Football: Is Rangnick getting it all wrong?

Just recently on the back of a 1 all draw with Newcastle United, Manchester United have yet again slipped to another defeat. This time against Wolverhampton Wanderers. A shambolic outing that meant the Old Trafford outfit remain rooted to 7th postion on the log with 31 points, four adrift of Arsenal who occupy the 4th position.

To the neutrals, the loss is just like any other one, and of course one that could happen to any football team, but perhaps there’s something amiss, but I’ll indulge you sweetly.

United’s manager Ralf Rangnick came into the side with much fanfare and huge reputation ahead of him. Several top coaches in the league spoke highly of him prior to his switch to England. And it’s fair to say that hopes were so high, especially amongst United faithful. However, after seeing him lead his side to the turf these past few weeks, I’ve come to realise that there’s either nothing special about this man, or probably the players are yet to come to terms with his tactics.

Last night, the German gaffer deployed his usual and now very familiar 4-2-2-2 formation with Greenwood and Sancho playing just off the shoulders of the prolific duo of Cavani and Ronaldo. He might feel it’s the right formation that suits this team, but just like against Newcastle, they struggled again.

Begs the question, is Rangnick formation and tactics working at all? Or are the players just buying time to adapt to his tactical nous?

Apparently, United fans were enraged at the wayward display and nothing else would matter right now, other than bagging as many three points as they can, but the truth is that this team might never adapt to the manager’s overly strange set up. Maybe Solksjaer wasn’t that bad at all to start with.