Pochettino Inherits Man United Side 18th After One Win in 11

The club has swung between opposite styles. Connelly traced a line from the defense-and-counter David Moyes to the all-possession Louis van Gaal, then to the mostly negative Jose Mourinho and the more positive Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Ralf Rangnick followed as half-season interim, bringing a pressing system. Connelly noted that Rangnick arrived three months after United signed Cristiano Ronaldo, a star he called the most anti-pressing-and-possession of the modern era. Rangnick averaged 1.48 points per game.

Erik ten Hag and Ruben Amorim came next, each asked to find a middle ground between possession and defense. Amorim used a rigid 3-5-2 formation.

Carrick's exit

Connelly said Amorim was building strong underlying numbers and advanced stats when he was pushed out in favor of Carrick, another former favorite son of the club. Now Carrick is gone as well.

Three of United's four shortest and least successful tenures have come in the last four hires, Connelly wrote. He counted five years in that span.

The candidates rumored to replace Carrick pointed in different directions, he said. They included Pochettino, who favors pressing, Antonio Conte and Eddie Howe, who are far more defensive, and Julian Nagelsmann.

Connelly gave Pochettino credit. He "makes as much sense as anyone," he wrote, and his teams usually play a fan-friendly, hard-charging style.

But the next manager will take over a squad Connelly described as built in the most haphazard, stylistically inconsistent manner imaginable. He compared United unfavorably with Brentford, who spend far less yet earned more points over the past 2½ seasons.