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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Poch is a puppet at PSG and is forced to use an unbalanced marketable line up. Same will happend here on a lesser scale, and that`s exactly what the Glazers wants.
 
I can understand reasoning behind Ten Hag & Ralf working together, trying to overpower marketing whores in the club with football priorities, but in terms of ruthless winning Zidane so far the closest thing imo.

Ten Hag, Ralf & Van der Sar on top of things... if that won't fix United, I don't know what will.
 
Poch should have been hired in 2018.

Hiring him 4 years too late is just repeating the same mistake with Mourinho. The boat was missed. Move on and find a new fecking boat.

So long as it isn't a clown like Brendan Rodgers obviously.
 
Poch is a puppet at PSG and is forced to use an unbalanced marketable line up. Same will happend here on a lesser scale, and that`s exactly what the Glazers wants.

Who forced him to use an unbalanced line up? And that's not even their issue.
 
Poch is a puppet at PSG and is forced to use an unbalanced marketable line up. Same will happend here on a lesser scale, and that`s exactly what the Glazers wants.
Dont think he is being forced. Plus most PSG fans complain about the style of play. Apart from one game this season it’s mostly dependent on individual ability than complete team performance is what i read mostly from PSG subreddit forum. Not sure how true it is but it sounds familiar to what we had under Ole.
 
I hope this is ok to ask being a newbie, but for those who voted ETH over Poch - why do you prefer him to come to OT? Genuinely interested as I don’t watch any Dutch football.
Of course it's okay to pose that question; this is a discussion site, and newbies are granted partial mains access for a reason. Will try to make a ragtag case for ten Hag, instead of denigrating Pochettino — you can decide if the former would be a worthy candidate (or not)...
  • Ajax play a wonderful brand of football under him — hard to describe when you haven't seen them in action, but to use some fruity abstract descriptions: creative and dominant in possession, disciplined yet energetic when they they don't have the ball, balanced and positionally quite sound, and display an overarching sense of pro-activeness...where the opposition has to play the game on their terms. Folk might argue that they played good football under the likes of de Boer and Bosz too, but there's a distinct gulf between the evident quality of their approaches vis-à-vis his. This year the team has a goal-difference of +56 in the Eredivisie and +15 in the Champions League group stage; and the overview of numbers is in his favor as well:
Goals scored per match: 2.12 under de Boer, 2.13 under Bosz, 2.77 under ten Hag.
Goals conceded per match: 1.0 under de Boer, 0.89 under Bosz, 0.83 under ten Hag.
Win percentage: 60.1% under de Boer, 64.3% under Bosz, 74.0% under ten Hag.

Ajax stayed true to Ten Hag, their strategy and their ethos – and they’re flying.
  • A lot managers from smaller leagues can succeed and look good because of the lowered standard of the competition. In those situations, you might want to look at the Champions League to gauge their coaching ability. Unlike many non-elite teams that sit back against bigger teams as underdogs (while hoping to strike gold on counters), Ajax has displayed a sense of fearlessness and urgency while playing on the front foot in recent years. Over the last 3-ish seasons, they have drawn vs. Bayern over two legs, beaten Madrid at the Bernabéu, beaten Juventus in Turin, beaten Tottenham in their stadium, drawn with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, and beaten Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion. That's exceptional for a club of their present-day stature as most of those opponents outstrip them in terms of pure spending ability. Overall, he boasts a 57% win percentage in the Champions League (not too shabby for the manager of a non-elite team), and this season he has won all 6 Group Stage games (a feat matched by only Ancelotti and Mourinho Madrid, Flick and Nagelsmann at Bayern, and Klopp at Liverpool within the last 15 years).


