Don't be a Jose, Ralf (or an Ole)
In his second game, Rangnick got plenty right – and plenty wrong
FIVE ASIDES Champions League: United 1, Young Boys 1
After Ralf Rangnick’s debut hit, this was the difficult second single. With United already through, he was right to ring the changes, but wrong to go for the full 11, which all but ruled out the player every manager is after, Mo Mentum. Rangnick was right to blood some youth, but wrong to field six teenagers at once, which devalues the currency. He was right to pick Nemanja Matic, but wrong to shunt him to centre-back. Teden Mengi, who showed his class after coming on as a makeshift left-back, might have done even better if he’d been allowed to play in his normal position. As it was, he was the only novice to enhance his reputation.
Rangnick was right to pick Donny van de Beek as a holding midfielder, but wrong to leave him on his own there, which led directly to Young Boys’ goal. Rangnick called van de Beek’s risky little pass to Aaron Wan-Bissaka ‘annoying’, which would have been fine if he had added that he was annoyed with himself for asking van de Beek to hold the fort alone. He also slipped up in saying of Mason Greenwood, ‘My job is to develop him, make an athlete out of him.’ To be fair, there was more to the quote: ‘Again he showed [his ability], not only because of the beautiful goal, but also the way he set up an opportunity for Juan Mata was brilliant. He’s a massive talent – left foot, right foot, good on the ball, also the way he set up the goal for Fred on Sunday.’ That was all positive and all true, but it was the one negative that made the headline in The Times (‘Mason is a massive talent but he must become an athlete’). That’s the kind of remark that can become a millstone, for both player and manager. Keep the criticism private, Ralf – don’t be a Mourinho.
He was right to do some experimenting but wrong to abandon the 4-2-2-2. This was a great chance to get the reserves used to Rangnick’s favourite formation. Instead he switched to something widely listed as a 4-3-3 that turned out to be more of a 4-1-2-3, the kind Pep Guardiola favours when he’s not feeling too funky. Rangnick lurched from having three No.10s on the bench (van de Beek, Mata and Jesse Lingard) to starting them all, but none of them at No.10: they were a No.6 and two No.8s. They all showed their artistry – Mata with bold diagonal balls, van de Beek with Lampard-style arrivals in the box, Lingard with the grasp of space that could make him a Rangnick regular. But they were all rusty too, which was entirely understandable and predictable after they were ostracised by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Rangnick was right to use Anthony Elanga and Amad, both exciting prospects, but wrong to start them. The XI should have looked like this: Henderson (who was commanding as usual); Dalot, Bailly, Mengi, Shaw; van de Beek, Matic; Mata, Lingard; Greenwood, Rashford (or Sancho, if Rashford is still not fully fit). Less rust, more heft, no square pegs, some continuity, and a better chance of the 3-1 win that was there for the taking. To play Young Boys twice and collect only one point looks like wastefulness. Of course Rangnick isn’t to blame for the way Solskjaer’s United messed up the first game, but he came up with a Solskjaer-ish selection, throwing on teenagers in batches – both Elanga and Amad at the start, both Mengi and Shola Shoretire around the hour mark, both Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage at the end. Touching as it was to hear Robbie Savage commentate on his son’s debut, and historic as it was to see a British Asian play for United, the duplication made it harder for each kid to shine. This is the Champions League, not The Apprentice.
Come to think of it, it pretty much was a Solskjaer selection. Rangnick, perhaps unwittingly, did a fair amount of cut-and-pasting from the strange, half-arsed game against Leicester in May. The whole front six from that night reappeared here, and the upshot was much the same. Again, they produced several sparkling moves; again, they struggled to finish them; again, the only goal came from the icy genius of Greenwood; again, he thrived on being the main man, possibly because, until he reached the first team, that’s what he always was. If Cristiano Ronaldo were to get injured, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.
Tim de Lisle writes about sport for The Guardian. If you’re a cricket fan, an insomniac or a masochist, do join him at 3.40am UK time tonight to see just how badly England are doing in the Ashes.