Mourinho v Pochettino: A game of contrasts and opposites
- Kaustubh Pandey (@Kaus_Pandey17)
It is said that while United did appoint Mourinho after sacking Louis van Gaal following the FA Cup win in 2016, Sir Alex has admitted that Mauricio Pochettino is the best manager in the Premier League not long ago.
David Lammy, the MP of Tottenham once told the Spurs Show podcast days before the appointment of Mourinho as the United manager that he was on the same dinner table as Sir Alex during a football for grassroots event abroad. And it during this event that the Scotsman had told him that Spurs 'have the best manager in the Premier League'.
While Sir Alex's liking for Pochettino is certainly undoubted, things are miles apart from what he would have been expecting it to be with Jose. United look like a team that has lost its way and there seem to uncertainties and misunderstandings at every level, be it the board, the management or among the players on the pitch.
Exactly the opposite has been the case with Pochettino. His side may not have won the title over the past three seasons, but they are often the best team in the country when at their best. Their youth policy is prospering, the players know what way to play and the men up there are on the same wave-length as Pochettino himself, despite them failing to sign a single player this past summer.
And when Tottenham come to town in Manchester, there will contrasting dynamics going against each other. Pochettino has been there for more years than Mourinho, but even when he was three seasons in, the look of Spurs was more daunting than that of United currently. Mourinho's lack of system and distrust among the board level has made it worse.
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