  • The fact that he was Bayern II's manager when Guardiola coached the First Team is quite intriguing — as he must have absorbed a lot of knowledge from the foremost tactical mind of the 2000s. The Bundesliga as a whole was a hotbed for coaches at the time...with Klopp at Dortmund, Tuchel at Mainz, Favre at Mönchengladbach. Many of those experiences should hold him in good stead...
The Dutchman considers Johan Cruyff as his inspiration and it shows in his style of play. He has also worked with Pep Guardiola earlier and the experience has made him a more mature coach. His time under Guardiola came when the Catalan was at Bayern and he was in charge of the youth side for two years. Apart from the similarities in looks, both ten Hag and Pep Guardiola are pretty similar with their progressive passing football, something which the Bayern fans want to see. The Dutchman mainly starts with a solid 4-2-3-1 formation which then changes to a more balanced 4-3-3 or at times shifting to an attacking 4-1-4-1 on the basis of need.
  • For United supporters who like the prospect of someone who encourages young-ish players: he coached the likes of de Jong (signed by Barcelona), de Ligt (signed by Juventus), Dest (signed by Barcelona), Ziyech (signed by Chelsea), van de Beek (signed by United) and the current team has talents like Antony, Gravenberch, Timber, Martínez — who will be targeted by bigger clubs in the future. Most of them produced their best football under him, which shows that ten Hag can forge a unique rapport with young players who are willing to learn and improve.
  • Quite a bit of flexibility in the sense that he isn't dogmatic and can fine-tune his setup (while retaining the core principles) to get the best out of the players at his disposal. That isn't to say that even technically inept or lazy players can succeed under him, just that he can accommodate a fairly wide range of characteristics (which suggests that the hypothetical team-building process under him might be more straight-forward than under other coaches). For example, in 2019 Ajax's build-up came through the middle portion of the pitch — whereas now, their play is more dangerous from the flanks. A lot of the key components are quite different, too: de Jong, de Ligt, Ziyech, van de Beek vs. Antony, Haller, Gravenberch — that shows that he can adapt, and get the new players to perform at a high level. Not to mention, he rehabilitated Premier League flops like Blind, Haller (currently the top scorer in this season's Champions League) and Tadić, so it seems that players respond to his coaching and motivation methods.
Erik ten Hag's 2019 Ajax - Left Back Football.
Eredivisie 2021/22: How ten Hag’s dynamic Ajax overcame PSV to go the top of the league – tactical analysis.
  • He seems to be quite content with the Head Coach + Director of Football model at Ajax, and gets along with Overmars. That appeals to a lot of United supporters who want the club to establish a strong administrative structure — which can adequately support the manager and form a chain of continuity when we appoint a new guy (instead of ripping the squad apart because each of them has a totally different concept, and want specific types of players). Essentially what a club like Bayern does — and succeeds even though they have appointed 6 different head coaches or interim in the last 6 years: Guardiola to Ancelotti to Sagnol to Heynckes to Kovač to Flick to Nagelsmann.
There are unknowns or negatives in his portfolio, of course: he's like is an over-sized fish in a small-ish pond and doesn't have to contend with Guardiola or Klopp or Tuchel on a regular basis (which he would have to do as United's manager), he hasn't toppled big teams in the league — a product of circumstance as he's head-coached in the Netherlands rather than Spain or Italy or Germany, he hasn't managed the biggest egoists in the game, he prefers a small selection and might not be able to get the best out of a large squad (which is a bit of a necessity in the Premier League because of fixture congestion), and so forth. Few are claiming that he is guaranteed to succeed or is absolutely the best manager we can appoint in a vacuum; but he does boast a compelling profile, especially for a club that has historically prided itself on a tradition of attacking/proactive football with a bunch of committed, skillful (and oftentimes youthful) footballers.
 
No manager will be successful at the club with how it’s being run. Board overruling managers, no football competence in management, no strategy and long term vision. No, nothing. Furthermore, people think it will be a difference with Arnold are deluded.
 
Who forced him to use an unbalanced line up? And that's not even their issue.

With Messi in the team who has to play all the time i think they look quite unbalanced. And he was never in Poch plan in the first place. I also doubt he have anything to say about incomings in that club. Its all about who the owners wants.
 
I liked what I'd seen from Poch up untill recently. But that PSG team are a complete chore to watch. Their performances remind me so much of Ole's United it's untrue. Patchy play, with individual brilliance.

The egos and self entitlement across the two clubs are similar and it's a huge red flag for me that he can't get the best out of those players within a clear system.

