Man United Pochettino’s To-Do List Starts With 18th Place
Mauricio Pochettino inherits a Manchester United side 18th in the Premier League after Michael Carrick's exit. The man united Pochettino's to-do list covers a leaky defense, a mismatched squad and a long run of managerial resets.
Mauricio Pochettino is set to take charge of a Manchester United side sitting 18th in the Premier League, and the Man United Pochettino's to-do list starts with a team that has won only one of its past 11 matches. Michael Carrick is gone, and United have turned to the former Tottenham manager.
Pochettino has agreed terms in principle, according to the latest reports. He is 54 and arrives after two years managing the USA, a spell that included a home World Cup finals in 2026.
A leaky defense and a thin summer
United finished third last season and qualified for the Champions League. Optimism was high. The summer transfer business, however, was underwhelming, and the squad was not sufficiently reinforced.
The results show it. United have conceded 15 goals across their last five games in all competitions.
A 3-2 win over Roma briefly offered hope of a revival. Then Carrick's side trailed Aston Villa by two goals on a couple of occasions before salvaging a dramatic 4-4 draw. That match looks to have been the last straw.
Too many resets
ESPN writer Bill Connelly argues the problem runs deeper than one manager. He says clubs should set an identity through the front office and then hire a coach to fit it. United, he writes, keep hiring the stylistic opposite of the last coach and give the new man too much power over signings.
Connelly traces the pattern from David Moyes to Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ralf Rangnick, Erik ten Hag, Ruben Amorim and Carrick followed. Three of the four shortest and least successful United tenures have come in the past four hires, he notes.
Rangnick averaged 1.48 points per game as interim. Connelly also points to Brentford, who spend far less than United yet earned more points over the past 2½ seasons.
Pochettino's teams usually play a fan-friendly, hard-charging style, Connelly writes, and "he makes as much sense as anyone". But he will inherit a squad "compiled in the most haphazard, stylistically inconsistent manner imaginable".
Identity first, egos second
Schneiderlin, speaking in association with ComeOn, said the first job is to bring an identity back to the club. "Of course, that's easy to say and harder to do," he said.
He expects Pochettino to move on any player whose ego outweighs the club. He pointed to Pochettino's time at Paris Saint-Germain, where the coach worked with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.
The pressure also sits above the dugout. The Glazer family ownership, chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox have all faced criticism. They must now make sure the next coach is the right one.
Schneiderlin said Pochettino will focus on "building foundations with players who buy into his system".
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