Pogba vs De Bruyne: who is the better passer?

[HowYouDoin]

KDB is better, Pogba is flashier. KDB does the simple stuff much better and what he does is a lot more useful and impactful. When Pogba does it however, its flashier and more memorable.
Now I'm a basketball fan so a very easy analogy for me would be a player that uses his athleticism very well to drive to the basket and score vs a player that can't really apply it that well in actual game situations but when it comes to a dunk contest or dunking in an open court, he dunks spectacularly. That's the way I see it.

 

[Tostao_80]

How do you know? It is because Pogba fits in to the French team better in this current time.

But you're comment about struggling mediocre team shows you haven't watched much of KDB.
2014/15 he got 10 goals and 21 assists playing for Wolfsburg who finished 4th. Now don't tell me they had the best players and best manager because you would have most of the United team over them yet he produced such numbers.

Stop giving excuses for Pogba, a top player performs in any team. Granted that with better players, naturally they will perform even better..

P.S. He might be playing for a clueless manager, but is a manager who deeply believes in Paul Pogba and has said on numerous occasions teams have to be built around him, so don't act as if he has not been given the platform to do well.

A top player performs in any team? You mean like Bergkamp at Inter, Veron at United, Coutinho at Barca? There are countless examples of top players not playing to their abilities at certain teams for one reason or another. Torres at Chelsea another great example.
Pogba at Juve and France show that he doesn't thrive playing with dross.
He needs to go to a better team.

 

[VJ1762]

It's always "Pogba can't perform well because he doesn't have the necessary support around him", isn't it? While I don't necessarily disagree with the sentiment, Pogba has to take part of the blame for not performing well during most of his time here. I mean, the man couldn't dominate in a match against League 1 opposition.
I am glad he is our player, but he has to start pulling his weight at some point.

KDB is in another level to Pogba right now. His application, work ethic, football IQ are way better. KDB's crossing is otherworldly. And also can score a banger from distance. I can't recall the last time that Pogba did that.

Pogba is often guilty of holding on to the ball too much. I don't know if it's because he doesn't trust his teammates and feels like he has to do everything, or if it's because our attackers don't offer much movement or both.

That said, I don't think KDB can provide the assist against chelsea that Pogba provided. But the question then becomes, can we continue to carry a player who only plays to his potential sporadically and doesn't deliver consistently? Will it be better to sell him and reinvest wisely( a foreign concept to our club) on other players?

 

[tomaldinho1]

KDB by a comfortable margin

Pogba's longer range passing accuracy and consistency is one of the most overrated aspects of his game from our fans - he's decent at it but nowhere near the better players around.

 

[Ish]

When De Bruyne was missing last season due to injury, no point in arguing.

Now it's Pogba missing due to injury, bump thread.

Great.

Wait until Pogba assists and scores a few again this season!

But in all seriousness, KdB’s final ball is ridiculously good so it has to be him at the moment but it’s difficult to compare them/know if Pogba could reach that level because under Pep, City’s attack and their movement (not just up front but the entire team) is out of this world. (I didn’t watch enough of Pogba at Juve to judge his final ball and iirc whenever I watch him for France, he plays deeper).

Our team, and attack, is pretty static and has been for a good while now. It makes it very difficult to judge.

 

[romufc]

A top player performs in any team? You mean like Bergkamp at Inter, Veron at United, Coutinho at Barca? There are countless examples of top players not playing to their abilities at certain teams for one reason or another. Torres at Chelsea another great example.
Pogba at Juve and France show that he doesn't thrive playing with dross.
He needs to go to a better team.

I think you are mis understanding. You get players who dont suit the team and loss of form.

You would agree that Pogba does not fit that bill. I don't know what you expect from Pogba? Serie A has alot more space than the Prem. How often does he get space to line up a shot?

All this nonsense of he needs a better team is bullshit because we are only lacking 3/4 players to being a better ourselves.

 

[Tostao_80]

I think you are mis understanding. You get players who dont suit the team and loss of form.

You would agree that Pogba does not fit that bill. I don't know what you expect from Pogba? Serie A has alot more space than the Prem. How often does he get space to line up a shot?

All this nonsense of he needs a better team is bullshit because we are only lacking 3/4 players to being a better ourselves.

