- Published
When Mauricio Pochettino was asked the three Premier League managers he would have loved to have played for, he was unequivocal.
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he → publish → managers
"Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Alex Ferguson," replied Pochettino, who is set to be the next manager of Manchester United.
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who → reply → United
In 2023, the Argentine - then at Chelsea, and dressed in full Blues training gear - was being interviewed by Sky Sports.
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Argentine → dress → Sports
Still he felt a need to express his adoration for Ferguson.
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he → feel → Ferguson
Six years prior to that interview, while managing Tottenham, he had shared lunch with the legendary former United manager.
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he → manage → manager
"When I was young, when I started my career as a manager, he was always my inspiration, my reference," Pochettino said.
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Pochettino → start → manager
"And when you can share two hours with a person who was the greatest manager in the history of football, you can only enjoy."
Hiring United managers has been complicated since Ferguson's departure in 2013, and one of the most prominent complications has been a back-and-forth around the club's DNA.
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one → share → DNA
For some, winning by any means necessary should take precedence, while others believe the style of play and cultural heritage of United's most successful period is vital to the club's identity.
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style → take → identity
In recent years, United's managerial merry-go-round has alternated between European coaches with their own fixed styles of play, and former players from the Ferguson era.
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round → alternate → era
But between his tactics of choice and his adoration for the former United boss, Pochettino may be uniquely placed to bridge the gap between both camps.
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Pochettino → place → camps
Michael Carrick's United produced a series of good results to finish last season with a run unmatched by any other team in the league.
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United → produce → league
They looked great, but it was a greatness built on attacking in a transition-heavy manner.
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it → look → manner
Under Carrick, in games they had less than 50% of the ball, they only lost once.
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they → have → ball
In those 13 games, they boasted a win-rate of 62%.
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they → boast → %
This dropped to 36% in games they had the majority of possession.
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they → drop → possession
This style of play suited their direct attackers and protected their defenders.
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style → suit → defenders
At the same time, Casemiro's set-piece prowess provided United a reliable way to break the deadlock against deep defences - something they have struggled with this season.
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they → provide → defences
With United a goal up, opponents stepped forward, giving Carrick's men more space.
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opponents → step → space
They could play to their strengths again, attacking quickly.
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They → play → strengths
It worked.
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It → work → ?
But teams at the top are reluctant to play in this way.
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teams → play → way
Carrick's vision for United was a side that played slick football, with short passes in build-up intuitively, referencing Paris St-Germain's midfield three as a source of inspiration.
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that → play → inspiration
Building up in this manner, to entice and escape from pressure, before looking to find the forwards quickly, was the plan Carrick was working towards.
This didn't come to fruition and trying to take United from a successful counter-attacking side to one that could reliably beat teams while keeping the ball was the same hurdle that undid Ole Gunnar Solskjar and Erik ten Hag.
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that → build → Solskjar
Pochettino gives United an interesting solution to this problem.
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Pochettino → give → problem
In his own words, he has described his sides as needing "to be protagonists, always press high, work hard and be dynamic".
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he → describe → sides
He refers to himself as a "disciple" of the legendary Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa, who he played for.
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he → refer → who
If you wanted an immediate comparison in the Premier League to a coach who resembles Pochettino's ideas in possession, it would be worth looking at Liverpool's Andoni Iraola, who similarly cites Bielsa as his reference.
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who → want → reference
These are coaches who, while taking the initiative, encourage vertical football.
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who → take → football
For as different as the clubs are, both the fans of United and Liverpool have enjoyed success when their teams have played high-octane football.
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teams → enjoy → football
Rather than a fixed, positional style of play - akin to the work of somebody like Manchester City's Enzo Maresca - Pochettino's USA had only certain players being tasked with holding their position.
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players → have → position
This approach posed problems for teams who defended in a zonal manner - defending specific areas rather than individual players.
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who → pose → areas
The US midfielders being able to move freely meant they could step into areas of the pitch between the zones that were being defended, which resulted in their players often being unmarked with time and space on the ball.
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players → move → ball
By playing in close proximity to each other in the middle of the pitch, the US found another benefit.
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US → play → benefit
Small-space passing combinations helped draw the opposing team up towards the ball and combined with clever off-ball movement to stretch the pitch, allowed the US to find their striker with few defenders around him.
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US → draw → him
Pochettino's men looked to thread through-balls in behind and early after enticing the opposition's press and the speedy Folarin Balogun was able to turn those chances into goals.
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Balogun → look → goals
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This combination of a fluid midfield, small-space passing and direct through-balls doesn't sound dissimilar to what Carrick was trying to move towards implementing this season.
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Carrick → sound → what
And although that may worry United fans, the similarity in principles will benefit the players.
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similarity → worry → players
"My philosophy is to give a freer style with a good organisation," were Pochettino's words in 2014.
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words → give → 2014
Although philosophically similar, that latter part - a clearer organisation to his freer style - is likely to be what Carrick was unable to reliably offer his players.
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Carrick → offer → players
For fans of top sides, fast-paced, vertical football tends to be accepted when it comes from a place of being proactive - think Ferguson's United or Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool - wanting to keep the ball, but not passing it for passing's sake.
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it → tend → sake
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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