Considering how much of a basket case club Manchester United have become in recent years, most onlookers were slightly surprised to hear that they are on the verge of making a shrewd appointment as their interim manager for the rest of the season.
Ralf Rangnick is highly thought of in coaching circles, having been one of the pioneers in the pressing movement that has dominated top level football over the last decade or so. He also has a track record of getting players to quickly buy into his methods, something that didn't always seem the case under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Perhaps even more importantly, the German has also shown the ability to help improve a club at board level, with his two-year consultancy role starting next summer set to add some badly needed football expertise to behind the scenes at the club.
However, not all are convinced by the appointment.
Speaking on Sky Sports this afternoon, Paul Merson said he is not sure that Rangnick will make much of a difference at Manchester United, largely due to his lack of experience at another major European club on his managerial CV.
🗣 "He's never managed one of the top teams in the world, why's that?"
Paul Merson questions the decision-making at #MUFC and ability of Ralf Rangnick to turn around the club's fortunes 💰 pic.twitter.com/OKiOmKQkLw— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 27, 2021
I know I'm hearing great words and I'm hearing people saying how great he is- but he's never managed in England.
He's never managed one of the top teams in the world. Why's that?
That's what I want to know. Why has no one else come in for him when managers have been up and that's what I always look at.
I hear great things about him and they're he's going to press and he's hard-working and turned lesser teams into real, real contenders. That's a lot different.
It's a lot different getting a Schalke, Hoffenheim, or someone like that and getting them to a certain stage, but when you're asked to go to one of the biggest clubs in the world and they've already got superstars and you've got to make them play.
It's alright at Schalke and Hoffenheim because they're going to listen and want to get there. These players are there and you've got to get them to go again.
I think this is going to be difficult. I think this is going to be a lot harder than what people I think. From what I'm hearing it's like a 'give me'.
I hear a lot of people say Man United are lucky. I'm ain't sure about that.
Rangnick has spent his entire coaching career in Germany, experiencing success with the likes of RB Leipzig, Hoffenheim, and Schalke.
It will be interesting to see how he fares at Old Trafford in the months ahead.
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