Joe Cole on ‘abysmal’ Manchester United’s ‘massive’ problems: Culture of club is insipid but now is time for Ruben Amorim to be replaced as manager

Indeed, United have not won a Premier League game since March without scoring a penalty or where the opposition have not had a player sent off.

Cole doubts improvements will be forthcoming while Amorim is still in charge.

“He’s had long enough time now to implement what he wants,” Cole said on TNT Sports.

“By not having European football and having plenty of time to prepare for a game such as this.

“I don’t think it is just a Ruben Amorim problem. There are massive, massive problems throughout the club.

“We looked at his body language on the sidelines, and he looks anxious and worried – and that will filter into the players.

“They play in fits and starts, but there’s nothing consistent. The fact that he’s not won back-to-back Premier League games is a real concern.

“It’s a cultural thing, as what doesn’t help is that every player who has left United has gone and hit the ground running.

“That tells you there’s something wrong in the harmony of the whole club. To pull a Manchester United shirt on now, it must be the heaviest shirt in world football, because of how poor it’s been and because of the history of the club, and the expectations.

“The manager’s job, first and foremost, is to bring harmony and to rejuvenate the culture of the club.

“It’s not to try and make it what it was, as they’re a million miles away from that. They should forget about that and put it in a box and tuck it away.

“They should respect the past, because it is a beautiful, great past, but whoever comes in has to find a way to galvanise the players, as we know there are some good players here – the club, the board, the owner, the fans.

“The fans need to lower their expectations; they need a different direction, in my opinion, in terms of the manager.

“I don’t like saying that, but I think for him as well. He was the bright, young spark, and people were talking about him like he was the Messiah coming into Manchester United who was going to sort everything out, and that’s how high his stock was when he left Lisbon.

“He’s clearly a good manager, but there needs to be a culture change. I thought Gareth Southgate was the perfect man for the job in terms of building culture, understanding the club, and understanding the league and the players.

“I could have seen him working with Jim Ratcliffe, but they went with Amorim, and it doesn’t look like it’s working.”

Immediately at full-time, Cole added: “For United, it was abysmal. I don’t think we can say now it’s a case of it being the players or the manager… it is the whole culture of the club which is insipid. It’s sad to see, it really is.”

The result means Amorim has taken just 32 points across his 35 Premier League games.

Failing to win away from home has been a problem for some time, with the victory at Leicester back in March the last time they collected three points on the road.

In his role as pundit, former Tottenham striker Peter Crouch said: “How much time do you give the manager? He’s had a really tough time since he’s come in. But he’s got his own front three, and things aren’t clicking again.

“They were lucky against Burnley, against Chelsea, they had a man sent off, we saw how the performance at Grimsby wasn’t of a Manchester United standard.

“If things don’t change as quickly after this game, the Sunderland match next weekend becomes absolutely massive. They have to get a result; otherwise, they will have to look at things.

“United couldn’t cope defensively. The centre forward Thiago was causing so many problems.

“They got bullied at times, the centre-halves. Man Utd didn’t have enough going forward; it didn’t feel like they were creating much, and it was a really bad day at the office, again.

“On the flip side, you cannot underestimate having a leader like Brentford has in Jordan Henderson. He’s been at six major tournaments for England and won everything, playing at the highest level. That experience and leadership qualities, a voice in the dressing room are things United are lacking at the moment.”

United established a foothold in the game when Benjamin Sesko notched his first goal for the club since his move from RB Leipzig, and at the third attempt after his initial efforts from Patrick Dorgu’s hooked cross were kept out by Caoimhin Kelleher.

Referee Craig Pawson then pointed to the penalty spot after Bryan Mbeumo was held back by Nathan Collins, but VAR Andy Madley did not advise the match official to upgrade the decision to a red card despite there being no attempt at playing the ball.

Cole felt the Brentford defender was fortunate not to be dismissed.

“He’s very much on the fringes (of a red card),” Cole said. “I think he’s got away with one there a little bit because with the laws we’ve got and a centre-forward of that quality, he’s only got to put his toe on it. It’s clearly a foul.

“It becomes subjective when you bring in whether or not he is in control of the ball, as any football person would tell you that is a great opportunity.

“I do feel for the referees, but it is clearly a goalscoring opportunity.”

Crouch added: “It’s a denial of a goalscoring opportunity and he’s made no attempt to play the ball. And pulled him back.”

The Premier League Match Centre later explained the decision to caution Collins, stating on X: “The referee’s call of penalty was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Collins deemed to have pulled Mbeumo back.

“VAR also checked the referee’s call of a yellow card to Collins – and deemed that Mbeumo wasn’t in control of the ball.”

Bruno Fernandes was made to wait for several minutes before taking the spot-kick due to the VAR check and Keith Andrews’ tactical decision to delay a double change until after that check for a possible red card was over.

The Portuguese was denied low down to his left by Caoimhin Kelleher, meaning he has now missed two of his three penalties this season.

Fernandes was also booked on an afternoon where little came off for the United captain, but Cole said, “Everything good at Manchester United over the past several seasons has come through Bruno.

“He’s had multiple moments before this where he has stepped up in big moments (and scored). It wasn’t his day, but he was still the best player on the pitch for Manchester United.

“He’s been performing consistently every week, but the team is not coming with him. It must be very frustrating.”

Amorim changed his system in a vain attempt at salvaging a point.

It would prove futile as Mathias Jensen lashed in Brentford’s third in stoppage time unopposed.

Cole was enthused by the display of Thiago, who now has five goals in his opening six Premier League matches this season as he continues to relish the opportunity to fill the void left by the likes of Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.

“Thiago was absolutely outstanding today,” Cole said. “(For his first goal), he attacks the space very well, there’s a brilliant touch, and he is technically very proficient. His all-around game impressed me, and he’s like a throwback striker. (Replacing Thomas Frank) I feel is the toughest task in the Premier League, but Keith Andrews is doing a brilliant job.

“They were better in all departments today… they competed, they were together, they had good quality, and the third goal was outstanding. A lot of the focus today will again be on Manchester United, but it was a good performance from Brentford.”