Maurici-oh-no he doesn’t need this Old Trafford panto
MAURICIO POCHETTINO will become Manchester United’s next permanent boss.
That’s the talk. In fact, the Argentine is almost a shoo- in, according to pretty much everyone.
Hate to throw a spanner in the works but it’s justifiable to ask one question.
Why?
Yes, United are arguably the biggest club in the world, with financial clout, prestige, history and tradition.
But on the football field, where it matters, they are miles off it. It didn’t need Liverpool hammering them last weekend to tell the watching world what had become evident since the start of this campaign.
And Jose Mourinho saw it coming. Ever since the board failed to back him in the summer, he knew what the end game was – and he played it.
The press department cut short his briefings by the end of his reign. Couldn’t wait to usher him out of the door in case yet another verbal grenade blew up in their faces.
He’s not frightened of the sack, Mourinho. He knows what accompanies it – in this case, £10million. Happy Christmas, Jose...
And he’s taken a few down with him, like Paul Pogba, Alexis Sanchez, and every centre-half at Old Trafford.
This campaign is wrecked. There’s no chance that United will finish in the top four this season.
It is a rebuilding job at Old Trafford, make no mistake.
As was pointed out a couple of weeks ago in this column, the club has lost its identity.
Surrendered its soul.
Misplaced the X- factor t hat once made it special. And Pochettino is supposed to leave behind what he has painstakingly built during the past five years in north London to sort out that mess...
Spurs will enter a new era the moment they set foot inside their new stadium. There will be a bounce when they do.
Let’s be honest, the minute that Pochettino leaves, his managerial counterparts will be scratching each other’s eyes out to bag that gig.
Rafael Benitez will be searching for somewhere to go at the end of the season. Eddie Howe will be on a shortist. Zinedine Zidane will take one look at the squad list and think ‘ Yes please’.
And why not?
Harry Kane and Dele Alli are tied down to long- term performancerelated contracts. It’s going to take eye-watering sums to prise either of them away from Tottenham. Sort out Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen and chairman Daniel Levy will have an even- money shot at Champions League qualification for the foreseeable future.
The only fly in the ointment as far as Spurs are concerned is the pair currently occupying the two top berths in the Premier League.
Neither Liverpool nor Manchester City are going to be any weaker this time next year – and we haven’t even spoken about the threat posed by Chelsea and Arsenal.
Which leads us neatly onto the final point. If Pochettino is e mployed at Manchester United, what are the chances of him going to Real Madrid?
–urrent boss Santiago Solari has a contract until 2021. Mainly, you suspect, because the former youth and reserve team boss cannot be employed on a caretaker basis according to Spanish FA rules.
A few years ago, at the time when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were lording it, the question was why any ambitious player would want to play for Liverpool, who had been the dominant force in English football.
Now it’s a question of why a manager like Pochettino, whose star is on the rise, would give up a great gig at Spurs to sort out United’s problems.
This isn’t a straightforward choice for him.
Manchester United have spat out three top managers. You can bet Pochettino will be thinking long and hard before he becomes the next one to try to buck that trend.
CLAUDIO RANIERI played his hand beautifully when Leicester shocked the world and won the Premier League. He kept a lid on everything and it was only with four games to go that he admitted the 5,000-1 shots had a chance of making good. Having seen Jurgen Klopp’s approach – ‘Only City can stop City’ – there’s a similar game being played. It strikes exactly the right tone. I’ve harboured a sneaky feeling that this could be Liverpool’s season – and playing the public relations game like this will only
help their cause.