Poll: Does it make sense to tie Pogba down to a new long term contract?

[Ali Dia]

He should have been sold. It would be deeply embarrassing for us to have a player leave us for free twice after we paid a fortune to get him back, so we pretty much have to tie him down now to save face.

This is it. We will continue to force him into the middle against poor teams and hope they don’t press us. Off the left etc. It just hasn’t worked the way we wanted it to. We thought we were signing a world class box to box and what we really got was an injury prone attacking midfielder with erratic form but his top level coming as one of our most attacking players. His top level is very good but he’s not been as consistent or fit as often as Bruno

There’s no way to consistently fit himself and Bruno into the same team. Certainly not by putting them back into midfield together. People now want us to curb Bruno to try and get the best out of Pogba, that’s the latest in a long line of unlocking ideas. All roads just lead back to Pogba just not fitting in this formation because of his lack of workrate and positional awareness. We aren’t going to magically see a more rounded Pogba by signing a DM and saying go and play your game. It’s not happening. A one man midfield no matter how good they are isn’t going to cut it

 

[Pavl3n]

It's really tough question. But I'm inclined to think that it doesn't make sense.
Pogba is a huge liability playing in the double pivot. If he was in a three in a 4-3-3 or in a 3-5-2 - then yes. That's his favourite game - less defensive responsibilities, more freedom in attack.

But I don't see Ole changing his preferred 4-2-3-1/4-4-2/4-4-1-1 even after the rumours that we want a 'fluid 4-3-3'. I don't see Bruno being dropped for Pogba.
Unless we bring a midfielder that will cover up for Pogba, which is something we've been talking about since he signed for us, I don't see him as a consistent performer.
There's always something missing about him - the midfielder to free him, his consistency, the composure in the last moment, etc.

I wish it could work out. That amount of skill on the ball and passing ability in the middle of the park - it's insane really. 6 years later and we still haven't figured out how to get the best out of him consistently and we still don't know where does he fit best.

 

[MattofManchester]

We are a very stupid club, so we will hand him a contract that will probably put him on something astronomical.

This, for a player who still only looks like he can be arsed in half the games he plays.

Let him go. Sign someone who offers quality and consistency.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

we’ve tried him with prime Matic and it got us 6th and ran through and dominated in the EL. A new DM and Pogba isn’t going to work. We are just going around in circles back to being open, standing off and getting played straight though. Why are peoples memeores so short. It was literally only a few years ago. We all saw France at the Euros with the best DM in the world.

with any 4 of Bruno Sancho Rashford Greenwood Ronaldo and Cavani we don’t need a midfielder who can assist. We need a midfielder who can win the ball, stop counters and get it forward to them as fast as possible. That’s not Pogba. We also need a tempo setter and a partnership to win the midfield battle. Also not Pogba. We certainly don’t need another attacking player who can’t defend in midfield behind an attack who don’t defend just to cram a talented but erratic name into the team. From the sublime to the ridiculous in 5 games every season. Midfield needs to be composed steely and steady. That’s what we’ve been missing in there since Pogba signed

Play him off the left or instead of Bruno or let him move on. Don’t play him any 2 and expect a different outcome just because he can get an assist

No, it got us 2nd and our best league season since the great man retired.

We played 13 games in 2017/18 with Pogba and Matic starting in the center of a 4-2-3-1. 8 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses.

You're thinking of the next season, when we rarely played that setup (I think we might not have tried it at all), or maybe the one before that when Matic wasn't there and it was usually Fellaini or Herrera partnering Pogba in the 4-2-3-1.

 

[Judas]

He should have been sold. It would be deeply embarrassing for us to have a player leave us for free twice after we paid a fortune to get him back, so we pretty much have to tie him down now to save face.

this point of view always makes me laugh. Who gives a feck.

 

[Deery]

He’s a good player and worth watching on his day but I really can’t see his place anymore can’t play as a 10, can’t play as an 8 and is somewhat wasted and useless as a 6.

 

[Ali Dia]

No, it got us 2nd and our best league season since the great man retired.

We played 13 games in 2017/18 with Pogba and Matic starting in the center of a 4-2-3-1. 8 wins, 3 draws, 2 losses.

