He does the simple stuff so well and thats when he has a natural game. Said it before, but when he tries to force it too much, he over does it and it affects him and the whole team. But when he does the simple stuff, United benefit from it. Hes so good with his left and right foot too, whether its short passing or a ping over the top or to the side.
6
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 51
- Goals
- 9
- Assists
- 6
- Yellow cards
- 10
- Status
I remember that. It was on the left wing, the ball was played to him and he let it run through with his body strength and a shimmy. Absolutely brilliant. The pitch opened up, he was running at the Chelsea defence in their half and then he lost it over thinking it lol.
He's a fantastic footballer to play one-twos with. He can receive and do something with it or play it back with the same nous and creativity whilst under pressure. Shame we don't quite play that sort of game, otherwise it would help him make his mind easier. Right now, he's caught between all 3 thirds of the pitch and not really concentrating on doing one or the other to his simple best.
Went into hiding again. I'm not surprised. He was possibly the worst player in red yesterday.
Went into hiding? Did you see the sliding tackle to dispossess Costa? Crucial timing, and it knocked the wind out of Chelsea.
He was playing deeper, and he stuck (mainly) to his instructions and actually helped the team.
I'd rather see a solid, coherent midfield 3 performance over 90 minutes than a messy midfield with a few moments of individual flashiness, and that's what Pogba played a part in yesterday.
Look at the midfield as a whole unit and remember that Pogba, Herrera and Fellaini just literally dominated Chelsea's midfield.
Nonsense.
He was on the ball then any other player on the pitch and had the most passes. Created a few chances, a few important tackles. Played as a proper midfielder today. Ignore the price tag because you're just expecting a game changing contribution every time and that's never going to happen from a center mid. Give me just calm and composed performances where he looks like a classy midfielder every time and he'll show he's the best midfielder in the league.
Keita: 08 goals.
Nonsense.
Kante attempted 1 tackle against Pogba and failed.
Kante attempted 2 aerial duel against Pogba, failed both.
Pogba attempted 1 tackle against Kante and failed.
So Kante didn't win any duel against Pogba.
That was a good performance and surely something he can build on. He kept it simple and let his teammates, mostly, Herrera and Fellaini, dictate the play while providing his excellence whenever needed.
He did not try to force things and be the best player. This is what I like a lot. I was very happy to see that Mourinho and the management have identified this issue where he tries to be too involved and tries to force things and ends up making mistakes. Today he patiently allowed the play to come to him. I liked this version of him very much.
He will get his chance to be the best midfielder in a match, but it can't be every match. There are so many factors that govern that, like the type of opposition, how the opposition sets up, our tactics and his own energy levels. Yesterday was Herrera's day. Herrera was completely in his zone, closing down players, providing assists, breaking down play. Fellaini too, who loves this hard shove and battle type of matches. In such situation, it is best to just let your teammates do their work and assist them whenever necessary and he did that to perfection.
If we continue playing the way we did yesterday, I think the Herrera - Fellaini - Pogba midfield is not too bad.
He did not try to force things and be the best player. This is what I like a lot. I was very happy to see that Mourinho and the management have identified this issue where he tries to be too involved and tries to force things and ends up making mistakes. Today he patiently allowed the play to come to him. I liked this version of him very much.
He will get his chance to be the best midfielder in a match, but it can't be every match. There are so many factors that govern that, like the type of opposition, how the opposition sets up, our tactics and his own energy levels. Yesterday was Herrera's day. Herrera was completely in his zone, closing down players, providing assists, breaking down play. Fellaini too, who loves this hard shove and battle type of matches. In such situation, it is best to just let your teammates do their work and assist them whenever necessary and he did that to perfection.
If we continue playing the way we did yesterday, I think the Herrera - Fellaini - Pogba midfield is not too bad.
He was absolutely outstanding yesterday.
Completed more passes on his own than the whole of Chelsea's midfield put together. More complete passes than anyone on the pitch. Herrera will get all of the credit for doing all of the noticeable running in our midfield, but Pogba was different class in terms of ticking our play over. Such a good player.
Completed more passes on his own than the whole of Chelsea's midfield put together. More complete passes than anyone on the pitch. Herrera will get all of the credit for doing all of the noticeable running in our midfield, but Pogba was different class in terms of ticking our play over. Such a good player.
