Topic: Harry Maguire considering his options thread

[The North Bank]

Will Ralfie be charge for Thursday against us. I would hope so, that Michael Carrick is their best manager since Fergie left.

[Hazell]

Will Ralfie be charge for Thursday against us. I would hope so, that Michael Carrick is their best manager since Fergie left.

Ralfie invented modern football as we know it though, or so I've been led to believe over the past few days. So swings and roundabouts.

[Andypandimonium]

I find myself asking "what would Jurgen do?" with the squad that Ralf is coming to play with. Assuming no ins and outs in Jan as everyone is going to join the Geordie gravy train I could see him benching Maguire, WB, Pogba, Bruno, Ronaldo, and Greenwood as they can't or won't play his way. De Gea could also be in that list if they had someone who could play sweeper-keeper but they don't. I actually think he could get some sort of tune out of Shaw and Fred. They are limited but can play to instructions. From what I can see Fred is the one player who actually tries to do something for the team. Keep him away from the final third though! It goes without saying that Sancho, Rashford, Varane, Van de Beek, even Lindelof would be better players under JK, and Cavani would be the old guy coming off the bench, not the chosen one. Still leaves them horribly short for this season, so don't know what changes short-term. He has a pretty soft schedule over December so they have to improve their position then. A new coach bounce is a must. A few bad results in the next 8 games and I don't think they get top four or anywhere near.

[Sir Capon of Debaser]

They do it on purpose Lynne!

hahaha

[jepovic]

Carrick did what an arm chair coach like me would do. Use the pace up front, adapt the shape to the limitations of the defense and midfielders, keep Maguire and Ronaldo out. Not the slightest creative, but sensible.

It will be interesting to see whether Rangnik will try to play with a high press, or with a low defense like yesterday. He's known for pressing, but the squad is much better suited to playing like yesterday. Going for the high press immediately would be a bold statement, but very risky.

[Ziltoid]

United boardroom:

Is he German ✔️

Does he wear glasses? ✔️

Sign him up.

[jepovic]

Godwin's law strikes again 

[Jshooters]

Carrick did what an arm chair coach like me would do. Use the pace up front, adapt the shape to the limitations of the defense and midfielders, keep Maguire and Ronaldo out. Not the slightest creative, but sensible.

It will be interesting to see whether Rangnik will try to play with a high press, or with a low defense like yesterday. He's known for pressing, but the squad is much better suited to playing like yesterday. Going for the high press immediately would be a bold statement, but very risky.

not sure he had much choice there 

[Ravishing Rick Dude]

They want a piece of german sausage as well

[royhendo]

Their greatest Ralph since Ralphie Milne.

[Andy82lfc]

You should fully understand the Manc hype machine by now.

Anyone and everyone that goes to OT is automatically hailed as "Best in the world" in their position. It doesn't matter what role. Tea lady, turnstile operator, chef, manager, striker, defender, midfielder etc... The Halo Effect kicks in and all manner of positive qualities are attributed to them just by virtue of being employed by Man United.

It's so true but never fails to surprise me even though it shouldn't.

The wiki page especially made me chuckle, I was on there a week ago to learn more about this grand master of football was who I'd hardly heard of, then had a look today and it has been beefed up beyond belief with all kinds of stuff to make him sound like some founding father of the game.

[royhendo]

Rory Smith did a bit on him in 'Mister' I think.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/sports/soccer/man-united-RB-leipzig-ralf-rangnick.html

Rangnick considers Klopp to be “the best coach in the world,” one who has taken the beliefs they share onto another plane of excellence.

[Armand9]

utd fan phones in to talkshite - not the usual rant full of dribble, this is quality and he's less deluded than 95% of the fanbase when it comes to their squad

well worth a listen, funny as fuck and on the money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acP8nmsjB5E

[Alan B'Stard]

utd fan phones in to talkshite - not the usual rant full of dribble, this is quality and he's less deluded than 95% of the fanbase when it comes to their squad

well worth a listen, funny as fuck and on the money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acP8nmsjB5E

Wow!! A Man U fan actually talking sense!

