Everybody knew, but Mauricio Pochettino still believed it was not true. And when the news broke, he was stunned. Manchester United officially announced it yesterday: Eric ten Hag will be their new coach until 2025 (unless he gets sacked before). And the Argentinian was reportedly shocked, not only he was not selected for the job, but also because he was not informed, which means, he found out about it in the morning papers. Not cool.LOL. So much love this. Imagine Man Utd choosing Erik ten Hag partly because the players wanted Pochettino.Yes! Time to end that ‘player power’ nonsense. pic.twitter.com/4uNEsU9arR— UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) April 22, 2022 According to The Athletic, United had planned reportedly to call Pochettino to inform him directly that he had missed out on the job before the announcement came. The timing of the news was ‘awkward’ as Pochettino had felt ‘confident’. Obviously, it was up to football director John Murtough, or technical director Darren Fletcher, who led the search to inform the former Spurs boss about the results, but somebody failed to do it before United’s media team. Two months before Ten Hag’s appointment, the Argentine is said to have been gathering information about Manchester as a city, the structure of the club and the personality of United’s players. He was also the favorite in Manchester’s locker room, but in the end, nobody consulted the players before making the decision, and it was also known that future consultant Ralf Rangnick preferred the Dutchman too.It’s officially official: Ten Hag will be Manchester United’s coachPochettino was one of the favorites among the list of candidates for the post, which was first assembled in January, according to The Athletic. The list contained a few names and Brendan Rodgers was among them, until his Leicester City started to lose game after game and he was the first name to be scrapped. Julen Lopetegui from Seville was another one on the list, but never really a serious option, while his countryman and Spain manager Luis Enrique refused the club. There was also the topic of Thomas Tuchel, since Chelsea was in turmoil over proposed sale, but the German didn’t want to jump ship so quickly, so Ten Hag and Pochettino remained serious candidates, as they were before other names.Mauricio Pochettino was shocked to learn of Erik ten Hag’s appointment as Manchester United manager.Pochettino was not informed by United that he’d missed out on the job.Pochettino is said to have gathered information on EVERY aspect of the club.Via @TheAthleticUK pic.twitter.com/OxqdjNusxw— SPORTbible (@sportbible) April 22, 2022 Interviews were conducted with both men, even thou the Argentinian denied he held any talks with the Red Devils. The conversation was done via Zoom and suddenly, the club’s officials were not so impressed, as they were with Ten Hag. The first meeting with the Dutchman made a big impression on the United bosses, including the Glazer family. Ultimately, it was decided to hire a Dutchman who will be responsible for the reconstruction of the club.PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 34Saturday14:30: (2.30) Arsenal (3.40) Man.Utd. (3.35)17:00: (2.85) Leicester (3.30) Aston Villa (2.65)17:00: (1.10) Man.City (12.0) Watford (30.0)17:00: (3.60) Norwich (3.35) Newcastle (2.20)19:30: (4.10) Brentford (3.50) Tottenham (2.00)Sunday16:00: (2.30) Brighton (3.25) Southampton (3.50)16:00: (2.90) Burnley (2.90) Wolverhampton (2.75)16:00: (1.60) Chelsea (4.00) West Ham (6.50)18:30: (1.22) Liverpool (7.00) Everton (15.0)Monday22:00: (2.10) Crystal Palace (3.50) Leeds (3.80)***odds are subject to change***
