What it’s like to play for Ralf Rangnick: The eight-second rule, cognitive training and huge focus on nutrition
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I really hope this works out. All the press about him seems glowing and praises his vision and holistic view. Not reading many, if any negatives, apart from his eventual rubbing hierarchies up the wrong way and getting the boot.
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Are there examples of cognitive exercises for brain training? Sounds cool.
Our younger players will not have experienced anything like this. Going to be very interesting to see who takes to it.
There was a moment against Arsenal in the first half where we won the ball high up. I think it was McTominay on the ball. Neither team with much shape. And our players just stood still... The ball was recycled back to the defence and we started a slow build, leading to nothing.
That's the kind of shit that needs to be drummed out of them immediately. The lack of intensity in key moments. Such an under-coached and complacent squad.
There was a moment against Arsenal in the first half where we won the ball high up. I think it was McTominay on the ball. Neither team with much shape. And our players just stood still... The ball was recycled back to the defence and we started a slow build, leading to nothing.
That's the kind of shit that needs to be drummed out of them immediately. The lack of intensity in key moments. Such an under-coached and complacent squad.
There was also a moment where Rashford was on the byline near the Arsenal box and Bruno had the ball; and again they just stood there with zero movement. So frustrating.
Really excited by the appointment of Ragnick. The more I read and the more I hear him speak the more I’m convinced we’ve landed the right man to take us forward.
What is brilliant about it is that the training builds confidence. A reason they pass it back for a buildup is their lack of belief that they can charge and be successful.
Off the top of my head I can see the likes of Bruno, Fred, Cavani, Mctominay, Sancho and Lingard adapting to this pretty well. Varane is also an excellent front foot defender and Shaw has shown he's very capable of doing the same.
That's a pretty good base to work with really. There will then be the next batch of players who will adapt to the style.
I see no reason why Greenwood and Rashford can't do it, and I think Ronaldo is smart and fit enough to adapt to the extra work.
VDB should enjoy the style but will need to be more productive when in possession. Matic will struggle with fitness and the right back position will be interesting with regards to AWB and Dalot.
Martial and Pogba are the two I'm not as sold on purely due to discipline and motivation. I appreciate Pogba is actually statistically a good presser but he's definitely not disciplined. If RR can speed up his turnovers he's more than capable of picking the decisive passes though and would be one of our best assets at switching from defence from attack quickly. He is capable of that, just not consistently at the moment.
Overall I don't see us as not having the players to do it. We are better off than most.
That's a pretty good base to work with really. There will then be the next batch of players who will adapt to the style.
I see no reason why Greenwood and Rashford can't do it, and I think Ronaldo is smart and fit enough to adapt to the extra work.
VDB should enjoy the style but will need to be more productive when in possession. Matic will struggle with fitness and the right back position will be interesting with regards to AWB and Dalot.
Martial and Pogba are the two I'm not as sold on purely due to discipline and motivation. I appreciate Pogba is actually statistically a good presser but he's definitely not disciplined. If RR can speed up his turnovers he's more than capable of picking the decisive passes though and would be one of our best assets at switching from defence from attack quickly. He is capable of that, just not consistently at the moment.
Overall I don't see us as not having the players to do it. We are better off than most.
The main problem for him is not that some players don’t fit his style, it’s that he will not have much time for training with matches twice per week.
I'll be honest, I've sort of hit the peak of a diminishing returns curve now and I'm starting to get a bit concerned in the face of all the incredibly good press! This article has tipped me over the highest point, I think. 
It's probably conditioning over the last 8 years, but when the media and most people sound so overwhelmingly positive and expectations get raised astronomically (see Ole's caretaker reign or LVG's pre-season), you sort of start expecting the other shoe to drop in the form of some gut wrenching anti-climax!
I've taken to stalking @Hansi Fick to temper my own expectations.
It's probably conditioning over the last 8 years, but when the media and most people sound so overwhelmingly positive and expectations get raised astronomically (see Ole's caretaker reign or LVG's pre-season), you sort of start expecting the other shoe to drop in the form of some gut wrenching anti-climax!
I've taken to stalking @Hansi Fick to temper my own expectations.
That does it, Ralfout.
Lee's about the right tactics eh? Ralfout
Good read, I really enjoyed the part about the kebab
BAN CHIPS!
Well if all times greats like Cherundolo and De Guzman thinks what he does is great, them I'm finally sold.
Also, I may be wrong here but I am fairly sure SAF had a similar set of eye tests for players at Utd years ago.
Edit. Just double checked, Professor Gail Stephenson worked with the club for 20 years.
Also, I may be wrong here but I am fairly sure SAF had a similar set of eye tests for players at Utd years ago.
Edit. Just double checked, Professor Gail Stephenson worked with the club for 20 years.
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One thing we’re not going to be is boring by the looks of it. This might be a first manager post SAF that will take the advantage of Old Trafford, the crowd will respond to such fast and intense style. Far too often under previous management the crowd was living off the scraps when trying to rally behind the team. This is such an unutilized weapon as evident by our poor home form.Tweet
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Sounds like a proper coach who has a very clear understanding of what is required and how to implement it.
