Next permanent manager | Poll updated

[Adnan]

Our squad is only a Hannibal Mejbri and Ethan Laird away from being a good possession team imo. I can see that coming to fruition under Ten Hag, who has shown he can manage a squad and develop players whilst competing against the best teams in the Champions League on a small budget.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Going by that logic, you'd miss out on 99% of the managers that turned out great. Brighton are performing magnificently at the moment and are playing a much better football than us with a much inferior squad in terms of talent. He has proven PL experience but unlike Moyes, he is also a winner. He doesn't go out there to "make it difficult" for the other team but to win and he expects that. This is the kind of manager that United needs.

Who is the last manager who made that kind of step-up and was successful? I'm not saying we shouldn't go against the grain, but I just think it's a massive risk and he could crumble here.

Potter's success in Sweden is irrelevant. Ole had success in Norway too.

Ten Hag had inferior squads and had proven CL success while also playing great football as well.

I see no reason to opt for Potter over Ten Hag. One of them has simply managed at a far higher level while boasting the same positives per playing style/performances.

 

[Sviken]

Who is the last manager who made that kind of step-up and was successful? I'm not saying we shouldn't go against the grain, but I just think it's a massive risk and he could crumble here.

Potter's success in Sweden is irrelevant. Ole had success in Norway too.

Ten Hag had inferior squads and had proven CL success while also playing great football as well.

I see no reason to opt for Potter over Ten Hag. One of them has simply managed at a far higher level while boasting the same positives per playing style/performances.

Klopp, Guardiola, Tuchel, Nagelsman, Luis Enrique, Zidane, Conte. You name them. They all went from much inferior clubs to much bigger. I fail to see why CL experience is a requirement. I mean Potter frequently goes on all out attack on top 4 team and dominates them with Brighton. Same teams that go play CL football. When we appointed Moyes, from what I remember back then he had not a single win against the classic top 4 sides. Potter is a winner and it is only a matter of time before some club snaps him up. We wouldn't go wrong with either Hag or Potter, they both seek out to dominate teams, play very attractive football and most important of all - win games. So the argument is moot, i'd be extremely happy with either of them. But the club has to move now because they won't be on the open market for long. I'm still puzzled on how we missed Klopp to those binners. We can't let this happen again.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Should stop fecking around and just get the Bond villain Conte.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Klopp, Guardiola, Tuchel, Nagelsman, Luis Enrique, Zidane, Conte. You name them. They all went from much inferior clubs to much bigger. I fail to see why CL experience is a requirement. I mean Potter frequently goes on all out attack on top 4 team and dominates them with Brighton. Same teams that go play CL football. When we appointed Moyes, from what I remember back then he had not a single win against the classic top 4 sides. Potter is a winner and it is only a matter of time before some club snaps him up. We wouldn't go wrong with either Hag or Potter, they both seek out to dominate teams, play very attractive football and most important of all - win games. So the argument is moot, i'd be extremely happy with either of them. But the club has to move now because they won't be on the open market for long. I'm still puzzled on how we missed Klopp to those binners. We can't let this happen again.

None of them went from a Brighton level team to Manchester United level though except for Conte basically. They all made gradual progression steps or managed the 2nd club of the club itself/while also playing for that club then managing it later on.

Klopp went from Mainz to Dortmund. A step up, but not comparable to the step up Potter would have to take. Tuchel was the same.

Enrique and Pep both managed Barcelona B. Enrique even managed Roma too.

Nagelsmann going from Leipzig to Bayern isn't comparable to going from Brighton to Manchester United.

Zidane managed Real Madrid Castilla.

None of those examples are comparable to Potter. The only one is Conte going from Sienna to Juventus and he also played for Juventus beforehand.

And again, I'm a fan of Potter too. I just don't know how he'd handle the pressure here. That's a massive step-up.

 

[Sviken]

None of them went from a Brighton level team to Manchester United level though except for Conte basically. They all made gradual progression steps or managed the 2nd club of the club itself/while also playing for that club then managing it later on.

Klopp went from Mainz to Dortmund. A step up, but not comparable to the step up Potter would have to take. Tuchel was the same.

Enrique and Pep both managed Barcelona B. Enrique even managed Roma beforehand.