Also, by all accounts he doesn't particularly enjoy working with DOFs and wants full control over recruitment. We cannot hire another cult of a manager and bounce from one idea to the next.

For me, it's Ten Hag. He'll fit within the DOF model and is a manager on the rise. Otherwise, I'd either keep Ralf or hope Chelsea are mad enough to fire Tuchel. Who got far more out of PSG then Poch.
This is a good post.

And the point you make about Poch wanting control is a real concern. Spurs had a DoF model before Poch arrived and from what I've read, they got rid of that model to give Poch control when it comes to recruitment. And recently they've gone back to the same model they abandoned after sacking Poch.

So for me the appointment of a head coach is far more important. And that should be someone who understands that he's a head coach and not a manager. And ten Hag from the information we have, understands his role as the head coach, just like Jurgen Klopp did when Liverpool appointed him.
 
The fact that he was Bayern II's manager when Guardiola coached the First Team is quite intriguing — as he must have absorbed a lot of knowledge from the foremost tactical mind of the 2000s.
Excellent post overall, however I would like to add that you shouldn't overstate Pep's influence. Sure they have a common philosophy (as the Dutch/Ajax school was implemented at Barca by Cruyff), but they did not really work together that close. They made sure that they followed roughly the same principles and talked about players, but that's about it. Both had to take care of their own teams, it's not like ten Hag was his assistant.
 
With Messi in the team who has to play all the time i think they look quite unbalanced. And he was never in Poch plan in the first place. I also doubt he have anything to say about incomings in that club. Its all about who the owners wants.

They were the same without Messi last season. I get that people love that narrative but it's not grounded in reality. And he has as much say as he would have in any clubs that has a DOF. It's also definitely not all about what the owners want, have people actually looked at PSG's teams? Do you think that the owners asked for the likes of Herrera, Kehrer, Danilo, Gueye, Diallo, Paredes, Choupo Moting and I don't know who else?
 
No manager will be successful at the club with how it’s being run. Board overruling managers, no football competence in management, no strategy and long term vision. No, nothing. Furthermore, people think it will be a difference with Arnold are deluded.
Liverpool are being run exactly the same as us. Only difference is they have a very good manager and we don't.
 
Liverpool are being run exactly the same as us. Only difference is they have a very good manager and we don't.

And a good sense of recruitment of players and what they need, if we combine these two things i'm sure we'd succeed even with the Glazers
 
And a good sense of recruitment of players and what they need, if we combine these two things i'm sure we'd succeed even with the Glazers

They had no sense of recruitment until Klopp set foot in the building.
 
They were the same without Messi last season. I get that people love that narrative but it's not grounded in reality. And he has as much say as he would have in any clubs that has a DOF. It's also definitely not all about what the owners want, have people actually looked at PSG's teams? Do you think that the owners asked for the likes of Herrera, Kehrer, Danilo, Gueye, Diallo, Paredes, Choupo Moting and I don't know who else?
I think that the owners like to make and decide on "statement signings" like Messi, Mbappe or Neymar and then more or less allow the manager to fill the squad with useful players to make the team work ( your list consists of those I think).

At least that's what happens most of the time, as the DoF ultimately decides there and we know Tuchel at least wasn't happy with the last transfer window they had there.

If he can't get a useful team on the pitch it's as much Poch 's fault as anyone else's.
 
They were the same without Messi last season. I get that people love that narrative but it's not grounded in reality. And he has as much say as he would have in any clubs that has a DOF. It's also definitely not all about what the owners want, have people actually looked at PSG's teams? Do you think that the owners asked for the likes of Herrera, Kehrer, Danilo, Gueye, Diallo, Paredes, Choupo Moting and I don't know who else?

Maybe you are correct about it being the same before Messi, but whenever i see them play,i see an unbalanced team out there with 3 primadonnas up top who does whatever they want. If thats all on Poch its even worse and a bigger reason for us to stay clear.
 
I think that the owners like to make and decide on "statement signings" like Messi, Mbappe or Neymar and then more or less allow the manager to fill the squad with useful players to make the team work ( your list consists of those I think).

