Poch needs backing to bring success

It might just work.

Manchester United have tried every type of manager. Mauricio Pochettino has tried every type of club.

Two lost souls, who have known better times, meet when past their prime. They have quite a lot in common.

Like two old drunks reminiscing in a bar, both have been through the mill and feel they just haven’t had the breaks.

But together they might just show the world that they can still do it.

Poch wants the job and United want him. Only some cantankerousness from Big Jim can stop it now.

The much-maligned pair of CEO Omar Berrada and Football Director Jason Wilcox deserve credit for going outside the box of bookies’ favourites, Eddie Howe, Antonio Conte, Unai Emery and Julian Nagelsmann.

They remembered a once-high roller who never quite realised his full potential. And one who always had Fergie’s blessing.

On his part, Poch would not have taken much persuading to leave his USA-sized comfort zone and give the big time one more shot.

When United come calling, you have to be well ensconced at a top club to say ‘no’. When you’re in a retirement village, it’s a no-brainer.

Football is not even among the top four sports in America, so he would never be fully appreciated if he did win something.

And at 54, he’s probably at the optimum age for a football manager. Still young enough to join a kickabout, but old enough to be a father figure.

Crucially, he still has the hunger of a younger man. Despite managing three top clubs – Spurs fans can look away now – his trophies still fit in his carry-on luggage.

All three were with PSG in the so-called farmer’s league and during the Galactico era.

He never managed to crack it with the Neymars and Mbappes, but his greatest frustration was at Spurs, whom he’d transformed thrillingly after being poached from Southampton.

More precisely, he was denied the funds to turn a very good team into title-winners.

Chelsea was the wrong fit and he made a mistake in going there, but the USMNT (US Men’s National Team) was below him.

A warm-hearted, players’ manager, he may click better with United’s disparate youngsters than the emotionless Michael Carrick.

Little did we think the long-haired Argentine defender who ‘tripped’ England’s golden boy Michael Owen in the 2002 World Cup would become so admired in the Premier League.

On television, it looked a clear foul and penalty, which well-positioned referee Pierluigi Collina did not hesitate to give.

David Beckham scored from the spot and England won one-nil.

But Pochettino has always maintained that Owen ‘dived’. It’s not the first time a tall, dark Argentine centre-back has argued about a decision in England’s favour.

The most infamous was skipper Antonio Rattin, who was sent off in the 1966 World Cup quarter-final and refused to leave the field.

It became an international incident that sparked animosity between the two countries well before the Falklands War.

But we have since learned that Poch is no Rattin, who died during the recent World Cup, and Owen is no choirboy.

The Argentinian said of that moment: “When I was managing Southampton, Owen was a TV pundit. I knew he was coming in one day and told my press officer I wanted him to come down and say hello.

“I had the photo ready – the one that clearly shows I didn’t touch him. He signed it and wrote, “You definitely touched me,” along with a smiley face.

“We had a good laugh about it. He was clever, and I was a little bit naive.”

So, apart from a likeable, all-round good guy, what can United fans expect from the latest occupant of one of football’s hottest seats?

He usually needs time, although in his first job at Espanyol, he inspired an amazing turnaround from the relegation zone to tenth in half a season. He even beat Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona!

United would take something similar now, especially if he can conjure up a decent cup run and go deep in the Champions League.

Much may depend on how much cash he can inveigle from the back of Jim Ratcliffe’s sofa.

Having failed to get Daniel Levy to cough up at Spurs, his best bet is to insist on a bundle now while he’s in a position of strength.

Even following from a distance, he must know he’s inheriting the weakest United squad in living memory.

Lying 18th in the table, this season United are averaging just 0.8 points per game. Even the notable flops averaged a point more than that.

All his post-Fergie predecessors – illustrious and not so – had more to work with.

Every United fan is as familiar with the spots as a teenager is with acme, but will the owner respond?

It’s all over the field and, worryingly, even goalie Sanne Lammens is having the heebie-jeebies and he’s considered a rare good buy.

On the other hand, the Old Trafford crowd has shown its ability to rouse the team and a more animated figure in the dugout may help.

That said, Carrick deserves sympathy for the typically shabby way the Ratcliffe regime is treating him.

Asked to carry on as if nothing is happening while the firing squad loads their rifles.

Shocking, but consistent with the INEOS modus operandi in other sports.

The Guardian comments that there’s a Leaving Las Vegas feel to this appointment, and it means the movie, not the casinos.

But given INEOS’s failure rate and Pochettino’s own trophy collection, there’s a Hail Mary element, too.

And when you add that to the firm conviction that nothing will work with the current owners, football is such a contrary sport that you can’t write it off.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.

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