IT became impossible for Louis van Gaal to escape the spectre of Jose Mourinho. Even as the Dutchman held the FA Cup in hand in what would prove to be his final game as Manchester United manager, it was impossible to avoid the sense the club’s hierarchy wanted someone else in charge. Van Gaal surely sympathises with the situation Ole Gunnar Solskjaer finds himself in.
The Norwegian has had a Mauricio Pochettino-sized shadow cast over him from the moment he was appointed at Old Trafford. Solskjaer has found it impossible to shake off the suspicion that he was initially hired as a placeholder for the Argentine, at the time still employed by Tottenham Hotspur and therefore off the market.
Now, of course, Pochettino is on the market and has been for nearly a year now. With every dip in Manchester United’s form, the odds shorten on the 48-year-old taking over. They have rarely been as short as they are now, though, with Solskjaer taking criticism from all angles following Sunday’s catastrophic 6-1 home defeat to Spurs.
United should be using this an excuse to bring in Pochettino.
— Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) October 4, 2020
Pochettino would almost certainly do more with the current group of players at Old Trafford. Solskjaer’s side lack tactical structure and focus. While United are among the most potent attacking outfits in the Premier League right now, much of that comes down to instincts of individuals.
Solskjaer deserves some credit for unleashing these individuals, for restoring a sense of self not felt at Old Trafford since the Sir Alex Ferguson days, with Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford all liberated after the oppression of the Mourinho era, but it increasingly seems that another more meticulous coach will be required to take Manchester United any further.
The success of every Manchester United manager is capped, though. There is only so much they can achieve while restricted by the current sporting structure in place at the club. United’s approach is outdated and unsuitable for the modern game and a change of manager would do nothing to change this.
This is a club that continues to operate without a Director of Football despite offering repeated suggestions that one would be hired. A club that abandoned its transfer strategy of the last 12 months to sign a 33-year-old free agent on £200,000-a-week on deadline day. A club that is currently paying three goalkeepers a combined wage of £575,000-a-week. A club whose owners have extracted £89 million from the coffers over the last five years when rivals’ owners have invested hundreds of millions.
David Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho and Solskjaer have all suffered the same problems at Old Trafford, so why would Pochettino’s experience be any different? He would have to work under the same owners and alongside the same executive vice-chairman who for the last seven years has led the club down countless dead ends.
Pochettino might actually be the worst possible for Manchester United’s current structure. The Argentine was notorious for being extremely particular in what players he signed at Tottenham Hotspur, much to the frustration of Daniel Levy who saw countless transfer market proposals of his rebuffed. How would he fare at Old Trafford, where transfer market planning appears to be an abstract concept?
Nothing will change at Manchester United until the current regime is overthrown. Only then will the culture of arrogance and apathy that comes from the top down be eradicated. Only then will the club stand a chance of returning to the top of the English and European game. It might not be much comfort to Solskjaer, but Pochettino would soon discover what it’s like to stand in the Norwegian’s shoes. They’re the same shoes worn by every United manager since Ferguson.
