Man Utd next manager: Dyche v ‘fraud’ Pochettino is latest battle

Are Man Utd just appointing Mauricio Pochettino for the US investors? Should they actually bring in Sean Dyche to keep them up?

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Should be Sean, not Mauricio
I think we can all agree that the main problems at Man U are up top and at the back.

The only striker we have is injured, so no manager can solve that.

The midfield going forward seems to solve itself quite well. OK, we need to choose between Amad and Lacey and Rashford and some others, but going forward they all seem to do quite well, as was seen against Roma and Villa.

When it comes to defending, they show their weakness though, making mistakes in marking, as was also seen against Villa.

The defence itself…well, the four main protagonists are all out and it is hard for me to be too tough on the 20-year-olds, despite their lacking.

So, we need a manager who can sort out defensive stability and do it fast, as well as ‘talking’ some sense into some of the players.

Laugh all you want, but logic would say that rather than getting Poch, the board, despite their reluctance for yet another interim, should get Sean Dyche, for the rest of this season.

In terms of PR it will be a disaster, but in terms of avoiding relegation and then getting Poch for free in the Summer, it is genius!

Will they do it? No. Bets on when Poch is fired are now open.
Andreas (Carrick should have been given four more games), Brussels

It’s about the investors
I think everyone is looking at the change of manager too closely at Man U. This isn’t really about football, it’s about selling the club and building the story for investors. If US PE/HNW owners are going to come in, they will know the man because he’s managed their national team, and they rate him. Other ‘proper football investors’ will recognise him and think that this adds to the story, derisking the investment to a large extent because they won’t see him as being a green admiral, sailing the United ship to the abyss.

Talk all you want about records, strategies, and style – it’s not about that.
Nick in Woking

…I am an incurable romantic. With over 60 years invested in this club, I will go to my grave a Red.

My dream is for David Beckham to put together a consortium to pay the £5 billion to get rid of the Glazers and Ratcliffe and return to running the club focused on its core values.
Ian, Peace and Blessings

Of course it’s Pochettino…
Of course they’d go for Pochettino. Of COURSE they would. You can imagine the conversation can’t you.

Brexit Jim: “did very well at Spurs. Likes Fergie. I like his smile. He’s like a big cuddly bear. We’ve spoken to him a few times before. Why not? Let’s give it a go”

Berrada: “yes boss”

Wilcox: “yes boss”

Junior staff member taking minutes: “is he actually that good though? Technically, all he did was make Spurs look less of a shambles than they usually are, for about 3 years. He did nothing at Chelsea. He’s not exactly pulled up trees as US coach. Ok he won Ligue 1 with PSG, but that’s as easy as a publisher announcing they’ll no longer take up their option on a new David Walliams book. Is he really the best we can do guys? Seriously?”

Brexit Jim: “…I’m not sure what that noise was just then. Did you hear it Jason or Omar? I could have sworn I heard insubordination in the air”

*Splash of minute taker hitting the ocean*

“No boss, I heard nothing”

“No boss, I heard nothing”

“Good good. Poch is it is then. Go get it done. If he asks for extra cash, I don’t know, sack a f*cking tea lady or something. I don’t care. Oh shit, sack Michael as well. Tell him cheers all the best from me. Try and keep the compo down obviously. Anyway I’ve got lunch on this yacht in a hour, so off you trot. Laters”
Andy H, Swansea

…After the next Yer’nited manager Pochettino eventually fails, I hope the club will have the decency to tell him, “Bae, it’s not you it’s me”.
Muthama Gitonga, Nairobi, Kenya

Sticking up for Poch
Eric is ostensibly saying that a coach who took a shambolic Tottenham team that needed to rid itself of a number of high earning, under-achieving players (sound familiar), whilst altering a mindset of a broken team, to three top three finishes, and a CL final, both of which were delusional before he arrived, is a fraud?

I suspect Eric has fraudulently mis-remembered that this Manchester United is so utterly pathetic. So abjectly appalling, that they would do well to be grateful that someone like Pochettino would even glance twice at the cesspit of nonsense that is that is Manchester United(the exorbitant money will no doubt help).

United need a good coach not someone who used to play for them. Pochettino will be a success for United so long as everyone understand that he’ll need this season to settle a rocky ship, just as he did at Tottenham, and those first couple of months at Chelsea.

Still livid that Levy didn’t bring Poch home.
Dan Mallerman

Fraud? You want to talk frauds?
Single biggest fraud in world football????

I have two words for you.

Roberto Martinez.

Enough said.
Swapnil, Mumbai

Maybe INEOS not that bad
I have a controversial take – and acknowledge it’s affording a lot of benefit of the doubt where it may not be due.

