Decidedly, the Mancunian boat is very difficult to maneuver. So ask Ralf Rangnick. Arrived in early December, the 58-year-old German negotiated his debut rather well with three wins and two draws in five games. Problem: Manchester United had only faced fairly weak opponents like Norwich, Newcastle, Burnley or the Young Boys of Bern. After this week’s defeat at home against Wolverhampton (0-1), the record of the former architect of the RedBull group is a little tarnished. Beyond the average results, it is especially the game that disappoints. Just like the atmosphere within the club (and particularly the locker room) which would be detestable.
A story of clans
The Daily Mail actually announces that internal tensions are high on the Mancunian side. With clans that have formed between those who play and the others. Thus, half of the disgruntled players would like to leave the club like Jesse Lingard, Donny van de Beek, Dean Henderson, Edinson Cavani or Anthony Martial.
The newspaper also claims that many players did not come to the team cohesion dinner hosted in November by Cristiano Ronaldo. Which would be very revealing of the deleterious atmosphere of the locker room. At the training center, the Portuguese would be “very surprised at the level of demand which had fallen” since his return last summer. Thus, he had also taken the beak with Harry Maguire.
After the defeat against Wolves, CR7 had also left the field very annoyed by the turn of the meeting. In interview, Luke Shaw, had mentioned a problem of unity within the group. “The mood is described as oppressive in Carrington (Editor’s note, the training center)“, continues the newspaper.
Our colleagues affirm that the frictions, already present under Solskjaer, have intensified under Ragnick. A shame when we know that the German’s mission was to appease the locker room and offer him more tactical discipline. And the poor level of play displayed since the arrival of the former Schalke 04 does not suggest more progress on the field than outside.
Increasingly isolated rangnick
The Mirror also added a layer on Wednesday by adding another point that bothers the locker room: the position of the coach. Indeed, Rangnick has an interim contract. He should become a technical director at the end of his term to create the backbone of his team. But the locker room does not like his methods. He had notably asked the players to monitor their body language on the field via a sports psychologist.
Suddenly, the coach being more and more isolated, observers do not give him much chance to turn things around. Seventh in the Premier League, United still have a few days before playing their cup match this Monday against Aston Villa. The Mancuniens will then not have the right to make mistakes the following Saturday against these same Villans. One thing is certain: Ralf Rangnick would have liked to have had a less hectic start to the adventure.
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