At least that's what happens most of the time, as the DoF ultimately decides there and we know Tuchel at least wasn't happy with the last transfer window they had there.

If he can't get a useful team on the pitch it's as much Poch 's fault as anyone else's.

Here is the problem with your premise, it creates a situation where any highly rated player is seen as more than a club simply signing a highly rated player and where you can always build a narrative that isn't actually true. In the case of Tuchel the issue wasn't that the club refused to sign players he wanted but that they failed to do so in certain positions, they tried to bring more midfielders and replace the void left by Thiago Motta and Matuidi but struggled because they were still trying to not completely ignore FFP which has led to a lot of young players being sold in order to finance the transfers that Tuchel wanted. They still gave him players that he specifically asked for like Kehrer and Choupo-Moting and still brought a bunch of midfielders.

Now there is no doubt that Antero Henrique wasn't good at his job when he was at PSG but it had nothing to do with the will of the owners, marketability or not caring for Tuchel which is why Henrique lost his job first.
 
They still gave him players that he specifically asked for like Kehrer and Choupo-Moting and still brought a bunch of midfielders.
Those were signed earlier, I was specifically talking about the last window when Tuchel for example would have liked Thiago Silva to stay and Leonardo let him go. This wasn't a financial decision, as he would have been relatively cheap to just offer a new contract, therefore the different views Tuchel and Leonardo had on the actual abilities of a player created a rift that couldn't be fixed and resulted in Tuchel's sacking.
 
Maybe you are correct about it being the same before Messi, but whenever i see them play,i see an unbalanced team out there with 3 primadonnas up top who does whatever they want. If thats all on Poch its even worse and a bigger reason for us to stay clear.

For the most part they have not played together up top and the likes of Icardi, Draxler or Di Maria are playing with one or two of the "primadonnas". So I don't know what to make of your view.
 
Those were signed earlier, I was specifically talking about the last window when Tuchel for example would have liked Thiago Silva to stay and Leonardo let him go. This wasn't a financial decision, as he would have been relatively cheap to just offer a new contract, therefore the different views Tuchel and Leonardo had on the actual abilities of a player created a rift that couldn't be fixed and resulted in Tuchel's sacking.

But that's wrong because Tuchel complains weren't about the last window and he wasn't sacked due to that last window either. It was a continuation of nearly three years of passive aggressive comments in press conferences, it was also not about Thiago Silva.
Now there isn't a club out there where a manager and other decision makers are in complete agreement on everything at all time, so I won't tell you that there wasn't a difference of opinion when it came to rate certain players, Cavani being an example Tuchel didn't want him while the club and supporters rated him. But again that's not something specific to PSG or any club.
 
But that's wrong because Tuchel complains weren't about the last window and he wasn't sacked due to that last window either. It was a continuation of nearly three years of passive aggressive comments in press conferences, it was also not about Thiago Silva.
Now there isn't a club out there where a manager and other decision makers are in complete agreement on everything at all time, so I won't tell you that there wasn't a difference of opinion when it came to rate certain players, Cavani being an example Tuchel didn't want him while the club and supporters rated him. But again that's not something specific to PSG or any club.
Sounds like you follow PSG closer than I did, so I won't disagree here. They way I perceived the situation was that Leonardo and Tuchel really didn't like each other and that this problem became bigger over time and escalated in their last summer until it was not any longer possible to work together, but I couldn't tell you real details about how it happened exactly.

It happens, and it isn't specific for PSG, you are absolutely right there.
 
No way ETH is coming here. He is the hottest new up coming coach. And we are one big mess.
Lazy expensive players more interested in talking to the press.
Missing minimum 4 players this summer for a top team in PL.
No direction set by the board.

ETH taking on Man Utd will just set him up to fail. He will need 2-3 seasons not making CL and full backing of the board in day to day work and in the transfer marked to turn this team around if even possible. No way a coach will get that in the current Man Utd.
 
Sounds like you follow PSG closer than I did, so I won't disagree here. They way I perceived the situation was that Leonardo and Tuchel really didn't like each other and that this problem became bigger over time and escalated in their last summer until it was not any longer possible to work together, but I couldn't tell you real details about how it happened exactly.

