Is Pogba as good as gone?

ColorsOfRainbow

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Pogba will be gone at the end of the season, with hopefully Fred and Peirrera. We'll need to buy three new quality midfielders in the closed season.
But leave Lingard behind right??
English fans won't cease to amaze me even with the obvious shameful mediocrity of their players
 

Rozay

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I'll trust Alex Fergus ons judgement regarding Pogba over anyone on here, he knew what he was like and got rid, he's disruptive in the dressing room and thiks he's the greatest player alive.

I've no problem with people with self confidence who back it up, Ronaldo, Cantona, Ibrahimovic, all 10x the player Pogba ever will be. The guy is a fraud and needs everyone else around him to help him look good , when in a mediocre team like Uniteds he doesn't stand up or stand out. He dissapears. Sooner he's gone the better.
All fabrication based on irrational dislike.

When you look at Manchester United’s squad of players, how can you possibly come to the conclusion that the ‘sooner he is gone, the better’?. You may feel he isn’t that good a player. Seems only people outside of England hold a different view tbh. But he’s better than the rest around him that’s for sure, so unless he is disruptive to everyone, of which there is no evidence, I don’t understand this rush I’m seeing to get rid of him. Nor would I get it if people said the sooner Martial or Rashford are gone the better. If Pogba is happy to stay, we should be happy for him to stay. I can almost guarantee you would not get a better footballer to replace him. Why not divert focus on the others alongside him who would be transfer targets for West Ham, as opposed to wanting rid of the one who is a transfer target for Real and Juve?
 

TrustInOle

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Stick pogba in that number 10, in front of Scott and Fred and we will look 10x better going forward. Just hope he isnt rushed back again.
 

MikeKing

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The narrative that Pogba is the only good player we have and he is our only hope is so misguided. It is all about team performance, and if he wants to leave then so be it. I've never seen such a good team performance with Pogba in the team, not with our new style of play anyways so that can't be blamed on him and that isn't my point, my point is just that Pogba is of no use to us even with all the ability in the world if he can't be a part of a team performance and he has to prove that when he comes back. He can if he wants to, and if he wants to leave he probably won't get to play much even when he is fit. Unless we get injuries to McTominay or Fred.

It is cool to protect Pogba but it's so weird to downplay a team performance and other players contribution just to keep the narrative alive that Pogba is the best because our team sucks. If he can get himself into the team and be functional in our setup and even raise our performances and give the team more quality and also consistency, I'm all for him signing a new contract but doubt it will happen. There is no excuses for him anymore if our team performs and he doesn't. So heres to hoping
 

el3mel

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It's a good thing we're starting to learn to play without him. Pretty hard to break Fred and Scott combo now, and his only position left is a number 10 behind our 3 forwards. If he can't perform there it'll be best for everyone to cash on him and buy a proper number 10.
 

Shane88

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We need to act like he is. McTominay, Fred and Pereira won't be world beaters but I think they can be a good midfield. Each of them offers more energy and hard work than Pogba.

Focus on them building an understanding instead of catering to a cnut who is gone in 6 months.
 

Jeppers7

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We’ve beat Partizan and Brighton and suddenly Perreira Fred and McTomminay are better than Pogba
 

Rozay

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The narrative that Pogba is the only good player we have and he is our only hope is so misguided. It is all about team performance, and if he wants to leave then so be it. I've never seen such a good team performance with Pogba in the team, not with our new style of play anyways so that can't be blamed on him and that isn't my point, my point is just that Pogba is of no use to us even with all the ability in the world if he can't be a part of a team performance and he has to prove that when he comes back. He can if he wants to, and if he wants to leave he probably won't get to play much even when he is fit. Unless we get injuries to McTominay or Fred.

It is cool to protect Pogba but it's so weird to downplay a team performance and other players contribution just to keep the narrative alive that Pogba is the best because our team sucks. If he can get himself into the team and be functional in our setup and even raise our performances and give the team more quality and also consistency, I'm all for him signing a new contract but doubt it will happen. There is no excuses for him anymore if our team performs and he doesn't. So heres to hoping
We’ve had plenty of good team performances with Pogba in the side, let’s not be silly now.

