Not much difference from this season so far then apart from we won’t be giving him £1.5m a month to holiday and might get £100m plus a player willing to play.
Is Pogba as good as gone?
- Thread starter Irrational.
- Start date
I've been matter of factly told a month or so ago that Pogba is likely to leave in January. I don't care if I'm labelled a wannabe ITK, I was told in a very nonchalant manner by someone who seemed confident in what they were saying and gave the impression it was common knowledge among those working within sports / journalism circles.
I reckon he's wrapped in cotton wool and he'll be gone in January.
I reckon he's wrapped in cotton wool and he'll be gone in January.
What I don't get is why we wouldn't have just sold him in the summer, if we're willing to let him go halfway through the season. It doesn't make sense to me.
Lets be honest talented he may be, world class he may be, but hes been a bit of a waste of time for the last 18 months. Hopefully someone has cottoned on to that and has been weighing replacements up when the inevitable does happen. If it isn't January it'll be next summer. There isn't going to be a de Gea moment unless we really do offer stupid terms (which he hasn't warranted).
I guess Ole was hoping Pogba would understand, and give his all to help the cause for at least half a season, based on their friendship due to Ole working with him since he was a kid.
It was a huge miscalculation from Ole but in fairness, he probably would not have been able to find a replacement in time.
But Pogba should have been sold 2 years ago. The fact that a player so toxic is still here again shows how badly the club has been run.
I’m a bit tired of this debate. He said to a reporter, at the beginning of the summer, that it may be time for a new challenge. I accept that. I’m not in denial about this.
I think the significance of that comment is being overstated by a section of fans. I have an issue with the degree to which a lot of our fans just ‘don’t like’ Pogba, at least on here. I think that once you are in such a position, everything that happens in real life seems to be seen through a certain prism, and something like Pogba saying it may be time for a new challenge is gold - real tangible evidence to validate their dislike. Before the comments, he was already being sworn at and abused by some United fans on the pitch. SINCE the comments, I have seen little to suggest he’s unwilling to see out his contract and do his job. For a different player, that may be seen enough perhaps. But for Pogba, we can’t let this go, because we actually have something beyond conjecture now to use to validate our dislike.
Now why does it bother me so personally? It bothers me because, football and riches aside, I see myself as a person with a similar profile as Pogba - and some of the abuse, and speculative theory about his character, feel very familiar to me. The ease at which he is summarised as having an ‘attitude problem’ is something a lot of other young black folk can relate to, especially women tbh, but men too. When looking at the tangible evidence, there is nothing to suggest he has an attitude problem to me. But it takes a lot less to earn that label for a Pogba. He is ‘lazy’, he’s ‘selfish’ - and I think those labels are unfair and without real basis other than a certain demographic being ‘lazy’ themselves with their labelling. I think if this were not football, it would be a lot less acceptable. As for his personal interests, the extent of his crimes seems to be that he enjoys dancing, with his brothers, in his own home and flash hairstyles. Music, dancing and hairstyles that the likes of Graeme Souness obviously cannot relate to, and clearly offends them.
Now to the football itself. The extent to which he has been ‘poor’ is massively overstated in my opinion. He’s always 2 or 3 below par games away from having had a ‘terrible season’. That’s largely due to the fact that he’s Paul Pogba, and good performances only serve to quiet people temporarily, and we are Manchester United, and so long as we are seen as a collective to be underachieving, individuals will be seen through that prism. The same applies to Martial. Even when he’s playing well, he’s always a few games away from being summarised by pundits in a way that Rashford is not. On this forum, I read all day about what more people want from Pogba the footballer. What he CANNOT do. I do accept those things. What bothers me is the lack of time for what he CAN do. I think people want him to be Lionel Messi and win games on his own for us weekly. I don’t think he will do that, but he will create chances regularly. Even defensively, I think he has many a game where he has great running stats. He is not a Scott McTominay or Darren Fletcher off the ball. But they are further away from being a Paul Pogba on the ball than he is from being them off it. But that’s okay. Players with a different profile who evoke different emotions also fail to track runners sometimes. They also let people by them sometimes. They also fail to pick a pass very often. There was a goal SWP scored at Old Trafford where he just walks past Paul Scholes, who just about half dangles a leg out. I can imagine the Sky Sports panel if that was Pogba. There would have been many times Scholes let his man go. But let’s forget that. Let’s focus on how brilliant a passer he was. And he was, of course. Willian scored a goal at Old Trafford last season where Scott McTominay totally lost him and let him run off him. It happens. And it doesn’t happen every week with Pogba either.
