Resting Pogba...

[Rozay]

Can we afford to do this at all without becoming 50% worse of a team?

Every game is so important for us at the moment. If we can draw a lower league opponent in the next round of the FA Cup then we can at least schedule him a day off there, but right now I wouldn’t want him to be on the bench even for a home league game against Fulham or whatever.

Been looking at our schedule going forward, and going back to a 2-game-a-week period, we can’t afford to rest him even once, but at the same time, we also need him at his best every game.

 

[arthurka]

Why ? He didnt bother running when Jose played him..

 

[Schmiznurf]

I think we could rest him against Palace or Leicester without issue.

 

[Schmiznurf]

Why ? He didnt bother running when Jose played him..

Hard to run too much when confined to one half.

 

[Rozay]

Why ? He didnt bother running when Jose played him..

 

[klsv]

He'll get a red card before the Liverpool match anyway.

 

[el3mel]

I think we could rest him against Palace or Leicester without issue.

Leicester is a tricky game.

We shouldn't rest him. There's enough time between each match.

 

[3KDré]

I think we should rest him to be honest. He's rarely not playing for us and obviously played every match of the World Cup. It might be a better idea to bring him on for the second half of some games or take him off if we're coasting.

 

[Rozay]

I think we could rest him against Palace or Leicester without issue.

Hmm, not as confident against those sides as you. Seen too many draws in recent years against lower teams digging in against us. The margins are so fine in the PL now, I wouldn’t be comfortable without our chief creator against a hard to beat Palace side, or Leicester who can beat anyone on their day.

 

[Rozay]

He'll get a red card before the Liverpool match anyway.

True indeed!

 

[VP89]

Of course we can rest him. Ole's side doesn't depend on Pogba. He's been terrific but so has everyone else. I'm sure we will have enough to dispose of Burnley with Pogba on the bench.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Pogba is one of the fittest players out there.

We just need to get the matches won as early as possible and then make the subs.

If we’re 2/3 up against Burnley then we can safely give him a rest.

 

[cyberman]

He had like a month off when Jose dropped him. He doesn't need rest.

 

[buckooo1978]

he was relatively poor against Arsenal but he's still our most important player I suppose

the way things are the way we're defending we'll do well. The way Rashford, Lingard and Martial are playing we'll do alright. Pogba is the key man though.

this Burnley game could be the opportunity to give Mata a game in his place. Fred or Lingard would be the other option with Sanchez on the right if Jesse moves inside

He's a fantastic athlete though and Matic is perhaps the one more in need of a rest

 

[Jib]

he was relatively poor against Arsenal but he's still our most important player I suppose

 

[wolvored]

Does he need a rest? If he does, play him 2nd half only when Burnley are tireder. If we are at least 2 up at half time, he doesnt need to come on. Thats as I said if he needs a rest. 'Winning games keeps you fresh'...Cant remember if it was Lineker or Shearer said it on MOTD a couple of years ago.

 

[Canagel]

The best we can do is win games early and sub him off with 20 minutes to go/15 minutes to go.
With the points we dropped in 1st half ssason we're in no position to rest our best players as we need to recover points.

 

[wolvored]

he was relatively poor against Arsenal ...

He was our best player 2nd half. What game were you watching?

 

[0le]

he was relatively poor against Arsenal but he's still our most important player I suppose

the way things are the way we're defending we'll do well. The way Rashford, Lingard and Martial are playing we'll do alright. Pogba is the key man though.

this Burnley game could be the opportunity to give Mata a game in his place. Fred or Lingard would be the other option with Sanchez on the right if Jesse moves inside

He's a fantastic athlete though and Matic is perhaps the one more in need of a rest

What makes you think that? Are you perhaps comparing it to another performance of his where he was a lot better? On its own, he had a good game.

 

[Schmiznurf]

Leicester is a tricky game.

We shouldn't rest him. There's enough time between each match.

Oh I agree we shouldn't, no need to. I'd be confident against Leicester though.

Hmm, not as confident against those sides as you. Seen too many draws in recent years against lower teams digging in against us. The margins are so fine in the PL now, I wouldn’t be comfortable without our chief creator against a hard to beat Palace side, or Leicester who can beat anyone on their day.

I definitely don't hold them in that high a regard that they can worry me, probably me being a fool though

 

[buckooo1978]

What makes you think that? Are you perhaps comparing it to another performance of his where he was a lot better? On its own, he had a good game.

yes mate - that's what relatively means

he had a poor first half followed by a stronger second and an assist

even with that second half it's wasn't as good as what he'd shown under Ole

what I was getting at was that if he wasn't playing against Arsenal I still think we win that game

 

[noodlehair]

Can we afford to do this at all without becoming 50% worse of a team?

Every game is so important for us at the moment. If we can draw a lower league opponent in the next round of the FA Cup then we can at least schedule him a day off there, but right now I wouldn’t want him to be on the bench even for a home league game against Fulham or whatever.

