Next permanent manager | Poll updated

Who should be the next permanent manager?

  • Luis Enrique

    Votes: 113 7.4%

  • Erik ten Hag

    Votes: 1,300 84.7%

  • Julen Lopetegui

    Votes: 10 0.7%

  • Mauricio Pochettino

    Votes: 79 5.1%

  • None of the above

    Votes: 32 2.1%
  • Total voters
    1,534
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fergieisold said:
And what about the people wanting Hag? Older and won nothing of note and no PL experience. Utterly bizarre for me.
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Look at his CL record. Made a CL semi’s with a bunch of kids and is currently cruising in their group this season.

When a manager and their team from a weaker league look as good - if not better - in the CL, it’s a sure sign that the geezer in charge knows what he’s doing tactically.
 
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Pochettino would certainly be a very good, and quite possibly great, appointment, and arguably the best fit as well as the lowest risk of all candidates.
Like Tuchel at Chelsea, he was wanted and linked before, there's already a bond there.

I think Utd fans could be very happy if that were to happen.
 
Judas said:
I just can't picture Poch winning us the league or CL. I can't picture it at all. He strikes me as yet another nearly man, unless the stars align and our rivals all really stumble.
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Anyone who manages Espanyol, Southampton and Spurs is hard pressed to be more than a "nearly man." Fourteen games into the season and he has already effectively won Ligue 1. Lille won it last season, so it can't even be said that he's simply cruising on the previous manager's success.

Two years ago he reached the CL final with fecking Spurs and you can't picture him winning it with us? If not for a freak handball penalty within seconds of kickoff, he could very well have accomplished one of the biggest managerial feats since Mourinho won it with Porto. And you somehow can't see how he might possibly do it at a club with a vastly bigger budget and infinitely more talent. I must say I can't see where you come to that conclusion. If anything, he seems to me like the one who has most proven that he actually could do it at a club that isn't favored to win it by default. Do you think Ten Hag is a more likely candidate to win the CL? Or perhaps Rodgers?
 
Apparently Zidane is in Qatar with Becks because of his world cup ambassador role. Maybe, people are jumping the gun a bit assuming he's there for meetings with PSG, idk.
 
crossy1686 said:
Most coaches haven't won anything, despite Poch winning a cup with PSG this season. Then they get to a big team if they're good at their job and then they win stuff, like Poch will this season if he stays at PSG. It's a daft argument.
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The very idea of this is nonsensical. That's like discounting Nagelsmann because he hasn't won anything. Unless you're in charge of a top team or are in a league that you vastly outweigh in resources (like Ten Hag and Ajax) it's next to impossible to win a trophy.
 
Nytram Shakes said:
I love the crazy pressing is the equivalent to Brexit. You act like I'm saying pressing is the only way to play or get success which is not what I'm saying at all. If I was saying if we press we will be great, then you may have a point but I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying there are different ways of playing and we want a manager whose style complements the players we have. And a manager who wants to play with a striker who will close down the opposition as a key or significant part of his strategy would not be a good fit for a squad that is committed to having Ronaldo upfront. If you think that is the same as saying leaving the EU will allow us to give the NHS 350 million pounds then I'm a bit lost for words. If you want a silly comparison hiring a manager who wants to play pressing football with Ronaldo upfront is the equivalent of booking a holiday to Manchester hoping to get a tan. Maybe you will be incredibly lucky and get the odd day of sunshine, but that isn't why you come to Manchester.