All we need is for the players to open their minds to new ways of working.
Dont they say that it takes 21 days to form a habit? We don't have 21 days available to train tp form that habit
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Yes. I am as well.
And I completely agree with you about lack of movement off the ball.
Modern coaches now understand the importance of what you do out of possession as well as with it.
So players of Manchester United. Welcome to the real world of top flight football.
Is the 8 second rule for Maguire to stop hanging on to the ball taking 8 touches before he makes a pass?
It's behind a paywall - can't read it. Can anyone help?
Really like the interview about his approach. Shouldn't get our hopes up based on stories, of course, but the approach just seems so fitting for many players.
I know most people here are done with Pogba now, but the way he 'trains the brain' might be the only way to train defensive instinct and decisiveness in the guy when there isn't a killer pass option at the ready. Pogba is too reliant on team players' movements and positioning and with his zen/tao-like approach to football, the instinct and decisiveness/intelligence/vision simply have to be trained to have his instinct work for more than those majestic passes of his. This goes for any midfielder, of course, as I think it will not only help Donny become more reliable, but also help his teammates notice his movements, of which there are very many. But Pogba is such an obvious example of having a certain special vision and technique, but that it's too catered to a specific approach that it doesn't work when the players next to and in front of him are out of it, or when his touch is a little off. I though he'd better leave because of the zen approach of his, where you simply want to trust your instincts to guide you to victory (I read some Takuan Soho that made me view approaches like Pogba's and various other professions/arts/etc differently), didn't fit when needing to be leading a team and also having to consciously work hard in defense and stop counters and the like. But the whole thing about the zen techniques is training a certain skill so much that the skills start thinking for themselves, i.e. training the instincts (what RR calls train the brain). If this approach works for PP and he is willing to train those instincts, this could be the very thing he needs to become a great midfielder. You don't need to teach him assists or long shots or runs into the box. But the other things he really needs to learn if he wants to be a success in his way of play and I hope RR will help him surprise us all.
Then again, this might just be some wishywashy (not the pokémon) gobbledygook so let's see whether I'm getting all too PES about things again where this Man Utd midfield is a dream come true.
And also again, let's not get our hopes up too much and soon. The talk about instincts training did trigger these thoughts for me as I always viewed Pogba's approach as a zen one in the sense of the being calm and letting your instincts guide your touch and vision, which works wonders when your mind is clear, but can make you too lazy when having to fight for a ball or indecisive when the receiver of the ball isn't there to pass to or the space isn't there to dribble to. So this decisiveness and ball-winning instinct training could be the one approach to improve the aspects of him that proved infuriating to us all, his haters and his fans (and anything in between) alike.
But let's not get our hopes up for others either. Rangnick seems amazing and tactically very sound, but no tactic is perfect, so he won't win us all, and he might not click with essential parts of the squad at all either. Perhaps his approach will be outdated soon, too, as is the case with many styles in history. So far he seems to be sharp, wise, warm and very very welcome, but we haven't seen jack schnitzel. I like this hope, I like this promise, and I hope some of it comes true. It is nice to dream, but life is pretty good either way when awake too.
I know most people here are done with Pogba now, but the way he 'trains the brain' might be the only way to train defensive instinct and decisiveness in the guy when there isn't a killer pass option at the ready. Pogba is too reliant on team players' movements and positioning and with his zen/tao-like approach to football, the instinct and decisiveness/intelligence/vision simply have to be trained to have his instinct work for more than those majestic passes of his. This goes for any midfielder, of course, as I think it will not only help Donny become more reliable, but also help his teammates notice his movements, of which there are very many. But Pogba is such an obvious example of having a certain special vision and technique, but that it's too catered to a specific approach that it doesn't work when the players next to and in front of him are out of it, or when his touch is a little off. I though he'd better leave because of the zen approach of his, where you simply want to trust your instincts to guide you to victory (I read some Takuan Soho that made me view approaches like Pogba's and various other professions/arts/etc differently), didn't fit when needing to be leading a team and also having to consciously work hard in defense and stop counters and the like. But the whole thing about the zen techniques is training a certain skill so much that the skills start thinking for themselves, i.e. training the instincts (what RR calls train the brain). If this approach works for PP and he is willing to train those instincts, this could be the very thing he needs to become a great midfielder. You don't need to teach him assists or long shots or runs into the box. But the other things he really needs to learn if he wants to be a success in his way of play and I hope RR will help him surprise us all.
Then again, this might just be some wishywashy (not the pokémon) gobbledygook so let's see whether I'm getting all too PES about things again where this Man Utd midfield is a dream come true.
And also again, let's not get our hopes up too much and soon. The talk about instincts training did trigger these thoughts for me as I always viewed Pogba's approach as a zen one in the sense of the being calm and letting your instincts guide your touch and vision, which works wonders when your mind is clear, but can make you too lazy when having to fight for a ball or indecisive when the receiver of the ball isn't there to pass to or the space isn't there to dribble to. So this decisiveness and ball-winning instinct training could be the one approach to improve the aspects of him that proved infuriating to us all, his haters and his fans (and anything in between) alike.
