Ralf Rangnick | ex-interim manager | does anyone rate him?

[Chesterlestreet]

This is all pretty laughable. What's so ambitious about hiring a 60+ year old guy who has never worked at a top club? Who has never won a title but a single German Cup with Schalke? How come that's the extent of his career if he's such a messiah of football wisdom? Is Man United's aspiration to run like the well-oiled, unstoppable winning machines that are RasenBallsport Leipzig or TSG Hoffenheim?

I think many of us are mainly happy that United haven't gone out and hired the first and best name out there as the new permanent manager - but actually seem to be doing something radically different from what we've seen in the entire Woodward era.

I personally don't think RR is the godfather of modern football - and find some of the more giddy responses to this a bit amusing (though understandable, given how desperate many are at this stage). This move represents a very interesting development for Manchester United, though - that's the main thing here. You have to realize that for some of us a realistic alternative to this interim appointment was getting Rodgers (or someone worse) on a permanent basis (for feck knows how long).

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Where does Sancho fit in the 4-2-2-2? Could he play alongside Bruno in the two advanced midfield players?

 

[JPRouve]

I don't mean forced as in dragged into the meeting room by the ears. I mean, sometimes people don't know what roles they are best in, I think Pochettino is a fantastic coach but I don't think he should be able to buy his own squad, for example. Just as Rangnick has a lot of expertise but he shouldn't be allowed to enact his control mania.

Just like Prince also produced his best albums when he was constrained by the A&R departments of major labels and not given complete 'freedom', and then when he went independent he produced 3 hours long triple albums full of noodling fusion that noone can listen to.
Or like Alaba wanting to play midfield all his career, yet in the end it was undoubtedly beneficial and fruitful for him that he was 'forced' to play defender..

But the problem is that he allegedly want that power, in theory and ideally you are right but it's not the case. Otherwise Pochettino would have no reason to want to leave PSG until the end of his contract, he would accept his role and do his job as a head coach.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Where does Sancho fit in the 4-2-2-2? Could he play alongside Bruno in the two advanced midfield players?

Sancho will love it. He can happily play as the inside winger, infact he practically does that now anyway.

He should have a good idea of how to press effectively from Dortmund also.

 

[hellhunter]

Sancho will love it. He can happily play as the inside winger, infact he practically does that now anyway.

He should have a good idea of how to press effectively from Dortmund also.

Wasn't Sancho one of the least pressing players around, though?

 

[Compton22]

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He just played his conversation with him video didn't he?

 

[Mickeza]

The problem being that Poch allegedly wants power and no DOF influence. If rumours are true, he is allegedly disappointed by the lack of power he has at PSG and he ended up pushing Paul Mitchell out at Tottenham. It would be very strange for Rangnick and Murtough to pick Pochettino and it would be even stranger for Pochettino to take the job. Before that move I thought that Pochettino was the club's choice but now I wonder if papers aren't wrong about that.

I’m with you - I’m not convinced Pochetino is the first choice. Even during all the noise this week ducker and Stone said it wasn’t known if Pochetino was the club’s top target - just that he was admired at United and he wasn’t happy at PSG so would be open to moving at some point.

 

[dove]

The overhype and hyperbole I'm seeing here and on YouTube is insane. You'd think we've signed Klopp or Pep. Hopefully he does well enough for us.

After being linked with the likes of Rodgers, Bruce and Fonseca, this definitely feels like we've signed Klopp. People are just excited we got probably the best interim we could have (not only as interim manager but his 2 year job after that too).

 

[Adam-Utd]

Wasn't Sancho one of the least pressing players around, though?

Not sure to be honest, never looked into those kind of stats. Pressing is often more systematic anyway rather than down to individual stamina etc.

Obviously some are better than others at it, but the main thing is to assert the right pressure at the right time.

 

[Dansk]

I'll be honest, I had literally never heard of this man until his name began to come up in discussions about Ole's replacement. Never heard his name spoken or written in my life until that point. Looking at his Wikipedia page, he has never really won anything and has managed a bunch of random not-Bayern-or-Dortmund clubs in Germany, the only one of which I have any real point of reference being RB Leipzig. Can anybody please tell me who the hell this guy is? A lot of people have talked about wanting him, but I had genuinely never heard his name until this month.