And of course, if he wants to leave, then the door is open, but the narrative that he is here kicking and screaming is also amongst the narratives that needs to stop. The post above the his one refers to him a ‘cnut’. He’s just playing football to the best of his abilities. That may not be perfect, but everyone seems to have so much time for others who play football for the best of their abilities, but have such issue with the fact that Pogba has some imperfections. To the point that he ‘needs to go’, as if he’s the weakest player in the team or something. Let them all put their weaknesses on the table and they will all have to go if we are applying the same attitude. Seems some dislike is being masked in this thread by overplaying the ‘he wants to leave’ narrative, when the reality is, he’s hardly kicking up a fuss. The dislike he has from the fans is irrational. You would think he was an actual rubbish or even average footballer or something. I’m yet to see people talking about his considerable positives as a player instead of blowing his ‘laziness’ out of proportion. He actually does a lot of running statistically. I see the performance thread of other players beginning with ‘his passing was a little sloppy today’, then followed by eulogies. Every week. Pogba’s sloppy passing is not even as bad as the others (otherwise he’d just be a poor passer, which he isn’t, he’s a great passer).

Let’s see him come back into the side. There’s no indication that he won’t try when he does. There’s every indication that he respects his teammates and his manager and will come and do his best. He’s becoming more and more of a villain every week, despite not kicking a ball, and people’s frustration is building to the point where he ‘has to go’. Has he pissed in everyone’s cornflakes or something?

Again, if he really insists on leaving then I suspect he will. But let’s not invent a circus that isn’t there at the moment to justify wanting rid.
 

el3mel

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We’ve beat Partizan and Brighton and suddenly Perreira Fred and McTomminay are better than Pogba
Not better quality wise but sure Fred and Scott combo looks very good and will be insane to break it up to push your star player in then complain about lack of cohesion in midfield. They both have been working well both offensively and defensively. Pogba will either take Perriera's role as a number 10 and play well or get benched and leave, because breaking our only decent midfield combination this season for him will be a terrible ideal. It's called having a sum bigger than the parts.
 

Stadjer

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We need to act like he is. McTominay, Fred and Pereira won't be world beaters but I think they can be a good midfield. Each of them offers more energy and hard work than Pogba.

Focus on them building an understanding instead of catering to a cnut who is gone in 6 months.
Maybe McT, Fred and Pereira offer more energy and hard work but Pogba offers more creativity, vision and has better passing than those three combined.

Those three will never be a good midfield. They just lack the talent and quality. Just look at todays match.. it was horrible and the two goal lead was down to lucky moments (own goal from a corner and Pereira his terrible shot being deflected) instead of something the team created. Pogba can create something so you dont have to rely on luck, a Rashford moment or a penalty.
 

JPRouve

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We need to act like he is. McTominay, Fred and Pereira won't be world beaters but I think they can be a good midfield. Each of them offers more energy and hard work than Pogba.

Focus on them building an understanding instead of catering to a cnut who is gone in 6 months.
What led you to that?
 

Jeppers7

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Not better quality wise but sure Fred and Scott combo looks very good and will be insane to break it up to push your star player in then complain about lack of cohesion in midfield. They both have been working well both offensively and defensively. Pogba will either take Perriera's role as a number 10 and play well or get benched and leave, because breaking our only decent midfield combination this season for him will be a terrible ideal. It's called having a sum bigger than the parts.
Again we've played two mediocre teams. Do you think Fred has had a better season than Pogba ?
 

ottosec

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Never thought I see the day when McTominay, Pereira, and Fred are considered a good midfield.
 

Rozay

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Not better quality wise but sure Fred and Scott combo looks very good and will be insane to break it up to push your star player in then complain about lack of cohesion in midfield. They both have been working well both offensively and defensively. Pogba will either take Perriera's role as a number 10 and play well or get benched and leave, because breaking our only decent midfield combination this season for him will be a terrible ideal. It's called having a sum bigger than the parts.
Do you think our midfield is fine then? Do we need to add to the midfield, or assuming Fred, Pereira and McTominay continue as they are, the midfield is sorted? The fact that it’s not a great midfield is the reason we will break it up with a view to improving it, both when Pogba returns, and by next summer in the market at the latest. Even if Pogba comes in and does well, we need more in the middle.

Sorry to disappoint you though, but ‘or be benched and leave’ is a highly unlikely outcome. He set up 16 goals last season I think, and 14 the season before that. Despite being out for more than a month, he’s already set up more than the rest. Combined probably. He’s not the enemy.
 
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Devil77

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I would like him to take over Pereiras #10 spot when he returns. Less defensive duties and he will surely be a threat from that position.
 

starman

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For the people that defend Pogba so much, do actually want to keep him beyond this season?
If Real, for example, offered 120m plus Odegaard and we can get Eriksen for free, would you turn that down?
 

el3mel

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Do you think our midfield is fine then? Do we need to add to the midfield, or assuming Fred, Pereira and McTominay continue as they are, the midfield is sorted? The fact that it’s not a great midfield is the reason we will break it up with a view to improving it, both when Pogba returns, and by next summer in the market at the latest. Even if Pogba comes in and does well, we need more in the middle.

