Ralf Rangnick has been shown how to transform Manchester United in one transfer window

Ralf Rangnick hasn't been the first to say it, and he almost certainly won't be the last, but the idea that Manchester United are always just two or three transfer windows away from being competitive again is nothing but a cop-out.

United are in a rut and perhaps their deepest to date. Though the football was largely dull under Louis van Gal and the atmosphere toxic during Jose Mourinho's reign, trophies were still won. Silverware may have been absent during Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's ill-thought-out time in the hot seat but the football was often exciting and for a spell, it felt like the good times were back. Even if they evidently weren't.

The Norweigan was inevitably sacked in November and instead of getting a permanent replacement straight away, United's hierarchy opted to forfeit a whole campaign less than halfway through by bringing in Rangnick. Hiring a man who had managed just one season in the last 10 and who is renowned for playing a certain style that takes time to implement on a temporary basis has surprisingly not quite worked out as hoped.

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United can't win a trophy this season. A fifth in succession. They are currently down in seventh place and a spot in next season's Champions League is looking unlikely with just three wins in the last eight Premier League outings. It would take a mighty turnaround for United to catch up to the two North London sides and, despite Arsenal and Spurs' own tendency to slip up, they don't look to have the confidence, belief or fight to do so.

It's a new nadir for United. They look so bereft of ideas in attacking areas, have no control of games in midfield and are often calamitous at the back.