Bottom line, I think much of the criticism of Pogba, is steeped in, or exaggerated , due to an irrational dislike, that I have a problem with. I think it’s always one rule for him and one for everyone else, and so far in this thread - when challenged, it’s revealed itself quite easily. There was one poster when questioned on his points one
by one, has come up with ‘yea, he only scored about 4 from open play last season’ (we all know it was more), he is a disgrace for wearing a blue streak in his hair in the derby (evidence was shown of when he changed it for France which was dismissed), ‘I was able to watch games with an injured ankle’ and a lot of other weak arguments.
Is Pogba without flaw as a player? Of course not. It he without qualities and strengths? Obviously not. Many seem to want him sold, I want him supplemented. Bottom line is people don’t take to him. That fact has made him a worse footballer than he is in the court of public opinion, amongst a lot of other crimes he is labelled with.
The more time he is missing, the more these rumours seem to hold some truth. It's an embarrassing situation for the club.
Sooner he’s out of the door the better
Wonderful skills but mystery injuries and can’t be arsed attitudes, bringing a bad atmosphere to the squad more than counter-balance that.
Get good players and good people in, weed out those stinking the place out. Then build on it. That’s how Fergie started off.
Wonderful skills but mystery injuries and can’t be arsed attitudes, bringing a bad atmosphere to the squad more than counter-balance that.
Get good players and good people in, weed out those stinking the place out. Then build on it. That’s how Fergie started off.
What's the source for this sort of thing then?
Didn't Mourinho publicly allude to something like this? I'm the last person to say anything positive about that man, but he definitely had a big bust-up with Pogba over something or over a series of events.
Literally Jose and newspapers like The Mirror. That's it. There's way more people on record saying the opposite, but he's spoken about like its the opposite.
I definitely believe him about the Rolls-Royce story because there were very particular reports about Pogba being pictured leaving games straight away after they end with his own RR.
I've no doubt Jose didn't like him, but I've got a feeling Pogba is more popular in that dressing room than Jose. I could be totally wrong. I just don't buy the virus crap. Slate Pogba for what we see, the bad performances, thats a much more balanced approach.
Good post @Rozay
I don't think it's about liking him. It's more to do with being a senior player, World cup winner and setting the standards for the rest, especially the younger ones who look up to him. It sets the tone to the dressing room when your best and most famous player is not ready to go through brick walls for the club or the manager.
Hopefully gone already. I can just imagine the level of crapness he would have added to yesterday’s debacle. (Southampton away, three turnovers in a minute anyone?) Still he’s apparently not bad at basketball so at least there’s that.
In detail you are correct
I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see him in a United shirt again.
It's a great shame but, there's no point in having a player that doesn't want to be here...
It's a great shame but, there's no point in having a player that doesn't want to be here...
He's a millionaire child with huge talent, seemingly wanting to be our captain/leader, and is our big expencive star player. I'm not an expert on group psychology, but I wouldn't want that in my team
Honestly I'm so sick of the abuse he gets, it'll be a relief to not have to read it anymore in a way. Wonder who the next scapegoat will be.
Huge mistake to sell the basketball team.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Eagles
Manchester Eagles, also Manchester United in the past, was a basketball team from Manchester, England. The club was bought out by Manchester United after settling down in Manchester following a series of relocations. The club had several mergers, creating a complicated overlapping history with Manchester Giants, the last of which de facto ended its existence in 1989 and reinstated the Giants.
Lingard. He's only young so he will get it the most.
Man utd will be better off without Pogba once we reinvest the fee. I believe the club was ready to sell in the summer just that nobody ponnied up the fee.
Why do you believe the club was ready to sell, out of curiosity? It’s clear to me that Ole really values him and wants him at the heart of his team.
Anyway, us being ‘better off’ depends on what we have to spend. You could argue Liverpool were ‘better off’ with the money they spent from Countinho - but that’s because they couldn’t spend it without selling him. If they could, then they would be far better off buying VVD, Fabinho and Allison and keeping Coutinho too.
He is the best midfielder out there in his position, you can't reinvest into worse players..
