If at the beginning of last week Ralf Rangnick held a flicker of hope he would be Manchester United manager next season, then defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League second round has surely extinguished it.<\/p>\n
Man Utd enter the international break on a run of one win in five matches in all competitions and closer to West Ham in seventh than Arsenal in fourth.<\/p>\n
They are also on track to win 66 points, which, strangely enough, would be the fourth time they\u2019ve hit that total in the last seven years.<\/p>\n
in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson years.<\/p>\n
It goes without saying they need to get the next appointment right but, .<\/p>\n
By the end of next season, it will be 10 years since the club\u2019s last league title, a significant milestone that will cause more soul-searching at Old Trafford.<\/p>\n
By then, they need to have in place a long-term vision; a structure that has a league title in its sights but with an understanding that, realistically, it will take several years to get to the level that Jurgen Klopp\u2019s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola\u2019s Manchester City are at.<\/p>\n
As Liverpool supporters can attest to, the first 10 years without a title are rough, but not as rough as the next 10.<\/p>\n
It gets tougher with every year that passes, and Man Utd must ready themselves for a long process that demands patience. There is no quick fix and no time to waste.<\/p>\n
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Broadly speaking, there are two directions United can go. One route is towards hard pressing and verticality, the other a more patient possession approach: the Klopp way or the Guardiola way. <\/p>\n
GOAL sources say that Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag are level-pegging in the eyes of the decision-makers at United, with Julen Lopetegui, Thomas Tuchel and Luis Enrique the others being considered.<\/p>\n
Luis Enrique is surely out of the question as he is determined to lead Spain into the World Cup this winter. The other four neatly reflect that choice between the two dominant tactical systems in European football.<\/p>\n
Pochettino or Tuchel represent Kloppites<\/p>\n
The Argentine has been tracked by United for a very long time now and it is believed he would love the job.<\/p>\n
Pochettino has struggled to handle the egotism that drives Paris Saint-Germain, finding player power too great for his tactical beliefs to take hold. <\/p>\n
But rather than see Pochettino\u2019s time in Paris as a sign he is not capable of managing a difficult group, we should view him as someone with the lived experience to handle it.<\/p>\n
and, right now, United are hovering alarmingly close to the same approach.<\/p>\n
From the leaks to broadsheet newspapers about Rangnick\u2019s methods to the whinging we see on the pitch, Man Utd could do with a manager who has seen this kind of behaviour at its worst and will work to stamp it out before things spiral out of control.<\/p>\n
From a tactical perspective, he is the ideal fit. Pochettino\u2019s desire to play hard-pressing football that focuses on verticality in the transition is in keeping with the Premier League\u2019s tactical shift towards the Germanic way of playing.<\/p>\n
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He is not hugely dissimilar from Thomas Tuchel \u2013 another manager GOAL understands United are assessing \u2013 although Pochettino teams press higher.<\/p>\n
Pochettino\u2019s focus on using overlapping full-backs to provide penetration from out wide means but, elsewhere, there are the foundations for a move towards direct football that makes use of the transitions.<\/p>\n
Fred would be an ideal box-to-box midfielder for Pochettino or Tuchel, while Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Elanga have the explosive pace that would suit the attacking attitudes of the two managers.<\/p>\n
However, neither would be keen on Harry Maguire, requiring a more agile defender to cope with holding a high line, while more press-resistant and creative players are needed in central midfield. <\/p>\n
Then there is the Cristiano Ronaldo problem, as the Portuguese’s presence may inform which path United choose. <\/p>\n
His unwillingness to press as part of a collective system and sacrifice himself makes the Kloppite option less appealing than the Guardiola style of suffocation and control, which, in theory, allows for a penalty-box poacher.<\/p>\n
Ten Hag or Lopetegui represent Guardiola approach<\/p>\n
Man Utd may wish to see themselves more as over-dogs, as football royalty who want to completely dominate matches as Manchester City do. <\/p>\n
If that\u2019s the case, then Ten Hag or Julen Lopetegui \u2013 the latter lower further down the list \u2013 make more sense due to their greater focus on possession.<\/p>\n
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Ten Hag has been credited with reviving the classic Ajax teams of the past with his slower style of football, which requires constant circulation of possession; opponents are gradually worn down after being camped in their own third for long periods.<\/p>\n
Lopetegui\u2019s Sevilla are less successful \u2013 owing to their relative size compared with the superclubs in Spain- but they hold 60.8 per cent possession on average in La Liga. <\/p>\n
Their primary ambition is to keep the ball high up the pitch for long periods and while this works from a defensive standpoint \u2013 they have the best record in Spain \u2013 it does mean Sevilla struggle to break opponents down. They have drawn 12 times domestically this season.<\/p>\n
Perhaps Lopetegui would have greater success with a more powerful team like Man Utd. <\/p>\n