A serious look at Mauricio Pochettino

FrankDrebin

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Very much so. Closest to a blank slate as we've been in years. Young player to develop, hard working midfielders, and more transfer funds than he ever had at Spurs.
That was my general feeling too but didn't want to get too,shall we say, optimistic.

Optimism is abit dearth round these parts for good reason too. :D
 

the chameleon

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Very much so. Closest to a blank slate as we've been in years. Young player to develop, hard working midfielders, and more transfer funds than he ever had at Spurs.
This. I think he's a much better version of Ole. All the ideas Ole talks about but can't quite implement due to inferior training methods and tactics, Poch has demonstrated he can do these things.

Also, like Ole he likes to give youth a chance. The only reason he downhill at Spurs was because the squad wasn't replenished. I'm certain they would have won the 2017 season if they didn't go Wembley and spent some extra cash instead of the stadium. In the end, he was stuck with players he didn't want which led to a chain of events that got him fired.
 

#07

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This is what will happen in my opinion, until we actually start getting recruitment right we’re going to shaft every manager we have. Solskjaers the only one so far who looks to have half a clue on how recruitment works which is why most people are asking for him to be given time.
If for whatever reason we do appoint Pochettino in the summer, again, we have to give him at least 2-3 seasons to prove he can build a squad and compete. There is zero point in giving a manager full reign then sacking him after a couple of transfer windows.
It’s been said a million times but if we don’t appoint a DOF we’re looking for a goose that lays golden eggs instead.
Honestly, I would be more excited if the rumour was Monchi to Man Utd than Poch or anyone else. It feels like if United succeed it will be a case of getting around the structure not being helped by it.
 

Baxter

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Definitely feels like a club brief with all the different sources reporting on this since yesterday...

Crossing my finger's they're true
Are there any of the top journos reporting this? I’ve seen Duncan Castles and this guy, but none of the top guys going for it?
 

Wilt

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Remarkable that he turned Spurs into a consistent top 4 club and got to a CL final on virtualy the same budget as Utd pay De Gea per year!

I can only imagine what he could achieve with a budget normally afforded to Man Utd manager.
 

Wilt

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Been thinking the same. But I think Poch would still prefer Utd as Pep would be a very hard act to follow, whereas following on from Ole ...
 

wolvored

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Elaborate
Well if you are serious then City with a fantastic squad, great youth teams, owners who put the football first, against all that is at Utd at the moment. Who would any sane manager pick to manage at this moment and hasnt any affiliation with either club, pick ?
 

Bullhitter

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No brainer for United. There's even a part of me even though happy with Lampard that thinks it would be an opportunity lost. Though in any case i'm certain if both jobs were on offer he would end up at Old Trafford anyway.
 

NWRed

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I completely agree. You don't know anything until you try. Giving any manager to implement ideas requires an element of risk. If gone wrong, we could set ourselves back another 5 years and in deeper trouble.

Ole has had time to implement ideas at Cardiff. That didn't go down too well did it? What valid reasons do you have for Ole to implement his ideas than the repeated mantra of we've given managers with better records a chance and that didn't work. On your logic, we should just give up on proper managers and just hire anyone to be the manager. What next? Give Lee Sharpe a crack?

If I were a betting man, I would rather give an upcoming manager with an idea of playing football time over Ole.

I don't mean to attack you but what valid reason should we give Ole a chance over someone like Poch?
It isn't a case of choosing between Ole and Pochettino for a vacant position though, Ole is in the role, so you need a valid reason to sack him, and for the reasons I stated earlier (quoted below) he deserves more time.

His results against top 6 sides and PSG, the improvement of players, the moving on of players who don't fit united's style and should never have been signed, the blooding of youngsters, the refusal to sign players who aren't commited to the club 100%, the long term view he takes of squad building and management.
 

NWRed

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This. I think he's a much better version of Ole. All the ideas Ole talks about but can't quite implement due to inferior training methods and tactics, Poch has demonstrated he can do these things.

Also, like Ole he likes to give youth a chance. The only reason he downhill at Spurs was because the squad wasn't replenished. I'm certain they would have won the 2017 season if they didn't go Wembley and spent some extra cash instead of the stadium. In the end, he was stuck with players he didn't want which led to a chain of events that got him fired.
do you work at Carrington or something? How would you possibly know if the training (taken by Carrick and McKenna) is inferior. Rashford, Fred, Matic and Mata have all improved under him and his tactics are fine (as proven by the results against the top 6). The problem has been a lack of invention in midfield without Pogba, which he is trying to rectify with Fernandes and by targetting Maddision and Grealish. The only thing I can criticise him for is not giving Gomes a proper go as a 10.
 

