Mediocrity misery in Manchester
Why Rangnick could only fail at United
By Constantine Eckner
4/4/2022 7:26 p.m
In December, Ralf Rangnick is brought to Manchester United as a great savior. But the 63-year-old has still not been able to meet the expectations of the Premier League club. The blame is not only to be found with the German coach.
A meager 1-1 draw against Leicester City on Saturday night. Manchester United even needed the help of the video assistant to avoid complete disgrace in front of their home crowd. What would have filled the gazettes in England a few years ago has now become the norm. Proud United regularly underperform, regardless of who is coaching on the sidelines. Ralf Rangnick was actually supposed to initiate the great upheaval. He was signed as an interim solution after messed-up months under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the hope that the conceptual thinker could give the expensive team an identity.
Although Rangnick had previously only worked irregularly as a coach for almost ten years, the Swabian had an excellent reputation in England. He was considered the mastermind of the intense Red Bull football practiced by RB Leipzig and FC Salzburg. He was considered a specialist in pressing and transition football, with which Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp became just as famous. Rangnick was also considered the spiritual mentor of Klopp, Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel and many other coaches. But the 63-year-old’s aura faded as quickly as a downpour in northern England.
Longing for “Fergie Land”
United are currently seventh in the Premier League table with 51 points. Even qualifying for the Europa League, which is only second internationally, is in danger. Actually, it’s just a matter of averting a very great disgrace. United scored the fewest points in the league in the first year since Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013/14 – 64 points. The “Red Devils” should exceed this mark, otherwise the current season will even become historic in its own way.
Of course, the look at the failures – such as the big gap to the top clubs in the league or the early elimination from the Champions League – regularly goes to Rangnick. The advance praise was great, so the disappointment that the German was not able to initiate the turnaround is all the greater. But critics also say the Rangnick interlude may be the final proof that United’s manager is only partially responsible. Columnist Barney Ronay aptly wrote in The Guardian: “There are signs of an obsession with the past, with the great lost Fergie country. Clubs are no longer run by a single personality. Success comes through strategy, clarity, connection entrepreneurial levels.”
What Ronay hints at: United enjoyed decades of success and relevance under Alex Ferguson, an almighty manager. But the model of the single decision-maker may have died out with the resignation of the great Scotsman, at least in Manchester. Even Klopp, who is a guarantee of success, has an armada of experts working under him in Liverpool.
Rangnick becomes compliant
The lack of orientation and direction at United has meant that the team itself has developed a kind of life of its own. Even Rangnick, who was actually so authoritarian, was never able to really assert himself against resistance. In the first few weeks of his tenure, it became clear that the attacking stars around Cristiano Ronaldo followed the German’s instructions listlessly at best. Rangnick, who was once the central figure at Schalke, Hoffenheim and Leipzig, simply did not enjoy leadership status in the eyes of Manchester’s highly paid top players.
This was also reflected in the way the team played. Rangnick acted ambitiously in the first few weeks and wanted to give United the well-known pressing medicine. He initially let the team play in a 4-2-2-2 formation, which is the same formation that he was able to use to achieve success at RB Leipzig. Up front, the four offensive forces should close the gaps and attack opponents with speed if they were in possession of the ball. But there were neither automatic mechanisms nor did the United attackers bring the necessary intensity into play. Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in particular seemed like a foreign body in this pressing system. In the Portuguese national team, for example, the 37-year-old is also primarily active as a trotter, who only shows his explosiveness in selected moments of the game.
Unlike at earlier career stations, Rangnick did not seem to want to push his ideas through for better or for worse. Instead, he adapted his system to the players, for example letting ex-Dortmunder Jadon Sancho play more on the wing instead of in the half-spaces and pushed the Portuguese creative spirit Bruno Fernandes back from the side to the central ten position. Meanwhile, United play in a standard 4-2-3-1.
And football works accordingly: like conservative home cooking. Despite the strong individualists, the team lacks that special something. The passing game doesn’t offer any surprises, approaching the ball is almost always done with half throttle. United does not impress in terms of game design or defensive work. In the Premier League, where many teams follow their own style, this is almost a unique selling point, but it is of little use if you actually want to play for the championship. Compared to top teams Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea, United is extremely colorless.
Search for the next savior
Since Rangnick was only brought in as an interim solution anyway, the German was probably a “lame duck” right from the start, who lacked the necessary authority in the dressing room because a new coach would take over in the summer anyway. Whether Rangnick, as originally planned, will play a key role as a sports consultant from July is currently also in the stars. Maybe it’s just a part-time job. But the discussions in and around the club are currently already about Rangnick’s possible successor anyway.
Finally, possible candidates were spoken to. The Dutchman Erik ten Hag, who has played refreshing attacking football with Ajax in recent years, is considered the favorite for the post. But the fact that ten Hag, like the second top candidate Mauricio Pochettino, is now on everyone’s lips again suggests another problem for United. For years, the club has always been looking for a solution in something new. If things don’t go well in terms of sport, there is hope for the next top transfer. But last summer, three well-known and expensive players came to Manchester in Sancho, Ronaldo and French defender Raphael Varane. Nothing has changed in the sporting misery.
Now a new trainer broom should sweep better than the previous ones. The old paradigm that a single figure could put the big club back on track still lingers in the minds of United decision-makers and United fans. In a certain way, Rangnick also failed in this claim.