[Motty]

We don't understand what's about to happen apparently 😂 you'd think these fuckers would learn wouldn't you 🙄

[Schmidt]

The consultancy aspect sounds like utd trying to have their cake and eat it, they want a progressive German to come in and overhaul the club but they don't want to lose their say in how the club is run. They'll pick and choose which advice to follow and continue their strategy of throwing shit at a wall.

[Son of Spion]

It's so true but never fails to surprise me even though it shouldn't.

The wiki page especially made me chuckle, I was on there a week ago to learn more about this grand master of football was who I'd hardly heard of, then had a look today and it has been beefed up beyond belief with all kinds of stuff to make him sound like some founding father of the game.

That's the Mancs for you.

There was once a pigeon. Just an ordinary pigeon. Then one day he landed at Old Trafford. Suddenly, he was the best pigeon in the world.

[Crosby Nick]

That's the Mancs for you.

There was once a pigeon. Just an ordinary pigeon. Then one day he landed at Old Trafford. Suddenly, he was the best pigeon in the world.

Is this United’s social media team planning Richarlison’s big unveiling this summer?

[Son of Spion]

Is this United’s social media team planning Richarlison’s big unveiling this summer?

Ver good, and very quick. 😊

[cormorant]

Thank you Fenway. We've got Jürgen Klopp and we need no more.

[El Lobo]

We don't understand what's about to happen apparently 😂 you'd think these fuckers would learn wouldn't you 🙄

Be afraid, be very afraid

[vivabobbygraham]

Youse are all obsessed with Man United and klopp and mane hate each other

And the whole teams juiced up. No-one can run that much

[vivabobbygraham]

It’s probably worth pointing out that whilst it took Klopp 2-3 years to really grow the team he at least had us all paying well and being competitive almost immediately (getting us to 2 cup finals that season).

I would suspect most Mancs would take a season similar to our 15-16 one now on the premise that they’ll be competing for greater honours in the near future. Whether either of those 2 things happens though is far from certain.

ooh ah, Cantona...

[vivabobbygraham]

He didn’t, no, but if you look at our current squad now vs the one that Klopp inherited there’s very few that have lasted.

You would imagine an experienced manager would stand a fair chance of getting a tune out of the likes of De Gea, Varane, De Beek, Sancho, Rashford etc. I’ve always been half way with this in that I always thought it was fanciful when people (usually United fans) claimed that a decent manager would be crushing all before them with their squad as it just focussed on the names and totally ignores the form (and by form I mean consistent form over a number of seasons) and also ignores the glaring deficiencies in defensive midfield and centre half/full back. That said, it also isn’t as shit as is being made out and I would imagine that Rangik stands a decent chance of getting them a respectful final league finish (and by that I mean 4th) and a run in the FA Cup which is the only trophy they’d stand a chance of winning. I think most sensible people would be happy with that if you’re a United fan with a view to improving next season.

As I say, that may well not happen as it’s far from a guarantee, hopefully it doesn’t, I’m just making the point that you can see quite rapid changes when you sack a manager and bring in someone more qualified to do the job, as Chelsea have shown lately.

On the piss with Georgie Best...

[vivabobbygraham]

Odd thing to point out being as he inherited even less! Our defence was awful all over the board, the only half decent defender was Clyne who was totally unsuited to the style of play.  Same with a lot of the midfield, but he even got a tune out of the likes of Joe Allen who again was totally unsuited, for a little while. Even Benteke contributed despite being the most un Klopp like striker around.

Klopp could get far more out of these Man Utd players though, surely you see that! He’d not turn them into supserstars, but he and the coaches would coach them well.

What's your opinion on Ralfie boy, Dim? Is he another Klopp?

[Red Beret]

We don't understand what's about to happen apparently 😂 you'd think these fuckers would learn wouldn't you 🙄

[vivabobbygraham]

Interestingly (or in fact not really), Rangnick has only coached for 2 seasons out of the last 10 seasons.

He really doesn’t want to be a coach, so it’s quite funny him taking on this job just to fullfil a dream of his to coach in the premier league.  Taking advantage of Man Utd’s predicament good and proper, and a nice little consultancy gig at the end of it too.

