An Argentinian manager who has never won a trophy in English football is now the betting favourite to be appointed both the next Manchester United and Manchester City manager.
Mauricio Pochettino has been out of work for 11 months, during which time he has seen his successor, Jose Mourinho, change Tottenham Hotspur considerably during a period dominated by the global Coronavirus pandemic. Flair players such as Dele Alli have been sacrifice by the pragmatic Portuguese, and tougher-tackling midfielders such as summer signing Pierre-Emile Hojberg brought to the fore. This hasn’t been more or less successful, but it has been different.
Pochettino has watched from the sidelines for the length of a full season, and must be itching to return to the fold, if not the Premier League then football in general. He will be refreshed by an extended break, the relief that can only be felt when the immense pressure of a 5-year project fades away replaced by frustration at inactivity, the gnawing knowledge that any longer outside the game and you can lose touch.
Pochettino knew when he left the Spurs job by way of Daniel Levy’s dramatic November 2019 decision, that his ideal role was up the M6 motorway. It seemed highly likely that Manchester United were the model club for Pochettino. His teams’ playing styles mirror the footballing ethos of a club know for their ‘youth, courage and success’.
Perhaps only the success has passed by Pochettino to date during his career as he is yet to win that first trophy. Either way, with Sir Alex Ferguson a confirmed fan, it seemed like only a matter of time until Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would suffer the dip in form that pundits predicted which would necessitate a change of manager.
In would come Pochettino, or at least, that was the theory.
Then, in January on this year, United signed Bruno Fernandes – ironically Portuguese too – and transformed their domestic form to the extent that Solskjaer managed to reach three semi-finals and steal a march on the Premier League, overtaking both Leicester City and Chelsea on their way to 3rd in the division last year.
Suddenly, the chances of Pochettino getting what might be considered his dream job looked slimmer that a bride the day before her wedding. At the same time as Solskjaer was leading United to comparative success based on the previous season, Pep Guardiola was down the road at The Etihad Stadium, if not floundering then certainly failing in his attempt to win The Citizens’ third Premier League title in a row, finishing 18 points behind Liverpool in the 2019/20 season.
With a failed move for Lionel Messi hitting the skids, Manchester City haven’t been convincing this campaign so far, with a draw against Leeds United and thumping 5-2 home defeat to Leicester city setting alarm bells ringing in some corners of the Manchester City corridors of power.
Some argue that Guardiola, who has been in the City hotseat since 2016, operates at such intensity that his management style naturally fits a period of up to around the same time Pochettino lasted at Spurs, and maybe no further. Guardiola was Barcelona’s first team manager for four seasons, he lasted just three at Bayern Munich. With four full seasons under his belt in the M11 postcode of Manchester, could the Catalan’s time be up at the end of this year?
If that’s the case, the City hierarchy will not want to be scrambling for his successor, knowing that the man who will turn 51 in January will be very difficult to replace both in the hearts and minds of the Manchester City fanbase.
Guardiola has changed Manchester City, and has bent the direction of the Premier League to a faster, more technical, pressing league full of teams who exist on the front foot. Look at Liverpool, sure, but glance at Leeds United, managed by Guardiola’s mentor Marcelo Bielsa. They couldn’t have survived in the Premier League pre-Pep. They are thriving in it partly due to the way he has altered it.
Should City look for a replacement, they’ll be looking for a man who knows the Premier League inside out, plays on the front foot and employs a largely pressing style to his teams.
It’s hard to think of a better man who fits that bill than the 48-year-old Pochettino.
The sportsbetting odds reflect the duality of the Argentinian’s appeal to both Manchester clubs. The former Newell’s Old Boys player learned his trade as centre-back for the club between 1990 and 1992, as he was aged 18-20, under the tutelage of – you’ve guessed it – Marcelo Bielsa. The fast-paced pressing game stuck with him and he find himself a 6/4 favourite to become the next Manchester City manager.
At the same time, Pochettino is the odds-on favourite for the United job at a best price of 4/6 and one that is narrowly almost by the day.
Perhaps the best guide as to where Pochettino goes next may be the odds for the next Premier League manager to leave his post. Pep Guardiola is a best price of 33/1 to leave Manchester City’s dugout before any other manager vacates their position. By comparison, Solskjaer is the betting favourite to leave first, priced at Evens almost across the board.
Will Pocjettino be prepared to wait even longer to take up a position as manager at an elite club in the Premier League? If he isn’t, then both Manchester clubs may find themselves locked in a battle for his signature during the current shortened season.
Who wants him, and who will get him may be the best thing to happen to Pochettino in his football career, never mind since his inglorious sacking nearly a year ago. As the saying goes, you don’t know what you miss until its gone, and the Premier League misses Pochettino. With many of the teams currently playing in the style he helped develop, how long before Pochettino wishes to prove his mastery of it?
It seems highly unlikely that the Premier League will have to miss him for much longer, wherever the former Espanyol, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur manager ends up next.
