Marcus Rashford dismisses claims of Man United players struggling under Ralf Rangnick.
The 24-year old forward has been struggling this season managing only two goals in his last 11 Premier League appearances.
There have been reports that players are struggling to follow to Rangnick’s methods and Rashford has now spoken out on the current situation.
Rashford said: “I read something earlier that said I’d been quiet on here but what can I say that will make this better other than showing you all on the pitch?
“We’ve all been disappointed with recent performances and we’ve been as disappointed with the news coverage questioning our commitment to not only the manager and the coaching staff but the club.
“I have endless respect for both and I’m looking forward to bettering my game under the staff at Manchester United.
“I’m not sulking, I’m not unhappy, am I disappointed in some of my recent performances? Of course I am.
“I’m my own biggest critic. It’s been a tough start but I’m determined to prove my worth.
“My dedication and my desire to be here should never been in question. I love this club.”
Many first-team players are struggling for minutes under Ralf Rangnick.
The German manager has called out his ‘unhappy’ players who have been causing dressing room disruptions after their loss against Wolves last weekend.
Rangnick has an enormous squad at his disposal with some of those stars linked with a move away this January.
Players are still struggling to understand the manager’s ideas and Rangnick has addressed the media on Friday regarding the same.
“When you have a big squad and only 10 can play and three be substituted, you have quite a number of players who don’t play and are not in the squad,” he explained.
“Those players are not happy, it is clear. It is about the players to deal with the situation in a professional way.
“This is not only an issue with a club like Manchester United.
“When you have a big squad, in the last two games, we had most of the players available.
“We had three centre-backs missing against Wolves. In general, we had most of the players available, apart from Paul Pogba.
“Those players are unhappy about the situation, it’s obvious, clear.
“I tend to explain to players every two or three weeks why they are not playing and that is an issue in our team and other clubs.”
Paul Pogba will see his contract expiring in the summer.
Manchester United are reportedly planning to make Paul Pogba the highest-paid player in Premier League history by offering him a £500,000-a-week contract to stay at Old Trafford. Paul Pogba’s future has been uncertain in last one year and he has been linked with some European clubs to make a move from United.
The 28-year-old will see his contract expiring in the summer and is now free to sign pre-contract agreements with foreign clubs.
Pogba was on the radar of some big clubs such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and his former club Juventus. The Frenchman is on the priority of top clubs.
As per the reports of The Sun, Man United fear that former Juventus player is edging towards an exit and so they have offered him a £500,000-a-week wage package to try to convince him to stay.
United are refusing to sell the France international in January, while his agent Mino Raiola is waiting to enter negotiations with either the Red Devils or another interested club regarding his client’s future.
The 2018 World Cup winner has made 219 appearances across all competitions for the Red Devils, scoring 38 goals and providing 49 assists.
Manchester United could finish fourth this Premier League season.
The Gunners are currently occupying the fourth spot in the top-flight even though four clubs are battling for that position.
West Ham, Spurs and Manchester United are the other three clubs are looking for Champions League qualification this season.
Gunners legend Roy Parlour claims that United can still clinch the fourth spot given their performances in the second half of the season.
Parlour told talkSPORT: “If he [Rangnick] can get that little bit of a buzz around Manchester United again, they’ve got better players probably than most of the squads.
“Then you look at Spurs, I think it’s close between Spurs and Arsenal. The north London derby coming up will be massive for both sides.
“And then West Ham, you still can’t write them off. I know they had that little bit of a blip but they’ve bounced back very well against Palace and Watford.
“A lot of it is going to come down to signings in January. Not just the top four, but at the bottom as well. If I’m going to stick my neck out, I would certainly go with Manchester United still [to finish fourth].”
Jadon Sancho is at risk with Ralf Rangnick’s formation.
The German manager suffered his first defeat at Old Trafford against Wolves this Monday.
He moved the United team to the 4-2-2 formation and pundit Jamie Redknapp believes Jadon Sancho will be the most at risk with this new formation.
“The way Rangnick set up his team, they were never going to get hold of the ball. It was impossible. They haven’t got the players to do that,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.
“You cannot ask Sancho and Greenwood to play the way he played at RB Leipzig… They’ve got to be able to run out to the wide men, then back inside. They have to be so fit, so strong and also comfortable on the ball.
