Would you take Graham Potter at United?

[432JuanMata]

Perhaps we should start a “Would you take Vieira?” thread.

I know you meant this tongue in cheek but Potter has been doing well with Brighton for a long time. Last season they were 16th but on Expected goals they should of been 8th. They were the most wasteful team last season then they lost Ben White for 50m and replaced him with Duffy(being Irish myself he’s average) and look no worse.

Potter did well before Brighton and is a top coach I always said he would end up at Spurs

 

[432JuanMata]

Also to add it seems prime that he will take over if Nuno does get sacked this season. I thought he might end up at Arsenal after 3 games but Arteta is doing good now.
I would take him here but I feel the right step is Spurs. I actually think he will do as well as Poch did with them. Not saying he would make them CL finalist but have them challenging top 4 every season.
I can’t think of a English manager in the last few years as good as him tactically. I love his style and if he was England manager for WC instead of Southgate I’d back them

 

[Redfrog]

I think he is miles better than Rodgers.

 

[dutchred]

I would take Potter or Wayne who is doing a good job at Derby( and who would nit take any bullshit form anyone) or Arno Slot who is the best young manager in Holland

 

[Ronaldo's ego]

Over Ole I would but not over other options available. If he moved to maybe an Everton or Spurs, spent 3-4 seasons and won a few cups and breaks the top 4 then he might be worth a punt when our inevitable next new manager cycle comes around.

 

[Josh 76]

Over Ole I would but not over other options available. If he moved to maybe an Everton or Spurs, spent 3-4 seasons and won a few cups and breaks the top 4 then he might be worth a punt when our inevitable next new manager cycle comes around.

Like Moyes did ?

 

[Josh 76]

Also to add it seems prime that he will take over if Nuno does get sacked this season. I thought he might end up at Arsenal after 3 games but Arteta is doing good now.
I would take him here but I feel the right step is Spurs. I actually think he will do as well as Poch did with them. Not saying he would make them CL finalist but have them challenging top 4 every season.
I can’t think of a English manager in the last few years as good as him tactically. I love his style and if he was England manager for WC instead of Southgate I’d back them

I’m really surprised Spurs didn’t go for him at the start of the season. Would have been a perfect match. Can still see it happening though

 

[Thelongsleevesofblomqvist]

Would easily take him above Rodgers, but easily below Conte too. Conte is the lowest risk with our current squad for the immediate 2-3 years. After that... we'll figure it out and see how it goes with Conte. Just need the board to stop looking at a manager as a "hopefully 10+ year appointment".

I don’t understand this lowest risk that comes up now and again. That is something the commercial departement or owners could care about, but from a football perspecive? We aint gonna get relegated, but need to move forward.

 

[Ronaldo's ego]

Like Moyes did ?

Moyes got one top 4 finish and won jack shite.

 

[Thelongsleevesofblomqvist]

I know a lot of focus is on how to manage in PL, but all talk here is about Brighton.

In a few couple of seasons Potter took a third division team in a small town in northern Sweden without any established football culture to beating Galatasaray, qualifying from an EL group with Athletico Bilbao and Hertha Berlin and winning against Arsenal at the Emirates. Without parking the bus. Only one of the players (Ken Sema) is today anywhere near the Swedish National Team. I dont know if its possible from a UK perspective to understand how impressive that is, it’s almost impossible.

And today his team played their way to a 0-2 comeback against Liverpool. He is the real deal.

 

[432JuanMata]

I’m really surprised Spurs didn’t go for him at the start of the season. Would have been a perfect match. Can still see it happening though

Yeah I thought it was madness. Nuno wasn’t doing much better at Wolves than Potter at Brighton yet the quality difference was huge.

Also Nuno style was quite rigid yet Potter implements good passing attacking football. I feel if Nuno is sacked Potter will be number 1 for Spurs

 

[Adnan]

It was reported in the Telegraph newspaper a few months back that Potter didn't want the Spurs job because it would harm his reputation working under Levy.

 

[Terminator2017]

I'd take him in a flash, I know his name might not sound exotic and his CV might not be that strong but I do think he has done well at Brightion, imagine what he would do with players of our calibre. I think he would be an upgrade on Ole too.

 

[Giggsyking]

he is a good coach, but he will crumble under the pressure in a club in the size and prestige of Man Utd.

 

[wolvored]

He would be a massive step up from Ole, coaching and tactics wise thats for sure. As long as he brings his coaches as well I'm in.
Anyone who says hes not good enough for Utd, or Utd are a big club and shouldnt hire unproven, look back at the last 3 years.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

Don’t know enough about him and only seen Brighton highlights (MOTD) but remember a similar type of hype about Howe with Bournemouth. Hard to know when they’re the real deal or doing well with a smaller club

 

[Bwuk]

He’s clearly a brilliant coach.

