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Man I love Pogba.
His passing with his left foot are legitimately better than our next best passer with their good foot.
His long passing is out of this world. Will need a proper replacement if he goes.
6
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 27
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 9
- Yellow cards
- 9
- Red cards
- 1
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
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Man I love Pogba.
His passing with his left foot are legitimately better than our next best passer with their good foot.
His long passing is out of this world. Will need a proper replacement if he goes.
He will be wasted playing in the middle just like the wolves game. He needs to play further up the pitch, his job is not to control the midfield because he can’t do it, he has no purpose to play in the middle. His best assets are to deliver those passing skills to unlock opposition defense and his vision to find our players, he will be assist machine if he plays in advanced role. Right now, the most effective way to play him alongside Bruno is by playing him on the left.
He's such a joy to watch as our Left attacking mid. He's undroppable based on his recent form in that position. I really hope McT gets back from injury soon.
Outstanding
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Repeat of the euros for Pogba. Him doing brilliant passes and his teammates not converting
Really looking like the end of the road for Martial.
If he can keep that form up and with Ronaldo up front, we are going to convert a lot of those draws from last season into wins
Unfortunately I don’t think we will see the best out of him until McTominay is back and Pogba can move to the left
It’s all Pogba’s fault
Not sure why some people say Ronaldo and Pogba will occupy the same space and won't work. Pogba will always operate a bit lower unlike a traditional left forward where Ronaldo likes to start his run from. I could see Pogba pinging the ball from deep into the left channel for Ronaldo all day long.
But, of course, when Rashford comes back, it might be tricky.
But, of course, when Rashford comes back, it might be tricky.
plays in the middle for France no? I never see them employ him in an advanced role like they did Zidane. That said i would prefer him on the left wing for us
players were standing off him in midfield where as in the premier league he will get hounded by the nearest man including even their wingers. No point looking at international games and salivating because its a different game.
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In which league was he playing in the first 2 games of the season then ?
Scottish.
Something that hasn’t been sitting right my spirit is that “perfect United” player thing Scholes did recently. He gave “vision” to Bruno. I like Bruno, but at no point here has he displayed the vision, range of passing and ability to find team-mates that Pogba has. Similarly, Pogba doesn’t have Bruno’s finishing, but the point here is, how can you give “vision” to Bruno over Pogba? It’s mad
There are few midfielders in the game that come close. It’s a shame how inconsistent his short passing game can be, though.
It's just nonsense, Pogba's passing is far more consistent and his ability to execute more difficult passing is superior to Bruno's.
It just feeds into the narrative that people want to have about him.
Saw his international game was solid overall though failed to particularly stand out ( not a fault of his as it was a disappointing showcase from the French where zouma was their best player)
He did cause that scrappy martial goal so there's that
Although he was very solid today It did remind of our mistakes with him
We never should have attempted to build a team around him as he simply doesn't have either the output or consistency of players like Ronaldo and messi and isn't versatile and again consistentl to likes of pirlo(his team mate) or scholes
Now that we have a team that doesn't have to rely on him hopefully we start getting the best out of him as he simply is one of a kind player
And so far he's been promising
He did cause that scrappy martial goal so there's that
Although he was very solid today It did remind of our mistakes with him
We never should have attempted to build a team around him as he simply doesn't have either the output or consistency of players like Ronaldo and messi and isn't versatile and again consistentl to likes of pirlo(his team mate) or scholes
Now that we have a team that doesn't have to rely on him hopefully we start getting the best out of him as he simply is one of a kind player
And so far he's been promising
We've never built a team around him, though. If we had, we'd have used a 433 formation with Pogba playing on the left with a free role much more than we have
Yes look at last season instead or the start of this.
Sorry....when exactly did we build a team around Pogba?
He's just sloppy in short passing some times.
