Ralph Rangnick spent five tumultuous and unsuccessful months in Manchester before enjoying a remarkable resurgence with the Austrian national team.
England, who were at a low point in Icelandic football eight years ago, are now on the verge of an in-depth investigation that rivals the lowest point of Icelandic football, until Jude Bellingham salvaged the game with his trademark move, which could become his trademark.
In 2016, in the dressing room in Nice, Roy Hodgson realized that the game was over. The FA's technical director quickly pinned in a non-traditional candidate with a view to modernising the England national team.
He was interviewed by a jury of three people. The interview went well. But it was a competition with only two candidates. The technical director was rejected by a vote of 2 to 1. David Gill and Martin Glenn chose Sam Allardyce.
The candidate is Ralph Rangnick. The FA's technical director at the time was Dan Ashworth. Just yesterday Ashworth was appointed as Manchester United's director of football, a position that the club should have offered to Rangnick five years ago.
Eventually, Ed Woodward turned to John Motaugh on his doorstep. Woodward's reasoning is that Rangnick is merely a recruitment expert.
Motaugh then moved to Rangnick in December 2021 to take charge of Manchester United on an interim basis. Woodward, who is completing his term, may feel himself right.
Rangnick is at odds with United's culture of submissiveness and complacency. Of all the managers after Alex Ferguson, only Jose Mourinho's press conference was more appealing than Rangnick's.
During the European Championships, there have been revisions to the assessment of Rangnick's tenure at Manchester United. His Austrian side became one of the favourites in Germany and led their group ahead of a well-organised France and a poorly coordinated Dutch side.
There are coaches who are suited to international competition (Gareth Southgate is also one of the recommended candidates by Ashworth). Rangnick has found his niche in Austria and was highly sought after when Bayern Munich recently extended him an offer. His contract with Austria has now been automatically extended until 2026.
Rangnick arrived at Manchester United with 81 games under his management over the past decade. He should have been in control of transfers rather than tactics.
Rangnick's outstanding achievement as a coach – and still is – led Schalke 04 to victory in the German Cup in 2011. Although he may have been a pioneer of pressing and two-man midfield formations, United suffered three four-goal humiliations under the German coach – against Manchester City, Liverpool and Brighton.
Rangnick is a master problem solver. He had suggested bringing in ten players, and United did make ten new signings in Erik ten Hag's first two summer transfer windows. In April 2022, Rangnick undertook what he called a 'heart surgery' overhaul of the team, and the week following that, Ten Hag was appointed head coach. The Daily Mirror, with the headline "Emergency Surgeon 10", cleverly combined Ten Hag's image with that of a surgeon on the front page of the news through Photoshop.
However, there was a section in the press conference ahead of Rangnick's penultimate game, during which he openly questioned the club's recruitment department's failure to identify and sign a striker in the January transfer window.
Anthony Martial has moved to Sevilla on loan on 26 January, while Mason Greenwood has been suspended indefinitely on 30 January. Edinson Cavani, 35, Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga are available strikers. Mason Greenwood has scored six goals, and he has more goals than Cristiano Ronaldo.
The winter transfer window closes at 11pm on 31 January, giving United a maximum of 48 hours to find a last-minute replacement to fill Mason Greenwood's vacancy. 'In the first few months, at least until the end of January, we were improving,' Rangnick explained, 'and we conceded fewer goals and after the West Ham game we averaged 2.1 points per game. "
'But then in the break between that international break, we lost three players, including Edinson Cavani – these long-term players – we lost three strikers and we had problems scoring goals and finding balance and that's what happened.
'Maybe – I still believe – we should have acted in those 48 hours and I think the board is on the same now – they agree with me – but they also spoke to the scouting department at the time, maybe we should have tried to sign a player in those 48 hours as soon as we realised that Mason Greenwood was out and Anthony Martial was out on loan.'
