Roy Keane says Simeone would bring ‘good havoc’ to fix faltering Man United
Manchester United’s patience is being tested and then some. Sir Jim Ratcliffe has preached the long game for Ruben Amorim, talking about a proper three-year runway to judge his work. Admirable in theory. But on the pitch, United look miles off it, and the fanbase can smell the drift. Enter Roy Keane with a typically straight-talking solution: Diego Simeone.
Ratcliffe’s timeline versus Old Trafford’s reality
Ratcliffe has made it clear he wants to judge Amorim over seasons, not weeks. The idea is sound — big clubs are built on structure and stability. Yet even the most patient supporters have limits. United haven’t managed back-to-back league wins under Amorim, and last term was a catastrophe by Premier League standards: 15th place, just 24 points, and a goal return only better than four other sides. This campaign has flickers of life, but losing to Grimsby Town in the League Cup won’t have helped the manager’s cause.
Keane’s pick: Simeone to shake the place up
On The Overlap, Gary Neville posed the question every Red is debating: if you could lift one manager off the shelf and drop him into the Old Trafford hot seat, who guarantees the best chance of success? Keane didn’t blink — Diego Simeone. The former United skipper reckons the Atletico Madrid boss would stride through Carrington, lay down ground rules, and bring the kind of disciplined chaos this dressing room badly needs. Not a silver bullet, but the right kind of shock to the system.
Ian Wright threw Antonio Conte into the mix — a serial winner with the scars to match — but even Neville leaned towards Keane’s view that Simeone’s iron-fisted identity might be the most effective reset if the board tires of waiting on Amorim.
Why Simeone fits — and what it would cost
Simeone is a force of nature. At Atletico since December 2011, he’s the second-longest serving manager in Europe’s top five leagues, with two La Liga titles to his name and a record that demands respect: 748 games, 441 wins, 163 draws, 144 losses, averaging 1.99 points per match (per Transfermarkt, 09/10/2025). His teams are organised, ruthless, and impossible to bully — exactly what United haven’t been for far too long.
There’s the small matter of prizing him out of Madrid. He’s reportedly the best-paid manager in world football, around £25.9m per year, and Atletico won’t roll over. But if United truly want a cultural reboot, this is the calibre — and cost — you accept.
Amorim’s crossroads
None of this means Amorim is out the door. Ratcliffe’s football operation appears determined to give him the promised window of time. But the Premier League doesn’t wait around, and results are the only currency that counts. Fail to stack wins and the conversation will keep circling back to the same names — with Simeone top of the bill.
For those tracking the managerial merry-go-round, odds and market movers, you can find guides to the best betting sites — useful context when the next big decision at Old Trafford could swing everything.
The pundit’s view
Give Amorim the runway Ratcliffe promised — absolutely. But have a contingency that matches United’s ambition. If the trigger gets pulled, Simeone is the most convincing bet: a disciplinarian with presence, a blueprint that holds under pressure, and a record that terrifies opposition and comforts supporters. That, right now, is the kind of fear factor United urgently need.
