Ignore the history re-writers, Ralf Rangnick was a disaster at Man United and his coaching at the Euros doesn’t change that, writes IAN LADYMAN

There is a natural instinct in this country to belittle other sporting nations and it’s unattractive.

I was guilty of it on our ‘Its All Kicking Off’ podcast yesterday when I said that England’s side of the draw in Euro 2024 resembled the bottom half of the Championship. That was a stupid thing to say. Just for clicks, as Harry Kane may observe.

I was in Frankfurt last Sunday as Switzerland came within a couple of minutes of beating Germany. They would have deserved their victory. Turkey have fanatical support all across Germany and have come through a difficult group with more points than England did in theirs. As for our next opponents, well we played Slovakia in the first phase of Euro 2016 in France and drew 0-0. The next gamed England played was against Iceland and we all know how that turned out.

So there are teams here in Germany that still need to be beaten if Gareth Southgate’s team are to bring us some genuine sporting joy this summer and that’s before we mention Ralf Rangnick’s Austria.

Pitched in to a group with France and the Netherlands, they were unfancied, lost their first game to France and still finished top of the pile.

It’s been heartening to see Rangnick recover from his spell as interim boss of Man United

Though Rangnick has excelled in his position as Austria boss, history should not be re-written as his reign as Manchester United was a disaster

Austria have been fabulous to watch and have earned their progress on the back of enthusiastic and cleverly structured football. If England were playing them this weekend they would have it all on to come through.

It’s been illuminating and heartening to see Rangnick recover from his colourful but desperate spell as interim manager at Manchester United to restore his reputation and thrive again. It just shows that some circumstances suit certain coaches and others don’t.

Away from the harshness of the light that always shines on Old Trafford, Rangnick has been able to fall back on the football intelligence and methodical cleverness that saw him earn such a sound reputation in the game at RB Leipzig, Hannover and Hoffenheim.

Watching Austria play here and seeing players such as Marcel Sabitzer – another one who briefly passed through Old Trafford – and the occasionally unmanageable Marko Arnautovic – once of Stoke City and West Ham – devote themselves to Rangnick’s patterns of play has been evidence of a serious coach at work.

But none of that should be used to suggest that what happened at United in 2021/22 should be wiped from Rangnick’s slate. He was a disaster in Manchester – wholly unsuited to the post – and it all unravelled rather quickly because of that.

If you recall, he replaced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer towards the Christmas of 2021 with a remit to take the club through to the end of the season. He was then to be retained as a football consultant, a tenuous and rather ill-considered plan that fell to pieces once Erik ten Hag arrived and said with some justification that he hadn’t been lured from a nice number at Ajax only to be told what to do, who to sign and how to play by somebody else.

Had Rangnick’s results been better he may have had a chance. His own spell in charge had only stripped him of credibility.

I recall the Austrian’s first game in charge of United, a home game against Crystal Palace. In the build-up I had asked him at a press conference if he really though he could ask United to play the intense, high-press football he was known for when he had people like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nemanja Matic and Edinson Cavani in his team.

The plan for Rangnick to be kept on as a football consultant at the end of the 2021-22 season was a rather tenuous and ill-considered one that fell to pieces after a poor spell at Old Trafford

He said he could and for half an hour against Palace that night, United were some sight to watch. They were a whir of high energy and intensity right up until the point that they found they couldn’t sustain it. After 30 minutes, they were out on their feet. United won 1-0 but the truth had been laid bare for all to see,

And that was pretty much as good as it got for Rangnick in the Premier League. He hired coaches from America with absolutely no pedigree. The players laughed at them. His preferred style of play didn’t work and he was unable to find another one.

By the end, the 65-year-old German sought refuge in Friday afternoon press conference soundbites. It was all great fun as, sensing he would not be there for the long-term, he tore United and its many failings apart in a way that only a chap on his way out of the door could possibly do.

Rangnick is a very good coach as proven by his job with Austria, but he was never a Man United manager

Some of his contributions remain fresh, such as the day he said United needed ‘open heart surgery’. 

In some quarters, his words were perceived as being terribly wise and insightful. The reality was that it was football pub chat dressed up in nice language. As sad it was, Rangnick was merely pointing out the huge holes in the United football operation that anybody on the Stretford End could see and that Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his gang of rent-a-quotes are wrestling with to this day.

He was great fun was Wrecking Ball Ralf and it’s heartening to see him back doing what he does best. Rangnick is a very good coach but he was never a Manchester United manager. Let’s not pretend he was.

FA shouldn’t forget about Southgate 

Gareth Southgate walked towards the England supporters in Cologne on Tuesday like a man walking in to the sea with his clothes on. He knew it was a bad idea but he was determined to do it anyway.

There was a profound sadness to it and that was only made worse when two or three plastic beer glasses started to fall at his feet.

For sure, it will be time for Southgate to go in a fortnight. Even if England – as we hope – can rally and find their way to the Euro 2024 final in Berlin, Southgate’s race is now run.

The Football Association should not forget the 53-year-old, though. They should not forget where we were after the Sam Allardyce fiasco in 2016. They should not forget the heady joy of England finally going deep into a World Cup two summers later and then reaching a tournament final, at Wembley, in 2021.

Gareth Southgate’s run as England manager could come to an end after Euro 2024

That – and the manner in which he has managed to make playing for England feel special and important again – is what the FA and indeed this footballing nation should thank and remember Southgate for.

I remember sitting in a hotel room opposite Gare Nord in Paris as Iceland knocked Roy Hodgson’s England out of Euro 2016. I had my windows open and down below the football fans gathered in front of restaurant TVs were laughing at the English.

They haven’t laughed at us much on Southgate’s watch and that’s important. Southgate understands this country’s football. He understands the importance of identity and pathways and joined up thinking between age groups and indeed between men and women.

He will doubtless head off to try again as a club manager once all this is over. But when he is done with all that the FA should dig out his number and invite him back as technical director.

Revealing Bellingham comments 

Jude Bellingham appeared on the FA’s in-house You Tube show and spoke revealingly of how he felt during the draw with Slovenia.

‘I felt dead,’ the 20-year-old said.

Maybe Bellingham is worn out after a long season with Real Madrid that only ended at the Champions League final four weeks ago. If so, that’s understandable.

Jude Bellingham appears worn out after a long first season with Spanish giants Real Madrid

Equally telling was how Bellingham revealed his appreciation of the thousands of England supporters out here in Germany.

Bellingham seemed to feel as though the England team owe their fanbase a performance and if so that’s a good starting point. It’s not too late for Jude and the gang to lift off.