No Ajax doesn't press like Liverpool, their press is more equivalent to man city, who again like a possession-based game with an overloaded midfield. Not an exact comparison but more similar than Liverpool. You look at the pressing stats of Man city forwards and Ajax forwards and again very comparable as why both teams like to play possession-based football they work very hard to get it back as soon as they lose it. One of the reasons I would have been intrigued to see what happened if Ronaldo had gone to City, Pep a manager who fell out with Zlatan at Barca cos he wouldn't press, dropped Aguero when he first came to City because of his lack of work rate and then again towards the end of his career at city as he couldn't cover the ground needed. What was he going to do with Ronaldo, whose out-of-possession work rate is below those two? Would have been fascinating to watch. Personally think Ronaldo would have been a plan B style option like Pep wanted Zlatan to be at Barca. I don't expect that would have ended well. But anyway I'm getting off-topic. The point is saying Ajax strikers don't close down and the press opposition isn't true you see it when they play and it is reflected in the stats. So if you suddenly took that out of the Ten Hag's team would they be as effective? I doubt it, you obviously don't think it would make any difference. I would argue the removal of strikers who will close down has had a massive negative effect on Poch's style of play at PSG, You bring in a manager who wants to play one way with players who prefer to play another and you don't get the best out of either, that's not saying one is the right one is wrong. They just are diffrent.
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Good post. I am dismayed by the idea that pressing is ( given the squad) the answer . The back four are abysmal. Henderson bellows and distributes quicker and Maguire, well, you just need to run at him and it is game over. Ajax style of possession moving forward and doing it quicker ( god are we so slow) is good because we have pace. He'll we should have the ability to concede three every game and score four.
Ronaldo scores goals and as good as rashford and greenwood can be Ronnie will take the half chances more often than not. The best strikers in Europe are getting the ball where they want it and when. Our strike force is awesome. We need two quality defenders (minimum) and hag likes four in midfield. Ajax are clever, Poch is no slouch.
We all know the sacking of Ole is too late , Woodward and the board, yada , yada. If you are right about how Poch struggles then we are smack bang in trouble again. Playing fantasy football and you see the lack of world class strikers in the prem. I said before and I will say it again pretty much any coach will have them playing better. In reality left to their own devices they should be playing better than this.
Good discussion, wasn't being angry towards you I do write in an aggressive manner.
 
Berbaclass said:
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Very reliable dutch source so now comes down whether or not we are prepared to wait for him and appoint interim until then, my gut feeling is that if the board thinks we can get him now then they are happy to pass on Ten Hag which could prove a mistake
 
fergieisold said:
Spurs got to a CL final under Poch.
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Yeah, he did.

You asked why anyone is interested in ‘Hag’. I explained why. If that’s still “utterly bizzare” to you, then fair enough.
 
L1nk said:
My take is that, especially given that we know Fergie loves him and has wanted him at the club for a while...

1. He kicks up enough of a fuss when he feels he needs to, but doesn't tip the boat in an explosive manner like say Mourinho, which is just about the best we can hope for I think considering the board won't take anyone that is too confrontational
2. He's had multiple seasons of experience in the Premier League
3. His multiple seasons in the Premier League have been, arguably, "successful" when taking into consideration the resources available to him
4. His footall can be attractive to watch, it certainly isn't a Pep or a Ten Hag but it's not dreadful either, depending on the situation of course
5. He has a great record with youth players in the Premier League, the likes of Deli Alli, Harry Kane, Harry Winks, Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Luke Shaw etc they flourished under him
6. Unfortunately for us he has a great record of working with what he's got, which means it's likely they won't consistently break the bank on new signings, but go for cheaper ones I would imagine
7. He's a manager on the younger side that likes a project, seemingly that's what our owners want to, rather than a 1-2 season manager

Add whatever else i've missed and I can see why they are so turned on him
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The trouble is that pretty much describes many premier league managers today - Rodgers, Potter, Frank, etc all oblige those criteria. It seems that they've missed out on one key one - being an actual winner. And yes I know LVG and Mourinho were winners in their earlier careers, but they're relics whose antiquated methods were always going to be outdated in today's game.

Ten Hag pretty much fits all those points you've mentioned (minus the premier league experience), with the added bonus of him having won honours at his club. Yes its "only" the Dutch league, but he's done it in style - scoring over 500 odd goals in the last couple of seasons. I'm bemused as to what they haven't put everything into trying to bring him to OT, now or in the summer.

