What are expectations for Manchester United from here on?

With Carrick era over at Manchester United, all eyes on Ralf Rangnick

Ralf Rangnick is considered something of a genius in Germany, and now he will have a chance to prove himself in the English Premier League. While he was hired to be the boss for the rest of the year then move upstairs to be a consultant for two years, there are rumors that the German will do all he can to secure additional time as coach of Manchester United.

To do that, his team will have to play more akin to how they did against Arsenal than in previous iterations of this club. They have been ugly this year, escaping multiple situations only by the grace of the ever-incredible Cristiano Ronaldo. Rangnick will look to relieve the Portuguese talisman of some of that pressure, although Ronaldos thrives on it.

While the Arsenal win was good, they escaped by the skin of their teeth against a very young team. Were it not for a few calls, or non-calls, they might have lost the midweek match.

In any event, United will have to carry on in this regard in order to keep Rangnick beyond this season, and that will mean in Europe as well as on English soil.

Manchester United: Always a few changes from really competing

Under Rangnick, this will be no exception. When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over on an interim basis, following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho, the form became so good, the caretaker tag was removed, only for United to fall back down to earth.

Somehow, their invigoration diminished when Ole was promoted, and while the Norwegian came close to securing at least one trophy a few times, they were never to be, and so his stay as boss was always going to be dictated by how long he could steady the ship. That ship finally began sinking and so he was sacked quickly thereafter.

Rangnick will have to try that now himself, and with the talent on hand, he will likely add to it this winter window. It will be a matter of negotiating who plays where and when, as well as tactical organization and execution. The talent on this squad is second to none and so the shock losses and upsets always seem to sting this team harder than it does other clubs.

The German must try to sustain the energy from the Arsenal win as a string of matches loom before January that aren’t entirely difficult on the surface. But that might trouble a squad that remains unfocused, and that’s the team Rangnick has inherited. The begin with Crystal Palace, followed by Young Boys in the Champions League, Norwich City, Brentford, Brighton, Newcastle United and Burnley.

United should easily be able to dispatch Young Boys this time around while taking between 15 and 18 points from the aforementioned Premier League lot. While some teams are struggling with a really brutal December, these Red Devils have a reprieve but will face a real gambit later in the year.