working under Pep Guardiola and
clearly understand what he wants
from them, they can switch system at
the drop of a hat.
In January 2020, City beat United
3-1 in the Carabao Cup at Old
Trafford. Guardiola made a radical
change to his formation, playing a
4-4-2, with Bernardo Silva and Kevin
De Bruyne operating as false nines.
The switch worked a treat. The two
strikers dropped deep, creating space
for Raheem Sterling and Riyad
Mahrez to run into. Meanwhile,
Fernandinho and Rodri protected
the back four. Afterwards De Bruyne
said that City had spent only 15
minutes training in that formation.
United tried the same one on
Saturday, after Cristiano Ronaldo
missed out with illness, and they were
poor. Fred supported the attack from
midfield, but Anthony Elanga and
Jadon Sancho could not provide
penetration from the flanks, while
Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba
offered little in the striker positions.
Rangnick did not start Marcus
Rashford because the forward’s
confidence is low. In his 35-minute
substitute appearance, the 24-year-oldthe best player on the pitch, agreed.
“Man United weren’t hurting us,” the
Leicester man said. “Sometimes you
can almost kind of feel like you are in
control, even without the ball.
“They didn’t press the game that
well. When we did stay calm, and we
made three or four passes, we could
actually get through them.”
Van Gaal may have felt that United
needed a long time to rebuild, but
Rangnick disagrees. According to
the German, they need “maybe
two or three transfer windows” to
turn things around. “This is not
rocket science,” he said, in an
exasperated manner. “It takes the
right decisions... what kind of players
you want, what kind of manager you
want, and then in every window try to
get the best players possible.”
Rangnick pointed out that
Liverpool and Manchester City had
spent the past few years buying
players that are suited to their club’s
identity and to their manager’s style
of play. In contrast, United’s match-
day squad contained players signed
by five managers, all with different
playing styles and expectations.
Given that City’s players are used to6 2GG Monday April 4 2022 | the times
Joe Hart. Kept calm
despite missiles being
launched at him by
senseless Rangers
fans (and the broken
glass could have harmed their
own players). Kept Celtic on
course for Old Firm victory with
one incredible save from Fashion
Sakala. Kept Celtic on course for
the Scottish Premiership title.
Now 34, Hart kept getting written
off after leaving Manchester City
in 2018, but he has shown his
determination, enduring qualities
and composure under pressure.WINTER’S
WEEKEND
WONDERS
2
Cool and calm, Hart
is still going strong
Christian Eriksen.
As the Dane slid in
to score Brentford’s
second against
Chelsea in one of the
upsets of the season, he wore the
biggest smile. Eriksen was loving
the moment, another reminder of
his remarkable recovery from that
cardiac arrest in Copenhagen
during the Euros. Could he stay
on at the most famous bus stop in
Hounslow, or will he wait for a
more glamorous vehicle? Could
Brentford afford him? It’s hard to
put a price on what Eriksen is
worth to Brentford, as he brings
better performances out of those
around him and is great for
spreading the club’s name globally.
Yet given that he is so at home at
Brentford and has a platform to
prepare for the World Cup, surely
he should stay on — with a smile.Stay on at Hounslow
bus stop, Christian‘Martin-ball’ rolls along with historical effect
Russell Martin. Only
those connected to
Swansea City and
Cardiff City can fully
understand the
significance of what happened on
Saturday, the joy for Swansea and
misery for Cardiff. But even
looking in from the outside it is
possible to appreciate what
Swansea’s head coach has done.
In triumphing 4-0 to go with the
3-0 home win in October, Martin
made history by achieving the firstleague double in the south Wales
derby since the clubs began
sparring in the league in 1929-30.
Martin did it playing his
possession-based way, sticking to
what the fans call “Martin-ball”.
He had the international break to
prepare his players tactically, and
it showed. Another test awaits
away to Millwall tomorrow, and
Swansea are still 16th in the Sky
Bet Championship, but Saturday’s
day of history strengthens belief in
Martin and his methods.1
Chief Football Writer on a moment of
magic in Wales and Hart’s composure3
e
Jermaine Jenas.