Micky Targaryen

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My fear is that the rumours of Guardiola to Juve come true and the City job opens up.
And then Poch gets the City job. And wins trophies. And then Caf will retort that he only wins trophies because City are loaded with cash. And then it reverts back to the argument that Poch wouldn't win any trophies even with a bigger budget because of his mentality. And then it converts to any manager could win trophies at City. A vicious cycle.
 

Son

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Well if you are serious then City with a fantastic squad, great youth teams, owners who put the football first, against all that is at Utd at the moment. Who would any sane manager pick to manage at this moment and hasnt any affiliation with either club, pick ?
Some of our fans need to stop with the defeatist attitude. We are one of the absolute pinnacles of football for any manager with a very tempting project.

Maybe he knows United is a greater club than City and wants to help us get back to winning ways? We have a better fan base and larger stadium for one.

He’ll earn similar money and gain more fame with a huge transfer budget and similarly great youth system. It’s not like we are the underdogs in English football, we’ve had a few bad years but so does every club now and again.
 

NWRed

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Well if you are serious then City with a fantastic squad, great youth teams, owners who put the football first, against all that is at Utd at the moment. Who would any sane manager pick to manage at this moment and hasnt any affiliation with either club, pick ?
If the manager is a football fan then he'll choose United rather than cheating at Football Manager in front a half empty stadium.
 

TheReligion

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Well if you are serious then City with a fantastic squad, great youth teams, owners who put the football first, against all that is at Utd at the moment. Who would any sane manager pick to manage at this moment and hasnt any affiliation with either club, pick ?
Great youth squads that have produced only Foden? Compared to United? Not sure I follow.

Sure City have a great squad and lots of money but nothing else. No history, a small fan base and the lack of big club appeal which they strive for and is evident with no European success.

Any true footballing person can see that and whilst City might be the easy option right now given their current circumstances that's not what appeals to everyone. Klopp went to Liverpool at a time they hadn't won a title in over 30 years with a huge rebuild to put together.

The lack of backing our amazing club gets on this forum by so called United fans is astonishing. You should all be pretty embarrassed.
 

TheReligion

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No brainer for United. There's even a part of me even though happy with Lampard that thinks it would be an opportunity lost. Though in any case i'm certain if both jobs were on offer he would end up at Old Trafford anyway.
You as a Chelsea fan have more faith in United than our own so called fans. :lol:

I said ages ago Poch will come to United in the summer come what may. Think he has wanted the job a while tbh.
 

PepsiCola

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His record against big teams is also quite shit.

If we hire him I feel his ceiling with us is the same as with Spurs. Top 4, no silverware but "put the pressure on".

The CL final display by spurs was still a shocking show, also a major red flag.
 

Gehrman

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I'm still waiting for you to explain 400m net
Maybe it's a stupid esitimate. im just thinking if it took Real Madrid 300 mil netspend in one window to get on level with Barcalona, we would probably need to around 400 mil to able to go toe to toe with the biggest boys.
 

romufc

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His record against big teams is also quite shit.

If we hire him I feel his ceiling with us is the same as with Spurs. Top 4, no silverware but "put the pressure on".

The CL final display by spurs was still a shocking show, also a major red flag.
His record is shit?

Beat Barcelona, City, 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Put the pressure on 1st is better than 8th, there are different budgets and expectations at Manutd.
 

AneRu

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His record against big teams is also quite shit.

If we hire him I feel his ceiling with us is the same as with Spurs. Top 4, no silverware but "put the pressure on".

The CL final display by spurs was still a shocking show, also a major red flag.
I think regular CL qualifications are good enough initially as that allows us to return to financial growth and puts us in contention for the world's best players again. Look at Chelsea, they are in a position where if they get a good striker and a top CB they can easily challenge unless if Liverpool remain in beast mode. He will have to improve but he is a young coach who has a solid track record and therefore stands a better chance to make the required improvement than our current manager. If he can't improve his skill set and results then we move on to someone better as opportunities arise.
 

