Paul Merson has claimed that Brendan Rodgers’ track record at Leicester City is better than Mauricio Pochettino’s at Tottenham, and insisted that the Foxes boss would be a better appointment for Manchester United than the Argentine.
Pochettino is reportedly the leading contender to replace interim boss Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford in the summer, with reports indicating that the former Spurs boss is the preferred option among the United squad to take over (ESPN).
Meanwhile, The Telegraph reported on Friday that Daniel Levy will try to bring Pochettino back to Spurs if Antonio Conte walks away in the summer.
However, Merson insisted the job that Pochettino has done at Spurs and at Paris Saint-Germain does not warrant the hype that he is getting.
The former Arsenal midfielder told Sky Sports: “I don’t understand why Manchester United would be waiting for Mauricio Pochettino. I don’t get it. If Pochettino doesn’t win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, why would they be going in for him?
“You’ve got to remember he failed to win the French league last year, too. That’s virtually impossible to do. Everybody keeps saying they need to go out and get Pochettino but I don’t understand why.
“It does my head in. It’s all I ever hear. What did he do? He got Tottenham to the final of the Champions League and his side finished third one year in the Premier League.
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“PSG have appointed him to win the Champions League, but I don’t give PSG a chance of doing it this year so I’m not sure what the obsession is with Pochettino.”
Merson said that if he was in charge at United, he would be going for Rodgers over Pochettino, insisting that a few bad months does not erase the impressive job that the Northern Irishman has done at the King Power Stadium.
He added: “Football is all about timing. If Leicester were second in the Premier League right now and still in the cups, Brendan Rodgers would be the bookmakers’ favourite to be the next manager of Man Utd.
“If I was in charge at United, I’d be going for Rodgers or Graham Potter now. People are still caught up on the Pochettino of seven years ago. If that’s the case, why isn’t everyone going for Claudio Ranieri again?
“He won the league in 2016, Pochettino didn’t. He took Tottenham as far as he could, and then you’ve got someone like Rodgers who has done a far better job than what Pochettino did. He only lost the league at Liverpool because of a slip. Now, he doesn’t even get a mention.”
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It is one thing to give edgy opinions, which a lot of these pundits are paid to do, but it shows a complete lack of professionalism for Merson to not even look up the facts before offering his take.
Pochettino guided Tottenham to four consecutive top-four finishes – a feat which no club apart from City and Liverpool have achieved over recent years.
Spurs also put together two title challenges under Pochettino, finishing second behind Conte’s Chelsea in the 2016/17 season, and did so while playing some swashbuckling football.
In comparison, Rodgers finished in the top four once in four seasons at Liverpool and has not done it even once with Leicester.
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