'We were already at least aware that Cavani could be unavailable for eight of the next 10 games, but as I said, we didn't. Maybe I should be more insistent in order to bring in this extra striker. But, as I said, we didn't do that. "
So why haven't United signed a striker?
"Because the answer at the time was no, there really aren't any players on the market who can help us."
Don't you see one in the market?
"There are indeed a few candidates! For example, [Luis] Diaz, who is now at Liverpool, [Julian] Alvarez, who will join Manchester City in the summer, and [Dusanne] Vlahovic, who was still at Fiorentina at the time. These are just three names I can think of right now. Rangnick forgot to mention Kulusevski, who was crucial to Tottenham's fourth-place finish.
Is it a financial issue? Money problem?
"The answer is no, it's as simple as that."
Did you push it?
"I came back after a four-day vacation in January. That's when we had four days off. I think it was a Sunday. I was told about Greenwood's problems and obviously Anthony Martial had left, and then I realised we were missing some strikers in the next four days and that could mean [a purchase required]. We were in three competitions: the FA Cup, the Champions League, and we were fourth in the league. ”
You asked the board to sign a striker and they said "no"?
'I spoke to the board and told them, 'shouldn't we at least discuss and analyse and see if we can get at least one player on loan or on a permanent transfer?' Ultimately, the answer is no. ”
Did they give the answer?
"Maybe they don't want to make any deals in the winter. It doesn't matter, the answer is no. I've spoken to the board. ”
After Rangnick left the room, two Manchester United publicists arrived to try to extinguish a fire that looked like a tower hell. But they only have buckets on hand.
They claim that Cavani's absence was unforeseeable. It has been pointed out that Edinson Cavani's tendency to declare himself unavailable for the game was an issue during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's tenure. Edinson Cavani opted to stay in Uruguay for two more days after January's international break rather than play in Manchester United's FA Cup fourth round tie against Middlesbrough on 4 February. Manchester United lost 9-8 on penalties.
The Uruguayan man took an eight-week break after the final Copa America game in July 2021 before missing all of United's post-international matches. At the time of Rangnick's heated criticism, Cavani had only featured in 18 of United's 47 games that season. He was sidelined from 2 November to 27 December due to injury, and again from 8 February to 12 March, and has just completed a seven-week recuperation period.
A veteran Manchester United player likened Rangnick's press conference to unhooking a grenade and letting it fall. The loss of confidence in the dressing room is partly due to Rangnick's suggestion to bring in ten new players.
In the press room at Brighton's Amex Stadium, a Manchester United press officer quietly approached before the game and asked reporters to ask Rangnick questions, mainly in the hope that he would shed light on his previous comments. Manchester United suffered a 4-0 defeat in this game, and the poor performance outraged the fans, so much so that they chanted: "You don't deserve to wear this shirt." ”
Rangnik 祝 Shotbolt 一切顺利
Rangnick still cleverly inserted references to the striker shortage, and he remained consistent at the final meeting at Carrington two weeks later. Darren Fletcher and Harry Maguire attended the farewell event for Steve Bates and Karen Short Bolt. Steve Bates is leaving his post as chief football reporter for The Sunday People, while Karen Short Bolt is stepping down as head of Manchester United's football communications department.
In delivering Ms Shortbolt's farewell speech, The Sun's Neil also thanked Rangnick. 'While you're here, Ralph, it's rare for us to say goodbye to our coaches – they're often gone before we even had a chance.
"But we just wanted to thank you for the way you handled us, you have been direct, I know things have not turned out the way you had hoped, but you have never shied away from the problem, you have always been outspoken.
"I think it's popular not only among us, but also among the fans. I'm not sure how it was in Tampa (a city in Florida, USA), but one thing is for sure, the fans responded enthusiastically. ”
Ten Hag officially took over two days later and was asked about Rangnick's two-year role as an adviser. "It's up to the club," he stressed.
We have a feeling that Rangnick won't last long. He didn't last a week. Rangnick's departure was announced six days later, and his consulting contract was torn up before it could take effect.
Still, Ashworth was an admirer.