Nagelsmann going from Leipzig to Bayern isn't comparable to going from Brighton to Manchester United.

Zidane managed Real Madrid Castilla.

None of those examples are comparable to Potter. The only one is Conte going from Sienna to Juventus.

And again, I'm a fan of Potter too. I just don't know how he'd handle the pressure here. That's a massive step-up.

I'd disagree about Klop. When Klopp went to Dortmund, Mainz were a barely promoted team. Dortmund are the second biggest team in German football. It's a pretty big step up even if Dortmund were on the down (so are we right now).

Barca B is equivalent to a championship side, even worse. They definitely did not have the experience of coaching Barcelona who were having a bad season but previously were coming from one of their best seasons and had stars like Ronaldinho in. Guardiola definitely did some great things in Barca B, but he had miniscule experience, let's be honest.

Why not? Leipzig, as good as they were, are a newly promoted side in German football. They are definitely nowhere near Bayern in terms of stature. Why is it not a big jump?

Real Madrid Castilla are equivalent to a championship side, same as Barcelona B.

Potter also fits your criteria, his success in Norway in European competitions is evident. His success in England with Brighton, especially against big teams, is evident. If we go by who is ready made to take the helm at United, well, you can probably count them on your one hand - Conte, Klopp, Pep. That's it. You'll always find some fault in the rest. To me winner coaches and loser coaches are easy to spot. You have coaches of the mold of Pullis, Big Sam, Moyes who are good at their level but do not have the mentality or tactical nuance to coach a big club and you have coaches like Potter, Ten Hag, Nagelsmann who are more often than not a huge success wherever they go. They often have a clear vision on how their team has to play, they are winners in terms of mentality and they are very passionate about football. In others words, the antithesis of Ole as a manager.

 

[Bepi]

None of them went from a Brighton level team to Manchester United level though except for Conte basically.

…

And again, I'm a fan of Potter too. I just don't know how he'd handle the pressure here. That's a massive step-up.

I second that. Potter is, amazingly, the perfect soccer manager, career-mode success story: but a straight jump in to mighty Man Utd? Conte, on the contrary, was pretty meh as a young manager, and only got Juve’s job in 2011 because of his past glory as a Juve player and a really hard, almost mad push to his former fan Andrea Agnelli. Ten years forward, the mediocre, unpromising young manager is now the top dog available in the market, and deservedly so. Woah!

 

[pocco]

I like Potter, but him having zero CL experience would put me off.

And the step-up from Brighton to Manchester United can't be understated.

Given the lack of options right now, or obvious options, I'd be happy to take a chance on Potter. I'm very confident that he's better than Ole, his football is very good and he comes across well to me. Talks about his studies in psychology and how he deals with players as human beings whilst getting them performing as best they can. There's just a lot that gives me confidence in him, you can tell he's bright and very tactically aware. His Brighton team played us off the park last season, tactically he had our number big time and I think he showed other managers a few of our weaknesses early on.

 

[pocco]

I'm baffled by all this Potter talk. A massive club like this who's main target should be to challenge for titles should hire a nobody like Graham Potter based on the fact that Brighton plays "entertaining football" Are people just ignoring what a massive step it is going from a club like that to ours where you are expected to win things and never have proven in your career that you are able to do so? The guy has literally done nothing being worthy enough of managing a top 4 club.

Now if he had managed let's say Spurs and have had them playing good and have won a few titles along the way I could understand why so many would see him a candidate but it's truly bizarre how a manager of a bottom table team who has never won anything apart from maybe a swedish cup is seen worthy enough of managing this club let alone even being mentioned as a candidate.

I hope you're not Ole In with that logic?

 

[BlueHaze]

I hope you're not Ole In with that logic?

Def not.

 

[pocco]

None of them went from a Brighton level team to Manchester United level though except for Conte basically. They all made gradual progression steps or managed the 2nd club of the club itself/while also playing for that club then managing it later on.

Klopp went from Mainz to Dortmund. A step up, but not comparable to the step up Potter would have to take. Tuchel was the same.

Enrique and Pep both managed Barcelona B. Enrique even managed Roma too.

Nagelsmann going from Leipzig to Bayern isn't comparable to going from Brighton to Manchester United.