Ah, reading on you've answered my question, Dim. Ta 

[vivabobbygraham]

To see the full on Rangnik circle jerk in the press and with fans is a sight to behold. The guy has done almost nothing of note yet since his appointment his wiki has been changed so much you would think the guy invented football. Absolutely hilarious to watch.

Apparently in one of his greatest achievements, which keeps getting repeated, is that he took Schalke all the way to the semi-finals of the champions league. What they fail to mention is that he had nothing to with that run except for one game in the Quarters. It was Felix Magath who took Schalke all the way through to that stage and had finished 2nd in the league the season prior. Let's not mention that though.

Is there a small chance he does well? Of course, but the glossing over the facts that the man has not done anything spectacular with any team, that he somehow is the grandfather of modern football, that he is some managerial great is just beyond anything I've seen. The sheer blindness in order to convince themselves they have made a world class appointment is so pathetic that it makes it all so very very funny. ​

It's now like watching a car cruise down the road knowing full well within the next months the tyres will explode with it flipping over and smashing to pieces, all in slow motion. When that happens it will be all 'the guy didn't suit us, he was never that good, etc'.

Not sure if its desperation or delusion but it is going to be funny as fuck watching them all tie themselves in knots over the next months convincing themselves he is their saviour.

Oh, Andy, what a post . This thread will just run and run with many more title changes. It just gets better. They're a rabbit in the headlights., they're Liverpool on rewind to the 90's and we're now embracing the joy that them fuckers experienced with us, back then. Boots on the other foot now, lads and I'm gonna keep sticking the Timpson in on them for years to come. All in good fun of course. Tonyy's a good lad.

[Motty]

That meme was the first thing I thought of when I read the comment 😂

[vivabobbygraham]

utd fan phones in to talkshite - not the usual rant full of dribble, this is quality and he's less deluded than 95% of the fanbase when it comes to their squad

well worth a listen, funny as fuck and on the money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acP8nmsjB5E

He gobsmacked them. He was talking about...them! Fair play

[RayPhilAlan]

Question for you all, who is the worst player in the United team? I'll start.

Fred... He cost £47mil.

Not actually disagreeing with your overall assessment of Fred, but I thought he was the best (or perhaps 'best') of the Man Utd players in that game - he won the ball, he used it okay (at times) which seemed quite different to most of his team-mates who failed to win it and failed to use it when they had it. We noticed Fred's comedy moments only because he actually had the ball. Just think, if his team-mates had worked as hard as he did, we could have had 11 times the comedy moments!

What is startling though, is the apparent inability of those 11 players to play as a team. Apart from Sancho, all the starters have been there for a while, but they just don't seem to know each other's game, or they've been put together in such a random way they're incompatible.

[vivabobbygraham]

Not actually disagreeing with your overall assessment of Fred, but I thought he was the best (or perhaps 'best') of the Man Utd players in that game - he won the ball, he used it okay (at times) which seemed quite different to most of his team-mates who failed to win it and failed to use it when they had it. We noticed Fred's comedy moments only because he actually had the ball. Just think, if his team-mates had worked as hard as he did, we could have had 11 times the comedy moments!

What is startling though, is the apparent inability of those 11 players to play as a team. Apart from Sancho, all the starters have been there for a while, but they just don't seem to know each other's game, or they've been put together in such a random way they're incompatible.

Jurgen would get a tune out of Fred. There's a player there just got no tactical awareness. He's a bit daft. But he would learn. Remember, he's in the Brazil squad.

[Red Beret]

That meme was the first thing I thought of when I read the comment 😂

They've had more comebacks than Dracula this lot!

[Dim Glas]

Ah, reading on you've answered my question, Dim. Ta 

He is a very good coach, I think I said a few pages back that after Kloppo and Tuchel and Guardiola despite the boring robo-football, he’d be next in line for me in terms of talent in this league. Despite being around a long time, he’s still seen as very much a progressive coach who keeps on top of the sport.

But I just dont think he’s the most grounded of people, even after being in the business so long, he tends to sort of get wound up and frustrated and doesn’t cope so well with the pressures. He’s been quite open really about the fact he doesn’t want to coach.  Only reason he did it at RB Leipzig last time round was to hold down the fort.