It happens, and it isn't specific for PSG, you are absolutely right there.

Here is the context with Tuchel, PSG have never really been a deep team due to FFP they have mainly relied on a strong starting eleven and a bench made of young players often homegrown players and average Ligue 1 players. That trend continued under Tuchel but with a weakened starting eleven due to the departure of big players specifically Matuidi and Thiago Motta. Henrique seemingly ignored or failed to replace these players, then he tried to twist Rabiot's harm Tuchel was already complaining about the lack fo quality and depth in midfield and that just increased the tension between them eventually Henrique was sacked because the actions that he took against Rabiot weren't supported by the owner or Tuchel. Now the issue with Tuchel is that he kept the same energy with Leonardo, which was pretty strange since logically you would give the new DOF time to fix things. Leonardo is known to be difficult but Tuchel is no better, one of them had to be more diplomatic, neither did.
 




Maybe we should force the hand of the board this time.

Didn't Spurs back down from Gattuso when their fans almost started a riot? We can do this!

Since the out board pay huge attention to social media, I think they already know who the fan's favorite is and the backlash that will ensue if we appoint Poch instead.
 
For the most part they have not played together up top and the likes of Icardi, Draxler or Di Maria are playing with one or two of the "primadonnas". So I don't know what to make of your view.

Ive only seen them im the CL, and they all played there
 
Didn't Spurs back down from Gattuso when their fans almost started a riot? We can do this!

Since the out board pay huge attention to social media, I think they already know who the fan's favorite is and the backlash that will ensue if we appoint Poch instead.

God that would be silly. Pochettino and Enrique are perfectly acceptable candidates for a job of this magnitude. They both have the reputation and experience needed for the job. Some would argue they are a less risky option than Ten Hag.

Now while we all admire Ten Hag and what he has done with Ajax, and the style of play he employs - we don't acctually know if that will translate to the premier league, that he has the necesary authority to handle the players or even how he adapts to working in a foreign country. That is not to say he's not qualified for the job - he is - and should we get him that would be an interesting appointment. However, he's not the only candidate that is acceptable at a club this size. Nor is he the clear and obvious choice.

It seems silly to me to decide that a competent manager (Pochettino for instance) is useless before he's even had a chance to do anything. Should the club appoint him ahead of Ten Hag there really isn't anything fundamentally wrong with that, certainly nothing that warrants a riot.
 
If we had our choice it has to be Ten Hag but it will be Poch IMO, Ten Hag ends up replacing Pep or at Bayern
 
The 3 top candidate's for the permanent job should be...

1 Erik ten Hag
2 Zinedine Zidane
3 Luis Enrique

All proven winners and would do well at United.
 
They were the same without Messi last season. I get that people love that narrative but it's not grounded in reality. And he has as much say as he would have in any clubs that has a DOF. It's also definitely not all about what the owners want, have people actually looked at PSG's teams? Do you think that the owners asked for the likes of Herrera, Kehrer, Danilo, Gueye, Diallo, Paredes, Choupo Moting and I don't know who else?

They where not good under Tuchel that first half of the season either, averaging 2,04 points per match for 24 games. Pochettino took over a team in decline. They are not back to as good as they where in their prime under Tuchel, but I’m not sure that is down to just Pochettino.
 
They where not good under Tuchel that first half of the season either, averaging 2,04 points per match for 24 games. Pochettino took over a team in decline. They are not back to as good as they where in their prime under Tuchel, but I’m not sure that is down to just Pochettino.

There is a context to that, at the very beginning of the season PSG missed a lot of players due to covid and injuries, after that period they slowly went back to the norm.
 
God that would be silly. Pochettino and Enrique are perfectly acceptable candidates for a job of this magnitude. They both have the reputation and experience needed for the job. Some would argue they are a less risky option than Ten Hag.