Been looking at our schedule going forward, and going back to a 2-game-a-week period, we can’t afford to rest him even once, but at the same time, we also need him at his best every game.

I think we can. He's been playing well and we'd definitely be worse without him, but I think you're doing our other players a disservice.

Rashford, Lingard, Lukaku and Martial have all been very productive in their own right since Ole took charge. So has Sanchez in the two games he's played.

I think the bigger problem is midfield in general. You can take one out and get away with it maybe. Pogba comes out and you can either change the system or play Fred, or have a number 10 in Sanchez or Mata. It won't be as effective but against a team we should be beating comfortably it should be good enough. You can take one of Matic or Herrera out and again whoever comes in wont be as effective but we'd still be able to play well enough to expect to beat certain teams.

As soon as two of them are gone you have a problem, even in the supposed easier games. I actually think Pogba is the least concerning of the three, as it's debatable whether he needs a rest to be at his best. This is the first time he's played consistently well for us so I'd be playing him as often as I could to keep the rhythm going. With Matic age is an issue and Hererra overworks himself every game.

 

[Jericho]

He had enough rest when Mourinho was benching him, he's fine.

 

[Jericholyte2]

Pogba is one of the fittest players out there.

We just need to get the matches won as early as possible and then make the subs.

If we’re 2/3 up against Burnley then we can safely give him a rest.

This would be my suggestion for resting him - play 60-70mins every game, be a few goals up, then sub him.

 

[Funky Futurista]

Think we might field a little "weaker" team against Burnley, and the ones who start this one and started the last one as well might be taken off earlier if we're having a good game. Hope to see both Pereira and Fred, although I think only Fred will start. Probably rest Herrera if Fred starts, but Pereira or Mata/Sanchez can come in for Pogba.

 

[Rozay]

I think we can. He's been playing well and we'd definitely be worse without him, but I think you're doing our other players a disservice.

Rashford, Lingard, Lukaku and Martial have all been very productive in their own right since Ole took charge. So has Sanchez in the two games he's played.

I think the bigger problem is midfield in general. You can take one out and get away with it maybe. Pogba comes out and you can either change the system or play Fred, or have a number 10 in Sanchez or Mata. It won't be as effective but against a team we should be beating comfortably it should be good enough. You can take one of Matic or Herrera out and again whoever comes in wont be as effective but we'd still be able to play well enough to expect to beat certain teams.

As soon as two of them are gone you have a problem, even in the supposed easier games. I actually think Pogba is the least concerning of the three, as it's debatable whether he needs a rest to be at his best. This is the first time he's played consistently well for us so I'd be playing him as often as I could to keep the rhythm going. With Matic age is an issue and Hererra overworks himself every game.

That’s true. I disagree with part of it in the sense that a I think on an individual basis, Pogba is easily the one of the three midfielders we can do without for a given game. Especially against teams we should beat. We could bring Pereira, Fred or even McTominay in for Herrera or Matic and I’d be confident enough as those two are primarily there to stop other teams beating us, as opposed to beating teams. Against lesser threats, we can manage.

That said, I agree with what you said in that if any TWO are out, we’re in trouble. We struggled to control the game at home against Reading without any of them. I also agree that if Pogba is out, we’d probably need to bring in a 10 like Mata and play two sitters.

And I don’t mean to discredit the others. They are playing well, but Pogba is the chief creator. The forwards are in good form, but they can’t provide service for themselves.

 

[noodlehair]

That’s true. I disagree with part of it in the sense that a I think on an individual basis, Pogba is easily the one of the three midfielders we can do without for a given game. Especially against teams we should beat. We could bring Pereira, Fred or even McTominay in for Herrera or Matic and I’d be confident enough as those two are primarily there to stop other teams beating us, as opposed to beating teams. Against lesser threats, we can manage.

That said, I agree with what you said in that if any TWO are out, we’re in trouble. We struggled to control the game at home against Reading without any of them. I also agree that if Pogba is out, we’d probably need to bring in a 10 like Mata and play two sitters.

And I don’t mean to discredit the others. They are playing well, but Pogba is the chief creator. The forwards are in good form, but they can’t provide service for themselves.

I think the bonus with Pogba in this system and with how he's playing is he's kind of two in one. He has the technical ability and flair when it comes to being an attacker and creator, but he also has the physical attributes to bring the ball directly out of midfield, and the passing ability to give us more control of the game from midfield. We don't have anyone else who could have just strolled through Arsenal in the way he kept doing.

So I'm not meaning to discredit him as such. I think him and Rashford have been our best players since Ole arrived. I just think even with what we lose without him, "easier" games should still be ones we expect to win with the players we do have...and that I think he is also the one of the three midfielders who it is least important to give a rest to keep at their best. He can handle two games a week I would think.