Sorry to disappoint you though, but ‘or be benched and leave’ is a highly unlikely outcome. He set up 16 goals last season I think, and 14 the season before that. Despite being out for more than a month, he’s already set up more than the rest. Combined probably. He’s not the enemy.
If Fred and Scott continue like that then sure it's good enough, and if we want to upgrade on say Fred, it will be with another box to box player not a player like Pogba. As for Perriera I said as a number 10 is the only position left for Pogba to play in, because breaking a working midfield is insane. If he can't play there it will be better to get a proper number 10 then.

A working midfield isn't about quality alone and Liverpool proved that.
 

JPRouve

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For the people that defend Pogba so much, do actually want to keep him beyond this season?
If Real, for example, offered 120m plus Odegaard and we can get Eriksen for free, would you turn that down?
So potentially one player sold for possibly 4 good players in return? Who says no to that?
 

RMD83

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For the people that defend Pogba so much, do actually want to keep him beyond this season?
If Real, for example, offered 120m plus Odegaard and we can get Eriksen for free, would you turn that down?
That would depend on whether the £120m would be used to invest and correctly. But if that was the case then hypothetically yes, I would say we would be far better off.
 

Sultan

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Never thought I see the day when McTominay, Pereira, and Fred are considered a good midfield.
They're not really at a standard to compete against the very top teams. Building a midfield to be a match for any top team should be our benchmark.
 

kouroux

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For the people that defend Pogba so much, do actually want to keep him beyond this season?
If Real, for example, offered 120m plus Odegaard and we can get Eriksen for free, would you turn that down?
It is possible to defend him while keeping the general interest of the team at heart. The priority will always be Man Utd, if his departure can help us, I would be all for it.
It doesn't mean I'll ever be ok with false and fabricated narratives that have polluted the caf regarding Pogba
 

kouroux

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If Fred and Scott continue like that then sure it's good enough, and if we want to upgrade on say Fred, it will be with another box to box player not a player like Pogba. As for Perriera I said as a number 10 is the only position left for Pogba to play in, because breaking a working midfield is insane. If he can't play there it will be better to get a proper number 10 then.

A working midfield isn't about quality alone and Liverpool proved that.
Liverpool midfielders are very good on top of working hard and being coached well.
Not aiming this at you but their midfielders are ridiculously underrated on the caf.
 

el3mel

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Liverpool midfielders are very good on top of working hard and being coached well.
Not aiming this at you but their midfielders are ridiculously underrated on the caf.
This isn't disagreeing with me because I said that several times before, that they are very underrated. However talented wise you can bet Pogba has a bigger talent than most of their midfielders, though I'm saying it's not always about quality alone for a midfield combo to work well. Pogba has Perriera's position for the taking as he's the least efficient of our current midfield and he will has to play as a number 10, because it doesn't make sense to disturb Fred and Scott combo.

Of course, things might change and Fred might return to being crap again, but I'm talking as for now.
 

kouroux

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This isn't disagreeing with me because I said that several times before, that they are very underrated. However talented wise you can bet Pogba has a bigger talent than most of their midfielders, though I'm saying it's not always about quality alone for a midfield combo to work well. Pogba has Perriera's position for the taking as he's the least efficient of our current midfield and he will has to play as a number 10, because it doesn't make sense to disturb Fred and Scott combo.

Of course, things might change and Fred might return to being crap again, but I'm talking as for now.
Yes. I wouldn't disrupt the ongoing and improving partnership between McTominay and Fred.
We can only improve with Pogba instead of Perreira who has been disappointing.
He cannot complain anymore if he gets benched now
 
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Alfie092

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If we stick with a 4-2-3-1 then the only position Pogba can play is as the number 10. You are not getting the best out of him in the double pivot as a number 6. If we play a 4-3-3 then we can play him as a number 8 with the license to roam forward with Fred and McTominay sweeping up behind him.

I think now with the development and improvements of Fred and McTominay, which has a lot to do with them being forced to step up in the absence of Pogba, a midfield 3 of Pogba, Fred and McTominay is something I would be extremely excited to see.