When it was
announced that the
39-year-old was
co-hosting the Qatar
World Cup draw on Friday, the
reaction was best described as
unimpressed. “Unqualified,” the
outraged screamed on social
media, followed by “must have a
great agent”. So apart from
experience of 437 professional
games, 21 England caps and eight
years of media work, what else
qualified Jenas for the role as
“draw conductor”? Calm under
pressure, basically. The world was
watching, the draw was stretched
out, confederation constraints
could be confusing and he had
feedback in his ear, but Jenas
handled it well. I think he is better
on radio but even more veteran
presenters would have admired
his quarterbacking of the draw. A
smile, humour and no mistakes.4
Qatar draw conductor
Jenas is pitch perfectRaheem Sterling.
It seems crazy to
suggest that a former
footballer of the year
who has won three titles, one FA
Cup, four League Cups, has 19
goals in 74 England appearances
and was named in the Euro 2020
team of the tournament is not
always fully appreciated, but it can
feel that way. It may be because
people accept Sterling’s excellence
as standard. He was outstanding
for Manchester City on Saturday,
taking the game to Burnley. It was
“only” Burnley, but it reflected his
unceasing professionalism.Another sterling
display by Raheem5
There’s no holding back Martin after Swansea’s thumping win over CardiffLEWIS STOREY/GETTY IMAGESUnited’s
mixed bag
on target
for new low
Ralf Rangnick parked his posterior
on the swivel chair in the press
auditorium at Old Trafford on
Saturday evening and repeated
a phrase that will be familiar to
those who have followed Manchester
United’s stagnation in the post-Sir
Alex Ferguson era closely.
When asked how he could improve
the fortunes of his struggling squad,
Rangnick, the interim manager, said:
“It is a process.. .”
It is the same word that Louis
van Gaal used to utter regularly
during his reign, when he spoke
about the challenges that the club
faced in their battle to re-establish
themselves as a superpower after
Ferguson’s retirement.
Van Gaal used to trot out that word
out every time there was a big
setback, such as the time his team
were hammered 4-0 by Milton
Keynes Dons in his third match
in charge. “You cannot [click your
fingers] and then it’s working — the
process needs time,” Van Gaal said on
that woeful night in August 2014.
The Dutchman was trying to point
out that time was needed to rebuild
this great institution, but almost eight
years on, United are still floundering.
If anything, they may have become
worse. This may well end up being
the worst season United fans have
endured since Ferguson retired.
United needed to end the season
with a bang, but they have garnered
only 13 points from their past eight
games. If they take the same number
from their final eight, they will finish
with 64 points, the joint-worst tally
since Ferguson retired in 2013.
United need to win all their
matches to stand any chance of
finishing in the top four, but few
would back them to do so after
watching their drab, unimaginative
performance on Saturday.
As Lou Macari, the former United
player, acknowledged in the MUTV
studio, Leicester City were “almost in
complete control”. James Maddison,Manchester United
Fred 66^1RATINGS
Manchester United (4-4-2): D de Gea 7 — D Dalot 5,
R Varane 6, H Maguire 6, L Shaw 6 (A Telles 45min,
5) — A Elanga 5, S McTominay 5 (M Rashford 55, 5),
Fred 6, J Sancho 5 — B Fernandes 6, P Pogba 5
(N Matic 75). Booked McTominay, Shaw.
Leicester City (4-2-3-1): K Schmeichel 6 — J Justin 7,
J Evans 7 (D Amartey 64, 6), W Fofana 7, T Castagne
6 — Y Tielemans 7, N Mendy 7 (H Choudhury 90) —
J Maddison 8, K Dewsbury-Hall 7, H Barnes 7 —
K Iheanacho 7 (P Daka 90). Booked Fofana,
Tielemans.
Referee A Marriner. Attendance 73,444.Leicester City
Iheanacho 63^1PAUL HIRSTIDENTITY CRISIS
These pie charts show the manager
who recruited each of the players to
start at least ten Premier League
games this season at Manchester City,
Liverpool and Manchester United
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola
12Manuel Pellegrini
2Liverpool
Jürgen Klopp
11Kenny Dalglish
1Manchester United
Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer
8José Mourinho
6Louis van Gaal
2Alex Ferguson
1
Academy graduates are counted under the manager
who gave them their debut