He has been overwhelmed by the magnitude of the job. I do think that he tried his best, that he wasn't just here to grift, but he completely underestimated the league. I remember him talking about how even the bottom table clubs were tough to beat in one of his earlier pressers.
For sure, that was part of it. Not only Rangnick being new to the Premier League, but so were Armas, Sharp, and Lense.
Hopefully Ten Hag bringing along McClaren will mean he can be better prepared for the Premier League than Rangnick was.
Article does mention though, that Rangnick want to bring in six support staff, and got three, and that several of his targeted staffers couldn't obtain a work permit.
- One was a former player with proven Premier League experience who could relate to the younger generation to join him as his assistant.
- Next, Ralf targeted a European coach tipped for great things but immigration rules again blocked the approach.
- United tried to convince the authorities of his credentials, compiling a 35-page dossier for the FA, but with no success.
- And then he tried for someone with a 'long list of trophies' on the CV, but he was out-of-reach because it was only 6 months, so he ended up going for Armas & Sharp.
Armas and Sharp come out of the article looking quite bad to be honest.
The part about knowing the league comes up again regarding the Burnley game:
"Systems sometimes changed late, such as for the home game to Burnley in December. In the build-up Rangnick oversaw sessions of 4-2-2-2 and 4-2-3-1, narrow teams designed to target a perceived weakness to straight aerial balls in Ben Mee.
Video analysis had been conducted by Armas and Sharp, but without the consideration that clips would be found of Mee missing some headers because of the higher volume he had to repel playing for a side battling relegation. Other staff more familiar with the Premier League had different ideas, believing width was the key to unlocking Burnley’s defence. Rangnick switched that evening to a 4-4-2 and United won 3-1."