Daniel Harris joined OTBAM on Monday to discuss Mauricio Pochettino and Manchester United.
Mauricio Pochettino was the favourite for the Manchester United job for a long time.
Manchester United signed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to a contract extension in the summer instead. Solskjaer did enough to stay afloat for a long time before eventually watching the team collapse beneath him over the last month. Manchester United missed out on Antonio Conte by waiting a couple of extra weeks.
So now they are revisiting the idea of Pochettino.
The former Tottenham coach is now the manager of PSG. But PSG are seemingly interested in Zinedine Zidane to manage their Parisian Galacticos. Much like a trade in American sports, Pochettino could move to Manchester United, while Zidane takes over at PSG. Everyone would be happy in that scenario. At least in theory they would be.
But this all hinges on the Manchester United board choosing Pochettino. Joel Glazer does not have a succession plan in place, nor does he have the football nous to make the decision himself.
"I don't have any confidence whatsoever in Manchester United to pick the right person," Harris said.
"Joel Glazer is the person who makes all the ultimate decisions. I believe there were others at the club who would have fired Ole much sooner than yesterday, but he chose not to. And so ultimately it will be him that makes the decision regarding the new manager.
"What does Joel Glazer know about football? Not very much. He's not a football person."
The Glazer family have run Manchester United as a business. Every football club is a business but some more so than others. The Glazers' only priority is profit, even though they have invested significant money in the playing squad. Solskjaer survived for so long because the results on the field were of secondary importance. It was only until they went past dour that a move was made.
Harris notes that Darren Fletcher and John Murtagh will offer input as the football minds in the process. He also notes that while Pochettino is an attractive candidate, there are no sure things out there.
Zidane is the most accomplished option.
"There are very few managers that are absolute bankers who succeed in every job. Most managers don't. So there's no point in saying 'if we give it to him, he'll definitely succeed.' Zidane obviously succeeded brilliantly in some aspects at Real Madrid, it doesn't look like Zidane wants to come to United and he wouldn't be my choice anyway.
"Managing this version of Manchester United is not the same as managing a team where you've got prime Marcelo, Ramos, Casemeiro, Modric, Kroos. Prime Ronaldo, Bale, Benzema."
Zidane's wife reportedly does not want to move to England either. Melissa Reddy amongst other journalists is reporting that Pochettino wants to return to England. Not only does he want to be in England, he wants to manage Manchester United and he fits with the squad of players.
"When I look at the Manchester United players, the one who seems the best fit is probably Pochettino. I think Pochettino would probably do a good job with these...They should be doing everything possible to get Pochettino out of Paris.
"Reports are saying that Pochettino would take it. If that's true, I would be making sure that I got Pochettino now because I think the kind of football that Pochettino wants to play is the kind of football that he can play with this squad. He has a personality that means that you can take over a club.
"[Successful managers at Manchester United] have all had a personality that enables them to handle the pressure of managing a club as big as Manchester United but not consume the club with their personality but dominate it.
"Those are the guys who've succeeded."
Is Pochettino the next Alex Ferguson? He doesn't need to be, but it would certainly help.
Zinedine Zidane is really good tactically | Vinny Perth
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