Paul Pogba 2017-18 Performances

Arsenal dominated our midfield, we were amazingly lucky.

I'm not sure that dropping Pogba was the best action to take from Jose. The whole team played shite vs Spurs.

That's fair but Pogba did produce some brilliant moments of quality and generally worked for the team. I don't think Mourinho really wants a player to run big games, he's spoken about trying to avoid playing through midfield in those fixtures, so Pogba's contribution is often going to be producing moments of magic on the ball and being disciplined for the team.

It was so inevitable too.

What other top side drops their best player after a bad performance? He's needed out there today

Alright, point proven José, lessons learnt. Get him on.

He goes missing often against weaker teams too, which is worse. He's been mollycoddled enough and he's not been anywhere near as good as he can be. He's had too many average games to be regarded as a world class midfielder.

Scenes in the dressing room when Jose says that, well Paul hope you learnt your lesson, now get back on the field.

He showed nice closing down towards the end on Ince His ego must have taken a hit

His dribbling was class, in 30 or so mins, he made good impact. His pass for Mata for penalty was very good too.

Played very safe and direct and tracked back loads. Good dribbling too. Will rightfully be recalled next week against the Toon.

Very few are mentioning it but it took him like 2 minutes to show why he must play. His pass to mata was perfect. Deserves as much credit as anyone for us getting the second.

Definitely upped his work rate when he came on.

In the long run we have to build the team around him to maximise his ability. In the short run he has to be more discipline to keep the team balanced. Some of his dribbling was just Zidanesque

It's clear as day that he needs to play in an advanced role in a midfield three.

He's simply wasted when told to sit deep.

Hopefully being dropped will give him the kick up the arse he needs.

This is a test of character. How he responds is key. He just needs to look at Sanchez and his workrate to realize that no one is above it. He should be fine

Looked sharp and up for it when he came on, no sign of any sulking, so good to watch when given the freedom.

Those moments he hugged the left flank and went in front of the defense he looked very dangerous. It's really his natural position.

Yup good response from him. Nobody is saying he isn't a brilliant player. It's just he has to show that consistency and mature as a player. Being dropped and how you respond is a big part in that after having shit performances. But anyway, needs to be used in a midfield 3 consistently IMO. Gets the best out of him consistently but also keeps us solid at the back.

2 minutes after he comes on he plays 1 long pass to Mata who sets Sanchez up and we get the penalty. The guy takes us to another level. It's very simple.

His quality is so clear. Him linking with Sanchez on the left will be amazing.

Hopefully Jose continues with him in a 3.

People expect way too much of Pogba. He's brilliant but he's still human and just because he is really good at many things, doesn't mean we should want him to excel at all at the same time. The comparisons are also pointless as the surrounding personnel and tactics are completely different. I get that lots of you try to shoehorn their basic opinion into the conversation but looking at the really simple facts we see that these discussions are going in the wrong direction.

We shouldn't do the above but rather figure out how to squeeze the best of this brilliant player we have on our hands. Helping him succeed will trickle down to the rest of the players, it's that simple. There aren't many players in World similar to the talent he has, help him show it.

Bold move from Jose dropping him, would have been uproar had we not got a result. Fair play to Mou, Pog needs bringing back down to earth hopefully this will make him realise he needs to actually try when we're up against it.

Pogba's never been the hardest of workers. Not that it's right, but his qualities are when he gets on the ball in the final third.

At Juventus, Conte and Allegri made sure they played him in a three, with one or two hard workers to give him a bit more freedom.

The performances we saw at Juventus is, I assume, why Jose bought him, and if that's the case, then why not continue to do what was working?

It's not missing the point, though, is it?

Yes he has performed well in a midfield two on the ball, but we have never looked safe defensively in a double pivot. Against teams where we have the majority of possession, we may get away with it because attacks are likely to be few and far between, but against teams like Spurs the other day, playing him there is a crime. He did it against City last season and people were wandering why we got spanked.

If we want consistency from Pogba, Jose will need to play him in a consistent system. City play a 433 every week. Personnel may change from time to time, but replacements that come in know what their role is, and they seemed to have mastered it.

Not really. I can't imagine Silva, De Bruyne, or even Iniesta and Xavi a few years back would be anything special in a double pivot.

I mean, I'm tot necessarily talking about one formation, but a formation that allows him to play in a midfield three. 352, 442 diamond, 433, etc.

Pogba played fine in a midfield 2 for most of last season, it's only in the "big" games when he seems to tighten up, I think he suffers a bit with nerves maybe.

We should use him as a 10 or LCM in a 3 man midfield in those matches, we need to give him more freedom and keep him relaxed as that's when he's at his best.

Different styles of players but Mou needs to give Pogba the freedom Lampard had at Chelsea.

Yup. Not sure why Herrera's form has dropped and/or Mourinho hasn't been more desperate to make him into the sort of Tiago type midfielder he had between Makelele and Lampard at Chelsea, but hopefully we buy one.

What has he done to earn a team being built around him? Has a successful team been built around him before?
How many top teams have been 'built around' a player who's never proven himself to be worthy of it, or never shown any of the leadership qualities required?

Building a team around Pogba would be limiting United's chances at major success, in my opinion. He's a support cast type player. Albeit a flashy, eye-catching one. As is Di Maria, for example. He's a player that adds gloss to a team.

People went on and on and on about 'building the team' around Mata, and then Di Maria. It was obvious that doing so wouldn't work.
It'll take a few years, but people will eventually see that Pogba also can't be built around if the team is actually going to achieve great things.

United will have a strong team when (like at Juventus) Pogba isn't considered the best player, and isn't 'built around'.

I really wonder am I too biased or some people simply dislike Pogba at this stage
His only bad game in recent past was against Spurs, and we all know why. And yet some people say 'He was bad or average in last few games'. It's simply not true, I mean, look at his January highlights against Derby, Burnley and Stoke especially... He ripped them apart.
I will never bother to judge his game when he plays in a midfield 2 against very strong opponent. It will never work.
He is an absolute joy to watch, world class. Always trying to create something, driving the team forward. People are praising Alexis for today's game and yes he was good, but I imagine if Pogba was so wasteful as Alexis was today and against Spurs and Yeovil he would be slaughtered...

Did he drop Pogba because of a bad performance or did he rest him due to the busy schedule coming up with CL etc.

Well. It was a good move, Pogba needs to grow up and start playing to his talents.

It also showed to everybody else that if Jose dropped Pogba, no one is safe.

Pogba has 2 choices, either man up and start playing better or sulk and call his agent to complaint. I hope he choses the former.

He needs to learn he won't get the luxury against better players that he's used to getting against lower level opposition.
Get the ball and be alert to releasing it as soon as possible and sensible. You've got immense passing ability, utilise it to maximum effect.

True but he also needs to be played in his natural position which in ACM either in a CM 3 or just behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 it works both ways and he isn't being utilized correctly in most games.

His ball just before the penalty was amazing. He's good for 2 of those every game plus impressive dribbles and runs.

Play him with 2 midfielders behind him.

This means him or Lingard have to be on the pitch each time.

This is pure speculation obviously but Mourinho probably thought that Pogba could still give more even if it wasn't his best position. He (we all do) expects more from him. A player doesn't have to play at his best position to deliver some basic defending and energy displays.