My impression is that when he spots a run and has the opportunity to put long pass into the feet of an attacker, he is supremely focused. But when he has to play a simple ground pass to a teammate, he does that more absent-mindedly and might misplace it. Again, only an opinion based on what I observe.
I would rate him as the best long range passer in the world, but there's a lot of midfielders that beat him on short crisp passing along the ground.
Sorry you're correct we never did build a side around him( mou seemd to be trying to in his second season before it all gone to shite obviously)
What i should have said was that we wanted him to carry all the attacking weight on his own before Bruno came in with very mixed results
Pogba in an advanced has the capability to produce lot of assists. He is wasted too much and won’t fulfil his true potential without his assists.
for us he will be best more forward because he wont get the time on the ball in CM with forwards closing him down, so he wont be able to pick his passes
That's why we were so miserable in that final, because Pogba and Bruno didn't show up and the likes of McTominay and Fred don't change games. McTominay was a 6 in that game, wasted a chance and didn't create anything. His surging runs resulted in absolutely nothing and Pogba was wasted playing deeper to accommodate McTominay's forays forward in the number 8 role
That being the case the question should be why has he played mostly for us in a double pivot, with Lingard or Perreira etc in front of him.
Exactly….Football is a team sport, very few make a difference individually and even less of those that do, do so from deep in the pitch. Only now are we starting to have built a good team. He joined a woeful team when you look back on it. Has been played most often in positions that don’t give him the platform to truly excel and within that with partners whose strengths and weaknesses don’t compliment each other. When he has been given a platform that is more suited to his strengths he’s been superb.
When you say ‘even Scott’….can you explain that further? Have you said that in the thread of every player? I think ‘Scott’ was considered our best player on the night once he grew into the game. So then you’d be writing that comment in every players thread.
I’d invite you to watch that game again and see who else outperformed Pogba. I’d say Cavani and then very few others. Pogba was once again, for that game, moved from a position he was performing superbly in, to a position and a role that limits his impact. Then people blame him for not being the difference…from a double pivot. He actually played a disciplined game. Kept us in control of midfield by keeping it simple not taking risks on the ball when deep and giving a platform to the likes of Bruno and Rashford…who totally shit the bed….Even Paul outperformed them. He wasn’t great and he tired at the end of the game but he did his job, the job he’d have been asked to do. He wasn’t the problem and wasn’t asked to be the difference in that game, so yes again let’s blame him for that in a game we dominated possession but not the forwards who were totally shite.
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Pogba has carried United multiple times during his stay here. There are plenty of graphs that had him leading all our attacking stats over a substantial period despite being a CM. Mourinho wasn't sacked earlier because Pogba carried us to positive results. Ole's record breaking run that got him appointed full time, Pogba was our best player and there were shouts in the media of him being the best player in the league at the time. He's done it multiple times, but for some reason people develop amnesia when it comes to Pogba. these posts are pretty much how I feel about the whole thing:
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After his performances at the start of this season……finally taking his France form into United. Conveniently ignoring his form since Xmas.
Some really good posts in defense of Pogba here. Long story short he is wasted playing deep. He needs freedom to be the player we all know he can be, and he has been hampered by managers asking him to play in the double pivot far too often. Bit like Gerrard although that is where the comparisons end as he’s obviously a much better player. 
If OGS persists with him on the left, we will see the best season from him in a United shirt by a distance. Such a unique talent.
If OGS persists with him on the left, we will see the best season from him in a United shirt by a distance. Such a unique talent.
The thought of him pinging balls into ronaldo all season makes my mouth water.
Pogba could technically play much better from deep with us as seen with France. However, the balance that France achieve with Kante/Tchouameni alongside Pogba and Rabiot/Tolisso is not replicable with Utd for two reasons...imo.
First, the undisciplined nature of Fernandes. He is a hard worker and with unbelievable output and Creativity and must be in Utds first 11. However, to maximise his positive traits he is given the freedom to roam. Fernandes, while hard working, rarely tracks consistently and rarely holds a standard position. (Looks more like a false 9 this season) If we expected Pogba to play as he does deeper for France, Fernandes would have to stop playing as a free role 10 and be replaced by a more disciplined Midfielder as part of a midfield 3.