How is it bullshit when he was played in 2 other teams in his career, both had better players. And guess what, he played better.
What's this myth about more space in Serie A? Ask Cristiano if theres lots of space there.

 

[sullydnl]

KDB is a much better player than Pogba but the difference between the two certainly isn't down to their passing ability. I'd find it hard to seperate them in that regard, though it is a rather niche argument.

 

[romufc]

How is it bullshit when he was played in 2 other teams in his career, both had better players. And guess what, he played better.
What's this myth about more space in Serie A? Ask Cristiano if theres lots of space there.

Cristiano is 34..
Pogba has just come of a season where he produced better numbers than he has in his entire career?

So how do you judge playing better? Did you watch every Juve game ? Did Pogba not lose the ball at Juve?

 

[wr8_utd]

For a counter attacking team like ours (or what Ole wants us to be), I'd definitely love KDB in our team. He very rarely seems to make a wrong choice on the counter and is very unselfish. Great crossing and shots as well.

 

[giorno]

It's funny because I prefer KDB to Pogba but totally disagree with that last sentence. KDB doesn't elevate the players around him, he does his own thing and adds to the team instead of elevating his teammates, that type of players like Pogba or Di Maria are inconsistent because they are not system dependent but all about individual brilliance. City works the same way with or without KDB but with KDB they have one more mighty spark.

Frankly the whole "elevate his teammates" bit is misleading. How does one player make his teammates better? The answer is confidence

 

[PedroMendez]

@kouroux @JPRouve

my argument is the following:
before joining City, KdB already showed some genuinely impressive performances for smaller teams, that didn't have any top class players around him - his 12/13 loan spell with Bremen and his time in Wolfsburg 14/15. There was absolutely nothing special about either of these teams. He didn't perform because they had "great runners" or finishers. Wolfsburg was coached Dieter Hecking, who is a pragmatic mid table coach and there was nothing particularly attacking about them.
(Comparing the 14/15 Bundesliga season with the 18/19 EPL season: the first 8 EPL teams scored more or equal goals than their German counterparts. That said, he did far more than just scoring/assisting for Wolfsburg and Bremen, so it doesn't really matter if these numbers are a little bit higher or lower.)

KdB would be worldclass with or without Pep in almost any team. Out of all the arguments that one might make, the one that he "looks so good, because he plays for City" is particularly odd, because he is one of the few top players, who actually has a track-record, that shows the opposite.

Would he be very good for the current United? We'll never know, but its very likely.

 

[JPRouve]

Frankly the whole "elevate his teammates" bit is misleading. How does one player make his teammates better? The answer is confidence

I agree, a player due to his role can make a team work better but he doesn't actually elevate the level of his teammates, at least not by himself.

@kouroux @JPRouve

my argument is the following:
before joining City, KdB already showed some genuinely impressive performances for smaller teams, that didn't have any top class players around him - his 12/13 loan spell with Bremen and his time in Wolfsburg 14/15. There was absolutely nothing special about either of these teams. He didn't perform because they had "great runners" or finishers. Wolfsburg was coached Dieter Hecking, who is a pragmatic mid table coach and there was nothing particular attacking about them.
(Comparing the 14/15 Bundesliga season with the 18/19 EPL season: the first 8 EPL teams scored more or equal goals than their German counterparts. That said, he did far more than just scoring/assisting for Wolfsburg and Bremen, so it doesn't really matter if these numbers are a little bit higher or lower.)

KdB would be worldclass with or without Pep in almost any team. Out of all the arguments that one might make, the one that he "looks so good, because he plays for City" is particularly odd, because he is one of the few top players, who actually has a track-record, that shows the opposite.

Would he be very good for the current United? We'll never know, but its very likely.

I'm not sure why you quoted me, I didn't disagree with that part, I said that he doesn't elevate his teammates, he brings something special to a working team. That's due to his role, he isn't an essential cog in the machinery, unlike someone like Fernandinho used to be. That shouldn't change the way we rate him individually because he is a great player and would be for almost any functioning team but he won't make your team function, it's not part of his role, he is a risk taker, a difference maker. If anything these type of players can easily expose their teammates because you need players that can cover the risks that the likes of Pogba, Di Maria or De Bruyne take.

 

[Caesar2290]

If we are to measure their peaks, they are equal. The difference is consistency plus KdB has a system he is familiar with and players that actually you know, attack. They actively look for space, whereas our team looks static or just lost.

