Mauricio Pochettino - Will he fit in at Manchester United?

A thread.

Lots of possession – Pochettino adheres to the modern philosophy that possession is key. This is borne out by the fact that het made Southampton top the Premier League possession table, with an average of 58.6% when he was with them.

A high pressing game – Tries to win the ball back quick, as high up as possible. In Southampton and Tottenham, he made his team win 25% more tackles, despite having so much possession. Pochettino ensures his players work hard to pressurise the opposition and create key turnovers.

Moving the ball forward quickly in transition – Pochettino looks to get the ball forward quickly and vertically when his team wins possession.

McTominay, Fred and Pogba will quite comfortable fit in while the creative midfielder is usually the one with the final ball.

During his time at Southampton, he played the second highest number of long balls, very unusual for a team with so much possession. They also were caught offside the third most times, another indication of how quickly they get bodies forward and how direct their passing can be.

Not tiki-taka – Pochettino does not believe in possession for the sake of it. He advocates a more pragmatic, more direct approach. Pochettino’s team have lots of the ball but his style is very different from Barcelona’s tiki-taka.

More direct, clear cut chance creation.

Direct approach – team pass success and possession are normally very strongly correlated. Pochettino favours the quick, often one touch passing. They make fewer simple, short passes and more direct, risky ones.

Solid defense – Despite their attacking flair his team usually have a well organized defense, trying to conceding fewer shots. Pochettino knows how to organise at the back – he was an Argentine international central defender after all.

Building a low block: When in possession and building the attack, the centre-backs become involved in moving the ball forward as opposed to the central midfielders.

With Maguire, Lindelof and Axel being ball playing CB's, they should fit right in.

The CB will look to play direct passes to the feet of the players that are in the attacking block. This style of play also leads to the opposition’s defensive structure becoming deep and relatively ineffective.

Daniel James and Rashford love to run behind the defensive block.

The DM drops back between the two CB's as they split into the full back areas. This movement is meant to give the team in possession a numerical advantage in the first third of the pitch allowing for the play to be built up gradually.

United will need a new DM to play this role.

There are two options here – to play to the underloaded side of the field as the man in possession can attempt the low percentage pass himself, or turn the ball back to the deep midfielder who has a much safer passing angle to switch the play.

Pressing - 3 players are involved in the press and the pass out wide will trigger the full-back to join in. The roles of the midfielders are slightly split and the DM sits and occupies the centre of the pitch from to support his teammates if the opposition play through the press.

The 3 circled players will close on the ball, ensuring that the man in possession will either have to play a difficult pass through the press or turn the ball back. There will be a free player supporting the initial press.

The defensive line aligned perfectly in this position.

The king-pin: (Attacking midfielder)

One of the things that the AM does is find and occupy space.

This may appear relatively simple in tactical terms but the impact on the opposition that it has is difficult to quantify.

Eriksen has moved into the space behind the midfield and in front of the defense – but straight away he is forcing four players to account for his presence.

Something as small as this can distort the oppositions’ balance and create space for other teammates.

Right now, Manchester United's AM will find it difficult to create and hold space. Although it might appear that Jesse Lingard can do the job, consistency becomes the key to this.

A player like Maddison will be the perfect choice to execute this.

Pochettino has a very clearly defined tactical style which has been heavily influenced by Marcelo Bielsa, his time at Southampton, Tottenham and in the Spanish League.

This revolves around aggressive pressing high up the pitch, maintaining possession but also moving the ball forward quickly and vertically in transition to catch an opponent off guard.

Will he fit in at United?

Perfectly, given he is able to acquire the signings he wants with a transfer kitty of at least 200m.

End of thread.

Thank you.