Our club's love in for Poch is odd, I'd understand it if this was a perennial winner, but for someone who couldn't win PSG the Uber Eats Farmer league I find myself massively, massively underwhelmed by this possible appointment. I just feel the depressingly reality is we'll be that Jewish kid in Christmas watching Ten Hag go to Liverpool or City and tear it up while we'll be clutching onto vibes with Poch in and around the top 4 places, only to inevitably sack him in a few years and be back here again.
 
croadyman said:
Very reliable dutch source so now comes down whether or not we are prepared to wait for him and appoint interim until then, my gut feeling is that if the board thinks we can get him now then they are happy to pass on Ten Hag which could prove a mistake
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We're not in the position to wait for Ten Hag if Poch is available right now. Throwing away this season would be disastrous. And there's absolutely no guarantees that Hag would be a success here.
 
Ten Hag's philosophy on playing the game is inspired from Michel's/Cruyff's play book and has stood the test of time. Ajax hadn't made it out the group stages of the UCL for 15 years until ten Hag arrived. They hadn't reached a UCL semi since the mid 90s. The brand of football ten Hag looks to implement is a brand of football that isn't easy to implement but the rewards if successful have the potential to seep through out the club. Poch idea on the game is far more basic IMO.
 
Adnan said:
Ten Hag's philosophy on playing the game is inspired from Michel's/Cruyff's play book and has stood the test of time. Ajax hasn't made it out the group stages of the UCL for 15 years until ten Hag arrived. They hadn't reached a UCL semi since the mid 90s. The brand of football ten Hag looks to implement is a brand of football that isn't easy to implement but the rewards if successful have the potential to seep through out the club. Poch idea on the game far more basic IMO.
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That's my read too.
 
Adnan said:
Ten Hag's philosophy on playing the game is inspired from Michel's/Cruyff's play book and has stood the test of time. Ajax hadn't made it out the group stages of the UCL for 15 years until ten Hag arrived. They hadn't reached a UCL semi since the mid 90s. The brand of football ten Hag looks to implement is a brand of football that isn't easy to implement but the rewards if successful have the potential to seep through out the club. Poch idea on the game far more basic IMO.
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But when you have Overmars buying players for you to fit the team and VDS running the club life is much easier regardless of who is in charge.
 
crossy1686 said:
I don't get it either, huge risk for me, feel's a lot like when people were touting Jardim to be the next United manager.
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I can see the allure he's been solid in the Champions League. But its a different thing doing it in the PL week in week out with probably one of the most competitive leagues ever in the last two decades. The managerial talent in the PL is insane.

You could argue that City, Liverpool and Chelsea are the best 5 clubs in the world at the moment. Could ETH survive that? Its hard to say. That's probably why United aren't keen. If he's not the right man it'll be a massive disaster. Imagine spending loads and the whole getting used to the league shtick and two years later we find out his brand of football doesn't work in the PL or he has problems motivating the players or not a great man manager.

Its too big of a gamble if we were like City or Chelsea who keep winning loads of trophies yeah you can roll the dice but we are not in a position to be taking risks. The club needs silverware.
 
crossy1686 said:
But when you have Overmars buying players for you to fit the team and VDS running the club life is much easier regardless of who is in charge.
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Overmars was also buying players for the head coaches before ten Hag.
 
Dansk said:
Anyone who manages Espanyol, Southampton and Spurs is hard pressed to be more than a "nearly man." Fourteen games into the season and he has already effectively won Ligue 1. Lille won it last season, so it can't even be said that he's simply cruising on the previous manager's success.
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He was the PSG manager last season too and when he took over psg he was ahead of lille.

He is a perennial nearly man.

Why not go for galtier instead who has a great record wherever he has been and outclassed him last season with half resources. Has nice 2nd now.
 
fergieisold said:
Spurs got to a CL final under Poch.
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He was never consistent in the CL that's the problem, as proven by the fact that Poch at Tottenham and PSG has a lower win rate than Hag at Ajax. When you've got a Manager out performing a host of Managers over a consistent basis, someone mentioned Jardim, he's the same as Poch, someone who did well in the CL in one season followed by two terrible campaigns. It's the consistency of Hag that's impressive imo.
 