Zidane managed Real Madrid Castilla.

None of those examples are comparable to Potter. The only one is Conte going from Sienna to Juventus and he also played for Juventus beforehand.

And again, I'm a fan of Potter too. I just don't know how he'd handle the pressure here. That's a massive step-up.

Real and Barca B teams are comparable surely?

 

[pocco]

Def not.

Fair enough then. I accept why some would be reluctant, I've just got a hunch that he's going to turn out good elsewhere and we'll regret not giving him a chance.

 

[BlueHaze]

Fair enough then. I accept why some would be reluctant, I've just got a hunch that he's going to turn out good elsewhere and we'll regret not giving him a chance.

If that happens then there won't be need to regret anything. If he goes to a bigger club and does well then we will still always have the chance to get him and also he will along the way have proven he's good enough to be a candidate but for now he has done absolutely nothing to warrant such a massive step up.

 

[EtH]

I like Potter, but him having zero CL experience would put me off.

And the step-up from Brighton to Manchester United can't be understated.

Yeah Potter is the romantic choice but just not a sensible one.

For me even Ten Hag is a risk. But who the hell else is there at the moment.

 

[Sviken]

If that happens then there won't be need to regret anything. If he goes to a bigger club and does well then we will still always have the chance to get him and also he will along the way have proven he's good enough to be a candidate but for now he has done absolutely nothing to warrant such a massive step up.

No, we won't. If he goes to a big club and is successful there, why would he come here? We'd have to settle for a lesser manager and until our timings match we'll have no chance of getting him. Same as Ten Hag or other potential great managers. If you don't act, some other club will act for you and once again we'd be left with nothing. To be honest, i'm even suspicious we'd be able to get Hag if we tried to given the amount of teams that are clamoring for him. This club needs to act fast otherwise we'd be left in the dust which has happened one too many times since Fergie left.

 

[La Vecchia Signora]

Conte promoted Bari from Serie B to Serie A before he couched Atalanta. He has the best CV of all of them. Sienna was one step closer for him to being Juve Manager. The rest is history.
He likes tall players so he might buy Dzeko next summer and play Dzeko and Ronaldo up front.


Imagine too many long crosses for CR7,Dzeko or Cavanni.

5+ goals in every game. Trophy is guaranteed.

 

[Foxbatt]

Conte promoted Bari from Serie B to Serie A before he couched Atalanta. He has the best CV of all of them. Sienna was one step closer for him to being Juve Manager. The rest is history.
He likes tall players so he might buy Dzeko next summer and play Dzeko and Ronaldo up front.


Imagine too many long crosses for CR7,Dzeko or Cavanni.

5+ goals in every game. Trophy is guaranteed.

At least he is going to run on the touchline like a madman instead of sitting primp and proper in his seat.

 

[sullydnl]

Their CVs are a pretty basic way of assessing prospective managers, which is why it tends to be what us internet fans lean on. "He won X, therefore he is a good manager and we should hire him".

But of course it isn't that simple (or at least I hope it isn't that simple). Because you would expect a top level club to be able to assess the details of what a given manager would do (their style of play, their tactics, the profile of player they want, their preferred staff, their training methods, etc.) to a much greater extent than we can, not least because they can actually interview these managers for the job in advance. And once they've done that those details for our club become more important than what they won at other clubs in different circumstances, because those details determine how they'll actually perform here.

So with a manager like Potter, you'd really need to be able to properly analyse his approach in a way we wouldn't have the capacity to do, because that's really all you'd be basing a decision to hire him on. On the flip side, you'd also hope the club analyse managers like Zidane and Conte more thoroughly than posters who just cite their trophy count do.

Whereas the ideal candidate would likely be a balance of the two. Having the right ideas in terms of the specifics of how the team should be run while also having been tested at as high a level as possible. But if it came to it I'd much rather compromise on the track record than on the fundamental approach.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

People are underestimating the jump from Brighton level to United level especially without connection to the club. Potter is the sort of appointment Barcelona did with Setien because he played the brand of football they liked. But the man couldn't handle the pressure and ego of the players.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

Conte promoted Bari from Serie B to Serie A before he couched Atalanta. He has the best CV of all of them. Sienna was one step closer for him to being Juve Manager. The rest is history.
He likes tall players so he might buy Dzeko next summer and play Dzeko and Ronaldo up front.


