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Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

From Clough to Keegan, a look at the appointments that shocked the world of football

Simon Rice,Dave Rudge

Friday 18 January 2013 14:17 GMT

Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

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1/12Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

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Mauricio Pochettino (Southampton, 18 January 2013 - present)
Mauricio Pochettino was a surprise replacement for Nigel Adkins at Southampton. But which other appointments came out of nowhere?

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Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

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Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

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Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

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Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

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Kevin Keegan (Newcastle United, 16 January 2008 - 4 September 2008)
Newcastle chairman Mike Ashley delighted fans when he announced 'the Messiah's' sensational return as manager. Keegan, despite his own admission that he hadn't been watching much football since he left Manchester City three years earlier, did reasonably well with a poor team when he finished 12th in his first season. He resigned just four weeks into his second, citing disputes with the board over transfer policy. Newcastle would be relegated at the end of the season.

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Chris Coleman (Real Sociedad June 2007 - 16 Jan 2008)
A recommendation from former Sociedad manager John Toshack was enough to secure this exotic post for his fellow Welshman. He lasted just half a season, resigning after winning eight of 20 league games, claiming he had a different "vision" for the club to that of its president. Cynics, however, believe it had more to do with the former Fulham manager turning up 90 minutes late for a press conference then blaming it on a faulty washing machine, when actually he had been out "in a place where I should not have been" to the early hours of the morning.

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Mauricio Pochettino and the most bizarre managerial appointments

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Alex McLeish (Aston Villa, June 17 2011 - May 14 2012)
The appointment of McLeish just five days after leaving Villa's arch-rivals Birmingham was greeted with mass protests and anti-McLeish graffiti outside the ground. A poor start to the season didn't help his chances of winning them over. An insistence on using negative tactics and squad disharmony saw the Villains narrowly miss out on relegation and no sooner had the curtain fallen on the Premier League season, the Scot was sacked.

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Seemingly out of nowhere, Nigel Adkins has been sacked by Southampton and replaced with Mauricio Pochettino.

The decision has shocked many, and with the Argentine only holding one managerial position before his arrival on the south coast, seems a somewhat bizarre decision.

Here, we take a look at some other managerial appointments that came as something of a surprise.

Click here or click 'VIEW GALLERY' to launch our guide.

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