Hansi Fick said:
Pochettino would certainly be a very good, and quite possibly great, appointment, and arguably the best fit as well as the lowest risk of all candidates.
Like Tuchel at Chelsea, he was wanted and linked before, there's already a bond there.

I think Utd fans could be very happy if that were to happen.
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It's a small sample size but have you checked the poll above? Even a higher percentage wants a caretaker manager until the end of the season instead of Poch.

Poch is the type of appointment I'd expect Woodward to make and like Jose, Ole I'd see him getting sacked into his 3rd full season and back to square one.
 
crossy1686 said:
Hence the reason they have a settled team and most Ajax coaches have done very well. Look at how disjointed we are every time a new manager comes in and wants a different type of player.
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Not true in the slightest. None of the recent Ajax Manager have done anything in Europe with the exception of Hag.
 
Suv666 said:
I can see the allure he's been solid in the Champions League. But its a different thing doing it in the PL week in week out with probably one of the most competitive leagues ever in the last two decades. The managerial talent in the PL is insane.

You could argue that City, Liverpool and Chelsea are the best 5 clubs in the world at the moment. Could ETH survive that? Its hard to say. That's probably why United aren't keen. If he's not the right man it'll be a massive disaster. Imagine spending loads and the whole getting used to the league shtick and two years later we find out his brand of football doesn't work in the PL or he has problems motivating the players or not a great man manager.

Its too big of a gamble if we were like City or Chelsea who keep winning loads of trophies yeah you can roll the dice but we are not in a position to be taking risks. The club needs silverware.
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By that logic anyone is a gamble though.
 
Suv666 said:
I can see the allure he's been solid in the Champions League. But its a different thing doing it in the PL week in week out with probably one of the most competitive leagues ever in the last two decades. The managerial talent in the PL is insane.

You could argue that City, Liverpool and Chelsea are the best 5 clubs in the world at the moment. Could ETH survive that? Its hard to say. That's probably why United aren't keen. If he's not the right man it'll be a massive disaster. Imagine spending loads and the whole getting used to the league shtick and two years later we find out his brand of football doesn't work in the PL or he has problems motivating the players or not a great man manager.

Its too big of a gamble if we were like City or Chelsea who keep winning loads of trophies yeah you can roll the dice but we are not in a position to be taking risks. The club needs silverware.
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Yeah I agree with all this, people are also quick to forget the mighty Pep Guardiola had a tough start to life in England after he completely underestimated the competitiveness of the PL. Wasn't it after Southampton away he said something about understanding why people talk so highly of the league after they almost dropped points?
 
RedSky said:
Not true in the slightest. None of the recent Ajax Manager have done anything in Europe with the exception of Hag.
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Europe? Since when are any Ajax coaches expected to do anything in Europe? For a club the size of Ajax it's about domestic domination, Europe is a platform to sell their best players to richer clubs.
 
always_hoping said:
It's a small sample size but have you checked the poll above? Even a higher percentage wants a caretaker manager until the end of the season instead of Poch.

Poch is the type of appointment I'd expect Woodward to make and like Jose, Ole I'd see him getting sacked into his 3rd full season and back to square one.
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I'm just giving my opinion. I genuinely think he would be a good choice, by a lot of metrics even the best one.
Breathless, hopeful anticipation of wondrous beauty is probably not one of those metrics, but his Spurs time has definitively shown what he can do, and how consistently he has done it.
 
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crossy1686 said:
Hence the reason they have a settled team and most Ajax coaches have done very well. Look at how disjointed we are every time a new manager comes in and wants a different type of player.
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Overmars signed players like Haller, Tadic, Blind, Alvarez, Martinez, Berghuis, Antony

These were players that most wouldn't want at a big club with the exception of Antony. We've signed far better players than the above but our managers have done a far worse job compared to ten Hag who has made Ajax punch above their weight with players who were at Southampton, Watford, West Ham, Man United and were considered not good enough for the top teams.
 
is kind of funny that it def seems we can get poch or ten hag within the next start of season. Neither have come remotely close to saying not interested in the job. All we have to do is find a caretaker until end of season to not screw things up. Yet people made it seem like we had to give ole years to try and figure out how to properly manage an EPL side since there are supposedly no good managers out there.
 
