For a job often touted as the biggest club job in world football, you would think Manchester United would have a stronger list of candidates ready to step up and bring back the glory days.
Right now, the stock for the top candidates couldn’t be much lower. The current man in the hotseat – Ralf Rangnick – is hardly doing anything to change the feeling that he is anything more than a stop gap, buying time for officials to find a permanent boss.
United’s dreary Champions League exit to Atletico Madrid at the last-16 stage confirms yet another trophyless season for the Red Devils – a consequence of continually poor managerial appointments.
Manchester United’s top candidates for the job Mauricio Pochettino (left) and Erik ten Hag (right) have not covered themselves in glory this week after their Champions League exits
Interim coach Ralf Rangnick is not proving why he should take the full time position after United were knocked out of Europe by Atletico Madrid
Hiring an interim coach has not united a squad divided by the turbulent reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – in fact, it’s created more problems.
The team is now crying out for fresh ideas already, when the presence of Rangnick was supposed to steady the ship, and perhaps even sail it to new exciting shores if it worked out. The German can forget that now – he’s almost certain to be thrown overboard.
Given all the uncertainty within the team, it’s vital now more than ever that the next appointment is the right one. The hard truth is that United haven’t got the right man in the dugout since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.
And of the top crop of managers in line to replace Rangnick, there isn’t much optimism either. Let’s just say the favourites for the role haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory. Just like for United, it’s been a week to forget.
Pochettino was one of the favourites to take over from Rangnick but the nature of PSG’s collapse against Real Madrid is a cause for concern
First – PSG’s defeat to Real Madrid, a shot in the foot for top candidate Mauricio Pochettino. Anyone can lose a game, but it was the manner of how the Argentine’s side threw the tie away that was most alarming.
Pochettino has a great track record of bringing through exciting youth players and playing attractive football on the front foot, but at Tottenham his team had a reputation for falling flat in big games.
He reached plenty of cup semi-finals and finals, but never seemed able to get his players to take that crucial, decisive step. Even at PSG, his star-studded side allowed Lille to win Ligue 1 last season – which should be the minimum achievement.
It seems he has some way to go before becoming a born winner, and after so many years in the wilderness – that trait in a manager is what United desperately need.
Another name in the running for the job is Erik Ten Hag – the Ajax manager.
Relatively young at 52, Ten Hag has had admirers from all over after his work in Holland, helping them reach the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 and playing pretty football with a young group of players.
He appears taylor-made for the Premier League and a club like United, whose values seem to match up with his, but there seems to be a few sticking points standing in the way of him taking the top job.
Like Pochettino, Ten Hag also suffered an embarrassing Champions League exit.
United CEO Richard Arnold faces a monumental decision over the club’s next permanent boss
No one is expecting any United job hopeful to win the competition but for two of the favourites to go out in the last-16 is far from ideal, and will prove to be a real headache for CEO Richard Arnold and the power players plotting the next man in charge.
Ten Hag’s Ajax went out against Benfica after a 1-0 defeat at home – losing 3-2 on aggregate. He’s proven he can get his teams in the position for silverware after winning two Eredivisie titles and also securing a place in the 2017 Europa League final – which Ajax lost to United – but his side’s exit has come at the wrong time.
There are also concerns about his struggles with English – we hear all the time that he is stepping up his efforts to learn the language amid stronger links to the United job, but Sportsmail reported earlier this month how he interviewed for the Tottenham job last year, only for talks to collapse – with the Dutchman not coming across as charismatic as he battled with communication.
On the other hand – the manager who successfully plotted Manchester United’s downfall with Atletico Madrid comes away with the most credit. Betfair have him as short as 20/1 to take the reins at Old Trafford, yet he seems at home in Madrid after 11 years in charge – why would he give all that up for the chaotic mess at United?
Ten Hag is also an option but he struggles with English and displayed a lack of charisma during an interview with Tottenham last year
Yet the club are crying out for someone with his passion and intensity – for a coach who can organise his defence and get big performances out of his key stars. He’s already won LaLiga twice, ending years of domination by Real Madrid and Barcelona. He’s also won two Europa Leagues and got to two Champions League finals.
United need winners and he is certainly one. Yet managers of his ilk appear to be out of the question given the position they find themselves in – facing a real battle to claim a top four spot and out of every major competition.
There was also calls for the club to take advantage of Chelsea’s uncertain future and pluck their manager Thomas Tuchel, with the Blues on the verge of a financial meltdown and a number of players set to leave on free transfers. But you don’t envisage such a bold move actually materialising and that’s part of the problem. For now, Tuchel at Old Trafford is simply a pipe dream.
United directors clearly know how to run a commercial business but that doesn’t come across to managerial appointments. Antonio Conte was there for the taking as a free agent when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was fired, they passed up the chance and Tottenham pounced.
Thomas Tuchel (left) and Diego Simeone (right) have been mooted as elite coaches United should go for, but the club doesn’t seem in a position to attract managers of their calibre
What remains most bizarre was their decision to sidestep the Italian – regarded as one of the best coaches in the game – before hiring an interim coach with questionable credentials.
Club legend Paul Scholes led the criticism of the German’s appointment after United’s exit on Tuesday night, and admitting Simeone would have done a much better job with this team after besting them with Atletico.
‘How (Ralf Rangnick) was chosen to be manager of this club, I don’t know. Getting a proper coach for this team is a massive thing. There is some real talent in this squad.
‘The very first thing this club needs to do to get anywhere near winning the league again is getting in a proper coach who works for this team.
‘If Diego Simeone was managing them, United would have gone through.’
The interim appointment of Rangnick has been widely deemed a mistake, with the German unable to provide a big lift to the team
United cannot afford to get their next appointment wrong but there are already some serious red flags with their top contenders
This month Sportsmail revealed that United are hoping to have a new permanent manager confirmed by April – with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti a surprise name in the frame.
CEO Arnold and football director John Murtough will be the two big decision makers in the process – with the pair looking to announce a coach who can hit the ground running and have more time to think about his squad and possible signings.
Having certainty around the new boss would settle the squad and refocus them ahead of next season – as well as bringing optimism after the dismal end to the current campaign.
The Champions League is what United crave but the competition has also dampened the hype around the next boss. This week it has proven to be the undoing of Rangnick, Pochettino and Ten Hag.
Whoever United back as the next boss, this decision is a pivotal one – one they cannot get wrong, not again. There are already noticeable cracks in the foundations before the new man’s name has been placed on the office door.
