Whatever positives can be said about Ralf, it's fair to criticise him for his basic inability to motivate a team of Manchester United players (even a cobbled together team with half of them probably leaving in a few months) to raise their game against their greatest rivals.
If anything I'd say that's by far his greatest weakness and why he was a shit choice of interim, his lack of charisma and motivational techniques.
We might have still been beaten 4-0 (maybe more) under dross like Dyche/Allardyce/take your pick but the players would have at least got themselves up for this one game.
It's also probably fair to say he's not shy of throwing the players under the bus to save his own blushes. He just does it in a more measured, calm and arguably polite manner that goes under the radar compared to the likes of Mourinho.
Don't get me wrong - I'm really happy he is involved in our club now, we need his expertise in rebuilding the club and someone to call the board out for how badly we've been running things - but he has been a fairly shit manager for us. Blaming it all on the players (who for the most part have been disgraceful) is only half the story.
The results have been fairly crap, the football poor, and yes he's dealing with a squad in disarray but to get basically no new manager bounce at all has been flatly embarrassing.
I would partly agree.
Rangnick was an awful short-term appointment; but that was the point - the club finally identified we shouldn’t rely on short term fixes and should just get under way with systematic changes and that is why Ralf was chosen, and will consult post-management.
It explains why he has shyed away from football management, I don’t think it is his cup of tea. But I also feel this short spell would have been incredibly beneficial in his assessment of the club. He now has a lived in experience from the very centre of the club and and feedback he has is from hands on experience - not through a window.
He isn’t a man manager, he isn’t a motivator. He’s a big picture man, a director.
Even if this season is quite depressing I’m still glad it was him that came, had vocally decimated the players and club, and will push us in the right overall direction. I believe that if it isn’t for Rangnick we would have got some other short term appointment and then announced Poch this week.
I also feel it was a good introduction for the players who will remain. They’ve had six months working with a tactician and have a view into what is expected of them, and a further footballing education, and it is now over to ETH to push them.
I’m glad Ralf was appointed, appreciate his honesty publicly and am genuinely excited for next season now.