You're thinking of the next season, when we rarely played that setup (I think we might not have tried it at all), or maybe the one before that when Matic wasn't there and it was usually Fellaini or Herrera partnering Pogba in the 4-2-3-1.

Oooops!

 

[McGrathsipan]

Is that now a problem ?

7 assists in 7 games suggests he was effective in 7 games

4 in one game leaves plenty of games where he was ineffective which is Pogbas problem.

So the 4 in one game is not a problem - its the other games

But you know that

 

[RUCK4444]

we’ve tried him with prime Matic and it got us 6th and ran through and dominated in the EL. A new DM and Pogba isn’t going to work. We are just going around in circles back to being open, standing off and getting played straight though. Why are peoples memeores so short. It was literally only a few years ago. We all saw France at the Euros with the best DM in the world.

with any 4 of Bruno Sancho Rashford Greenwood Ronaldo and Cavani we don’t need a midfielder who can assist. We need a midfielder who can win the ball, stop counters and get it forward to them as fast as possible. That’s not Pogba. We also need a tempo setter and a partnership to win the midfield battle. Also not Pogba. We certainly don’t need another attacking player who can’t defend in midfield behind an attack who don’t defend just to cram a talented but erratic name into the team. From the sublime to the ridiculous in 5 games every season. Midfield needs to be composed steely and steady. That’s what we’ve been missing in there since Pogba signed

Play him off the left or instead of Bruno or let him move on. Don’t play him any 2 and expect a different outcome just because he can get an assist

On the bolded we have exactly this issue even when Pogba is benched, McFred aren’t exactly shutting teams out now are they?

The opinion you have is shared by quite a few and I can understand it to a point but I think your over exaggerating the impact of playing him in a two (so long as his partner is better than we have currently.)

As I pointed out playing him alongside a top level DM with a higher press and some help from the fullbacks (if the latter is even required) would imo be more than possible against the majority of teams.

 

[TMDaines]

Pogba's biggest problem is that he's best where Bruno and Rashford plays at, but he's not good enough to be the first choice at either positions.

This is simply not true as Pogba’s best years at United, Juventus and France have shown. He’s a superb all round box-to-box midfielder and playmaker. He’s neither an inside left or a #10, because that wastes his passing range and vision. He’s a proper central midfielder, ideally in a team that allows him some freedom to progress the ball by dribbling and passing by having a reliable defensive player alongside him or behind him. When you watch the other teams, especially those on the continent, his role is obvious: he’s a mezzala and wants to play in a similar position and role to players like De Bruyne, Modric, Iniesta or Di Maria.

Defensively he’s often disparaged, but he’s a very useful aerial presence and clears a lot more balls than your average midfielder.

 

[Michael T]

I would love to see Pogba commit to the club long term; but for that to work, the club would have to show commitment in him. The Board and Glazers need to have the gumption to see the benefit of investing in any two of say Rice, de Jong, or Varretti, or whoever else you might prefer; and they need to do and spend whatever it takes and get it done as soon as possible. Do that and I believe we would see a commited Pogba performing at his best, game after game and relishing the role and a team capable of winning any trophy in Europe for years.
For me, unless or until that happens, Pogba doesn't work, for us or him.

 

[Edy2]

Not the way he's been playing no. Look to get what we can for him in Jan and move on in my opinion.

 

[Sandikan]

We let him go once before and had to buy him back for 90m. So to let him walk away again for free, in still his prime years would be madness.

Especially given our record of buying midfielders.
Fitting in him wouldn't be an issue for a quality manager. Ole obviously still has to prove he can develop into one.

 

[MrSingh2002]

Yes if we play him as a CM next to a good CDM.

 

[Dante]

Yes if we play him as a CM next to a good CDM.

He's not disciplined enough be a CM in any midfield.

It's a pipe dream that United have chased for 5 years. Until we bought Bruno, every single midfielder we've had has been brought through to get the most out of Pogba. And it's never succeeded for more than a handful of games until the opposition has adapted.

Now that we finally have a system that allows us to create lots of chances, the worst thing we can do it ruin it by asking Bruno to drop back into a 3.