“Greenwood and Sancho are not comfortable at the moment. Sancho looks like he can’t raise a gallop at the moment.
“One thing I worry about him, he looks like he can’t run past anyone. He looks like he hasn’t got that yard of pace. United wingers, if you’re going to be one, you’ve got to be able to run with the ball. That is a major problem with that system.”
Manager Ralf Rangnick desperately wants Edi Cavani to stay put.
The 34-year old striker is back to full fitness and has featured under new manager Ralf Rangnick for the first time last week.
His contract expires this summer and the manager feels Cavani will be a crucial player for the remainder of the season.
Cavani has recently been linked with Barcelona and Juventus but the manager doesn’t want to let him go.
“He knows that I will definitely not let him go,” said Rangnick.
“I told him from the very first day that, for me, he is a highly important player,” added Rangnick. “He is probably the only one who can play as a striker back to goal and face to goal.
“And, as I said, his professionalism, his work ethic is just amazing and I told him that I desperately want him to stay until the end of the season. He knows that. He also knows how highly I rate him and how highly I respect him.
“We will definitely need Edi. I would rather have another Edi on top of that but for me it’s clear that Edi has to stay.”
Since Ralf Rangnick’s arrival, United haven’t lost a game yet.
Rangers great Ally McCoist admired Manchester United manager boss Ralf Rangnick for their tactics against Burnley.
United leapfrogged Tottenham into the sixth spot in the Premier League after proving to be too good against Sean Dyche’s side at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
He said: “This is an interesting tactic there.
“When they’re (Burnley) going long, McTominay is actually dropping back to pick up Wood, which allows the two centre-backs to keep position.
“Quite intelligent really.”
McCoist spotted that his compatriot Scott McTominay was on hand to always mark Burnley’s towering centre-forward Chris Wood whenever the visitors went route one.
And McCoist noticed that this allowed Eric Bailly and Harry Maguire to kept their shape in the backline.
After long speculation and deliberation, Manchester United finally have one of the best managers in the market after the board chose to relieve Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of his duty in November.
The 63-year-old German tactician will be hoping to do the unthinkable within the short period he has to work with the Red Devils and get them competing for the top four in the current Premier League campaign which is set to run to May 2022.
However, with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City running riot at the moment, it’s hard to see any of these three teams not making the top four, even though the three teams will be having their player shipped off to the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the New Year.
Beyond these three teams, we have the resurgent Arsenal who are finally looking like a team with purpose, while West Ham United retain their impressive run of form since last season intact despite losing to the Gunners this week.
There is one spot available to battle for, and the likes of Spurs, United, Arsenal, and West Ham will all be competing with each other, looking to finish in the final Champions League spot come May.
However, by the virtue of the last two Premier League games, Manchester United did not allow Crystal Palace to maintain their composure as United ran away with the game but their narrow win against Norwich showed the new United Manager exactly what his team needs to improve.
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Currently sitting in the fourth position are West Ham who is just a point ahead of the Old Trafford outfit after matchday sixteen, but it’s another thing entirely for the London-based side to maintain their high standard without dropping too many points in the remaining twenty-two league games.
West Ham are not a strong side beyond their starting eleven – though the Scottish tactician Moyes is doing working wonders with the London club, but unlike West Ham, Wolves and Spurs are not quite yet looking like challengers for the last Champions League spot.
With Antonio Conte in charge, Spurs are now looking like a team about to go on a long run with a newfound attitude under the guidance and winning mentality of the Italian tactician despite COVID postponements hampering their progress.
They are only two points behind Manchester United, despite playing two games less, however, Conte’s side is a lopsided team in the middle of the park and in the full-back positions which are crucial to Conte’s defensive-attacking transitions.
Beyond making United the club they once were in the Sir Alex Ferguson era, Rangnick will have to at least make the top four and surprisingly after his last two Premier League matches, the German tactician has successfully dragged United to just one point behind West Ham United.
However, there is not much time left for the United to improve and the chances of United qualifying for 2022/2023 Champions League is getting slimmer by the day during this COVID ravaged season.
Although, no one could have predicted that United would be competing for the top four after many pundits have chosen them to challenge Liverpool and City for the title. But with Chelsea’s dominance and counter pressing style, United are now behind the top three clubs according to the 2021/2022 Premier League sports picks at +15000 odds, which is closely followed by Spurs at +25000 odds
The beginning of Rangnick’s Manchester United tenure is now looking quite similar to Ole’s time when he was first recruited by the United as an interim manager – but with consistency and hard work, Ole’s team made it to the top four by the last day of the season.
