"The cohesion at the club was next to zero" - Ex-PL boss reveals Ralf Rangnick's verdict of Manchester United
Former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has revealed the damning verdict former Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has of the club.
Rangnick spent five months at Old Trafford in an interim role after the Red Devils dismissed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The German coach struggled to improve an already struggling United side, as his team finished sixth in the Premier League table.
The former RB Leipzig boss was expected to take up a consultancy role with Manchester United after his stint as caretaker boss. But, he parted ways with the club, instead becoming Austria's national team coach.
However, Rangnick constantly shed light on issues he felt were holding the Red Devils back. Marsch worked with the German at Leipzig and he has touched on conversations the duo and others have held about the state of the Old Trafford outfit.
Marsch said on the Upfront podcast (via TenHagBall_):
"What I had heard from Ralf and others that were there at the time is that the cohesion at the club was next to zero... their communication with the scouting departments and the sporting departments and directors. That made them feel like probably there wasn't much of a future for them there."
Rangnick oversaw 11 wins in 29 games across competitions while in charge of Manchester United. But, it was his take on the club from top to bottom during his tenure which was most intriguing. He said back in April 2022:
"You don’t even need glasses to see and analyse where the problems are. Now it’s about how do we solve them? It’s not enough to do some minor amendments – cosmetic things. In medicine you would say that this is an operation of the open heart."
Erik ten Hag replaced Rangnick as the Red Devils' permanent boss in July 2022. The Dutch coach ended the club's six-year trophy drought by winning the Carabao Cup and guided them to a third-placed finish in the 2022-23 campaign.
However, it's been a case of the same old story this season for United and Ten Hag. His side have faltered, crashing out of the UEFA Champions League and currently sitting eighth in the league after 20 games.
Manchester United ignored Ralf Rangnick's four-man transfer wishlist
Rangnick didn't get the opportunity to make any permanent signings during his short stint at Manchester United. But, he did advise the club about four European stars that they should have targeted.
That's according to former Chelsea striker Demba Ba who Rangnick was mentoring at the time. He was even set for a role in the German's coaching team but work permit issues prevented this from happening.
Nevertheless, Ba revealed four players Rangnick apparently told United to try and sign. He said (via Mirror):
"If you had the list in your head that he gave to Manchester United to sign when he was there you’d be amazed. This was in January 2022. Josko Gvardiol was on it. Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland were on it, that’s for sure. Enzo Fernandez, now at Chelsea, was there."
Erling Haaland, Josko Gvardiol (both Manchester City) and Enzo Fernandez (Chelsea) have all arrived in the Premier League. Jude Bellingham headed to Real Madrid this past summer, and it's fair to say the majority are proving to be stellar pieces of bussiness.
Certainly Haaland who has bagged 71 goals in 75 games since joining City from Borussia Dortmund. Manchester United are struggling for goals this season, with their 22 goals in the league only bettering rock-bottom Sheffield United and Burnley.