Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Man Utd branded ‘beyond a joke’, as pundit claims glaring Rangnick mistake has done major damage

Ralf Rangnick, Darren Fletcher, Chris Armas Man Utd v Brighton February 2022

Manchester United should have brought Ralf Rangnick straight into a consultancy role instead of giving him a spell as manager, one pundit has said.

The German coach arrived at Old Trafford following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in November. United tried to get Paris Saint-Germain’s Mauricio Pochettino in permanently but failed.

As a result, they went down the interim route until the end of the season. Man Utd picked Rangnick because of his experience as a coach on the ground and his expertise in clubs’ footballing departments.

Indeed, he worked as manager and sporting director at RB Leipzig. At Old Trafford, meanwhile, he will step into a two-year consultancy role at the end of this season.

For now, though, Rangnick has admitted that his biggest achievement will be guiding United a top-four Premier League finish. But despite Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Brighton, the manager has struggled for results.

According to Micah Richards, United should not have bothered bringing Rangnick in as manager. He added that, by doing so, they have done damage to his reputation.

“When I look at United, I see too much disorganisation,” the pundit wrote for the Daily Mail.

“Look at Rangnick. Everyone knew his biggest asset was organising things behind the scenes. If United had brought him into a consultancy role, after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left, it would have looked like they had a plan.

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“But now Rangnick has had a spell as a manager, during which results have not been as good as they should be.

“So if he goes behind the scenes at the end of the year, rightly or wrongly people will be questioning his credentials to oversee the improvements United need.

“Had they approached things the other way around, allowing Rangnick to come in and make changes to the structure, they would have been given credit.

“But going at it from the direction they have has not helped settle the situation.”

Club leaks have also not helped United’s progress under Rangnick.

Reports have claimed that some players have referred to assistant coach Chris Armas as fictional football coach Ted Lasso.

Gary Neville branded such leaks “disgusting” in his assessment. Richards, meanwhile, claimed the leak is “beyond a joke”.

Rangnick facing crucial Man Utd spell

Ralf Rangnick, Chris Armas, Manchester United, February, 2022.

Despite the criticism, Rangnick will want to focus on his task at hand in guiding United to a top-four finish.

However, he faces a tough end to the season with 13 games left.

The Red Devils still have to play Liverpool, Manchester City and top-four rivals Arsenal away.

They also play Chelsea and Tottenham at Old Trafford. Before then, though, United travel to Leeds United on Sunday to face Marcelo Bielsa’s side.