Imagine too many long crosses for CR7,Dzeko or Cavanni.

5+ goals in every game. Trophy is guaranteed.

And this is why I don't want Conte

 

[sullydnl]

Luis Enrique is another option, I suppose. A La Liga and CL winner whose teams play good football.

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

Just my opinion, but I think they will be consulted and a while back I read a report that United were monitoring several coaches which included Nagelsmann, with Bout and data analyst Mick Court compiling the list. Bout in particular is someone that has vast knowledge of the game and was even a coach and match analyst under the great Jupp Heynckes at Bayern.

I think our fans have become paranoid since Fergie retired and due to a broken structure/outdated scouting and a non existent data analytics department, we as a club were left behind. So that meant the managers we brought in post Fergie, were given control of the recruitment and they made a very poor job of it. So with each managerial change the squad kept getting culled and the football side of the club became more and more destabilised until Murtough (Sports Scientist) finally created the mechanisms to modernise the club and create numerous roles which oversaw the work of around 50 to 60 scouts which included a analytics department who are reported to be a team of 5 working under Mick Court. And when all that came to fruition, the club created a transfer committee which gave the likes of Bout, Court and Lawlor significant power when it comes to the recruitment side and Mourinho had a breakdown.

I think it's very important the people who head the recruitment side are given the opportunity to select a potential incoming head coach. Because the new head coach will have to work with them, and bringing someone in (head coach) who is accustomed to working with a club's existing structure is very important imo. And I honestly believe with the current setup we will go very close to winning the league, if not win it with a new coach who is comfortable working as a head coach rather than a manager. We need to see training ground drills manifest themselves on match days which we haven't seen for too long.

Top post.

I strongly believe that this committee deserves to have the same full powers that a DOF would have in any other top club from continental Europe. For that same reason as well, I hope that committee will put more trust in hiring someone who is not too deep into English culture. No disrespect to English footballing culture, but this is crossroads between new ways and old school right now. Many managers who breathed and bathed in the old culture still believe in holding more power than they can chew, especially when football clubs are now way to big to have a manager as a central figure.

It's only my personal opinion for the context that Ole deserves to be sacked before the midseason mark at the current pace, but I believe Zidane would be excellent for us at the moment because he would likely focus on his job as head coach for as long as there is no one toxic pushing behind him (like Perez did) and because he has done it before with lots of big egos within a team. At the same time, I'm sure he would revamp the coaching department with better first-team coaches and other people set to work for several years on team preparation. Erik Ten Hag would also be interesting, but the question is "can he do it with this many egos?" And besides, I think we have to be ready to pay Ajax quite the big compensation fee if we want to get him.

 

[estel_manutd]

=


He stole Pobga from us and played him at Juventus. So yes. He would play youth. Granted he probably wouldn't buy Sancho and would have spent the money elsewhere. What price in the long run do you mean? Juventus kept churning for years after he laid his foundation. Chelsea won the UCL 18 months after he was sacked. Hardly leaving clubs in bad shape.

Fair point about Juventus, though not about playing youth; Pogba alone is not enough to make that case. Also, I wouldn't credit Chelsea winning the UCL to him - they spent big after the transfer ban. He finished fifth in his second season with Chelsea.

 

[Trequarista10]

Real and Barca B teams are comparable surely?

Bit different if it's in house and they're already part of the setup. Plus they were club legends. The Zidane and Enrique appointments are more akin to us hiring Ole than Potter. Potter's not only not been at a high level as a manager, he also hasn't as a player or coach. The closest comparison I can think of is Rodgers to Liverpool from Swansea, but bigger as United are bigger than Liverpool and Swansea had just finished 8th I believe? And a cup final? Plus he coached at Chelsea under Mourinho.

