Manchester United have a new manager. A time-served professional has been parachuted in to replace the failed apprentice who will now seek alternative employment. It could be a long seek unless he is prepared to drop down a division or two because, as has been shown time and again over the last three years, he just wasn’t up to the job at the highest level!
Anyway, out with the old and in with the new as Ralf Rangnick got his 6 month Manchester United career underway with two 1-0 wins sandwiching a 1-1 draw. Although nothing could be read into the draw, as it was achieved against Young Boys in a competition from which United had already qualified and included a multitude of changes, the two wins were noteworthy because of the associated clean sheets.
When considering that the last three games under Solskjær, two of which were at home, saw the concession of ELEVEN goals, then it was pretty obvious that the German had identified and repaired an immediate problem.
There also appears to be a different atmosphere around Old Trafford. Professionalism seems to have returned and gone are the days when the players were on first name terms with their boss, or were consulted about tactics mid-match, or could fly away to exotic destinations to recover from the slightest of injuries.
Also gone are the days when questions were answered with a shrug, or a nonsensical sentence, or the ubiquitous ‘United way’, ‘club DNA’ or other such rubbish which was just a way of glossing over the fact that the previous manager didn’t actually have a clue why the team lost, why they won, why they shipped six goals or why they scored nine!
Now there is a manager who knows exactly what he wants from the players and, if the players can’t/won’t do it, then they will be replaced, simple.
It still remains to be seen what happens with the existing coaching staff at Old Trafford who, if the truth be known, were just as ineffective as their manager and probably deserve the same fate. Michael Carrick has already gone under his own volition and Kieran McKenna is, somewhat inexplicably, the new manager at Ipswich whereas Phelan just seems to be hanging around hoping for a pay-off as nobody appears to want him, including Rangnick!
Whether the new manager can achieve anything other than a top four finish remains to be seen but that in itself would be a decent season following the terrible start. He does, of course, have the option of recommending himself as permanent manager for next season if everything works out but the more likely scenario would see Eric Ten Hag take over and Rangnick move upstairs into a Technical Director type role.
United fans must still be pinching themselves at the prospect of actually having football people running the football side of the club! John Murtough and Darren Fletcher seem to be doing decent enough jobs in their respective roles, there is a proper manager in place, albeit on a temporary basis, who will probably be replaced by another proper manager.
Ed Woodward is leaving, hopefully, eventually, at some stage, when his interminable notice is finally served. The garden is beginning to sprout a few roses at last. The only fly in the ointment is Richard Arnold replacing Woodward. That is certainly a case of ‘meet the new boss, same as the old boss’! Still, he ISN’T Woodward so he has that small advantage at least!
So we look forward to the good times returning to Old Trafford in the not-too-distant future either with a trophy this season or, with a new management team in place, next season. Whichever way the wind blows the prospects are suddenly looking a lot brighter now.
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 