 

[Hansi Fick]

But the problem is that he allegedly want that power, in theory and ideally you are right but it's not the case. Otherwise Pochettino would have no reason to want to leave PSG until the end of his contract, he would accept his role and do his job as a head coach.

As I said, you're probably better informed about that. If that's what Pochettino wants, it is a problem. Because he strikes me as a manager that would work best with a strong and capable DoF, for example of the philosophy like Rangnick.

But maybe it's not just about lack of power in the collaboration, maybe it's about the chemistry of the collaboration? Leonardo seems to be a very difficult, not to say unpleasant, guy to work with?

 

[Fitchett]

Another benefit of having Rangnick is maybe we’ll look at signing some of that young German talent out there. I still can’t believe BFS is the only German to ever play for Utd.

Ron Robert Zieler says hi.

 

[Simbo]

Why's this guy never managed a top club?

 

[glazed]

Leonardo has stopped no one from coaching the way they want, lets not make up things. And the point is about whether Pochettino is going to be next or not, he isn't the only manager using a high press and there head coaches that do not want to be more powerful, as Adnan suggested, Adi Hutter is one of them and there is also Jesse Marsch or Seoane.

Is it not the case that Poch has to play his front three even if they don't press?

 

[hellhunter]

Ron Robert Zieler says hi.

Never played for Uniteds first team

 

[Mickeza]

Reading the background article on Rangnick, and laughed at this part:

"Schalke’s patriarchal club boss Rudi Assauer — who was rarely caught without a big cigar in his mouth — mocked Rangnick for busying himself with every minutia of a team’s organisation, down to “telling the bus driver how to do his job”. Years later, Rangnick admitted he had a hard time delegating in those days but countered that Assauer’s bus driver example was not well chosen: “I only got involved because our bus driver once got lost on the short way from the Gelsenkirchen team hotel to the stadium! In the history of the Bundesliga, that was the only time a game had to be delayed because the home team had arrived late.”"

He’ll love our bus journeys in London

 

[Conor]

To be fair I think he as valid points in his downplaying of Rangnick. I obviously don't share them, but the problem with Rangnick is that a lot of his reputation is based on the influence he had on the game. He has not won the titles himself to back this reputation up, but relies on the success of coaches he influenced being attributed to him. And this is what you can heavily discuss, how much you do that.

His actual titles are second league titles and a German Cup win. That's it, and that is not impressive at the elite level.

His points aren't valid at all in this context though, because we've literally hired him as a stop gap, and offered him a position of influence in the long term, which completely plays into his perceived strengths you've mentioned. So he is just strawmanning with his usual arrogance for no reason other than cyber masturbation.

 

[Rolaholic]

Wasn't Sancho one of the least pressing players around, though?

Do you watch us play?

From Tuesday

Been our most consistently pressing forward this season

He's played most of his senior football in Germany in a pressing system, pretty sure he'll be just fine and one of the players to benefit greatly from this..

 

[Zoo]

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[Ralph1386]

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If this means that the assistant takes the place of another of the incompetent coaches that got us in this mess then

 

[Oranges038]

Yeah, he's a pompous twat who's spent more time self-promoting than managing in recent years and whose influentiality is laughably overstated

He's just a bit of German Bielsa, he's won fcuk all but for some reason he's thought of as some sort of footballing oracle.

Anyway, he's done some good work at smaller clubs, but that's all a totally different ball game to Utd. His relative success as a coach is more akin to Harry Redknapp that anyone else in England from what I can tell. Let's be honest nobody would be jumping up and down if he were hired by the club at any point in time.

I'm not jumping out of my skin thinking this is going to be some sort of miracle appointment. But it seems he does his best work behind the scenes. It'll at least be interesting to see how it turns out.

 

[hellhunter]

Do you watch us play?

From Tuesdat

He's played most of his senior football in Germany is a pressing system, pretty sure he'll be just fine and one of the players to benefit greatly from this..

I just remember some stat during the Euros that he pressed by far the least of the english wingers, may be mixing things up, though. No reason to be a dick

 

[DarkXaero]

To be fair I think he as valid points in his downplaying of Rangnick. I obviously don't share them, but the problem with Rangnick is that a lot of his reputation is based on the influence he had on the game. He has not won the titles himself to back this reputation up, but relies on the success of coaches he influenced being attributed to him. And this is what you can heavily discuss, how much you do that.

His actual titles are second league titles and a German Cup win. That's it, and that is not impressive at the elite level.