I like Potter but I also liked Howe. It'd be a brave decision but I don't trust our decision makers/structure in place. You'd need to cater for Potter. He doesn't strike me as someone with the ego/confidence to come to the biggest club in the country and start stamping his authority. You'd need to make sure he's ready and prepared, make sure he knows what he's in for and provide him with the right structure and support. Who would even interview him to find out what his plan would be for our squad, and who would judge his plans? Ed? Murtough? Glazers? What if Potter decides he doesn't want Pogba, then Ed hands Pogba a 5 year contract on 400k a week? Does Potter have the authority or status to tell Ed no? How will players like Bruno,Varane and Ronaldo react to a mild mannered former York City left back who looks like an extra from Coronation Street telling them what to do? Would he need staff behind him who both command respect and are fully in sync with Potters strategy? Rodgers just about coped with the jump up at little Liverpool, largely as a result of him being an ego maniac and going to cringe worthy lengths to assert himself. I may be umfairly judging Potter but he just seems so mild that he'd be eaten alive at the Juggernaut that is United. I can just picture him crumbling and turning into Moyes 2.0.

 

[mav_9me]

People are underestimating the jump from Brighton level to United level especially without connection to the club. Potter is the sort of appointment Barcelona did with Setien because he played the brand of football they liked. But the man couldn't handle the pressure and ego of the players.

Yes. And the difference is we are not quick to cut our losses like Barca did with Setien, so we can't take a huge risk like Potter.

 

[RazorOz]

Erik Ten Hag, but it's not the sort of appointment I can see Utd making. We don't seem to look at managers on the upward curve, and want someone more established. Yes we've got Ole who wasn't that, but it's not like he was the plan when they first appointed him, he was only meant to be a temporary stop-gap.

 

[wise_old_man]

How does it not match United's? Isn't United's football supposed to be based on entertaining football?

United are well-known for quick, direct football with long balls mixed in often. A typical old-school English team, but with better players.
All those fluid passing, total football, tiki-taka stuffs are too sophisticated for us and our players to handle.
That's why Louis Van Gaal failed here.

 

[Adnan]

United are well-known for quick, direct football with long balls mixed in often. A typical old-school English team, but with better players.
All those fluid passing, total football, tiki-taka stuffs are too sophisticated for us and our players to handle.
That's why Louis Van Gaal failed here.

Van Gaal didn't fail here because of total football, tiki take etc. He failed because for one we didn't have a recruitment structure in place which gave him too much control when it came to recruitment. And secondly, he made a complete mess of the players he bought with one example being Rojo who he signed due to Rojo impressing his analysts after the Dutch team's defeat in the world Cup semi final.

And the only things that are common between LVG and Ten Hag when it comes to playing the game is possession football and positional play. But the big difference is that whilst Van Gaal took a horizontal approach to dominating zones on the pitch, Ten Hag like Guardiola has taken the more vertical approach which is a big difference.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Maybe Ole needs a better Assistant Manager who has experience as a manager

Yeah, maybe hire Ten Hag or Conte or whoever as his assistant so they can actually do the job Ole is supposed to do.

That sounds great.

 

[Flytan]

Yeah, maybe hire Ten Hag or Conte or whoever as his assistant so they can actually do the job Ole is supposed to do.

That sounds great.

So true. I swear we are the only fans who blame assistant managers for the failure of the manager

 

[FatTails]

Luis Enrique is another option, I suppose. A La Liga and CL winner whose teams play good football.

I've been going on and on about Enrique. He did well at Barca and won titles, but also transformed this Spain side into one of the best coached sides at the Euros, while managing phasing out a lot of the old guard and bringing new players into the fold. If they had better finishers in the Spanish national team, they would've beaten Italy.

The problem is that I don't see him leaving the Spanish NT when the World Cup is in a year from now and Spain have a good chance of doing well in that tournament.

 

[Adnan]

Top post.

I strongly believe that this committee deserves to have the same full powers that a DOF would have in any other top club from continental Europe. For that same reason as well, I hope that committee will put more trust in hiring someone who is not too deep into English culture. No disrespect to English footballing culture, but this is crossroads between new ways and old school right now. Many managers who breathed and bathed in the old culture still believe in holding more power than they can chew, especially when football clubs are now way to big to have a manager as a central figure.