According to Squawka, Pogba has created 53 chances, no Center Mid has created more than him.
Tweet
— Twitter API (@user) date
The quality is there to see and he must be the most unluckiest player given he's hit the post 6 or 7 times this season. When we have an upgrade in some positions, we will see a better Pogba...
Yeah, he was talking about this in an interview I watched this week.
If strikers had been finishing off the chances Pogba created this season, everybody would be purring about him. Goes to show how football fans wrongly judge this sport. And pundits too.
There's a massive misunderstanding of the game from fans and media when it comes to midfielders. We - United fans - should be aware of this. If you take Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher as examples...they were always brilliant, always 9/10 performances throughout their career with United, but it took until they were both about 30-years of age for the average fan and pundit to notice that they were actually briliiant. Because if you're not scoring goals or making clean assists that make the Match of the Day Highlights reel, then nobody notices. Great midfielders don't get noticed by people who can't read the game properly because to be a great midfielder, most of your work is done OFF the ball. Fans and pundits are only interested in watching the ball. That's why they get midfield all wrong. take the average fan for example who thought our midfield under Fergie was rubbish over his last 7-seasons with us. Yet that midfield won more and appeared in more CL finals than any other midfield in our history. Average fans and most pundits just don't see the game in that manner...unless you score or make an assist, you are barely noticed.
Paul Pogba is a beast of a player. Will probably only get the credit he deserves when he's 29 and at that stage, the gobshite fans and pundits who now think he's not great, will have totally forgotten that they once felt he wasn't great. We've all seen it all plenty of times.
Last edited:
Not sure about that, thought he ok
He's created the most chances in the league and hit the woodwork the most in the league.
Which is why I'm not worried. If half those chances goes in, he's raved about as the best player in the PL with a bucketload of goals and assists.
The law of averages suggests he'll be luckier next time around. His performance levels, bar some of the big matches, have been fine, and he's still young for a CM.
Which is why I'm not worried. If half those chances goes in, he's raved about as the best player in the PL with a bucketload of goals and assists.
The law of averages suggests he'll be luckier next time around. His performance levels, bar some of the big matches, have been fine, and he's still young for a CM.
Just watched his interview with Geoff Shreeves, looks like Pogba is reading my posts and reading them in his interview. 
After the brilliant turn there was no United player in sight ahead of him, we had been defending deep so most of our players were closer to our box. In that situation he needed to take the ball deep into Chelsea territory to relieve pressure before he could even think of turning back to look for options. Not to mention he had 4 Chelsea players around so he really had no other option but to try and beat them. It was literally the only right decision to dribble, but because it's Pogba any unsuccessful dribble will have someone claiming he tried to do too much and/or made the wrong decision
Much more matured performance from Pogba yesterday. Passed it well and worked his socks off, which was good to see.
What did he say?Just watched his interview with Geoff Shreeves, looks like Pogba is reading my posts and reading them in his interview.
If you are using goal stats to judge Pogba then you have to do it for all Center Mids.
Fair enough.
I don't understand the negative points. Over the past 5, 6 or 7 years, we've rarely dominated the midfield in the big games. For the first time, in what feels like forever, we nullified an oppositions entire midfield with Darmian (Pedro), Herrera (Hazard), Fellaini (Matic) and Pogba (Kante) with each player playing their roles brilliantly yet some are still complaining?
If you're judging Paul Pogba by his price tag, expecting him to dominate every game and score 20 goals and provide 20 assists, while being the world's best player, you will be disappointed.
Over the course of his United career the price tag will look much, much more rational. He'll keep improving (you could argue he's a more rounded player this season), he'll stop hitting the woodwork with every shot, and he'll give us 8-9 years of top service, hopefully winning us titles along the way. We've bought him for the future as much as the present.
Over the course of his United career the price tag will look much, much more rational. He'll keep improving (you could argue he's a more rounded player this season), he'll stop hitting the woodwork with every shot, and he'll give us 8-9 years of top service, hopefully winning us titles along the way. We've bought him for the future as much as the present.