He had tremendous success as director of football for the two RB clubs. Yes, that's different from coaching but he had direct influence on what was happening on the pitch and had two interim managerial stints there that went relatively well. I'm not sure what he was supposed to win at RB Leipzig and Schalke. It's not like he took over Bayern or Dortmund. And the key thing is understanding why United have appointed Rangnick. It's not necessarily to win trophies, it's to lay the foundation for what's to come next while remaining competitive and bringing short term stability. He's not being brought here to win the PL or UCL, he's being used as the transition for whoever the next manager ends up being.

 

[KingCavani]

This is all pretty laughable. What's so ambitious about hiring a 60+ year old guy who has never worked at a top club? Who has never won a title but a single German Cup with Schalke? How come that's the extent of his career if he's such a messiah of football wisdom? Is Man United's aspiration to run like the well-oiled, unstoppable winning machines that are RasenBallsport Leipzig or TSG Hoffenheim?

This is ridiculous.

It's a 6 month contract. Rangnick emphasises bringing an identity to a club above anything else, having a set way to play to get the best out of the players - Anyone who's watched a United game in the last 3 years would know why that's exciting enough. Anything would have brought me some level excitement given the make-a-wish setup we'd been running the last three years.

The excitement is as much to do with what is going to follow Ralf - It clearly signifies a direction towards a more press orientated collective style of football. Something that coincidentally would transition well into the two most mooted, two most favoured long term targets for United fans - Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino. Rangnick's job is not to turn United around but to get them in a better position to turn around under one of those managers, and I'd bet pretty much anything that it will be one of those two.

Yes some people here are overhyping him but you are belittling him to a ridiculous extent and downplaying some of the great work he done at those clubs - What so overachieving doesn't count if it isn't Bayern or Dortmund? You don't get to be as respected as Rangnick at the highest levels of football by being average. He's going to bring a lot to the club.

 

[Offsideagain]

If his media profile is true, RR will be a Rolls Royce replacing a knackered Volvo. He can be any worse than the stuff we’ve had this season. Let’s get behind him and give him sometime before we pass judgement. I suspect some of the players we have currently will find it hard to adapt on will go.

 

[Rolaholic]

I just remember some stat during the Euros that he pressed by far the least of the english wingers, may be mixing things up, though. No reason to be a dick

Not being a dick,just a simple question when he's quite literally been by far out most consistently pressing forward when he plays

Got zero concerns about him in this system when he made his name in the Bundesliga in a similar one. How Southgate utilizes him with England is irrelevant here

Him, Fred and VDB are the big winners of hiring RR

 

[RedBavarian]

What can I say about Ralf Rangnick and his career so far? In Germany, his nickname is "Football Professor". And there's something real about it. He want's to play high-speed football with high pressing. All players must defend. He also tries psychological tricks on his players. Would you like an example? Before the start of a game, he let go of a firecracker in the locker room. He did that because the players often weren't there at the beginning of the game. And what can I say, it worked. The players gave everything from minute 1.

It was impressive how he led a club like SSV Ulm from the 3rd German league to the 1st league. And the SSV Ulm was a poor club. The Schalke 04 station (he was there twice) is also impressive. Bundesliga place 2, CL semi-finals and the final victory of the DFB Cup. So statistically he was the 2nd best coach at Schalke of all Times. The attractiveness of his football was also convincing. Only Huub Stevens was better and had one more title than Rangnick, and that was the 1997 UEFA Cup.

Rangnick is also a project manager. He led TSG 1899 Hoffenheim from the 3rd German league directly to the 1st league. In the Bundesliga he finished 7th in the first year, which was a strong result for a completely new team. He also did an excellent job at RB Leipzig. Only there he was more active as a sports director and thus responsible for player commitments.(He only trained RB Leipzig in transition phases, but he was always successful there too. 3rd Place in the Bundesliga)

If you want to compare Rangnick, then it's best to compare it to Klopp. This is the football he wants to play. If he really is coming to Manchester United then I can only congratulate you. He's a very strong manager. His philosophy is actually aimed at young players who are capable of developing. But I am sure that with his experience and know-how he can also use a Cristiano Ronaldo well. After all, Ronaldo is an absolute professional footballer. Things could go a little worse with Paul Pogba because he's a diva. But you don't care. It is only important that it can bring success. For Ralf Rangnick, the team is above all else.

