Mauricio Pochettino may have not won any trophies during his five-year tenure at Tottenham Hotspur but he transformed the north London club from regular Thursday night football to the edge of Champions League glory and Premier League title runs. So, how does his record break down during his spell in the Premier League?
We take a look at his statistics at Spurs, the cup runs, the title charges, and how this could translate to United.
Poch managed 290 games whilst at the helm at Spurs, winning an impressive 160 games, the most of any Tottenham manager in the post-war era, which even surpasses double winner Bill Nicholson’s record. This equated to a points per game ratio of 1.89 in the Premier League, which is 10th on the all-time list of Premier League managers.
Pochettino also guaranteed Champions League football for four of his five seasons in charge, more than all other Tottenham manager in the Premier League era combined. Looking at his record against the other ‘Big Six’ clubs whilst in the Spurs dugout, Pochettino had some memorable results, including thumping Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool team 4-1 whilst playing their home games at Wembley and an impressive 2-0 win over City in Pep’s first season in Manchester.
However, his record against the ’Big Six’ as a whole was slightly disappointing, collecting 60 points in 53 league encounters during his time there, only beating out north London rivals Arsenal in the amount of points collected (60 - 51 respectively).
In the year Leicester City won the title, they finished 11 points off after following the Foxes all the way, but quite remarkably, the following year, they finished only seven points behind Antonio Conte's record-breaking Chelsea. And, in truth, it wasn't for the Italian breaking records like longest win streak and most wins in a season, Spurs would have snatched the title.
All in all, a sensational record for a team that isn't expected to compete for titles from Poch.
Player development and his man-management was one of Pochettino’s biggest standouts during his time at Tottenham. Giving first-team debuts to the likes of Dele Alli and Eric Dier, Pochettino is recognised as giving youth a chance, but his development of superstar Harry Kane must be one of his proudest moments and one of the most well-nurtured guidances from a manager in recent times.
During his five full seasons in charge, Kane not only flourished but became one of the greatest strikers in world football, scoring 159 goals in 227 games in all competitions and winning the Premier League Golden Boot twice.
Players like Alli were also guided into the top tier ranks by the Argentine, as were developing talents like Dier who managed to progress into a versatile player in midfield and defence, something the likes of Fred, Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek will all benefit from.
The guidance with players like Kane will only benefit players such as Mason Greenwood.
Costly draws against the likes of Sunderland and West Brom and defeat to bitter rivals West Ham denied Poch his first-ever trophy when challenging Chelsea for glory. However, not long after, Pochettino would carry his men to the Champions League final.
Not many thought Poch would be able to surpass his achievements from the 2016/17 season, but Spurs’ run to the 2018/19 Champions League final is arguably one of the greatest feats in Champions League history. Having spent a grand total of £0 in the transfer market, many gave Spurs no chance of making it out of a group consisting of Barcelona, Inter, and PSV Eindhoven, especially after only having one point from their opening 3 group stage games. Wins over Inter and PSV and a famous draw at the Nou Camp however saw the Argentine’s team squeeze through against the Italians on the head-to-head record.
A win over Dortmund followed by a pulsating away goal win over Manchester City saw them draw that year's surprise package, Ajax, in the semi-finals. Being 3-0 down on aggregate to a team who had knocked out 13 times European champions Real Madrid and Italian giants Juventus with 35 minutes to go, all hope seemed lost for Poch’s men.
Lucas Moura however had other ideas and scored a remarkable hattrick, including a 90th-minute winner to break Dutch hearts and send the London team to their first-ever Champions League final. Pochettino’s magic, however, finally ran out in the final, with a first-minute penalty conceded by Moussa Sissoko against Liverpool leading to a comfortable Reds win.
By this stage, the Argentine was already a Spurs hero, and he remains their greatest manager in Premier League history.
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