15 Jul 2026 22:14:02
Gotta say. None of the World Cup managers linked with United have covered themselves with glory in the tournament. Ancellotti, Pochettino, Nagelsmann, Tuchel have all been average and managed teams which have not done great. Carrick seems to be a shrewd appointment and saves us a load of grief and pressure if we had appointed one of these.
15 Jul 2026 23:50:58
You need to separate results from the impact of the manager. I would say Ancelotti achieved about as expected, Pochettino the same, Tuchel over achieved. But, talking about that requires delving into the stats and team strength, expected goals (not xG), and it's too small an audience for that!!
16 Jul 2026 12:55:13
DonRed, how did Tuchel overachieve? England probably have the 3rd best team on paper and are in the 3rd-4th play offs. I'd say only France and Spain have a better pool of players to pick from.
16 Jul 2026 14:12:15
England had Saka injured, have a very ordinary defence, and lack creativity. I think you are massively overestimating the strength of that England squad.
16 Jul 2026 15:19:13
That was down to the manager's selection and not the pool of players available to him. Foden, Palmer, Trent would have solved the creativity issues. Hall/Shaw and Trent would have made the defence better. I stand by England having the 3rd best pool of players to pick from in the world, and they achieved the bare minimum with it.
{Ed001's Note - why does no one even mention Gibbs-White? He was the best English player at the end of the season.}