The Court of Arbitrary Arbitration - Random Facts, Thoughts, Etc.

Amorim is the compete opposite of ETH in that sense, potentially it's his age (about week older than Ronald), or his lack of years as a manager keeping him less removed from the players but he's definitely someone who seems more connected with his players. He projects confidence and his players buy into it, as opposed to ETH where from the outside at least you never felt like he was confident in himself or felt he had a buy in from those around him.



I think his flexibility comes from the fact that as a manager he's still learning really, when we paid his buy out clause at Braga he'd only managed 13 first team matches (promoted from B team manager where he had a further 11....)

After we won the league with his enjoyable 3-3-3 approach in 20/21 winning the league, then trying to do the same the next season finishing second, in the 22/23 season he really got found out and teams had adapted to us leading to a big drop down to 4th. He then made fair few changes and made the commitment that if he didn't win the league again he'd leave the club (though he won it).


I'd say one of the big big concerns is that he has the ideas, but Sporting under Viana and the scouts had a great recruitment system in place to get the players to play his systems. Even after key players were sold (Mendes, Palninha, Mendes, Nunes, Porro, Ugarte, etc) or we didn't get our first choices (we really wanted Leonidas for example this season, but they managed to get an interesting second choice so far in Harder). Though he has been very good at working youth from the academy into the team (we had a bit of a draught of this sadly circa the 2010s)

Sporting had a really great project going on, which so far has us having won every league match and on 7 out of 9 in the EL. I think Amorim has been a key part of that, but I don't think he's done it on his own, and I don't think he'll be given the time or the support needed to build a project up.

Also looking at our squad, and thinking "who could directly sub into a normal Sporting formation right now" the only natural fits really are

Ugarte (obviously....he's played as the deeper CM for him before)
Garnacho playing in Trincao's role as the right CAM/RW type hybrid, though he'd need to learn to be put in crosses rather than always shooting
Mainoo in the Braganca/Morita CM role as the more box to box driving type
Bruno could play Pote's role as left CAM
Martinez could LCB similar to when Reis plays there
De Light could play one of the other two CB positions
Mount MAYBE could play a Pote (unappreciated club legend btw) type role? But I've forgotten if Mount's actually as shit as I remember him he plays so little
Eriksen could play backup to Mainoo
Diallo could potentially fit the Trincao role too

Maybes
Dalot is a question mark, as our RWB role (except for when Esgaio is playing, he's like our Maguire) has always been a very attacking position, Quenda, Geny, Porro. All very explosively pacy attacking minded.
Hojlund really don't see where he'd fit in other than coming off the bench when switching to 2 strikers needing a late goal (like Paulinho did so well last season)

Leaves a bunch of gaps though and a huge one needing 3 CBS with 1 always being left footed, a left back in the Valencia or Ashley Young style.

Gyokeres shaped hole - I don't know how we'd fill this with the current squad, none of our stikers are close to in his mould, or can do what he does time and time again every match. I know youtube highlights are a joke, but he's the sort of player that gets you off your seat and his play enables so many around him.

I genuinely can't see Amorim going to a team and not insisting on bringing him with him.

All 45 of his goals.....from last season


and one that shows what he does when he's not just putting the ball in the net