Baby elephant is growing quickly in the room

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Judas

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I've not been disappointed by him in the slightest, if you can't notice the difference he's already brought to the team I'm quite simply miffed.

Should have scored with at least one of his chances today, but that's football.
 

Creepy

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If Rooney had missed those 2 chances they'd each have had their own thread with about 2000 posts by now.
First chance maybe, but the fact is Rooney isn't even getting into those scoring positions, so he'd probably end up getting praised for those two chances.
 

sammsky1

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I'm not his biggest fan by any stretch but he was desparately unlucky today. The big issue I had with him all along has come to pass. He doesn't dominate midfield, we need a domininat midfielder in the centre, Pogba isn't that.
Thats what I thought he was! He was certainly sold in like that by the 'ITK' crew!
 

Raees

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That potential assist and almost brace.. He is getting in the right places in terms of having an impact .. Bit of patience and he could be a match winner.

Fans are idiots. Yes he might end up a flop but let the guy settle down. He's almost winning is matches it is not like he is non existent and having zero impact - the potential is there to see.
 

Jed I. Knight

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I doubt this thread would exist if his header was 6 inches lower.
Of course not. Which is sort of the point the thread starter is making, isn't it? For that kind of money, we need him to tilt the margins in our favour.
 

2mufc0

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We still have an actual elephant turning out for us for 30 minutes at a time when we need a goal. I'll worry more about that.
Hate to be pedantic but we did get a goal we were looking for when our other elephant came on.
 

ratburger

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Give him time. I recall people saying Neymar would flop because he was hardly setting the world on fire his first several months at Barcelona.
 

Raees

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Thats what I thought he was! He was certainly sold in like that by the 'ITK' crew!
No one said he was a Centre mid.. See my thread on the Rooney and Pogba conundrum.
 

Zoo

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He was fine today apart from the finishing. Silly thread
 

Raoul

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But it never went in!!! thats the point!
I'm well aware of that. Its just funny how a six inch disparity between hitting the bar and going in yields a kneejerk thread about white elephants in the room and how 90m should buy you instant world class impact.
 

Borden

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We didn't buy him for 7 games. And he's 23 years old. With a bit of luck he would've had 2 goals and an assist today, even if he didn't play a great game.

Pogba will prove to be a great investment in the end. Not worried in the slightest about that.
 

11101

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Pogba is never a 90 million player . He may be in the future .

Have said many times that unless we replace Carrick or switch to proper 4-3-3 we will struggle
And thats why we paid 90m for him. Because if he turns into one in the future he will be worth double that.

He had a decent game today. Stoke just sat every man behind the ball and gave him no space to operate, yet it still required a top drawer save and a crossbar to keep him from being man of the match.
 

Scholesy

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If Pogba starts for 9 years

£90M works out at £10M per season

The same price as Di Maria as he is older. You could say Di Maria and Pogba are equal in price. Pogba has been very good imo.
 

sammsky1

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We didn't buy him for 7 games. And he's 23 years old. With a bit of luck he would've had 2 goals and an assist today, even if he didn't play a great game.
But he didn't. If and but are simply excuses.
 

coolredwine

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£90m+ should buy you instant world class impact. Especially if that new incoming player has virtually zero new club, country or league adjustments to go through. In that context, we should call a spade a spade: Paul Pogba's start to his 2nd Manchester United career has been way under expectations.

He has struggled to find his role in the team, has been suspect to plenty off midfield indiscipline and his scoring attempts are fanciful. In general he has made very little impact.

People will make excuses and accommodations but a player of this supposed value should be superior to that, they should be able to shape the environment around not and not expect it to be shaped for them.

Im not saying Pogba will be a flop, far from it and am willing to give him a lot more time. But his poor start should be noted and its concerning.
Replace Pogba with Jose and it's the same.

Of course from a managerial point of view.
 

Raoul

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Of course not. Which is sort of the point the thread starter is making, isn't it? For that kind of money, we need him to tilt the margins in our favour.
What does that even mean ? He had a decent game today, not brilliant not rubbish. We need to get better as a team, not fixate on individuals who couldn't make us happy today.
 

JoaquinJoaquin

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£90m+ should buy you instant world class impact. Especially if that new incoming player has virtually zero new club, country or league adjustments to go through. In that context, we should call a spade a spade: Paul Pogba's start to his 2nd Manchester United career has been way under expectations.

