Sportblog | The Guardian — Ralf Rangnick RSS

Dec 02, 2021

Ralf Rangnick’s 24-match task: to go fourth with Manchester United | Jamie Jackson

The interim manager needs to take advantage of a favourable run of fixtures to secure a Champions League placeThe Amazon Prime access-all-areas documentary of Ralf Rangnick’s 24-match Premier League tenure as Manchester United interim manager might be entitled “Finish Fourth”. Or, alternatively “The Gamble”.Because, make no mistake: if the German, who watched this harum-scarum United victory over Arsenal on a picnic blanket to keep warm in the posh seats, has not lifted them into a Champions League place when match-day No 38 is over he will have failed. And, despite the billing of Rangnick and his career achievements, being parachuted in for a six-month Red Adair act is the latest dice-throw from United in the eight years and now six...

Nov 28, 2021

Remote hand of Rangnick already in play as Ronaldo feels the chill | Barney Ronay

Manchester United’s new interim manager would have been watching closely as his soon-to-be players did their auditions at Stamford BridgeAs Cristiano Ronaldo prepared to come on to the pitch with an hour gone at Stamford Bridge, having already performed a dutiful kind of warm-up, idling along the touchline like a venerable old don taking a stroll on the chamomile lawns, a large book of laminated diagrams was waved in front of his nose.Ronaldo, to his credit, made a decent show of having a look. Two decades into one of the great elite level careers, CR7 is not too proud for your diagrams. But there might have been a temptation to grab that folder and scour the hand written notes, to...

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