We have to stick to a 4-2-3-1, and Pogba doesn't fit into that except as a squad player behind McFred and Rashford.

 

[Longshanks]

This is simply not true as Pogba’s best years at United, Juventus and France have shown. He’s a superb all round box-to-box midfielder and playmaker. He’s neither an inside left or a #10, because that wastes his passing range and vision. He’s a proper central midfielder, ideally in a team that allows him some freedom to progress the ball by dribbling and passing by having a reliable defensive player alongside him or behind him. When you watch the other teams, especially those on the continent, his role is obvious: he’s a mezzala and wants to play in a similar position and role to players like De Bruyne, Modric, Iniesta or Di Maria.

Defensively he’s often disparaged, but he’s a very useful aerial presence and clears a lot more balls than your average midfielder.

The problem is he gives the ball away relentlessly, not just playing expansive risky passes, but quite often trying to dribble his way out of trouble in his own half. His defensive work is clumsy and he gives away alot of dumb free kicks and for allegedly world class player he has an incredible amount of heavy touches that have a habit of leading to giving the ball away or free kicks.

Yeah sometimes he produces some magic a wonderful pass a great piece of skill to unlock a defence or get out of a press and sometimes even a great goal, however after 5 years I can honestly say that more often than not its more of the paragraph above than anything else.

 

[laughtersassassin]

Yes. With him we need world class DM

Without him we need a world class DM and a partner for that world class DM .

 

[laughtersassassin]

He's not disciplined enough be a CM in any midfield.

Nonsense.

 

[Dante]

The problem is he gives the ball away relentlessly, not just playing expansive risky passes, but quite often trying to dribble his way out of trouble in his own half. His defensive work is clumsy and he gives away alot of dumb free kicks and for allegedly world class player he has an incredible amount of heavy touches that have a habit of leading to giving the ball away or free kicks.

Yeah sometimes he produces some magic a wonderful pass a great piece of skill to unlock a defence or get out of a press and sometimes even a great goal, however after 5 years I can honestly say that more often than not its more of the paragraph above than anything else.

Agreed. I can't remember where I saw this, but the best description of Pogba I've ever read is that he plays like someone trying to impress a girl he fancies in the crowd.

Almost every move, touch and pass is an attempt at something fancy. And I don't just mean high risk/high reward. Often it's high risk/low reward, simply for the sake of looking good in the highlights.

What this means is that he'll sometimes pull off an incredible dribble on the edge of his own box, or a Cruyff turn though a crowded midfield, or a banger of a shot from 30 yards out. But all of this belies the sheer number of times his tricks don't work and it ends up costing the team.

For a supposed midfielder, he decision making is shit. The impression he gives of a world class talent is skewed by the fact he's always trying to do world class things with the ball. If he was more judicious about when to try them, people would stop calling him a brilliant talent but paradoxically he'd also become a better player.

I think Pogba's true level is as a top 4 player rather than a potential Ballon d'Or winner. When people call him inconsistent, what they really mean is that there are some games when he's facing a quick press and others where he's given space. If he's afforded the latter (like against Leeds) he can be great. But it's totally unrepresentative of his overall ability, imo.

He's not press resistant enough to play midfield in the Premier League, and not canny enough to pick and choose his moments when he does.

 

[RooneyLegend]

With the option of joining Madrid or Juve who both use tactical systems that he perfectly fit in it'd be stupid for him to sign on. Especially since he'd be working under significantly better coaches than here.

 

[Trequarista10]

Head says can't lose him on a free.

Gut says we'd be better off without him, he's a luxury player and doesn't fit.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

Oooops!

I don't necessarily disagree with the overall point, mind: Pogba's old enough and been here long enough now to add more to his game and play with more discipline. Said it before but there's a genuine debate to be had as to whether he's actually gotten better at anything in his 5 seasons as a United player, seems more or less the same (very good but frustrating) player he was at the age of 23. And that's a failure on both the player's end as well as his coaches'.

