Man Utd’s Ralf Rangnick revival fails to materialise
Should the ‘godfather of gegenpress’ be worried?
When Ralf Rangnick arrived at Manchester United in November, he was “meant to be an upgrade” on Ole Gunnar Solskjær, said Josh Wright in The Guardian. The club’s previous boss had been “questioned and mocked throughout his time in charge”, in part because of his inexperience as a top-level manager. No one, by contrast, could accuse the “godfather of gegenpress” – as the 63-year-old Rangnick is known – of being a lightweight. “Big things were expected.”
Yet three months into the German’s tenure, it’s hard to see what difference he has made. United’s form hasn’t noticeably improved: they’ve won just three of their last seven Premier League games, and drew 1-1 against bottom-placed Burnley. They are consistently struggling to find the net: all their main strikers appear out of sorts, and Cristiano Ronaldo was goalless for six games – his longest drought for 13 years. For now, United remain within touching distance of an all important top four place, but with fixtures against Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool coming up, “Rangnick should be worried”.
One puzzling aspect of United’s recent form is that they keep squandering half-time leads, said Carl Anka on The Athletic. In three of their recent games, they have “gone in at half-time leading 1-0 and playing well, only to reach the 65th minute with the score tied at 1-1”. This week saw a partial recovery, with Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes on target in a 2-0 win against Brighton on Tuesday. But it seems the team can maintain Rangnick’s favoured playing style only for so long before fatigue and indiscipline set in.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
United is a club which considers itself “elite level”, yet is currently anything but, said Paul Hirst in The Times. The most expensive private boxes at Old Trafford, in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, cost a staggering £210,000 a year. At what point do the owners of such boxes think: “is this really worth it?”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Nobody sees themselves in the word 'other'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What does marine life do during a hurricane?
The Explainer The underwater ecosystem also faces deadly consequences
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Who are undecided voters, anyway?
Talking Points They might decide the presidential election
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Dignity in defeat
Opinion Chicago White Sox players during a baseball game in Detroit, Michigan
By Theunis Bates Published
-
Raygun: heir to Eddie the Eagle?
Talking Point Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael Gunn has become 'a worldwide meme'
By The Week UK Published
-
Graham Thorpe obituary: 'chameleon' batsman with 100 England caps
In depth Cricketer's 'bottle in abundance' endeared him to fans
By The Week UK Published
-
Boxing at the Olympics: the row over sexual differences
Talking Point Controversy over Imane Khelif and Lin Yu-ting shines a spotlight on the murky world of gender testing – and the IOC's inaction
By The Week UK Published
-
Gareth Southgate's England: a bittersweet swan song
In Depth History books will favour football manager who transformed culture of football in England
By The Week UK Published
-
A brief history of the modern Olympics – and the winner's curse
Paris 2024 will be the 30th instalment of the summer Games
By The Week UK Published
-
The England kit: a furore over the flag
Why everyone's talking about Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
By The Week UK Published
-
Bobby Charlton: England's old-fashioned sporting hero
Obituary Not only was Sir Bobby one of the country's greatest-ever footballers he was lauded for his demeanour on and off the pitch
By The Week UK Published