Man Utd Thread:

[magpie seanie]

I think OGS and crew will do what we think is the best thing for the players involved because they know them so well......especially the lads that have come through the ranks. Like some others here I've seen enough from Rashford to suggest he could be a very good number 9 if given a consistent run and proper coaching from someone who knows the position. If he's not good enough fair enough but we have to see if he is. MM is absolutely correct that playing Rashford at 9 will help other players in the team. In turn, Rashford needs to improve his finishing and get a bit cuter. Lukaku is a squad player at a club like United though in his defence he was asked to do things he's not able to by Mourinho. Everyone should get a clean slate until the end of the season I think and if they can't produce then the new man will chop them.

[thebuzz]

For all his faults, Lukaku is a player capable of 20+ league goals in a season if the tactics suit him. Rashford might eventually break into double figures with a run of games and getting played centrally, but is still quite a bit away from assuming the scoring burden. Martial would fare a bit better, but you simply can't bin players like Lukaku unless you're certain the other optiosn will deliver.

I can't understand how he could score 25 goals in one season at Everton and not be a considered a good addition at United? Surely he can be utilised better?

[Cunny Funt]

For all his faults, Lukaku is a player capable of 20+ league goals in a season if the tactics suit him. Rashford might eventually break into double figures with a run of games and getting played centrally, but is still quite a bit away from assuming the scoring burden. Martial would fare a bit better, but you simply can't bin players like Lukaku unless you're certain the other optiosn will deliver.

I can't understand how he could score 25 goals in one season at Everton and not be a considered a good addition at United? Surely he can be utilised better?

Until he sorts out his fitness and get back to the weight he was last season he has no business starting games for United.

[Boycey]

Jamie Carragher in the Telegraph

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/12/21/manchester-united-will-always-bigger-tottenham-mauricio-pochettino/

If Mauricio Pochettino is offered the Manchester United job, he has to take it. That is a hard for Tottenham Hotspur supporters to accept. Sadly for them, it is inevitable that they are prey to a more powerful Premier League rival.

Hearing some arguments against Pochettino moving to Manchester United, I cannot help but think a reality check is needed. I do not write this to be disrespectful to Spurs. It goes without saying I am no United fan. I am obliged to assess as a neutral, trying to explain why – as the No 1 target – it will be tough for Pochettino to reject Old Trafford.

It does not matter how great Spurs' new stadium is and how many supporters fill it. It does not even matter what they win this season or over the next few years. Spurs are not Manchester United. They will never be a big as Manchester United.

There is a footballing pyramid based on finance, history, status and global following. Manchester United will always be one of those at the top. Do not make the mistake of being distracted by what has happened at Old Trafford in the last five years. The United job will always be one of the world's most attractive.

Since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down, there has never been a better time to get it. It can only get better. They are 8th in the Premier League. They lost in the Carabao Cup to Derby County. The fans' immediate priority is entertainment, with title and Champions League ambitions following once the next manager has built his team. Whoever goes there and gets it right will keep the job for as long they want. It is not like Real Madrid where you can win the Champions League and get sacked, never mind go after a few bad results.

Because the last three appointments failed, there is a perception United have become like others, sacking on a whim. Nonsense. In the case of David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, the United board acted reluctantly, arguably letting incompatible coaches stay too long.

Their next will be the 4th permanent manager in five years, so some say it is a risk going to United. Since Pochettino was the 4th Tottenham manager in two years when he took over at White Hart Lane in 2014, that is not likely to faze him. Didn't Spurs sack Harry Redknapp and Andre Villas-Boas after not qualifying for the Champions League?

Unless you endure a calamitous start you will get at least three years to rebuild at United. Moyes took over in different circumstances, under pressure to deliver a seamless transition with a title-winning team. Van Gaal was expected to oversee swift improvement even though, like Moyes, the squad he inherited needed reshaping. When Mourinho was appointed it was solely about winning trophies - which he did - but at the expense of the style of play the supporters are accustomed to.

None were the right fit. Pochettino is.

Now the supporters, and the club, want the traditional way of playing back. As I have written before, I believe there is a core of United players capable of instant improvement. It is not just about buying the best. It is about working with, coaching and developing those already there and giving youth a chance.

Questions like, 'Why would Pochettino leave Tottenham now?' amount to a loyalty plea. Pochettino owes Spurs nothing. He has done an unbelievable job with a fraction of United's budget. What has taken four-and-a-half years to build at Tottenham can be achieved sooner with the players he inherits, the same clever management he has demonstrated in North London and astute signings.

Only Pochettino's devotion to his current squad can keep him at Tottenham, allied to a belief he is on the verge of winning the biggest honours. Does he truly think he as at a club prepared to go that extra mile to do so? Where everything is geared towards being the best in Europe? The signs have been there since the summer that his team's capacities are being stretched to the absolute limit. He expressed frustration at being unable to strengthen, losing ground to a Liverpool team he has finished above in each season until now. This long-term perspective will be the chief consideration should - as we expect - United call.

