’d definitely like to go to Real Madrid. That’s my dream club.
Answer
Kylian Mbappe. Luka Modric. James Rodriguez. Mesut Ozil. Lassana Diarra.