KdB will perform 9/10 times while we'll be lucky if Pogba shows up in 1 of the 10 matches. Sad really considering Pogba is the complete midfielder.

 

[romufc]

KdB would be worldclass with or without Pep in almost any team. Out of all the arguments that one might make, the one that he "looks so good, because he plays for City" is particularly odd, because he is one of the few top players, who actually has a track-record, that shows the opposite.

He is World class under Roberto Martinez.. or will some people argue he is a better manager than Ole?

Excuses is all our fans look for... Ole needs a pre season - now he needs 2/3 transfer windows

Pogba and Jose had a rout - now he needs better players

Sell Lukaku his touch is sh*t - Now, why did we sell lukaku?

 

[PedroMendez]

I agree, a player due to his role can make a team work better but he doesn't actually elevate the level of his teammates, at least not by himself.



I'm not sure why you quoted me, I didn't disagree with that part, I said that he doesn't elevate his teammates, he brings something special to a working team. That's due to his role, he isn't an essential cog in the machinery, unlike someone like Fernandinho used to be. That shouldn't change the way we rate him individually because he is a great player and would be for almost any functioning team but he won't make your team function, it's not part of his role, he is a risk taker, a difference maker. If anything these type of players can easily expose their teammates because you need players that can cover the risks that the likes of Pogba, Di Maria or De Bruyne take.

I just wanted to clarify my post. That said, we totally disagree which is fine. City has enough world-class player, that they can replace almost anyone. In the past, he was "the essential cog" for a team in a way that a player like Di Maria never was and never will be. He is one of the most complete attacking midfielders around. I'll leave it at that.

 

[sincher]

De Bruyne is annoyingly the best passer in the world IMO.

 

[tony54]

What's the point of being a good long ball passer if the rest of his play and attitude are suspect. I'm not sure pogba is a good short ball passer.

 

[kouroux]

@kouroux @JPRouve

my argument is the following:
before joining City, KdB already showed some genuinely impressive performances for smaller teams, that didn't have any top class players around him - his 12/13 loan spell with Bremen and his time in Wolfsburg 14/15. There was absolutely nothing special about either of these teams. He didn't perform because they had "great runners" or finishers. Wolfsburg was coached Dieter Hecking, who is a pragmatic mid table coach and there was nothing particularly attacking about them.
(Comparing the 14/15 Bundesliga season with the 18/19 EPL season: the first 8 EPL teams scored more or equal goals than their German counterparts. That said, he did far more than just scoring/assisting for Wolfsburg and Bremen, so it doesn't really matter if these numbers are a little bit higher or lower.)

KdB would be worldclass with or without Pep in almost any team. Out of all the arguments that one might make, the one that he "looks so good, because he plays for City" is particularly odd, because he is one of the few top players, who actually has a track-record, that shows the opposite.

Would he be very good for the current United? We'll never know, but its very likely.

I doubt he would be this good at United. There is only so much a player can do to perform individually well. He would still perform well I think so.
I think the same with Messi and Ronaldo, they would never be close to their best selves at Man United. We are too broken for that happen

 

[Bulldog United]

That assist from KDB against Everton on Saturday night was delightful. He makes it look so effortless, a bit like Pogba I suppose you could argue, but the latter takes that description to extreme levels at times.

 

[Un4givableB]

De Bruyne the prince over water, in this current United side, half the fanbase would want him out because he didn't play as he did at City.

When Pogba leaves United he'll look like the player who plays for France.

 

[giorno]

I just wanted to clarify my post. That said, we totally disagree which is fine. City has enough world-class player, that they can replace almost anyone. In the past, he was "the essential cog" for a team in a way that a player like Di Maria never was and never will be. He is one of the most complete attacking midfielders around. I'll leave it at that.

You meant to say like Di Maria was in 13/14 for real madrid

I do agree with you re: De Bruyne and Wolfsburg though. He did elevate that team well beyond their level. In a way Draxler couldn't replicate, hence them finishing in the bottom half in the league. On the other hand Draxler consistently pulls off ridiculous performances in CL, hence them reaching the QF and beating real madrid 2-0

 

[Tostao_80]

Cristiano is 34..
Pogba has just come of a season where he produced better numbers than he has in his entire career?

