Can Mauricio Pochettino restore Manchester United’s identity under Sir Alex Ferguson’s influence?

Mauricio Pochettino once answered a question about the three Premier League managers he would have liked to play under by naming just one: “Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Alex Ferguson.”

That admiration now takes on a new significance as the Argentine begins his Manchester United tenure, with the task of improving results while rebuilding the identity that faded after Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

Pochettino’s respect for Ferguson long predates his arrival at Old Trafford. In a 2023 interview with Sky Sports, while managing Chelsea, he recalled meeting the former United manager during his time at Tottenham. Six years earlier, he had shared lunch with Ferguson, describing the occasion as one of the most memorable moments of his career.

“When I was young and at the beginning of my coaching career, Ferguson was always my inspiration and my first reference,” Pochettino said. “When you have the chance to spend two hours with someone considered the greatest manager in the history of football, you can only enjoy every moment.”

United have struggled since Ferguson’s departure to find a manager capable of combining sustained success with the club’s traditional attacking identity. Pochettino may offer a link between those two demands, while also developing ideas that Michael Carrick tried to introduce.

Carrick’s team produced positive results and, for periods, attractive attacking football. When United had less than 50% possession under him, they lost only once and won 62% of 13 matches. Their win rate fell to 36% when they dominated possession.

Those figures suggested United were more effective when allowing opponents to advance before attacking the spaces behind them. The approach suited several of the squad’s forwards, protected the defence and made use of Casemiro’s threat from set-pieces, particularly against compact opponents.

Carrick’s broader ambition, however, was to create a side able to control matches, build from the back and use short, accurate passes to draw opponents out. The challenge was the same one faced during the spells of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Erik ten Hag: creating space against deep defensive blocks rather than simply exploiting it.

Pochettino’s coaching principles, influenced by his former mentor Marcelo Bielsa, are based on high pressing, intense physical work, movement and attacking initiative. His recent work with the United States showed a balance between freedom and structure, with players encouraged to rotate while a small number retained clearly defined roles.

That flexibility helped midfielders find spaces between defensive lines, while short passing combinations attracted opponents before direct balls released forwards such as Folarin Balogun. It also reflects some of the principles associated with Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp: pressing, speed and quick transitions.

Pochettino described his philosophy in 2014 as giving players “a more free style, but with good organisation”. That balance is likely to be central at United. In Carrick’s early period, four forwards pressed in a shape close to 4-2-4, but the system left space behind the first line and became less effective as opponents adapted. United’s physical level also declined after a strong late spell under Ruben Amorim, during which the fixture schedule was lighter because of the absence of European football.

The manager must therefore improve fitness, make the press more coordinated and find answers against deep defences. Brighton, managed by Fabian Hurzeler, provide an example of how possession and high pressing can succeed in the Premier League, sitting second after 10 rounds and recording the division’s fourth-highest possession figure.

Pochettino will also need his attackers to create solutions. Cole Palmer, who enjoyed one of his best Premier League seasons under him at Chelsea, said: “He gave me the confidence and freedom to move anywhere on the pitch, where I could use my strengths.”

Pochettino’s task is to combine that freedom with the structure needed to protect United. If he succeeds, he could achieve what Carrick could not and restore a style based on initiative, pressure and fast attacking. His admiration for Ferguson and influence from Bielsa provide the framework; success will depend on turning those ideas into a winning system at Old Trafford.