This is an excellent post and I agree, he will be a much better player next year and he was excellent yesterday
I praised his performance in the Chelsea game earlier so you are barking up the wrong tree here, I was in fact praising him. Good to know his wife is on the Caf though.After the brilliant turn there was no United player in sight ahead of him, we had been defending deep so most of our players were closer to our box. In that situation he needed to take the ball deep into Chelsea territory to relieve pressure before he could even think of turning back to look for options. Not to mention he had 4 Chelsea players around so he really had no other option but to try and beat them. It was literally the only right decision to dribble, but because it's Pogba any unsuccessful dribble will have someone claiming he tried to do too much and/or made the wrong decision
Very assured game yesterday and very composed. He is so much better when he keeps it simple and oddly enough I think he plays better when he has to do a lot more passing/tackling himself. Had a good battle with Kante and made Matic pretty much anonymous. (You cant keep Kante anonymous he is too good)
He did seem to run out of steam around 80+ minutes though which was slightly concerning and with a few minutes to go was it him that Jose was roaring at to tell him to stay in position? He was then trying to mark a Chelsea triangle himself which invited more pressure.
He did seem to run out of steam around 80+ minutes though which was slightly concerning and with a few minutes to go was it him that Jose was roaring at to tell him to stay in position? He was then trying to mark a Chelsea triangle himself which invited more pressure.
Calm down buddy. The fact you praised him in another game doesn't change the fact that what he did in that instance was the right thing to do but you went for the ready made criticism of his instead.
It is the same game, he lost the ball so how was it the right decision? The instance I was referring to, he certainly had other options so you are probably talking about a different moment altogether which makes this argument pointless and a waste of time.
I thought he played well yesterday, a mature performance when he was very aware of his positional responsibilities I thought.
Anyway, if people want to compare his chance creation and goals other CM's I do find it unfair since Pogba has been allowed a lot more freedom than for example Matic, Kante, Dembele, Wanyama and so on. It's really hard to compare Pogba to these players, and yet he can't really be compared to forwards either.
Anyway, if people want to compare his chance creation and goals other CM's I do find it unfair since Pogba has been allowed a lot more freedom than for example Matic, Kante, Dembele, Wanyama and so on. It's really hard to compare Pogba to these players, and yet he can't really be compared to forwards either.
If Pogba is getting more freedom then Herrera should deserve all the praise for our defensive performances. Also if he has more freedom then people should stop using his defensive contributions as a stick to beat him.
Point is Pogba is a proper CM who contributes in all phases of the game.
He was good yesterday. It's just that there were others who were much more impressive than hi which is why some are being negative. I'm happy with his display.
He was very good yesterday made some vital clearances' great tackles abd kept us moving all game
How anyone could think Kante outshone him yesterday is beyond me
How anyone could think Kante outshone him yesterday is beyond me
Even if the same game my point still stands it doesn't negate the fact the right decision was to dribble in that instance. Losing the ball doesn't make his decision wrong, that would be like saying Lingard was wrong to shoot when he received the ball on the edge because he missed, or if someone had blocked his shot for that matter. The decision was correct, but desired result didn't work out, that happens. Good luck at a conversation trying to change what the point of discussion was because I wont be having that neither, you clearly pointed to the moment he dribbled after losing a player with a great turn towards the end of the game and I remember that moment clearly.
Which has been the case a lot this season when it comes to Pogba. To what extent does on argue whether it is bad luck or just wrong decision making? He is a great player and I would not swap him for any other midfielder in the world but that doesn't mean he should be exempt from criticism. Overall he had a good game which is all that matters, he is improving. No point trying to argue with you over this, we differ in opinion. He had other options and choose the wrong one and that is my final view on it, shared by a few other posters.
This
Herrera's performance yesterday will take the show from almost anyone.Hard to concentrate on Pogba or talk about him while Andre was dominating the midfield completely , but Pogba wasn't bad at all except from complicating some easy plays as usual.
He's played really well in the last couple of matches and played his first decent game against top opposition yesterday.
He's going to be some player and imo we're going to start seeing the dividends next season.
He's going to be some player and imo we're going to start seeing the dividends next season.
Cant think of anything Pogba did yesterday which Carrick couldn't have done. Also, Carricks' short to mid range passing is a lot more reliable and the team feels safer when he's on the ball. When Pogba gets it, it feels like everyone is on standby to cover for him losing it. Hopefully some of Carricks' class and knowhow will rub off on Pogba before he leaves the club. I want to see Pogba be "the man" when the likes of Hererra and Fellaini don't put in such heroic performances as yesterday.
- Status