But we need to be fair to the guy - he hasn't been a complete train-wreck when played as a central midfielder with the right partner, and for all the talk about constantly signing midfielders to "unlock" him, it's pretty clear that Matic (who was arguably already on the decline when we signed him) has been our only actual defensive midfielder throughout Pogba's time at the club - and they've actually done fairly alright when they've played together. The reason they aren't trusted nowadays has more to do with Matic's weaknesses than Pogba's.

 

[IrishRedDevil]

Newcastle will buy him in January.

 

[sugar_kane]

For those saying we cannot lose him for free, we're potentially going to pay him about £20m over four years, if the rumours around pay are true, during years he will begin to decline - at the end of which we'll probably sell him for less than £20m (or have to let him go for free) during which time we'll continue to struggle to fit him into the team.

He's had his eye on the exit for years, let him go.

 

[largelyworried]

[

Aguero did a lot more off-the-ball work under Guardiola, but he was still very much a striker, not a false 9 the way they're playing nowadays. You say only Sane played as a proper wide attacker of that trio, but in the 2017/18 season in particular they played most games with him on the left wing and Sterling on the right, both as wide as possible, with Silva and De Bruyne playing in the spaces in the left and right channels. It obviously changed depending on who came in to play in the wide attacking positions (Mahrez only plays on the right, ditto Bernardo, so Sterling switched over to the left when playing with him, and so on).

I don't disagree with anything in the second paragraph but, again, this is all stuff that can be addressed with the right structure and team shape without necessarily changing the personnel. Part of the reason all our attacking options are risky passes is simply because we're set up towards playing that way, which isn't the same as saying we can't play a more controlled game with the same players. Similarly on the subject of De Bruyne and Silva being more considerate with the ball, that to me is more by choice and tactical plan than just the way they naturally play - I also don't think it's accurate for De Bruyne in particular, who plays a lot of speculative passes. I wouldn't be surprised if his pass completion was similar to Fernandes (who, again, is definitely under instructions in our current setup to look for the killer ball every time).

De Bruyne was a number ten who often played out wide in a 4-2-3-1 before he came to City, and Silva played wide in a 4-4-2/4-2-3-1 under each of their previous managers before Guardiola - both arguably more attacking positions than Fernandes played at Sporting or Pogba played at Juventus. They were both able to play as a central pair with Fernandinho behind them to mop up, and a sweeper keeper behind them. Can we replicate that exact system and dominate games the way that team did with the squad we have right now? No, but we can definitely look more cohesive and create more chances than we do now without needing to bring in more new players.

I guess the real difference is that they have Pep and we have Ole. Whatever secret sauce lets Pep dominate possession against just about every other team in the world, Ole hasn't got it. My thinking is about what we can achieve with our current set up. I don't think it's as easy as just putting a DM in and making a tweak here or there.

But if we had a different manager? Someone who was able to elevate our possession game to another level? Sure. But then there's a different question - are we so keen on this formation that we'd choose a manager on whether not they'd play Pogba in this formation? If, say, Conte didn't want to play Bruno and Pogba together, would we turn them down? Is that realistic? Not sure. I feel like this an Ole specific situation, and in this circumstances, it doesn’t feel doable.

 

[LJJT]

Nonsense.

Looks shocking for France tonight

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

Yes. Pogba is world class. Get a DM and pair with Pogba and Bruno. I know people have reservations about this but I'm not convinced we've exhausted all tactical possibilities for a midfield of Pogba and Bruno not to work. When we start pressing better and have a better defensive structure Pogba wouldn't be such a liability in midfield

 

[Ali Dia]

Looks shocking for France tonight

Yeah not so good. Few decent long balls but that’s not running a game.

 

[Adnan]

The issue is Bruno and Pogba in the same team which is the issue IMO. And that issue has come about because our coaching staff are very inexperienced at this level and thought it was fine to sign Bruno when they already had Pogba at the club who they also wanted to keep per numerous reports. If the decision was to keep Pogba then they were best served signing someone for the deeper role instead of signing Bruno. Someone like a Locatelli or Verratti (examples) with a DM next to them was the way forward IMO, which would've allowed us to play a 4-3-3 which would've been the way forward IMO.