The question becomes can he handle the pressure of United. He’d do better than Ole, but he’s never had to manage a team with the expectations we have.

I wouldn’t be against it though.

 

[lysglimt]

I would actually prefer him to Rodgers - and that has nothing to do with the Rodgers-Liverpool history.

 

[JustinC00]

goes down 0-2 at anfield, finishes 2-2.

you could do a lot worse than potter.

 

[432JuanMata]

goes down 0-2 at anfield, finishes 2-2.

you could do a lot worse than potter.

Also they went 0-3 down last week to City then he changed it up and Brighton were every bit as good for the rest of the game.

He is managing a side with worse players than say Newcastle by a distance yet look at both levels and positions

 

[AshRK]

Above rodgers for sure. He is a good manager but not sure if he can handle the pressure.

 

[sullydnl]

A comparison might be Pochettino when he was at Southampton. You can see the potential there in what he's doing and that he will move on to bigger clubs but it's probably too early for a club of our size to go for him.

However, if we reached a point where there weren't better options then taking the risk in moving for him at that earlier point in his career has merit.

 

[432JuanMata]

Above rodgers for sure. He is a good manager but not sure if he can handle the pressure.

This is what most think on here. It tells how highly Potter is rated because yes you are right about not knowing how he would deal with the pressure but when saying that everyone admits that they feel he is tactically and good enough.

 

[432JuanMata]

He is also a dead cert to be England manager at a certain point in his career. Would love for it too be soon as this England team is technically gifted and would be much better under Potter than Southgate

 

[Still ill]

It would be a big risk but a very exciting appointment nonetheless.

 

[AshRK]

This is what most think on here. It tells how highly Potter is rated because yes you are right about not knowing how he would deal with the pressure but when saying that everyone admits that they feel he is tactically and good enough.

I wouldn't complain if we appoint him. He would be an exciting appointment and definitely a much better coach than Ole. Just have doubts if he can handle the pressure. On the field United may have been a parody for last 8 years but the pressure managing United is 10 folds in comparison to Brighton. 2 or 3 losses and pressure becomes immense.

 

[432JuanMata]

It would be a big risk but a very exciting appointment nonetheless.

Absolutely risky but reminds be of Poch at Southampton you can tell he has a plan and style which will do well anywhere. Be exciting but obviously quite risky

 

[432JuanMata]

I wouldn't complain if we appoint him. He would be an exciting appointment and definitely a much better coach than Ole. Just have doubts if he can handle the pressure. On the field United may have been a parody for last 8 years but the pressure managing United is 10 folds in comparison to Brighton. 2 or 3 losses and pressure becomes immense.

Oh no I absolutely agree with you. For all his great work at Brighton with a budget and a weak side he literally has no pressure as most see Brighton as a team that are better than relegation but just a low table side. So he wouldn’t be under pressure unless he was getting them relegated.

We won’t hire him as the board won’t risk it after Ole but my cousin is a Brighton fan so I watch them a lot and he reminds me of Poch or like say Mane at Southampton where they were risky signings but if you see them enough you just knew. Potter for me is the perfect person for the job but it’s risky and puts him in a job with pressure that he would never of faced

 

[Lecland07]

I know people say this appointment would be risky, but it is less risky than keeping Solskjaer.

Potter has shown tactical aptitude and a willingness to play on the front foot, no matter who they come up against. Some people call it naïve, but that is exactly why they dominated City in the second half of the last game and why they managed to draw against Liverpool.

The thing I find promising about him is that it is pretty clear the only thing holding him back is player quality. Last season, they should have finished a lot higher than they did, but poor finishers cost them. Their finishing seems to have improved in this one, and so you are seeing a truer reflection of their performances in the table this season.

On top of his quality work at Brighton, I think people also forget he took Ostersund from tier 4 to the top league (3 promotions in 6 seasons), winning their only major title in history (7th season). He then took them into the Europa League, reaching the round of 32 and beating Arsenal in one leg. They knocked out Galatasaray in the qualifiers, drew with Athletic Bilbao in the groups. This was amazing for a team that came from the depths of nowhere.

There has also been a noticeable impact with him leaving in 2018 - they finished 8th, 5th and 6th with Potter, and were safe from relegation in each season. They have only just narrowly escaped it since he has left, and this season they are bottom of the league. This is also a good sign of the difference he made to them.

 

[Abraxas]

He's doing everything right so far, isn't he? His work at Ostersunds and Brighton is very impressive in the way he achieves over and above what could be reasonably expected, and not in a pragmatic manner.

Is Brighton to Manchester United a feasible step? I think it probably has to be, if we ever decide he's our man. Simply because if we allow him to take that step up somewhere else he just becomes harder to get, and it's not clear the extent to which it actually helps to assess him. If he went to Spurs for example, what do we really learn in addition to what he's doing? Maybe how he spends a bit more money and handles slightly higher profile players, but there is always going to be a massive step to us.