So how do you judge playing better? Did you watch every Juve game ? Did Pogba not lose the ball at Juve?

Youve just proven my point. If there is more space in Serie A, why wasnt Pogba ever as prolific as in his last United season? Shouldn't it be the other way round? He was playing for a much better team, with better players

 

[amolbhatia50k]

KDB. He's only behind Messi as a passer as the moment.

Pogba as good a football as he is doesn't have the football brain to match players like the above two.

 

[romufc]

Youve just proven my point. If there is more space in Serie A, why wasnt Pogba ever as prolific as in his last United season? Shouldn't it be the other way round? He was playing for a much better team, with better players

He was 22. It is a natural progession of players. I am not sure what you expect a CM to do?

And you keep ignoring my question, how much of Pogba did you watch at Juve?

 

[The_Midfielder]

Kevin De Bruyne

 

[Cassidy]

De Bruyne, its not even a contest

 

[Sp00ks11]

Pogba is one of my favourite players to watch, however KDB is 5x the player Pogba is.

It completely baffles me that Real want Pogba over KDB.

 

[Tostao_80]

He was 22. It is a natural progession of players. I am not sure what you expect a CM to do?

And you keep ignoring my question, how much of Pogba did you watch at Juve?

A lot of games. I watched his progression from a box to box player to a more creative number 10 in his last season. He was very good for Juve in his last season (ended it top assist provider in the league). Moreover, he was on the 10 man shortlist in 2015 for best player in Europe. He rose through the ranks well there, but most importantly had the platform, license and was afforded patience.

 

[romufc]

A lot of games. I watched his progression from a box to box player to a more creative number 10 in his last season. He was very good for Juve in his last season (ended it top assist provider in the league). Moreover, he was on the 10 man shortlist in 2015 for best player in Europe. He rose through the ranks well there, but most importantly had the platform, license and was afforded patience.

So are you telling me Pogba didn't lose possession at Juve? Pogba is a generational talent and rather than giving him grief every other time, just support him and I am sure he will deliver.

Without him in our team we are crap, with him we have a chance of competing.

 

[Stacks]

That Wolfsburg team had a good attack with better movement than this current United team and it was the Bundesliga, a high scoring league, also their backline was terrible. He did get a high number of assists which was exceptional. There is a good compilation of Pogba's passing that lead to no assists but just misses from our attackers. It's not a shocking statement to say his stats would be better in a more attack oriented team

you would want neither Bas Dos, Schurrle nor Bendtnar in our side

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Plenty of players to shit on regarding passing ability, why some go straight to the Pogba thread to comfort themselves I’ll never understand.

 

[Casanova85]

You know you'd all trade De Bruyne for Pogba at this very instant.

 

[NotoriousISSY]

You know you'd all trade De Bruyne for Pogba at this very instant.

Only to want to trade him back when the Manchester United curse strikes another great player....

 

[koop]

Pogba is one of my favourite players to watch, however KDB is 5x the player Pogba is.

It completely baffles me that Real want Pogba over KDB.

It feels like it's about realistic targets. I don't think they got a chance in hell to sign KDB, Pogba however seems quite realistic.

 

[Sandikan]

I'm genuinely surprised that De Bruyne is coming out on top in people's views.

It's almost like one is in top lifetime form for a side set up to allow him to show his best, whereas one is full sulk/injured mode, in a team that are utterly gub.

 

[He'sRaldo]

De Bruyne's team knows where he'll put the ball every time, so they always provide him that run. Pogba has showcased similar, IMO to an even better level, when he and Mbappe combined telepathically in the World Cup.


In general I would definitely say Pogba, but it does seem to be closer than before.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Let's just say, De Bruyne is the much better player at the moment, in fact he is currently easily the best midfielder in the world. He is just brilliant.

But let just say, if De Bruyne play for Man Utd, he might not be regarded as highly as he would in City, as none of our stupid forward players or attackers were able to pick up his brilliant pass to score goals.

 

[Just shoot me]

KDB the best midfielder in the world? Football is also being played on the main land, did you know? At the moment I would rate Modric, De Jong, Pjanic, Kroos and Rakitic easily at the same level or above.

 

[kouroux]

you would want neither Bas Dos, Schurrle nor Bendtnar in our side

Right now, I sure wouldn't but I would defo take the ones who played in that season