But unfortunately for us, our coaching staff are naive and we still don't a have a set way of playing the game even after 3 years with the current manager. And until we bring in a coach who knows what he wants, and what type of football he wants to implement, we will carry on having the same issues with the midfield and elsewhere because our manager is naive IMO.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Maybe a poll will be better.

 

[Red Rash]

Personally I would keep him. Without doubt Pogba is a world class talent and he can do things other midfielders can't.

I understand the issue that he is a bit of a luxury player but if we build the right team around him it would be great. The main issue is that we haven't sorted the midfield problem. If we were able to pair him with a Kante type midfielder we would see the best of him.

As long as we bring him in a partner I would like to see him stay. Especially when the other option is Fred and McTominay

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

The issue is Bruno and Pogba in the same team which is the issue IMO. And that issue has come about because our coaching staff are very inexperienced at this level and thought it was fine to sign Bruno when they already had Pogba at the club who they also wanted to keep per numerous reports. If the decision was to keep Pogba then they were best served signing someone for the deeper role instead of signing Bruno. Someone like a Locatelli or Verratti (examples) with a DM next to them was the way forward IMO, which would've allowed us to play a 4-3-3 which would've been the way forward IMO.

But unfortunately for us, our coaching staff are naive and we still don't a have a set way of playing the game even after 3 years with the current manager. And until we bring in a coach who knows what he wants, and what type of football he wants to implement, we will carry on having the same issues with the midfield and elsewhere because our manager is naive IMO.

I remember being confused when we played preseason with 4-2-3-1 and Pogba played at the double pivot. We took Pogba away from his best position to accommodate Lingard of all players.

 

[buckooo1978]

I'm kinda at the point where I don't think Pogba and Bruno can work together in a United midfield

maybe it's the way Ole has the team set up and the lack of defensive responsibility on them but I think Kante or N'didi would struggle on our team

maybe if we were playing hard working players like Rashford/Lingard it might create better balance but we've been a shitshow with them this season in particular

if Pep or Klopp was at United we don't see Bruno in the side - that's my slightly controversial take - maybe as a false 9

I think ideally we get a 2 year extension and sell Pogba as i am not sure he will ever work out.

We should be moving on Matic, Mata, Van De Beek at least so maybe we can address the balance with personel and tactics

 

[432JuanMata]

He is a player that we always look to accommodate to get the best out of him. He is class and I wouldn’t mind him staying just get rid and sign a proper CM.
Even though he isn’t that comfortable in CM I would rather him over Fred or Mctominay.

 

[Lash]

this point of view always makes me laugh. Who gives a feck.

I imagine the people who care about point scoring against rival fans on twitter. Seems an odd thing to feel embarrassed by.

 

[TMDaines]

Maybe a poll will be better.

Thankfully our club isn’t managed by simple majority referendums.

 

[RedDevil@84]

Thankfully our club isn’t managed by simple majority referendums.

Yeah. Because polls on caf have always helped make real changes in the club.

 

[pascell]

I was so excited when we were signing him but we've 100% failed to build the correct calibre of midfield around him to get the best out of him.

I also don't think he's progressed as a footballer either, he had huge potential but has got nowhere near it.

It's time both parties moved on I think

 

[Devil may care]

From a footballing point of view no, we bought Bruno to replace him and there's no sustainable way to play them both in their best positions. I'm a fan of Pogba and I'll never understand why we never replicated the Juve midfield set-up when we bought him, but that ship has sailed now and with Rashford back Ole is going to struggle to accommodate him in the team week in and week out. At the end of this season him, Matic and Van de Beek going and 2 midfielders coming in is what makes the most footballing sense.

 

[eire-red]

I was so excited when we were signing him but we've 100% failed to build the correct calibre of midfield around him to get the best out of him.

I also don't think he's progressed as a footballer either, he had huge potential but has got nowhere near it.

It's time both parties moved on I think

I think he had a decent midfield built around him with Matic and Herrera during the earlier spell with Jose.

Obviously he fell out with Jose, but as you rightly said, he never evolved as a footballer that you could truly rely on in that midfield role. To me, it's the main reason Jose dropped him. It seems like it's either 3/10 or 10/10 with Pogba. Only in attacking roles can you gamble on a player that inconsistent.