Now that it’s March, it really won’t be long until the season ends, and with it, the tenure of Manchester United Interim Manager Ralf Rangnick. So who will be his replacement? As of right now, Mauricio Pochettino is considered to be among the front-runners, if not the front-runner, but that is of course contingent upon Old Trafford being able to somehow procure him from Paris Saint-Germain.
That’s much easier said than done, and it reminds us why United should have hired him the last time. If not Poch (this narrative is certainly not news), then it could be current Real Madrid mentor Carlo Ancelotti, according to ESPN FC.
ESPN’s sources state that “Ancelotti has a close personal relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson, someone new United CEO Richard Arnold has sought advice from since taking over from Ed Woodward earlier this year.”
Ancelotti’s being a candidate is a narrative that has been picked up by other outlets too, including The Express and Mundo Deportivo. And with that, we must point out that Sir Alex Ferguson was a top trending term today on Twitter, and not in a good way.
It was pretty much United fans mostly expressing the point of view that Sir Alex has had too much influence over the club in his retirement. And they do make a solid point, as this club has dwelled in the shadow of Fergie for far too long.
While Ferguson is the undisputed G.O.A.T. of managers he doesn’t walk on water, and his manager picks haven’t worked out.
So really, why does he still have so much influence in this regard? The individual that United supporters really want is Erik Ten Hag, and we saw his name trending on social media today too.
That’s because the current manager of Ajax is reportedly working on his English, in the hopes that he’ll get the United gig, which is supposedly his dream job.
Here’s more on all this from the Daily Mail.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.