Ruben Amorim's future as Manchester United head coach is now in huge jeopardy following a disastrous Carabao Cup exit against League Two outfit Grimsby Town. The Mariners outplayed his men, embarrasingly going 2-0 up and arguably should have been 3-0 ahead if not for no VAR being used.
United managed to take the second round tie to penalties after goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire made it 2-2 after 90 minutes. But misses from Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha saw the English Football League minnows win 12-11 on penalties.
Amorim gave a grim verdict (via Sky Sports) on the defeat by saying that his players "spoke really loud" with their performance. Some have interpreted this as they aren't playing for him anymore and he did state that "something has to change" and you aren't changing 22 players.
The bookies and pundits immediately jumped the gun and started putting together 'next Man United manager articles and odds'. Three names were touted by fan @AmorimEra and received an interesting response from club legend Rio Ferdinand.
Man United's reported three-man shortlist to replace Amorim
The bookies currently have Gareth Southgate as the favourite to replace Amorim if he is sacked. That is absurd given this is a manager with no trophy to his name and two final failures guiding another golden generation of English footballers.
There are some more proven names who have been tipped to take over should a sacking or a resignation occur. One of those is Newcastle United's Eddie Howe although that feels unlikely given how superior the Magpies are to us at the moment.
Howe has overseen a remarkable rise at St James' Park, taking the Magpies from relegation struggles into Champions League qualification. He is one of the most highly-regarded Premier League tacticians.
Another one of the English top-flight's current bosses linked is Andoni Iraola of Bournemouth. The Spaniard has majorly impressed in charge of the Cherries, guiding them to mid-table security and toying with the idea of a possible European venture.
Ipswich Town's Kieran McKenna failed to keep the Tractor Boys up last season but he is also in the conversation. The Northern Irish coach was talked up as a possible Erik ten Hag replacement last summer having previously worked as an assistant at Old Trafford.
Rio Ferdinand gives telling response to managerial suggestions
The X user and United fan wrote that "If Amorim does decide to resign ( hope he doesn't), then this would be my manager shortlist: Eddie Howe, Andoni Iraola, Kieron McKenna).
Ferdinand responded to this with an emoji of a person covering their eyes, obviously suggesting he's worried by those options. Its somewhat understable given this is one of the biggest clubs in world football but he needs to recognise that this is how far we've fallen.
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— Rio Ferdinand (@rioferdy5) August 28, 2025
It's also interesting to see him give his stance because he has recently worked with United during pre-season and interviewed players. He put out a video recently urging fans to back Amorim and Bruno Fernandes.