PepsiCola

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His record is shit?

Beat Barcelona, City, 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Put the pressure on 1st is better than 8th, there are different budgets and expectations at Manutd.
Overall, his record against the top 6 is still quite poor despite the above results.

Plus he has a history of questionable signings when we really need a period of clever investment.
I think regular CL qualifications are good enough initially as that allows us to return to financial growth and puts us in contention for the world's best players again. Look at Chelsea, they are in a position where if they get a good striker and a top CB they can easily challenge unless if Liverpool remain in beast mode. He will have to improve but he is a young coach who has a solid track record and therefore stands a better chance to make the required improvement than our current manager. If he can't improve his skill set and results then we move on to someone better as opportunities arise.
Then we're just in the same cycle. Fans calling for another managers head. Squads put together with conflicting visions.

We need a period of stability.

Looking at our squad and injuries this season, we're lucky to be where we are. We've had some shocking results go against us. But a win against chelsea has us right in contention for top 4 again.

Cant remember the last time we had our strongest XI available to us.

Would Poch do better with our current squad? Or would he throw his toys out the pram as he did this season at Spurs?
 

AneRu

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This. I think he's a much better version of Ole. All the ideas Ole talks about but can't quite implement due to inferior training methods and tactics, Poch has demonstrated he can do these things.

Also, like Ole he likes to give youth a chance. The only reason he downhill at Spurs was because the squad wasn't replenished. I'm certain they would have won the 2017 season if they didn't go Wembley and spent some extra cash instead of the stadium. In the end, he was stuck with players he didn't want which led to a chain of events that got him fired.
Plus its kind of hard to keep a squad happy on a rigid wage structure that pays them well below their actual worth. Its funny that over the years posters on here have always argued, in debates against Glastonspur, that Spurs will have a hard time keeping hold of their stars on their current contracts when they could be paid more elsewhere but somehow fail to take that into account when assessing Spurs' meltdown.

Like you said, he knows how to coach the playing style Ole claims to want and need billions to implement. He has done that twice in his career and there is no doubt that we have a young squad suited to those methods and funds to add to it, the opportunity is there to set right the missteps of the past several seasons and we'd be fools to let it pass. If we have him in charge it suddenly becomes possible to attract the best young players in the league and in the world whilst he has a record of coaxing huge improvements from young players.
 

romufc

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Plus he has a history of questionable signings when we really need a period of clever investment.
A history of questionable signings? what manager doesnt? Not all signings work out.

Some of his signings have been brilliant in Son, Davinson, Moura, Ndombole, Alderweireld and some not so good ones like Jansen, Nkolou.
 

AneRu

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Overall, his record against the top 6 is still quite poor despite the above results.

Plus he has a history of questionable signings when we really need a period of clever investment.

Then we're just in the same cycle. Fans calling for another managers head. Squads put together with conflicting visions.

We need a period of stability.

Looking at our squad and injuries this season, we're lucky to be where we are. We've had some shocking results go against us. But a win against chelsea has us right in contention for top 4 again.

Cant remember the last time we had our strongest XI available to us.

Would Poch do better with our current squad? Or would he throw his toys out the pram as he did this season at Spurs?
Stability doesn't entail falling, we aren't stable at all. If we fail to qualify for the CL this season it will be huge blow, fail again and we might not rise for another decade. You should always remember that we are always fighting for one or two spots in the top 4 as Liverpool and City have the first two locked. We aren't in a position to experiment with Ole because if the experiment fails we'd be in serious trouble with regard to our ability to spend our way out of trouble.
 

mu4c_20le

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A history of questionable signings? what manager doesnt? Not all signings work out.

Some of his signings have been brilliant in Son, Davinson, Moura, Ndombole, Alderweireld and some not so good ones like Jansen, Nkolou.
Only Son in that list could be considered brilliant. Sanchez is just a slightly better Bailly, Lucas goes missing most of the time, jury is still out for Ndombele but not looking great, Alderweireld was pretty good for the money.
 

romufc

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Only Son in that list could be considered brilliant. Sanchez is just a slightly better Bailly, Lucas goes missing most of the time, jury is still out for Ndombele but not looking great, Alderweireld was pretty good for the money.
Look at the money he had to spend, £36m is most he has spent.

Ndombole is a very good player, once he settles in the PL we will see the best of him.