Can we start talking about Neymar as overrated now, or perhaps at least a player that has not fully realized his potential? He's almost 30 now and I feel that the hype machine, his transfers, and his off-pitch antics collectively overshadow the actual accomplishments of what is undoubtedly a world-class player.
His experience at PSG has been mixed. The club is an unbalanced circus but
did choose to go there.
Rangnick does not want to be on the touchline for the long term, so the interim job plus longer term consultancy seems to fit pretty well with what he wants, career-wise. If United is choosing him for that role, that gives me hope that the club is starting to obtain a clue in terms of the actual football. I also think Poch will be the longer term pick, hopefully in the summer.
With Rangnick as a 'consultant' next summer, Man Utd have a potential logjam above the manager with Woodward still floating around plus John Murtough as 'director of football.' (though I see no evidence of 'direction' as yet). Too many cooks in the kitchen? Though if Woodward does hang around he could - and should - be shuffled off to find new corporate noodle partners or some such and not concern himself with actual football decisions.
I am not a fan of the autocratic model where one man does it all, so that's not my preferred alternative, but there is no evidence as yet that Woodward and Murtough know what they are doing (in fact the former has proven he DOESN'T know what he's doing). So will Rangnick come in and clear the air or will it just add to the muddle?
I don't think the United squad can't press, it's just that they were incredibly poorly coached to do so under Ole. For all the limitations of McFred, I think they could press very effectively if coached to do so alongside the rest of the squad. True, Ronaldo won't press, but surely a good coaching staff can work around that. Guys like Pogba and Martial, I can't see them getting any time. Lingard can put in a shift, but he appears to have one foot out the door already.
Fair point, the components should be there to do something useful on the pressing front. Ronaldo can't and won't press though, so the onus will be on the midfield and/or wide forwards to generate all the energy. A pressing side can just about carry one luxury player if the people around him have very high work rates and willingness to hunt the ball in packs. But even so teams like Liverpool and Man City have no passengers, so Ronaldo will need to be really banging them in to justify his low work rate.
Rangnick will have to find within the squad four or five players who can play in front of the defense and press as a tight unit and feed Ronaldo. Likewise he will have to get more out of the fullbacks in general. Wan Bissaka is playing entirely within himself right now.
Hopefully (from a Man Utd perspective, certainly not mine!
) Maguire can just play himself back into form if the squad around him is actually organized. If he's s good as his price indicates, I would expect him to be able to do that.
