Pogba is infuriatingly inconsistent. With his talent he shouldn’t be having less than 6/10 games, but he regularly has 4s. We constantly hear he needs 2 great players around him to be consistent. When is he going to stop draining the clubs resources to accommodate him.
But the main problem with pogba is off the field. He left United because he wasn’t patient enough to grow into a well oiled team under Fergie, then cost us 88m to bring him back plus 200+ grand a week, with Raiola on board.
Every few months he throws the club into turmoil by flirting with the exit door, just when we have a chance of building a bit of stability.
If pogba came out and said ‘I love United and want to stay here, the rest is nonsense ‘ then he wouldn’t get half the criticism.
On the pitch he is so frustrating because
1. He cost so much money
2. He is supposedly a leader
3. He has the talent to do so much more
Everyone knows that Jones, young, Matic were only ever average to good at their best so we just chalk it down as poor squad recruitment and retention, and that moving these on is the bread and butter of what needs to be done, so the debate is fairly focused on pogba as the figurehead of a key position and investment in the team.
People rightly criticize and write off Sanchez, but there is no debate there. He earns 400 grand approx a week and is awful.
Pogba though, cost 90mil and earns 200+ grand a week which actually works out as a bigger investment, and the least fans can expect is 6 or 7 out of 10 performances 90% of the time.
On top of the outlay, we apparently need two other 50m + players to babysit pogba in our midfield. It’s ridiculous.
If we know anything from the last 20 years, it’s that Fergie was a genius. He binned Ince, Beckham, Keane, Van Nistlerooy and more because he saw a decline and or knew that they weren’t right for the team. His judgment on Pogba clearly had merit, and it still applies.
I lost a lot of respect for Rooney when he started causing media chaos for the club wanting out/looking for a huge pay rise, when he wasn’t at his best, and myself and many other fans feel the same now regarding pogba.
If we sold Pogba and brought in a top quality, hard working defensive midfielder and number 10 who could get 8+ goals and assists per season, who keep their heads down and do their talking on the pitch, giving 7/10s every week, we will improve as a team and club and will have replaced Pogba for the same money, and these players won’t need 2 players babysitting them in games, draining energy from other players.
It would be similar to what Liverpool did with Coutinho.
As for the abuse he got from the fan, although not ideally delivered, he’s justified in the main. Imagine what Roy Keane would say to Paul in the dressing room, or Fergie behind closed doors. This is top level pro football, where players are on the world stage and fans fork out thousands a year to watch and support, there has to be standards and there has to be criticism when standards aren’t met.
These players, not just pogba, need to know what the fans think and when they aren’t good enough for the club now and moving forward.
Rant over!