It is naïve to believe Pochettino will be content working at a club where qualifying rather than winning the Champions League is the measure of success. He does not want the comfort of knowing he is safe from the sack if he finishes in the top four. He wants to win the Premier League and Champions League. He knows which clubs are best equipped to do it, not just on the occasional basis, but every season. He knows these chances do not come around often. If he does not take it this time and an alternative candidate succeeds, it may never come around again.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy realises what is coming. He has long been regarded as one of the smartest operators in English football, so will have several calculations. Will he go to war to keep his manager? That rarely ends well. If a manager or player wants out you can retain them for a while but it happens eventually. Or is the priority maximising the financial benefits to Tottenham by letting him go?

I believe there should be transfer fees for managers as much as players. Manchester United paid £50 million for Fred, so why wouldn't they pay £40m for one of the world's most sought-after managers? What is more important?

My suspicion is an agreement will be reached that works for all parties this summer. If Pochettino departs at a considerable price, his successor might have more to spend than the current manager should he stay.

Despite suggesting they are about to embark on a thorough recruitment process, United are acting like they already have someone in mind - an individual they know cannot be recruited until the end of the season. The appointment of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer is the biggest hint. In Solksjaer, United have moved for an interim boss who is highly unlikely to get the job full-time. Just like as a player, he will be happy to return to the sidelines to make way for the first choice.

It seems like United did not want to make matters complicated by recruiting a more established European coach - and there are plenty available - who might come for six months and perform so well it would have been difficult not to extend his contract.

Would Laurent Blanc have accepted the same arrangement, with no prospect of staying even if he led a revival?

It is already football's worst kept secret that United want Pochettino. It would be one of football's biggest surprises if they do not get him.

[Insane Bolt]

Hard to argue with any of that.

[Boycey]

Plenty of argument to it here already 

[magpie seanie]

Hard to argue with any of that.

Agreed. Good piece.

[Cunny Funt]

Hard to argue with any of that.

Easy to argue.

I don't think a former Liverpool player and now big supporter can ever be classed as neutral when talking about United. They are 6th in the league and with Jardim,Zidane,Blanc all available and Pochettino under contract it would not be that big of a surprise at all.

[thewobbler]

It's easy enough to argue with.

He has built up a fine squad with a handful of genuinely top drawer players at Spurs. The players love him, the chairman loves him. At Spurs he is maybe one player (let's say Bale) away from challenging the record breakers at City.

If he moves to United, of course he will have money to spend. But on who? Look at United's signings in the past 5 years. You see Pogba, who is a horrible human being. Ibrahimovic, in the twilight of his career, and Sanchez, whose inability to play a team role saw him jettisoned from Barça. After that it's hardly a who's who of football. Southampton and Everton players. Raw talents from abroad.

While the media and their fans might regard United as an elite club who can attract anyone, that recent history tells you otherwise.

So why move?

[Captain Obvious]

He would move because Ed Woodward would throw mad money at him and would know even if he does badly he will receive a big pay off and can then step back and manage a smaller club like Tottenham again.

[thewobbler]

He would move because Ed Woodward would throw mad money at him and would know even if he does badly he will receive a big pay off and can then step back and manage a smaller club like Tottenham again.

Pochettino, I'd harbour a guess, is worth upwards on €50m.

If he were to move to United it wouldn't be for financial gain, it would be to win trophies. As he has continually proven the past 4 years, he has a better concept on what makes a footballer, than the man on the street. My own belief is that he would take one look at the current United squad and equate that it isn't worth the bother. He would have to clear them all out and start again.

[Minder]

Quite a few United fans stance on Pochettino seems to have shifted in the last few days..........

[rodney trotter]

He could be offered the Real Madrid job at the end of the season also. Solari is only expected to be there until end of season. Pochettino would likely chose Madrid over United.

[Boycey]

Quite a few United fans stance on Pochettino seems to have shifted in the last few days..........

This point is more that a manager would move from Spurs to Man Utd than who the manager is?

[Cunny Funt]

He would move because Ed Woodward would throw mad money at him and would know even if he does badly he will receive a big pay off and can then step back and manage a smaller club like Tottenham again.

Pochettino, I'd harbour a guess, is worth upwards on €50m.

If he were to move to United it wouldn't be for financial gain, it would be to win trophies. As he has continually proven the past 4 years, he has a better concept on what makes a footballer, than the man on the street. My own belief is that he would take one look at the current United squad and equate that it isn't worth the bother. He would have to clear them all out and start again.

Yet only last season United finished ahead of Spurs in the table and also knocked them out of the FA Cup and under Pochettino when challenged for the title they allowed Leicester City to win the league pulling up but the media won't say that instead they will say he's done a great job with Spurs making him the right fit for United.