I want to understand, what other reason would I have for replying the way I do? I have no end game here other than trying to understand. I usually find myself agreeing with your posts and analysis, and we have different views on this obviously but even when I try, your points just doesn't convince me in the slightest on this, honestly. It's seems to me like it might only exist to get confirmation on your views, imo. You keep talking about the relevance of the thread but I've only replied to your posts specifically in here and tried to make sense of it. If you won't even consider such a simple point as how his performances is perceived in contrast to how he is rated, and how much of an effect that has on people when they evaluate his contribution and place in the team, there isn't much to discuss, and I'll say you're just making shit more complicated than it needs to be, just to justify your beliefs.
You're generalising a lot in your last post too, which makes it far fetched to believe your theory. You'll always have fans that'll be more than afraid of other clubs buying their best players. I don't think you've happened to stumble over something unique that defines our fanbase. The relevance to Paul Pogba is still not very lucid.
The point is, whether or not you rate his performances (which on the whole have been better than that of his teammates, but that’s a different matter), it has nothing to do with whether or not he is a person likely to feign injury. The issue relating to his feigning of injury is a personal accusation as to his professionalism and attitude, which is where I have come in. I think such accusations are unjustified, whether or not you think Kevin De Bruyne is a better football player than him. My issue is with the issue of Paul Pogba the human being, not Paul Pogba the footballer. I also have issue with many people’s views of Paul Pogba the footballer, but I’m not here to discuss it right now.
The quality of his performances should have no bearing as to whether or not he’s feigning injury, or represents ‘the worst about modern day football’, as I’ve read. Again, my assertion is that ultimately, I believe the detachment from Pogba the person (and subsequently, Pogba the player IMO) is largely based upon a mischaracterising of him as someone who is not really one of us, is selfish, a diva and has been planning to go to Real Madrid since the day he arrived. I think much of that, at least until the comments of the summer, were both wrong and also out of Paul Pogba’s hands, as there is little justification of such feelings based upon his actions. Given that there is a pattern of such feelings, which span beyond Pogba to pretty much all top tier players who either sign with us or are linked to us, my belief is that the greater issue is the insecurity of the fans themselves, who seemingly don’t REALLY think their chick is as hot as they make out, when it comes down to it.
Before any of these performances you speak of, the same fans dismissed any chance of Pogba returning to us in a way they did not dismiss the idea that Harry Maguire would want to join us in the summer. And it will continue to happen if we pursue a superstar. It will always make ‘more sense’ to many for them to join another big club than this one. The underdog talents, who are not as glamorous and can maybe be developed well - those are ‘Manchester United players’. After all, ‘we don’t buy superstars, we make them’. In Pogba’s case, we actually bought one, and he’s been treated with distrust, which has often led to disdain, from the very beginning.
You keep saying that I am not acknowledging the link between performances and treatment, but I don’t think you are acknowledging the link between how performances are analysed and how the player is seen as a person. And again, even speaking performances, his are better than the rest and he’s criticised disproportionately. He was in the team of the season last year, and on this forum, the focus is constantly on whatever it is people feel he can’t do rather than the considerable that he can. Look at Scott McTominay. There is a lot he cannot do as a top level CM. There’s a large section of fans who acknowledge these things, but prefer to focus on the two or so things that he does quite well. We like him.