What I can say is if the club, the players and the fans are behind Rangnick, then Manchester United will be feared again in Europe. Put your trust in him and he will pay you back with beautiful and successful football. That's all I wanted to say about it.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you a good night. And sorry for my bad English, I hope you understand what I wanted to say to you.


Greetings RedBavarian

 

[Adnan]

I can't see Poch being our coach with Rangnick at the club. Poch has always craved power and hence Daniel Levy abandoned the DoF model to appease him.

Welcome to Manchester United, Adi Hutter

 

[JPRouve]

As I said, you're probably better informed about that. If that's what's Pochettino wants, it is a problem. Because he strikes me as a manager that would work best with a strong and capable DoF, for example of the philosophy like Rangnick.

But maybe it's not just about lack of power in the collaboration, maybe it's about the chemistry of the collaboration? Leonardo seems to be a very difficult, not to say unmpleasant, guy to work with?

I'm only speculating and using both Tottenham and PSG as a reference, it would be strange that Pochettino is said to want more power at both clubs and that it has nothing to do with him but the people he was working with. A few articles about his interest for United also suggested that the traditional manager role was a big plus, that role seemingly doesn't exist anymore since we now know that Murtough has the DOF role and can exercise his influence including when it comes to choosing the head coach.

My point is simply that there is a clear lack of consistency from all parts if Pochettino is actually the target and if Pochettino wants the job. Surely you can see that from the outside that inconsistency is obvious?
To me this seems to open the door to pure head coaches, guys that are happy and thrive in that role and don't have to be convinced that it is what they want.

 

[Hansi Fick]

I can't see Poch being our coach with Rangnick at the club. Poch has always craved power and hence Daniel Levy abandoned the DoF model to appease him.

Welcome to Manchester United, Adi Hutter

Did that happen? I wasn't aware of that. Means @JPRouve is right then.

 

[FootyGirl88]

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[Flexdegea]

I was responding to posts mindlessly overhyping what Rangnick is and what he has done. That's not trolling. That's my honest reaction, now if you don't mind. The stuff about what a massive legend and visionary he is is very cringey and laughable. Doesn't make him a bad manager.

You don't even support United, but are in the Manchester United sub forum trying to piss over everyone just mostly a bit buzzing about the club for once looking like theyve got a plan in place to try and get some more structure on and off the pitch.



He's highly rated, apologies if that's not the case. As I say take the night off you've been none stop, now you calling folk cringy, go have a cup of tea and relax

 

[nodlocnost2]

The German language lends itself so well to direct commands given the natural tone, SCHNELL SCHNELL Maguire and already he is moving faster. Rangnick to start our transformation.

 

[FootyGirl88]

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[Pexbo]

If his media profile is true, RR will be a Rolls Royce replacing a knackered Volvo. He can be any worse than the stuff we’ve had this season. Let’s get behind him and give him sometime before we pass judgement. I suspect some of the players we have currently will find it hard to adapt on will go.

An Audi replacing a knackered Bjering

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

Ron Robert Zieler says hi.

I meant First team.

 

[JPRouve]

Is it not the case that Poch has to play his front three even if they don't press?

No, that's a made up theory.

 

[Compton22]

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Will he bring other coaches too? That is also important

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Why's this guy never managed a top club?

I reckon he is fairly similar to Bielsa, both geniuses who have personality traits that make the boards at bigger clubs a little hesitant. Bielsa is known for being likely to quit at any time if something doesn't go his way and Ragnick demands a huge amount of control. It is why people are so shocked that our board bit the bullet, I actually think it is the biggest admission that they have now realised that their commercial skills (whilst excellent) do not translate to football and they require an actual football man of the highest calibre.

That and he got in with the Red Bull billionaires and basically ran a footballing group for years, probably for a kings ransom.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

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"It gave Rangnick less than 24 hours to prepare but he made a big impression during the interview and was the club’s unanimous choice to succeed Solskjaer on an interim basis. “It was very clear he put what little time he had to prepare to excellent use,” one source said. “It was abundantly clear he wanted the job and he made damn sure he was going to get it.”

Murtough has invested considerable time in recent years travelling around Europe establishing relationships with influential figures on the continent and met with Rangkick in Germany in the autumn of 2019 to take a first hand look at the work he had done at Leipzig in terms of their coaching, academy and overall structural set-up. The pair, therefore, were well-acquainted by the time they sat down for the interview this week."