Second, Jose had the best chance to at least try play Pogba in a structured midfield 3 a la France with players like Schneiderlin, Herrera, Matic alongside. However, look at the difference in quality between Utd and France both in that midfield 3 (Kante v Matic, Rabiot v Herrera, Tolisso v Scneiderlin) and the equivalent front 3’s at that time ( Any 3 of Rahford/Lukaku/Sanchez/Martial/Lingard simply do not provide the same threat or options at the likes of Benzema, Mbappe, Griezmann, Dembele). Even if Pogba in a balanced midfield 3 Had of worked with say Matic and Herrera, the quality was missing up top.
In short, Pogba for France should stop being viewed as some sort of paradox. Its very simple, he can’t play deep for Utd while we play with a free 10 and not with a balanced midfield 3. Bruno has become essential to our best football over the last two years. We also don’t have the players to play that balanced 3...and Solkjaer doesn’t look to be in a rush to change that.
First, the undisciplined nature of Fernandes. He is a hard worker and with unbelievable output and Creativity and must be in Utds first 11. However, to maximise his positive traits he is given the freedom to roam. Fernandes, while hard working, rarely tracks consistently and rarely holds a standard position. (Looks more like a false 9 this season) If we expected Pogba to play as he does deeper for France, Fernandes would have to stop playing as a free role 10 and be replaced by a more disciplined Midfielder as part of a midfield 3.
Second, Jose had the best chance to at least try play Pogba in a structured midfield 3 a la France with players like Schneiderlin, Herrera, Matic alongside. However, look at the difference in quality between Utd and France both in that midfield 3 (Kante v Matic, Rabiot v Herrera, Tolisso v Scneiderlin) and the equivalent front 3’s at that time ( Any 3 of Rahford/Lukaku/Sanchez/Martial/Lingard simply do not provide the same threat or options at the likes of Benzema, Mbappe, Griezmann, Dembele). Even if Pogba in a balanced midfield 3 Had of worked with say Matic and Herrera, the quality was missing up top.
In short, Pogba for France should stop being viewed as some sort of paradox. Its very simple, he can’t play deep for Utd while we play with a free 10 and not with a balanced midfield 3. Bruno has become essential to our best football over the last two years. We also don’t have the players to play that balanced 3...and Solkjaer doesn’t look to be in a rush to change that.
Good post
Absolutely spot on this. Hope the mods and scouts give this poster promotion asap.
Well said
Can't Bruno Fernandes play the Iniesta role? Pogba as the Xavi role. Someone as Busquets?
I'm saying this not because they are similar players - but it's because everyone assumes that a midfield 3 is some sort of a flat midfield 3 when I dont think it needs to be.
The other thing is that we could arguably be a season away from having Haaland as our Number 9; I'm not sure you can see this goal scoring free roaming version of Bruno as much in such a team. Depending how well Ronaldo does this season - this may be seen a bit this season aswell.
I'm saying this not because they are similar players - but it's because everyone assumes that a midfield 3 is some sort of a flat midfield 3 when I dont think it needs to be.
The other thing is that we could arguably be a season away from having Haaland as our Number 9; I'm not sure you can see this goal scoring free roaming version of Bruno as much in such a team. Depending how well Ronaldo does this season - this may be seen a bit this season aswell.
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I’d disagree with this because Griezmann plays the free #10 role for France with even less discipline than Bruno does for us.
I think this is spot on. If we insist with the role Bruno has played then either we sacrifice one of our attackers or play with two defensive minded midfielder.
But we don't have a Kante to make up for it, where he does.
Exactly, we need a better midfield partner, which most of us have been saying for years now.
Pogba played very well next to Tchouameni last night in a midfield 2 for example.
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