 

[Canagel]

Best team without Pogba (incase of injury/suspension) would be:

DDG
Young Bailly Lindelof Shaw
Matic Fred/Herrera
Mata
Lingard Rashford Martial
​

Just to be prepared.

 

[Skills]

Current system we can't.

4-4-2 with Matic & Herrera in the middle against the bottom half. Just storm them with a front 4 of Martial, Rashford, Lukaku & Sanchez

 

[TMDaines]

Let's rest him, drop some points or go out of the cup, end our season early, then rest him for the remainder of the season too. Give him the summer off. Gotta make he's ready for the title push in 2023.

 

[Rozay]

I think the bonus with Pogba in this system and with how he's playing is he's kind of two in one. He has the technical ability and flair when it comes to being an attacker and creator, but he also has the physical attributes to bring the ball directly out of midfield, and the passing ability to give us more control of the game from midfield. We don't have anyone else who could have just strolled through Arsenal in the way he kept doing.

So I'm not meaning to discredit him as such. I think him and Rashford have been our best players since Ole arrived. I just think even with what we lose without him, "easier" games should still be ones we expect to win with the players we do have...and that I think he is also the one of the three midfielders who it is least important to give a rest to keep at their best. He can handle two games a week I would think.

Yea, I think we can win without him. Just a case of he’s the one that could provide the difference. These games have a nasty habit of not going according to plan. We can easily draw one of these games to poor sides even with Pogba, as we have many times. I just don’t want to risk it. I have visions of being 0-0 at Old Trafford against a small side, with no Pogba and resorting to a crossathon that just gets headed out x100. Maybe those days are behind us but I’m still scarred!

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

We need back up! Maybe Lingard would be best suited, as he has the ability to drive with the ball, albeit not with the same amount of power as Pogba. He also has the engine to get up and down the pitch.

Herrera Matic Lingard
Mata Rashford Martial​

 

[Jib]

what I was getting at was that if he wasn't playing against Arsenal I still think we win that game

Maybe...maybe not.
At the end of the day, he's by far our best player with De Gea and against Arsenal he was the best player on the pitch again as he's since Ole took over.

 

[haram]

We cannot rest him. He will just have to be subbed off in games.

 

[AshRK]

Its important ole starts to trust fred more now. Not just pogba, I feel matic and Herrera also would need rest when champions league football is back. I would start fred against Burnley. Get him some confidence. Ole is doing a smart thing with lukaku and Sanchez, giving them confidence. He must do the same with fred.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Pogba is very important to our team because he’s the only one who can actually do playmaker job, the closest one for his backup will be Mata but the quality is absolutely different.

The best game to rest him will be the Fulham away game, it’s perfect timing as well since after that game we have PSG and Liverpool. I know Fulham has been poor but away game always tough, the only one thing that worries me if we end resting Pogba in that game.

 

[Fridge chutney]

No need to rest him unless he's borderline with a knock or suffering fatigue. He's our most important outfield player, along with arguably Matic.

 

[noodlehair]

Yea, I think we can win without him. Just a case of he’s the one that could provide the difference. These games have a nasty habit of not going according to plan. We can easily draw one of these games to poor sides even with Pogba, as we have many times. I just don’t want to risk it. I have visions of being 0-0 at Old Trafford against a small side, with no Pogba and resorting to a crossathon that just gets headed out x100. Maybe those days are behind us but I’m still scarred!

Well I think with or without him we'll have those days. I also think we'll get a bit of a hiding at some point when a good team gets at our defence before we've managed to rattle them, but I don''t think that will necessarily mean we aren't heading the right way.

I just feel qute relaxed about it. 4th is still a tough task as Chelsea are a decent side and Spurs are 7 points away. Even Arsenal are still a threat, but 6 weeks ago we had no chance of even thinking it was realistic to catch any of them. May as well enjoy the ride rather than worry too much about where we'll end up or who we can afford to rest here and there.

I mean, I wouldn't have wanted us to rest Rashford and Martial at the same time, but it actually worked out pretty well, as now we have a situation where there's more players deserving a chance in the team than there is places for them.

 

[Funky Futurista]

Well I think with or without him we'll have those days. I also think we'll get a bit of a hiding at some point when a good team gets at our defence before we've managed to rattle them, but I don''t think that will necessarily mean we aren't heading the right way.

I just feel qute relaxed about it. 4th is still a tough task as Chelsea are a decent side and Spurs are 7 points away. Even Arsenal are still a threat, but 6 weeks ago we had no chance of even thinking it was realistic to catch any of them. May as well enjoy the ride rather than worry too much about where we'll end up or who we can afford to rest here and there.

I mean, I wouldn't have wanted us to rest Rashford and Martial at the same time, but it actually worked out pretty well, as now we have a situation where there's more players deserving a chance in the team than there is places for them.

A bit off topic, but this is what we need more of. Wether it be Fred, Pereira or even McTominay, we need more players in form and fighting for a spot!

 

[VivaObertan]

I think it's Matic that needs a rest the most!