Amorim’s promise of jam tomorrow is already spread thin at Old Trafford

Somehow, despite the dysfunction, the sense the Ratcliffe revolution is already corrupted, United head into Sunday’s derby at the Etihad in better form than Manchester City and with a greater sense of optimism.

STRETCHING THE STORY: Ruben Amorim and Manchester United face their cross-city rivals on Sunday.Pic: Bradley Collyer/PA Wire.

There was a moment, at about 5.30pm last Saturday, when there seemed a genuine danger that Manchester United might be turning into a serious football club. But it took only two minutes and the sight of Nikola Milenkovic soaring above Lisandro Martínez for that facade to collapse. Two further weird goals later – the sort of accidents that speak of a profound carelessness – and it was clear that the banter era still has some time to run.

That was only the beginning. By the following morning, Dan Ashworth had been mutual-consented out of the club: five months’ gardening leave followed by five months of actual work, a truly magnificent piece of living satire, even before you consider the compensation United had to pay Newcastle to secure him and the hefty payoff he must have received.