Charming, if true
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If we sold him in the summer and didn’t reinvest fans would be bitching about that as well. Hindsight and all but we had no way to know he would be injured or “injured” for the majority of the time. I expect we’ll listen to offers in January and end up accepting anything over £100m. I would not be surprised if we don’t see him in a United shirt again.
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Nope. But Pogba will be better off without Man Utd, that's closer to the certainty.
Nope. But Pogba will be better off without Man Utd, that's closer to the certainty.
The shit storm when we spaff away whatever money we get on Pogba on either absolute wank or don't spend it at all.
Claims from Spain
yeah that's all we need to know to stop reading. They do this sort of stuff all the time. Unsettle the fans and club towards a player to make it easier for them to buy / sell who they want.
Look at the way they tried to push Bale out of the door. If you want to believe fake news and rumours then that's up to you. I'd hope some fans might be a little smarter than that.
Yup, it's the RM rumour mill starting up again:
https://www.teamtalk.com/news/spani...ies-as-paul-pogba-situation-takes-shock-twist
https://www.teamtalk.com/news/spani...ies-as-paul-pogba-situation-takes-shock-twist
We will find in December if this is true. I'm very conflicted about the whole situation.
My guess was that his injury was legit but he’s been healthy for a while now, refusing to play to push a transfer but also not get injured again. Honestly can’t blame him for wanting to leave if true.
Remember the pictured meeting with Zidane in Dubai? Supposedly was just a coincidence but it could turn out to be a lot more sinister than initially thought.
It would only further prove to me how incompetent the board is and particularly Woodward.
It would only further prove to me how incompetent the board is and particularly Woodward.
If he doesn't sign a new contract, I think he will be gone in the summer while we can still get a decent fee rather than leaving him go for free the year after. Hope if he does go that all the money will get reinvested in the squad. Although I can't see it happening.
Think it is doubtful that he will go to Madrid now considering Madrid are supposed to preparing mega-deal for Mbappe. Not sure if they could afford both them. I think he will go to Juventus.
I'm tired of seeing this thread bumped to the top. If he stays and his words about being committed to United are true - good on him. If not, and we screw up by selling him for less than what we bought him for and without a proper replacement - then in many ways I would blame the club more than him.
This whole Pogba saga has become an unwanted distraction from the bigger issues the club has to deal with.. at least on the caf. I really hope the club knows a lot better than the collective here. Granted - we seemed to have lacked a lot of smarts over the past few years in our transfer policy.
This whole Pogba saga has become an unwanted distraction from the bigger issues the club has to deal with.. at least on the caf. I really hope the club knows a lot better than the collective here. Granted - we seemed to have lacked a lot of smarts over the past few years in our transfer policy.
Baffles me why fans cant see Pogba as a failed transfer.
Incredible really.
Insane fee, insane wages and the guys form/commitment/attitude have warranted nothing but criticism.
He's egotistical, over hyped and believes in his own self worth more than anything else.
I've never been a fan of his coming back, and am absolutely sick of debating over this guy. He's shown at times glimpses, but never more. He's never grown into the player we hoped he would and he's caused way more problems than he's solved. Hell, we changed formations and signed players to "get the best out of him" and he's still been bang average.
He's been an absolute flop here for the 2nd time. We've put up with him for "marketing reasons" and cashed in on his name and shirt sales. Footballing wise, it's hard to justify.
He's been angling for a move for nearly 2 seasons yet sections of our fans still adore him and cant see a future without him. Time to wake up and move on
Incredible really.
Insane fee, insane wages and the guys form/commitment/attitude have warranted nothing but criticism.
He's egotistical, over hyped and believes in his own self worth more than anything else.
I've never been a fan of his coming back, and am absolutely sick of debating over this guy. He's shown at times glimpses, but never more. He's never grown into the player we hoped he would and he's caused way more problems than he's solved. Hell, we changed formations and signed players to "get the best out of him" and he's still been bang average.
He's been an absolute flop here for the 2nd time. We've put up with him for "marketing reasons" and cashed in on his name and shirt sales. Footballing wise, it's hard to justify.
He's been angling for a move for nearly 2 seasons yet sections of our fans still adore him and cant see a future without him. Time to wake up and move on
Should have never been created in the first place. I see nobody discussing Bailly or Fosu Mensah everyday while they are injured. There should be no Pogba convo really until he returns, or something actually happens. This is just a ‘put your Pogba-bashing here’ thread. He’s not the first footballer to be injured for a few months.