The inconsistency of the other teams competing for the top four, and with Spurs’ ongoing COVID issues, Manchester United are looking favorites to make the last spot for the Champions League.
There is still a lot of games to come as the season unfolds, but with the right attitude Manchester United and with the resurgence of Jadon Sancho, and the return to form of Marcos Rashford, United now have enough firepower under the guidance of Rangnick to make a nuisance of themselves and finish in the top four come next May.
New Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick is famous for his quick style, pressing football, and has said to have influenced a few of the current German managers with the likes of Klopp and Tuchel the most famous of his students.
After what we have seen in the last matches, it can be said that he has restored United’s confidence that some handicappers have predicted that United can bounce back from the poor run they suffered under Ole to be among the best once again, so , it’s no surprise to see Manchester United being picked by the best online sportsbooks as the favorites to win their third league match on the bounce against Brighton at -125 odds.
Although Rangnick hasn’t previously worked in England, his sphere of influence can be found in the Premier League already.
For United’s new style of play to work, the strategy demands constant pressure to force their opponent high up the field in an aggressive and coordinated manner to force mistakes.
With Ragnick’s energetic style of play, designed to unsettle opponents and hit them on the counter-attack while they are vulnerable, it’s expected that only tactically disciplined players will be needed in the near future.
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As seen from Ragnick’s previous teams, he prefers quick, nimble players who are tidy on the ball and have got an eye for a good pass through the opponent’s lines.
While Pogba and Van De Beek have been touted as a pair of the best midfielders this decade with both having different passing abilities, Pogba loves long square passes while Van De Beek on the other hand prefers quick short passes, but it remains to be seen if they will be preferred by the new gaffer.
“Our idea is clear, it’s very, very similar to my coaching friend Jurgen Klopp,” he told the Coaches’ Voice YouTube channel. “Our Red Bull football is heavy metal, rock, and roll, it’s not a slow waltz. We hate square passes, back passes, just having the ball ourselves doesn’t make sense.”
Speaking about his second spell in charge of RB Leipzig (in 2018-19), Rangnick explained that 60 percent of the team’s goals scored that season came less than 10 seconds after they had won the ball from their opponents.
So intense are Rangnick’s demands, that at Hoffenheim, Salzburg, and Leipzig, the vast majority of players signed were aged 23 or under. A young Roberto Firmino was his final recruit at Hoffenheim, while more recently Sadio Mane, Joshua Kimmich, and Erling Haaland have passed through one of Red Bull’s clubs.
Rangnick’s track record for identifying young players in his role as a sporting director and nurturing their talent as a coach should stand United in good stead given their aging squad.
Marcus Rashford, 23, Mason Greenwood, 20, and in particular, Jadon Sancho, 21, should all benefit from his expertise. Donny van de Beek, 24, is another who may benefit.
Pogba, 28, with a long history of demanding transfers to new clubs, he might be allowed to seek his future elsewhere under the German tactician.
Looking at United’s last two matches, it is clear he means business, forward passes, quick play and exceptional tactical discipline are the real basics under Rangnick.
The problem with the manager’s formation is that Pogba doesn’t exactly fit into any of the roles that Rangnick is looking to make use of.
While some may argue that Pogba is one of the best passers out there, it is clear that he lacks the tactical discipline both defensively and attack-wise needed under his new manager, especially defending in his half.
Several times recently he has cost United by either failing to track back or press forward when it is clear he should have done so Pogba lost possession 602 times under Mourinho in the 2018/2019 season with only two players having lost the ball more.
He cost Ole several times as well and in this season’s first Champion’s League match where United lost 1-2, Pogba lost possession 10 times before half time.
While he has all the skills needed to play in any world-class team, the French midfielder’s lack of discipline might be his greatest undoing, with the constant reminder of his agent demanding transfers to Real Madrid and his position in jeopardy, now might be the best time for Pogba to seek a move.
Ex-Ajax Donny Van De Beek who was an integral member of their spectacular 2019 season has also failed to impress in his new club with the midfielder struggling to get game time.