The biggest constraining factor on United doing anything is finances versus expected league position and finances versus expected style of play. United aren’t trying to solve the same type of problems a Brighton or Bournemouth are trying to solve, so it simply isn’t good enough for them to outperform top half table expectations consistently. They need to somehow generate top of the league performances with limited funds and in an attacking style.

Assume United simply haven’t had the funds for the post Ineos years to make wholesale changes to a team hamstrung by previous incompetencies. What is a reasonable approach? It’s not unreasonable to take a phased approach to rebuilding. Fix each line, each year. Attack first, then midfield, then defence. You have to accept total disruption during a multi-year period in order for the hopeful top finish – project 2028 if you will.

All I am saying is that I can see the logic there. Execution may not have been spot on every time – but it isn’t at any club. I like the attack and midfield even though it’s short in depth. Let’s see what they do with the defence.

Yes there’s collateral damage along the way. But time will tell after the next big window.

Alright, throw the darts my way.
Dan, MUFC
RIP Danny Kelly
A lovely tribute to Danny Kelly from Sarah Winterburn today.

I used to text in to Danny when he presented a sports show on Radio London – leaning on his musical knowledge – I’d sign off as members of Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street band. So Danny would read out a text saying “we’ve got a comment here from Professor Roy Bittan on Dennis Wise’s disciplinary issues”.

I think that knowing Danny was in on the joke….THE Danny Kelly…the Danny Kelly of the Wooden Bow Tie and Standard Liege Scout (look ’em up kids) – is one of my happiest ever memories.

Go well Danny.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
Lawrence in Muswell Hill

…I was really saddened to read of Danny Kelly’s death today and loved Sarah W’s heartfelt eulogy on the site. It made me think of what an incredible phenomenon he constructed with F365 and what a miracle it is – unlike pretty much any similar publication from that era – to have survived and thrived into the 2020s.

I started reading F365 in 1999 as I went off to university, indirectly because of Danny. His brother worked with my late uncle in the City and on a family holiday in France my uncle was going on about this new-fangled idea of reading things on the internet and how brilliant this website Football365 was. The computer room in my halls of residence was the first time I’d ever had unalloyed access to an internet connection and I started reading it then. Come to think about it, I’ve continued to read the site pretty much every day since, for almost 30 years, even had a few letters published in the mailbox during that time, and would probably be totally lost if it disappeared.

The thing that sets F365 apart is that, even as times have changed and you’ve been forced to evolve and inevitably get a bit more clickbaity here and there, the site really isn’t that much different to what it was then, and nowadays appears quite radical compared to other publications precisely because of that. Amid a never-ending proliferation of instant opinion and user-generated slop, substantive things like a back catalogue of letters which are published daily and interesting writing by real journalists and editors have real value.

Oh, and Under the Moon was absolutely brilliant too, and over way, way too soon.
Matt, Sheffield

PS. My uncle also told me that Danny’s lifelong ambition was to own every single Jamaican dub and reggae album in existence and I imagine large numbers of people would kill for that music collection!

…Condolences to all of the F365 family after the loss of Danny Kelly. As someone who has visited this site daily pretty much since its inception, I will be forever grateful to Danny, and all the F365 family for their work, and for creating a space for football discussion.

My love to his family, who will be devastated.
John (eternally grateful for F365) Matrix AFC

…Just heard about Danny Kelly. I’m so sorry, such awful news. RIP
Neil Raines

…Rest in peace Danny Kelly. No human being should have to suffer with and ultimately die from this disgusting, unfair, agonisingly painful illness. I’m sure a lot of folk who frequent this place have lost people they love to it – it took my father, and it pains me to know what his wife and family are facing now. But ultimately all you can do is remember their life, and in Danny’s case, one very well lived indeed. Very few radio broadcasters can make the whole world melt away just by talking, and make you feel like they’re talking directly to you. Danny Kelly did that every time for me.
RHT/TS x

…No doubt you’ll have recevied countless messages about the sad news following the sad news of Danny Kelly’s sad and far too early passing.

The fact X has been flooded with countless messages from opposing fans of Danny’s (and my) beloved Spurs shows just how respected figure he was amongst the ordinary football fan – if there was an injustice for fans Danny was like a dog with a bone.

His commentary of Aaron Lennon’s equaliser in the bat sh*t 4-4 draw against arsenal sums up how passionate a fan he was of football.

He’ll be missed.
Jim (Spurs)

…I’d like to bid a fond farewell to Danny Kelly, the joyfully curmudgeonly geezer. One of the most prominent and well respected Spurs supporting journos out there, his latter work on The View From The Lane always brought a smile to the vast majority of the online fanbase.
A founding member of this parish and a leading light in the early days of 365 towers.
Sir, you will be missed.
TGWolf (Spinning some esoterica in the sky) THFC