It's only my personal opinion for the context that Ole deserves to be sacked before the midseason mark at the current pace, but I believe Zidane would be excellent for us at the moment because he would likely focus on his job as head coach for as long as there is no one toxic pushing behind him (like Perez did) and because he has done it before with lots of big egos within a team. At the same time, I'm sure he would revamp the coaching department with better first-team coaches and other people set to work for several years on team preparation. Erik Ten Hag would also be interesting, but the question is "can he do it with this many egos?" And besides, I think we have to be ready to pay Ajax quite the big compensation fee if we want to get him.

I think Cavani, Pogba and Martial may not be at the club next season. Cavani for sure looks like he'll be gone and Pogba will possibly move away on a free transfer with Martial also possibly sold.

So I think the only big ego Ten Hag might have to deal with is Ronaldo who will be 37 by then. Varane from all accounts isn't someone who has a big ego and I can see him fitting in well with Ten Hag.

Also it's gonna be important for the recruitment department to select someone with a long-term vision in mind. And I'm not talking about long term vision in the sense that they keep the head coach in his role for the long-term. But rather long-term vision in the sense that it fits with a certain style of play and someone who looks to make use of the youth talent coming through at the club after the investment that's been made in improving the structure and bringing some top talents for considerable money. It would be very short sighted of the club to abandon that now so I'm fully expecting United to go for someone like Ten Hag.

Zidane is also someone that looks a interesting prospect for us due to his man management skills. But according to his agent he's not really interested in managing in England.

 

[FatTails]

Yeah, maybe hire Ten Hag or Conte or whoever as his assistant so they can actually do the job Ole is supposed to do.

That sounds great.

I would love to see Conte's reaction when asked to be Ole's assistant.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

United are well-known for quick, direct football with long balls mixed in often. A typical old-school English team, but with better players.
All those fluid passing, total football, tiki-taka stuffs are too sophisticated for us and our players to handle.
That's why Louis Van Gaal failed here.

You think Pep will fail here?

 

[EtH]

I think Cavani, Pogba and Martial may not be at the club next season. Cavani for sure looks like he'll be gone and Pogba will possibly move away on a free transfer with Martial also possibly sold.

So I think the only big ego Ten Hag might have to deal with is Ronaldo who will be 37 by then. Varane from all accounts isn't someone who has a big ego and I can see him fitting in well with Ten Hag.

Also it's gonna be important for the recruitment department to select someone with a long-term vision in mind. And I'm not talking about long term vision in the sense that they keep the head coach in his role for the long-term. But rather long-term vision in the sense that it fits with a certain style of play and someone who looks to make use of the youth talent coming through at the club after the investment that's been made in improving the structure and bringing some top talents for considerable money. It would be very short sighted of the club to abandon that now so I'm fully expecting United to go for someone like Ten Hag.

Zidane is also someone that looks a interesting prospect for us due to his man management skills. But according to his agent he's not really interested in managing in England.

I think Martial stays due to his wages but Lingard leaves. My concern with Ten Hag is that he tends to like a high pressure game which really doesn’t suit most of our players. Though I don’t see a better option available at the moment.

And I don’t see Zidane being successful anywhere aside from Madrid.

 

[g11]

We need winner mentality at the club - Ole has been playing not to lose which hamstring us so far.

 

[wise_old_man]

You think Pep will fail here?

Pep will storm out of the door after just 1 season with us due to frustration. The man was wise. He came to City because he saw all the well-built structure there. If Pep came to us, he'd struggle with our lack of a concrete structure, long-term vision and personnels.

• Our best GK (De Gea) is far away from the ideal type of Pep's keeper.
• Bar Lindelof, none of our CB can play from the back (Ironically, Ole himself stressed on this point numerous times, but no clear changes spotted).
• The less said about our midfield balance, the better.

Remember Pep's first season with City? Even United fans would call for his sack after just 3 months, claiming how we want "The United way".

 

[lenny_1248]

Our squad is only a Hannibal Mejbri and Ethan Laird away

Man, you love Hannibal so much)

 

[Adnan]

Man, you love Hannibal so much)

Which shouldn't be a surprise considering the the crap that's being played together in midfield. I also like Amad Diallo and was hoping we'd give him a go on the right and instead spend the Sancho money on a midfielder or two.

 

[frostbite]

I would love to see Conte's reaction when asked to be Ole's assistant.

Especially if it is Ole himself asking... "---Will you be my assistant?"... ... ... (Explosion) ...