It doesn't take a genius to identify Manchester United 's problems.
For well over a decade at Old Trafford, supporters and pundits alike have bemoaned the Red Devils' rudderless decisions, bouncing from one manager and recruitment strategy to the next with little connective tissue. Instead, a series of "depressing" patterns have emerged in the post- Sir Alex Ferguson era - and they're not pretty.
One such theme which has tied United's decline together is the fact they've rarely looked like a top-class football team for prolonged periods over the past nine years.
For a sport becoming quicker both on the pitch and off it, the Red Devils have lagged behind the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea when it comes to the core principles of the modern game. Most notably, they've been pretenders when it comes to pressing and the increased physical demands which come with being successful in 2022.
While Jose Mourinho wasn't exactly the biggest advocate for a contemporary, front-foot style of play during his Old Trafford tenure, the former United boss still bemoaned his team's lack of physicality, compared to Jurgen Klopp 's Liverpool, after his final match as manager in December 2018.
Two days before being unceremoniously sacked, having been beaten 3-1 by one of the best sides in the Premier League, 'the Special One' lamented: "We have lots of players that I could consider injury prone because some of our players are always injured and it is not with me. It was before me. It was if you look to the stats with Mr [Louis] Van Gaal and before (him) with David Moyes.
"If you look to that period we have lots of players who are permanently injured. When you are permanently injured, physicality is very difficult to get. Then there are qualities that a player has or does not have. You cannot improve or make them have it. I will give you an example: [Andrew] Robertson, [Sadio] Mane, [Mohamed] Salah, [Georginio] Wijnaldum, [Naby] Keita, Fabinho.
"They are physical players and, on top of that, they are good players technically. I also have lot of good players technically but we don't have lots of players with that intensity."
Easy to spot just by watching the sluggish Red Devils during Mourinho's final days, his observation that United were indeed lacking in the athletic department under Van Gaal and Moyes, too, was nonetheless true.
The football was slow, methodical and, well, not very good.
Granted, the game can't always be played at 100 miles-an-hour, but Klopp's "heavy metal football" was evidently the way forward, even if there were some teething problems for the first few years at Anfield which threatened to detail the German tactician's grand plan.
So, what did the Red Devils do after they made another sacking, this time Mourinho's successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer? Appoint the man who inspired Klopp's philosophy, a seemingly sensible decision. Ralf Rangnick, a fellow acclaimed coach hailing from the Bundesliga, is dubbed 'the Godfather of Gegenpressing', the term used to describe that kind of heavy metal football.
After 21 games, though, United are more of a quiet indie band, not wishing to make too much noise and build up a sweat, but still hoping to look cool while doing it.
At their most recent gig, a drab 1-1 draw with Leicester City, exactly what Mourinho had been complaining about hit Rangnick, whose interim reign will end in June and see him move into a consultancy role with the 20-time English champions.
"I have told the board already what has to happen and whenever the new coach or manager is clear, it has to be congruent to how does the manager want to play and what kind of players we need for that,'' the 63-year-old, credited with building the progressive Red Bull footballing empire, explained post-match when asked what his club need to do next.
"Then again, we come back to DNA, physicality, speed, tempo, what do we need? I think this team does not lack technical players, but I think we can do with more physicality. It takes the right decisions, knowing who you want to go too, manager, players, what kind of people do we need for that?.
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"Then, in every transfer window, to get the best possible players for that. This is possible, this is not rocket science, it has to be done, it needs to be done. If that happens, it does not necessarily mean that we need three-four years for that, maybe just two-three transfer windows, then the situation could be different."
What might be good news for Red Devils fans is that Rangnick may well finally be the man to fix their long-running issue, facing yet another seismic summer transfer window.
The top folk at Old Trafford would surely be remised not to listen to a man central to the reboot of German football in the 2000s, which led to them winning the World Cup, all while setting a trend which countless coaches have latched onto in recent years.
Set to have a say in whoever the club's next permanent manager is, the Godfather and the Special One's comments, three-and-a-half years apart, are simply signs that United can't ignore any longer.