So it’s a bit of an odd one for me, but it does seem like a great way to tick something of your list of ‘want to do’, and he’s often mentioned wanting to coach in the PL. Now he gets a short term gig to fulfill it. And there is little pressure really as he knows he will be done with it in a few months.

[the_red_pill]

It really is a STUPID appointment. I mean.. how..? In what world?... Why?
How could they be so absolutely daft? The decisions just get worse and worse.

Look, I don't doubt Rangnick is a good coach, but he's won so little compared to the others- some of them supposedly his proteges. ONE Bundes at the start of the millenium... when Ged's Liverpool was on fire! An Intertoto in the same year- if you consider it a big trophy.
And a contract until the end of the season? That's far worse even than Conte at Spurs!

Can he really get that team of hopeless, wayward misfits to sing a tune in 6 months time? And after that, he stays in a "consultant" position!?
Don't they have enough "consultants"? I mean, it's Ferguson, then Rio, now Rangnick and G*d knows who else?
Everyone's going to United for a big payday. Their giving money away like it's candy!
Moyesie, Mourinho, Ole, Rio, Carrick, Ferguson is hanging around like a stink that doesn't want to vacate the room, Pogba and his agent milked them - not once but TWICE, Ronaldo..

It's Komedy Kapers featuring the Keystone Kops!

[newterp]

Carrick did what an arm chair coach like me would do. Use the pace up front, adapt the shape to the limitations of the defense and midfielders, keep Maguire and Ronaldoout[/b]. Not the slightest creative, but sensible.

It will be interesting to see whether Rangnik will try to play with a high press, or with a low defense like yesterday. He's known for pressing, but the squad is much better suited to playing like yesterday. Going for the high press immediately would be a bold statement, but very risky.

Maguire was suspended - or he'd have started for sure.

[Dave McCoy]

Stole this from the Athletic.  The writer, John Muller, wrote a great subscription blog before being hired there.  He's an American so most probably wouldn't have heard of him but he explains things really clearly and well for those that don't want to get into the nitty gritty of the numbers.



I think the main takeaway is that ManU plays so differently from how he has played that there really isn't anything he can do in 6 months that will matter.  This seems more a marriage of convenience in that it gives ManU time to find another manager in the summer and it gives Rangnick a chance to check a box and say he managed in the PL with the consultancy stuff being his true passion and the payoff for only doing this for 6 months.  Honestly will be amazed if they even qualify for the Europa Conference.

[whtwht]

Wow!! A Man U fan actually talking sense!

Call out the rubbish pundits aswell. Well done.

[vivabobbygraham]

He is a very good coach, I think I said a few pages back that after Kloppo and Tuchel and Guardiola despite the boring robo-football, he’d be next in line for me in terms of talent in this league. Despite being around a long time, he’s still seen as very much a progressive coach who keeps on top of the sport.

But I just dont think he’s the most grounded of people, even after being in the business so long, he tends to sort of get wound up and frustrated and doesn’t cope so well with the pressures. He’s been quite open really about the fact he doesn’t want to coach.  Only reason he did it at RB Leipzig last time round was to hold down the fort.

So it’s a bit of an odd one for me, but it does seem like a great way to tick something of your list of ‘want to do’, and he’s often mentioned wanting to coach in the PL. Now he gets a short term gig to fulfill it. And there is little pressure really as he knows he will be done with it in a few months.

It's a smart move for him. No risk, all gain, so the consultation thing, again no risk with a fucking big wedge to boot. United are a cash cow as someone else said.

[El Lobo]

It’s a smart move considering where he was, and like you say he’ll fill his pockets. For the sort of ‘coach’ or DOF he is….it’s a dreadful move. It’s essentially ‘please tell us how not to be shit anymore’ with none of the tools he’s historically needed.

It’s like asking the best mechanic in the world to make your Lamborghini run again, when the engine has been replaced by a tonne of dog shit and the only tools he’ll have are some bananas and a ballon dog. It’s fucking delightful, and what makes it so much better is they STILL think that THIS is it. Finally. This is them back. It’ll take a week for them to realise.