But let's not get our hopes up for others either. Rangnick seems amazing and tactically very sound, but no tactic is perfect, so he won't win us all, and he might not click with essential parts of the squad at all either. Perhaps his approach will be outdated soon, too, as is the case with many styles in history. So far he seems to be sharp, wise, warm and very very welcome, but we haven't seen jack schnitzel. I like this hope, I like this promise, and I hope some of it comes true. It is nice to dream, but life is pretty good either way when awake too.
To be honest, I think LVG's problem is letting go of his own approach/vision. He is a very capable coach, but his ego, while helpful in his convictions and consistency, can get in the way a lot when things don't go his way. Perhaps a national team is best for him now to minimize the politics that get in his way. He also seemed to have gotten much calmer and more collected after his 5 year sabbatical.I'll be honest, I've sort of hit the peak of a diminishing returns curve now and I'm starting to get a bit concerned in the face of all the incredibly good press! This article has tipped me over the highest point, I think.
It's probably conditioning over the last 8 years, but when the media and most people sound so overwhelmingly positive and expectations get raised astronomically (see Ole's caretaker reign or LVG's pre-season), you sort of start expecting the other shoe to drop in the form of some gut wrenching anti-climax!
I've taken to stalking @Hansi Fick to temper my own expectations.
And either way, things can go either way, or just be meh. Rangnick seems very promising (see my above post why I am excited about his specific approach to training), but there is no perfect coach. You need a match and you need it to be a consistent match. Then there's the opposition that is a variable and not a consistent factor. There is no key to success, but man I hope this promise is fulfilled. Would be such a shame if many of these talented players don't get to fulfill their potential at United, or in their careers at all!
Without a comparison that tweet doesn't mean much.
To be fair, quick attacking transitions has been our only strength under Ole hasn't it? Our whole game-plan for 2 years seemed to be win the ball back, give it to Bruno as quickly as possible and have him attempt a killer ball. That's not to say we're particularly good at executing that plan, but it's about one of the only things that has brought us some level success given we're dreadful in most other areas of the game.
Of all the things this team does wrong, being too safe with the ball when we have an attacking transition is the last thing I'd have on the list. If anything it felt like we generally rush things too much when the killer ball isn't really on.
I'm excited what level we can take our attacking game to under a proper coach. People have been saying our attack is our strength for the last 2 years but the our goals scored and xG figures show we're absolutely nowhere near the elite teams in terms of attacking play.
The 8 second thing sounds like a way to get the team to play with urgency instinctively.
I'm guessing the cognitive side of things is to quickly recognise the person in the best position to progress the United attack or stifle the opposition attack.
I'm guessing the cognitive side of things is to quickly recognise the person in the best position to progress the United attack or stifle the opposition attack.
Meh, way behind the times. Pep has a 6-second rule 
Yeah, it all feels a bit too Van Gaal-y at this point. Rangnick was my number one pick as interim but now it's time for him to put his words into action.I'll be honest, I've sort of hit the peak of a diminishing returns curve now and I'm starting to get a bit concerned in the face of all the incredibly good press! This article has tipped me over the highest point, I think.
It's probably conditioning over the last 8 years, but when the media and most people sound so overwhelmingly positive and expectations get raised astronomically (see Ole's caretaker reign or LVG's pre-season), you sort of start expecting the other shoe to drop in the form of some gut wrenching anti-climax!
I've taken to stalking @Hansi Fick to temper my own expectations.
The biggest test will be to get the players to implement the philosophy, it all sounds fantastic and we know it works as you only have to look at other teams who are doing it but I don’t think 6 months is enough time. Ralf himself talked about the time it took Klopp to implement it at Liverpool, also Ralf talked about how he could advice the board to keep him on…
This is a really important point; there are a lot of players in this squad that will never have been coached to this level. Every one of Rashford, Greenwood, McTominay, Wan-Bissaka, Martial, and even Lindelof and Maguire will have worked with primarily reactive coaches throughout their careers. Going to be interesting to see who improves and how.
I just hope the fans and board don’t write him off if results are initially patchy. It will take a while for this lot of players to reorient themselves
by comparison, under rangnick, rb leipzig scored 40% of their goals over 10 seconds after they won the ball back from the opposition.
The big question is: can he still do it?
I wouldn't be surprised if he takes 2-3 players out of first team rotation and focuses on them specifically (as well as minor tweaks to the playing squad), giving them time to absorb stuff at a faster rate. VDB, Greenwood, and maybe a full back say. Enable them to level up quicker without having to worry about matches every 3-4 days.
Sure it's not going to solve everything, but if he did this and signed the midfielder in Jan, it would enable changes to embed quicker.
Sure it's not going to solve everything, but if he did this and signed the midfielder in Jan, it would enable changes to embed quicker.
It will be interesting to see if actual tactics and coaching has a bigger impact than glib soundbites.
Gegenpress and the "8 second rule" vs "remember lads, we're Man Utd" and "go out and do your magic"
Gegenpress and the "8 second rule" vs "remember lads, we're Man Utd" and "go out and do your magic"