He has struggled to find his role in the team, has been suspect to plenty off midfield indiscipline and his scoring attempts are fanciful. In general he has made very little impact.

People will make excuses and accommodations but a player of this supposed value should be superior to that, they should be able to shape the environment around not and not expect it to be shaped for them.

Im not saying Pogba will be a flop, far from it and am willing to give him a lot more time. But his poor start should be noted and its concerning.
Stop being a drama queen. He wasn't even bad today, just should of took his chances.
 

Womp

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Christ this is painful reading. Ronaldo misses countless opportunities every fecking game and is still considered one of the best players in the world. We were unlucky.
 

JoaquinJoaquin

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He is unfit and recently returned to training. What's there to worry about?!
Call me a cynic but I think there's something behind the scenes not right with him. There has been a few games where he has been fit but just not selected.
 

sammsky1

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Replace Pogba with Jose and it's the same.

Of course from a managerial point of view.
good point.

Listen, Im delighted we have both, and Im absolutely convinced both will be brilliant decisions from Woodward. But Pogba should have contributed a lot more so far this season. Rashford, Ibrahimovic, Fellaini, Blind and a few others have made far more impact this season than him.

Im concerned because a player such as Pogba should shape the team around his contribution, Keane was already doing that when he joined at a similar age.
 

coolredwine

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Call me a cynic but I think there's something behind the scenes not right with him. There has been a few games where he has been fit but just not selected.
Nothing really. Per reports, he was carrying an injury (or a pull, whatever), and we still started him against City to show him off. Everyone knows how that went, and then he was out due to injury. He just returned from training (last week, I think), and that's why hasn't been part of any game.
 

Dion

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23 years old, in a team still finding it's feet in a league he's played in a grand total of 3 times before he moved here.

Going to file this one under "dumb shit the Caf says after a defeat".
 

DevilRed

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He played ok today. Should have taken at least one goal but encouraging to see how many chances he had.

Needs to work on his defending and tracking back. Either that or put two midfielders behind him.
 

sammsky1

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Christ this is painful reading. Ronaldo misses countless opportunities every fecking game and is still considered one of the best players in the world. We were unlucky.
We can't be 'unlucky' at home vs Stoke. Not if you want to be champions or even in the top 2.
 

3KDré

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People should calm it down. He's brand new.

The thing about our team is that they've barely played with each other. Smalling, Blind, Valencia etc have but that was under 1/2 morons. The core of our team is almost entirely new, with people playing in entirely new positions, in a new system with new players. It will take time, we should understand this.

Pogba, Mata, Ibra, Herrera are the focus of our team. Our main plays start and end with them and they've only had about 2/3 games playing with each other. It will take time to gel, for them to all understand each other's play and predict what will happen. Yes Pogba cost £90m and hasn't slotted straight in but players like De Bruyne did, but it's not as linear as that. Aguero, Silva and Fernandinho were at the heart of that team for a long time, they can lead by example. Pogba is expected to be the heart of the team, but he's barely had the time to play with others and there is no one else to lead by example.

Give them time. I know it's frustrating watching us play poorly but the best teams take time to gel.
 

Jed I. Knight

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What does that even mean ? He had a decent game today, not brilliant not rubbish. We need to get better as a team, not fixate on individuals who couldn't make us happy today.
I can't figure out whether you're being willfully obtuse, or genuinely can't comprehend what I mean when I'm implying top class players tip games in their teams' favour?

Otherwise, I agree that we need to be better as a team, but if the individuals that should be acting as the focal points of our team had delivered per expectations in the key moments today, it would have been an easy victory instead of two points wasted.
 

Ephrem

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And thats why we paid 90m for him. Because if he turns into one in the future he will be worth double that.

He had a decent game today. Stoke just sat every man behind the ball and gave him no space to operate, yet it still required a top drawer save and a crossbar to keep him from being man of the match.
He had a good game . But he needs to be more influential .
 

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He was never a 100m player, 20m of that was marketing and the other 20m Woodward acting big balls.
 

montpelier

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Done OK for me, some parts of his game still a bit raw. Paid silly money for him.

Has improved the MF a lot for mobility & power, he's a decent passer, could have scored more goals.

Not been 'poor' by any means.
 
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