Sport
An FA Cup win would symbolise progress at Manchester United
Only one club (Arsenal) have won the FA Cup more times than Manchester United. It is, however, coming up for six years since the Old Trafford outfit got their hands on the oldest cup trophy in world football. In that time, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and even Leicester City have all lifted the FA Cup while United have gone five years without a single piece of silverware.
For a club like Manchester United that prides itself on the number of titles and trophies they have won over the decades, this simply isn’t good enough. Ralf Rangnick has surely been made aware of this with the German hired to reshape the club as interim manager until the end of the season when he will take up a consultancy role.
Performances under Rangnick have been generally poor, but back-to-back wins over Brentford and West Ham have at least given Manchester United some momentum ahead of Friday’s FA Cup fourth round tie at home to Middlesbrough. A top four finish in the Premier League might be Rangnick’s primary objective but an FA Cup run should also be one of his targets.
Widely considered one of the sharpest tactical minds of his generation, Rangnick has still been made to convince many within the Manchester United dressing room of his ideas. On top of this, the German is fighting for influence at boardroom level. He will need power to act as United’s de factor Director of Football after this season.
This is why Rangnick should put everything into ending the five-year trophy drought of Manchester United by winning the FA Cup. This would help him win hearts and minds at Old Trafford. Even if Rangnick is replaced as manager, the vindication of his methods would point United in the right direction for future years.
So much of the analysis of Rangnick’s early days as Manchester United boss has focused on the German’s high-pressing approach. Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United were a passive team out of possession. There was no cohesion to their play when chasing the ball which is in stark contrast to what Rangnick now wants from his side.
Against West Ham, there were signs of progress in this regard. Manchester United pressed their opponents with more unity than at any other point this season. What’s more, there was no notable drop-off in the second half as there had been in previous performances. And yet Rangnick has still had to compromise to get his new team moving forward.
While Rangnick initially wanted to use a 4-2-2-2 shape, a formation that worked for him at RB Leipzig, the German has now shifted his team into a more familiar 4-2-3-1. At times this can be a 4-3-3 but the radical tactical overhaul many predicted would happen after Rangnick’s appointment hasn’t materialised.
Billed as a footballing idealist, Rangnick has shown a more pragmatic side in recent times. This has helped push Manchester United up into fourth place in the Premier League table and it could also help them make an FA Cup run. It’s certainly true that United are more difficult to play through now than they were only a few weeks ago – this is a good trait to have in a knockout format.
Rangnick is still figuring out the shape and consistency of the squad he inherited at Manchester United and it’s likely this process will continue for months to come, maybe even longer if the German is to stick around in an executive role after the end of the season. The sight of the FA Cup in his hands would at least symbolise some progress at Manchester United.
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