The new gaffer has said he intends to use a 4-2-2-2, stating he prefers to use a double 10 as seen in the game against Palace fielding Bruno and Sancho in that role and this is good news for Van de Beek who has already admitted he doesn’t care what position he plays, he just wants to play football.
Considering his age, Donny will certainly get his chance soon either to play as a no 4 or no 10 and it is only left to see if he will take his chances or not – At 24, De Beek hasn’t even reached the peak of his career and it’s certainly hoped that Rangnick’s ‘gegenpressing’ style will finally bring the best out of him.
Though, the two players in question are talented and have the ability to hit to go up through the gears with any team, but with Fred and McTominay constant pressing style, it will be difficult to displace them both and with Pogba not likely to commit to United’s future, Van De Beek might finally get his chance, but now his obstacle could be the resurgence of Sancho.
Former Manchester United assistant first-team coach Kieran McKenna has secured his first role in management at League One side Ipswich Town. The 35-year-old was appointed as Paul Cook’s successor in the Portman Road hot seat. After spells as assistant first-team coach and first-team coach under Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer respectively, McKenna said it was the “right time” for him to “make the step” into football management.
McKenna himself describes he and Ipswich as a “really good match”, with the Blues the “right type of profile” for the Northern Irishman as his first role in club management. Reports suggest that United reluctantly accepted the advances from Ipswich Town CEO Mark Ashton. It is said that Ralf Rangnick was keen for McKenna to remain as part of the first-team coaching staff at Carrington, but the departures of Solskjaer and Carrick may have played a part in McKenna’s thought process.
McKenna is joined at Ipswich by fellow United first-team coach Martyn Pert, who will operate as McKenna’s number two. McKenna said that Pert is someone he can “trust” on a personal and professional level. McKenna also hopes to make an announcement on another addition to his coaching setup in the coming days.
Paul Cook pays the price for poor start
The Tractor Boys endured a dismal first half of the 2021/22 League One campaign. After significant fanfare regarding the club’s 19 summer signings, hopes of promotion back to the Championship were high. However, Paul Cook’s side was plagued by inconsistency, with flashes of brilliance interspersed with moments of defensive madness.
Many League One pundits were left scratching their heads as to why Ipswich were failing to perform. The squad had been dubbed the best League One had ever seen by many, with proven internationals such as Bersant Celina and Sam Morsy added to the roster. With the Suffolk side ten points off the top six at present, hopes of a playoff bid are some way off. This proved the undoing of Paul Cook, who was fired after a dismal goalless draw in their FA Cup 2nd Round home tie with League Two strugglers Barrow.
Ipswich and McKenna looking to take a leaf out of Blackpool’s book
Nevertheless, the impact of McKenna’s arrival could spark a rapid upturn in fortunes. You only have to look at Blackpool last season to see a revival is possible in the second half of the League One campaign. Neil Critchley’s Tangerines had just one more point than Town at this stage of the 2020/21 season. They eventually secured promotion via the playoffs, so it’s been proven that it can be done. Town have drifted out to as big as 14/1 to get promotion this term, which could prove a value wager after McKenna’s appointment. Given the depth and calibre of players within the Ipswich squad, if McKenna and Pert can get them firing they’ll be a dangerous animal in the coming months.
With their deep squad of rock-solid players for this level and above, Ipswich are one of the teams best placed to handle the effects of fixture congestion on teams in the current climate. With postponements almost certainly on the horizon, Ipswich and McKenna will be able to rotate and ensure their players get the minimum 96 hours of rest and recuperation between games that academics deem necessary to maintain player intensity.
Towards the end of McKenna’s association with United, reports suggested he was an unwanted figure among the United first team. A source close to the first team said that McKenna was “dry and school-teacherly” in his coaching style, with some players “baffled” as to how he had secured a position of such seniority. The Daily Mail claimed that the 35-year-old did not command the full respect of the United squad.
Nevertheless, Rob Dawson of ESPN revealed that McKenna’s role in the United dressing room was integral to Solskjaer’s management team. Dawson said that McKenna played a “significant role” on the training pitch and was also asked to provide pre-match team talks on the eve of a big game. When you consider that McKenna was giving articulate team talks at the world’s biggest club at such a young age, he should be more than confident in leading this Ipswich Town team forward.
Although social media is full of criticism of McKenna’s time at Old Trafford, many within the walls of Carrington wish him well and expect him to return to the top in the years ahead.
