The Daily Bee: Manchester United Inexplicably Make Smart Move, Hire Ralf Rangnick

Good morning, everyone. I hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgivings! Hopefully you stuffed yourselves with plenty of Turkey, enjoyed watching the Lions lose as always, and avoided all the terrible food takes circulating around on Twitter.

While us Americans were busy engorging ourselves into food comas, the American-owned club Manchester United were busy making unexpectedly smart managerial decisions. Only a few days after sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United made one of the smartest moves they could possibly make, bringing on former RB Leipzig manager and Red Bull Sporting Director Ralf Rangnick. Rangnick will be the Red Devils’ interim manager until the end of season, before staying on in the Front Office as a consultant.

It’s hard to see this as anything other than a great signing for Manchester United. Rangnick is basically the man responsible for turning RB Leipzig into what they are today. A lot of United fans are excited by his managerial record, but in my opinion that isn’t even his biggest strength. As the Director of Football with Red Bull Sports Group, Rangnick made investments in the back end support structures like video analysis, data analytics, youth academies, scouting, medical departments, and more. He understands that a modern football club is more than just a coach and his players, and with almost unlimited resources at his disposal in Manchester, he could help bring the Red Devils back to their glory days.

This isn’t to downplay Rangnick as a tactician. He’s largely credited with the development of Gegenpressing, the pressing style utilized by Jurgen Klopp, and had some success as a head coach with Leipzig. It’s that he’s more than just a coach, and his influence at Manchester United will go far beyond the locker room.

All this assumes, though, that Rangnick will be given the control that he needs at the club. Previous managers have had tremendous difficulty working with CEO Ed Woodward and the rest of the board. He will also have to manage a locker room with no shortage of egos, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, and others. It will be his biggest test yet, but also his biggest opportunity.

The Daily Buzz

Do you think Ralf Rangnick will be given the proper time and resources he needs to succeed with Manchester United?