There are already some problems with United’s Rangnick resolution

THE MORE I think about Manchester United’s new coaching arrangement, the less it makes sense.

Last week, with the news that United were closing in on Ralf Rangnick, I was nogal excited by the news. Rangnick is a pioneer in the modern game.

The 63-year-old has been the most influential mind in German football for the last 20 years.

While he has had mild success as a coach – with no big league and European titles on his CV – his ideas have taken other coaches to the top of the game.

Rangnick’s “gegenpressen” philosophy and tactics have been adopted by the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel and Julian Nagelsmann.

Meaning “counter-press” this style of play calls for attackers to try and win the ball high up on the pitch once possession is lost.

Basically it’s countering the counterattack. And winning a turnover that deep in enemy territory gives opponents no time to recover and you can create scoring chances. Attacking by defending.

It’s worked a treat for German sides against teams with possession-based styles in the last decade.

Remember Bayern Munich humiliating Barcelona and Arsenal in the Champions League?

Think back to 2013 and we had an all-german European Cup final, when Bayern Munich beat Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund 1-0.

Germany’s tactical advancements helped them win the World Cup in 2014 too. Then there is Liverpool’s recent success and Tuchel’s Chelsea winning the Champions League this year.

Rangnick’s main legacy is his work in the rise of the Red Bull football empire, bringing players, knowhow and success to Leipzig and Salzburg. Sadio Mane, Takumi Minamino and Ibrahima Konate at Liverpool are his products. Also Erling Haaland at Dortmund, Chelsea’s Timo Werner and Wolves ace Hwang Hee-chan too.

So what does this mean for United? His six-month contract as coach at Old Trafford is highly unlikely to be as dramatic as Tuchel’s first six months at Chelsea.so

what of the following two years as “consulting”?

While it sounds great that Rangnick will be scouting players and giving United tips on how to run their academy, unless he has a puppet manager, how is it going to work?

Now I can’t see a Rassie Erasmus-jacques Nienaber situation happening.

And for Rangnick to find a pliable coach to do his bidding is going to be tough to find in an industry where coaches have their own ideas and massive egos.

Working around that will be extraordinarily difficult. Unless of course he gets one of his minions to take the reins when his six months is up. Or just carries on himself. Either way, it’s going to take time and probably another expensive turnover of players for this new approach to work.

Look at how long it took Klopp at Liverpool. Chelsea less so because they have an army of players who are coachable.

United? They have players who come with trademarks – Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes.

Even youngsters like Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho look more interested in getting their shirt sale numbers up.

So I don’t see how this new United union is going to work.