We must keep an eye on his work.

 

[rotherham_red]

I'm on record as wanting Ole to stay and work it out but IF he doesn't, then Potter would be my choice, especially if we're wanting to target a British manager with PL experience.

Carries a risk with him being such a green appointment, granted, but I think he also potentially has the biggest upside. He strikes me as being a better version of the Southampton era Poch in the way he's gotten a set of players who essentially looked shit on a stick under Hughton, into one of the more impressive sides in the league, pound for pound. Of course, to do that he needed the patience of the fans and the board when results weren't going their way, but you can see that their faith has been rewarded and I think that faith would be there for the matchgoing fans and the board here too, though the online rabble are obviously going to be more demanding.

 

[Frank Grimes]

Bit surprised he is at 60%. It's a wait and see for me at the moment but certainly wouldn't rule it out in the future.

 

[reelworld]

Wouldn't mind him if we can't get Conte. Some of the combination of play that Brighton execute against Liverpool is excellent. But I don't know how the likes of Varane and Ronaldo responds to him tbh.

 

[Trequarista10]

Whoever we hire, I hope the board first ask the candidates to explain what they would attempt to do with our team and squad, and factor that in heavily. We can't afford to hire someone, give them loads of time to assess the squad and try various different strategies, and then find out that the managers plan doesn't involve numerous of our best players.

I want someone who knows or has a good idea already which players he'd want to bin, knows how he'd plan to get the most out of our existing players, and knows which area of the squad he'd want to strengthen.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

I know a lot of focus is on how to manage in PL, but all talk here is about Brighton.

In a few couple of seasons Potter took a third division team in a small town in northern Sweden without any established football culture to beating Galatasaray, qualifying from an EL group with Athletico Bilbao and Hertha Berlin and winning against Arsenal at the Emirates. Without parking the bus. Only one of the players (Ken Sema) is today anywhere near the Swedish National Team. I dont know if its possible from a UK perspective to understand how impressive that is, it’s almost impossible.

And today his team played their way to a 0-2 comeback against Liverpool. He is the real deal.

This.

He is gonna win trophies once a top club puts some faith in him.

Only question is, who will that club be…?

 

[Bondi77]

I would be happy with Potter and if he gets the gig at some point in time I hope he will create magic at Manchester United.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

To add to your post, Antonio Conte had been sacked at Arrezo, then reinstated a year later where he was relegated with them. He was then appointed Bari Manager where he got them promoted from Serie B, which got him the Juve job. He got the Juve job because he was a ex player and Juve are known to give opportunities to up and coming Managers who are Italian.

Yup. To be fair I understand that there are only a few 'managers of the generation' and it takes some special qualities to be them. The way Conte walked in at a broken Chelsea and elevated them to have a 93 point year was phenomenal. But yeah that doesn't mean people who are not successful now can't be in the future. People seem to think if you haven't won, you never will.

 

[Adnan]

Yup. To be fair I understand that there are only a few 'managers of the generation' and it takes some special qualities to be them. The way Conte walked in at a broken Chelsea and elevated them to have a 93 point year was phenomenal. But yeah that doesn't mean people who are not successful now can't be in the future. People seem to think if you haven't won, you never will.

I agree Amol. Sometimes you have to take that chance and think positive and hire a coach who looks to implement a play style which is aligned with the modern game. A coach can't prove himself, unless he's given the opportunity. And Conte was given that stage by Juventus, when it could easily be argued that Conte wasn't the best man for the job.

 

[passing-wind]

People keep saying bring him in because he has clear playing style, tell me, is that all it takes to manage Man Utd?? Christ, we really have been suffering

I think a lack of playing style is what's going to ultimately get Solskjaer fired sooner rather than later. Teams build consistency from a foundation, United under two managers in Mourinho / Ole have lacked an identity. Liverpool, City and Chelsea all of which have won the top honours have all been distinctive of a style. A teams identity is a prerequisite of success in the modern game.

I actually think Potter is a potentially world class manager. He's overachieving with a very mediocre squad with Brighton, he's also seldom outplayed tactically as the performance levels of his team is very high. My only concern would be how he would adapt to the larger egos in the dressing room. I reckon that Sancho, Greenwood and Rashford are levels above in their performances under Potters coaching staff compared to Ole's.

 

[Mr Smith]

I still think he needs to move mid-table club first.

He's basically turning Brighton into a mid-table club.

He's not my first choice, but I would be prepared to take a gamble on him. His sophistocation especially in attack is something I'd really like to see her. The question is whether he has the personality to handle this squad. For all Ole's faults, he's shown himself to be an excellent man manager, and the current United dressing room would be an incredibly challenging one to manage.