crossy1686 said:
Europe? Since when are any Ajax coaches expected to do anything in Europe? For a club the size of Ajax it's about domestic domination, Europe is a platform to sell their best players to richer clubs.
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I don't quite understand your argument. You're saying all recent Ajax Managers have done well, but discount European football as a way of assessing their performance levels. The fact that Ten Hag has made Ajax relevant again in Europe is surely a massive plus point on his CV. He's raised them up from the ashes where they weren't even qualifying for the CL. feck, the 2nd highest Win rate in the CL was de Boer on 28.0%, Ten Hag is close to doubling that on 53.6%, which is one of the highest win percentages right now. Yet you're turning your nose at him for a Manager that has consistently been inconsistent in Europe...

It's a bizarre argument to be honest.
 
Kaos said:
The trouble is that pretty much describes many premier league managers today - Rodgers, Potter, Frank, etc all oblige those criteria. It seems that they've missed out on one key one - being an actual winner. And yes I know LVG and Mourinho were winners in their earlier careers, but they're relics whose antiquated methods were always going to be outdated in today's game.

Ten Hag pretty much fits all those points you've mentioned (minus the premier league experience), with the added bonus of him having won honours at his club. Yes its "only" the Dutch league, but he's done it in style - scoring over 500 odd goals in the last couple of seasons. I'm bemused as to what they haven't put everything into trying to bring him to OT, now or in the summer.
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I'll just never understand this argument. I have no doubts Poch would be champion with Ajax too if he were in charge there. If Poch were at Ajax and Ten Hag at Spurs, you guys would call Poch a winner and Ten Hag a "nearly". It makes no sense, you actually have to consider what they're working with. Or are people blasting the likes of Nagelsmann too because he hasn't won anything yet?
 
Two very good candidates who both has their pros and cons.

Personally if I vote with my heart I’m probably more excited about ETH but with a little deeper thoughts maybe Poch is the safer bet but I can’t think we go wrong with any of these guys.

What I’m worried with ETH is that we don’t know how he deal with the enormous pressure from media if something goes south. Another thing that’s worries me is that Ajax is a really well run club with a stable and for him familiar organization. The opposite of United.

With Poch I’m worried if his methods and tactical knowledge is still on par with the very best? Another worry is if still has hunger and willingness to progress.

I voted for Poch because I’m an old man that thinks that experience at the highest level is crucial when working in a circus like United is at the moment.
 
If Ten Hag doesn't want to come now, it's his miss. We're not Manchester of the Sunday League. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to manage us and we cannot forego a full season where we would have Ronaldo, Cavani and Pogba together for the last time.
 
L1nk said:
6. Unfortunately for us he has a great record of working with what he's got, which means it's likely they won't consistently break the bank on new signings, but go for cheaper ones I would imagine
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Eh, that record comes from managing Espanyol, Southampton and Spurs. I don't think he has elected not to spend money that was available. He did just grab Messi, Ramos and Donnarumma, as well as Hakimi for €60m, and while it's difficult to say how much of Messi's transfer was down to Poch and not the Qatari owners, the fact is that when at a club with real money, he has signed big names. At Espanyol and Southampton he had no money, and I recall that he signed as many players as can generally be expected when he was at Spurs.
 
Rightnr said:
If Ten Hag doesn't want to come now, it's his miss. We're not Manchester of the Sunday League. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to manage us and we cannot forego a full season where we would have Ronaldo, Cavani and Pogba together for the last time.
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I agree with this. If Poch wants come now and Ten Hag doesnt then I'm Poch all the way. Every manager signing is a risk nobody is guaranteed to be a success or a failure. So I would at least rather take the risk on the one who actually seems to want to be here.
 
Pochettino would be a good candidate, at least on paper, but only if the teams intends on having some sort of plan and structure where they pursue a specific playstyle and only employ managers who fulfill that criteria, instead of hoping from LVG, to Mourinho, to Ole, etc.
 
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