Whether Pogba wants to leave or not, he is still our player and our best player IMO.
 

starman

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It is possible to defend him while keeping the general interest of the team at heart. The priority will always be Man Utd, if his departure can help us, I would be all for it.
It doesn't mean I'll ever be ok with false and fabricated narratives that have polluted the caf regarding Pogba
All i am reading is defending him as a player and what he has contributed since being here.
 

Hernandez - BFA

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It's a good thing we're starting to learn to play without him. Pretty hard to break Fred and Scott combo now, and his only position left is a number 10 behind our 3 forwards. If he can't perform there it'll be best for everyone to cash on him and buy a proper number 10.
This.

Always said that it may be difficult to find a replacement for Pogba quality wise, but for sure we could get an inferior player in who works for us better.

I think he’s gone. Be it January or next Summer.
 

kouroux

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I see posters say all the time things like fans do not deserve a player like Pogba, and act all righteous
The thing is, I never said those weirdos don't exist. It is simply about fair and balanced criticism for me. When. I read stuff like he's been faking the injury, you gotta laugh really
 

JPRouve

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I see posters say all the time things like fans do not deserve a player like Pogba, and act all righteous
Yeah because he is a very good player who has been targeted by a part of the fanbase. It doesn't mean that he is above the club. And I'm sure that some people are more fan of players than they are of the club, Pogba could have such fans but they aren't numerous.
 

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Yeah because he is a very good player who has been targeted by a part of the fanbase. It doesn't mean that he is above the club.
Thats it, hes not world class, world class talent maybe, but not a world player. Hes propped up as some amazing player, that can't be criticised without parts of the fanbase resorting to the only reasons he's disliked/not rated is because hes black, non british, hes eccentric etc
 

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Some players become better when they are out the team or injured...with Pogba it seems the opposite is true.

The poor guy won’t even be able to take a throw in when he gets back! :rolleyes:
Im not sure about keeping Pogba. Is he worth it?
We’ve beat Partizan and Brighton and suddenly Perreira Fred and McTomminay are better than Pogba
Honestly, how he does and how he is received is entirely up to him. Remember this time around a year ago? He was fecking shite, awful body language, constant writings in the media about training ground bust ups and whatnot.

No doubt his lovers spat with Jose affected him, and no doubt Jose was having a mental breakdown of sorts, but we dont know all the facts here and i dont think Pogba was entirely innocent either. Then we had the whole Real Madrid transfer saga and him openly flirting with other clubs. Remember when Rooney did that? Some United fans never forgave him for that and Rooney has done 10x as much for the club as Pogba has.

At the same time he was playing like a man possessed in Ole's first months and delivered one world class performance after the other

Hes clearly the most talented of our current midfielders, but he has shown signs of questionable attitudes and loyalties in the past. If he returns from injury, plays well and shows that he actually wants to be here, then we are in luck, because we have one of the best midfielders in the world in our team. If he does not want to be here though, and we get the mopey, whinging version of him, we might as well put him in the reserves and sell him in the summer to the highest bidder
 

JPRouve

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Thats it, hes not world class, world class talent maybe, but not a world player. Hes propped up as some amazing player, that can't be criticised without parts of the fanbase resorting to the only reasons he's disliked/not rated is because hes black, non british, hes eccentric etc
No the problem is that it's a player that is insulted by some fans, called a cnut, a virus among other things. The term world class doesn't mean much to me, so I don't really care if he is one or not and I don't think that it should justify any abuse or pretending that he isn't a very good player.
 

JPRouve

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Honestly, how he does and how he is received is entirely up to him. Remember this time around a year ago? He was fecking shite, awful body language, constant writings in the media about training ground bust ups and whatnot.

No doubt his lovers spat with Jose affected him, and no doubt Jose was having a mental breakdown of sorts, but we dont know all the facts here and i dont think Pogba was entirely innocent either. Then we had the whole Real Madrid transfer saga and him openly flirting with other clubs. Remember when Rooney did that? Some United fans never forgave him for that and Rooney has done 10x as much for the club as Pogba has.

At the same time he was playing like a man possessed in Ole's first months and delivered one world class performance after the other

Hes clearly the most talented of our current midfielders, but he has shown signs of questionable attitudes and loyalties in the past. If he returns from injury, plays well and shows that he actually wants to be here, then we are in luck, because we have one of the best midfielders in the world in our team. If he does not want to be here though, and we get the mopey, whinging version of him, we might as well put him in the reserves and sell him in the summer to the highest bidder
This time around he was very good and just injured himself. It's the couple of week after that injury between late november to the 10th of December that he was arguably poor.