Now while we all admire Ten Hag and what he has done with Ajax, and the style of play he employs - we don't acctually know if that will translate to the premier league, that he has the necesary authority to handle the players or even how he adapts to working in a foreign country. That is not to say he's not qualified for the job - he is - and should we get him that would be an interesting appointment. However, he's not the only candidate that is acceptable at a club this size. Nor is he the clear and obvious choice.

It seems silly to me to decide that a competent manager (Pochettino for instance) is useless before he's even had a chance to do anything. Should the club appoint him ahead of Ten Hag there really isn't anything fundamentally wrong with that, certainly nothing that warrants a riot.
Enrique, definitely. He has showed that he could handle big egos like Suarez, Messi, Neymar, Iniesta, etc. and actually get a tune out of them and win big trophies while playing attractive attacking football. And, yes he also had politics and had to pick certain players and all that.

Poch from his time at PSG has shown that he simply can not do the same, despite PSG being a carbon copy of Barca and it's egos. He just isn't United material if we are serious about winning the big trophies. Now, if our goal is to potentially win Top4, then yeah sure we should definitely go for him. But as someone who said "Trophies are for egos and Top 4 is more important" I don't want him anywhere near the club I support.

That's why I said that fans should riot if we are serious about winning trophies. If we want to be the new Arsenal, then by all means we should welcome him.
 
Bayern and Ajax would have hired Graham Potter. I feel confident of that. Unfortunatly, we do not have either the level of competence or confidence to do that. Glazer think we need a big name, someone non-controversial. So Potter is not on the list. Rodgers probably is since he has been at a bigger club. They are that stupid.
 
Bayern and Ajax would have hired Graham Potter. I feel confident of that. Unfortunatly, we do not have either the level of competence or confidence to do that. Glazer think we need a big name, someone non-controversial. So Potter is not on the list. Rodgers probably is since he has been at a bigger club. They are that stupid.
You are right, but missing a key aspect: They have a structure in place that would allow them to ruthlessly sack someone like Potter the moment he doesn't work and replace him without losing anything (would compare that to Bayern's Kovac appointment - sacked him mid season, Flick went on to win a sextuple). United neither has the board structure to have stability in such a scenario nor a homogenuous squad that makes it simple to just exchange the head coach. Hopefully it will be implemented now, but that takes time.
 
You are right, but missing a key aspect: They have a structure in place that would allow them to ruthlessly sack someone like Potter the moment he doesn't work and replace him without losing anything (would compare that to Bayern's Kovac appointment - sacked him mid season, Flick went on to win a sextuple). United neither has the board structure to have stability in such a scenario nor a homogenuous squad that makes it simple to just exchange the head coach. Hopefully it will be implemented now, but that takes time.
They have to start at some point, though. They have a DoF now, and a CEO who's vowed to leave footballing decision to the DoF. The DoF has even enlisted a veteran consultant to help him, in Rangnick.
And once they happen onto a coach that clicks, the squad will look much more homogenous all of a sudden. Liverpool's squad surely didn't look homogenous before Klopp. And conversely Kovac managed to make Bayern's squad look rough and uneven.

Every appointment is a risk, I don't see why Potter who's clearly doing an outstanding job couldn't be worth it. There's a variety of good choices, really.
 
I hope this is ok to ask being a newbie, but for those who voted ETH over Poch - why do you prefer him to come to OT? Genuinely interested as I don’t watch any Dutch football.
Long story short… The ability to succeed with two different teams while at Ajax while using two distinctly different styles is a major plus. European record is fantastic, doesn’t mind throwing 3 attackers on for defenders while chasing a game.

Slight con would be that he doesn’t have the greatest rotations, where even players have spoken out about it.
 
You realize that Rangnick has only won a single trophy as manager? Rangnick is more of a club builder, he’s the perfect placeholder.
Yeah i do realise that but I've been impressed by the way he works. I like him. If trophies won is the only criteria for appointing the next manager, then Rangnick and Poch are neck and neck aren't they?
 
Yeah i do realise that but I've been impressed by the way he works. I like him. If trophies won is the only criteria for appointing the next manager, then Rangnick and Poch are neck and neck aren't they?

And I’m no huge supporter of Poch either. I think now it should be between Ten Hag and Enrique.
 
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