Pogba and Mourinho 
6
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 37
- Goals
- 6
- Assists
- 16
- Yellow cards
- 5
- Red cards
- 1
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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Where does Pogba fit into the way Utd played today. No real defensive role to hide him in, doubt Mou would have attacked more with Pogba available.
Was thinking about that and I'm actually starting to think the only way to avoid his defensive liabilities and still being solid is to play him as a number 10 with Matic and Scott as double pivot.
Truthfully him or Sanchez. Right now I find it hard to see them both fitting in unless Sanchez goes to the right but both are very indiscipled ATM.
The whole match I was thinking the same. He doesn't fit in this system. Sanchez works much harder, so you'd keep him. We'll need a different system to fit them both
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Thought they had turned on each other and he was going to be sold ?
He is not really a 10 though is he? Don't think he has the awareness to play in that role. An unorthodox 10 maybe, so used to smaller types, quick on the turn, hard to pin down.
Against lesser teams we should have greater flexibility to include both but Mou is always going to set up cautiously against a threat, look to stop them first, for good and bad. Goes beyond systems and is up to Pogba to work out how to become effective in different ways. There is no midfield role against good teams that can hide how little work Pogba wants to do coming back.
Interrupted the Jose and Klopp interviews to shake their hands
10 with a full free roam is what I was thinking about. That if we want to fully exclude him from defensive job, and limiting it to only tracking back a bit.
It would be a waste of his talents to have him do what Matic or Scott did today.
In place of Mata or Sanchez. Probably Sanchez. We didn't even need Sanchez to be honest. Sanchez is taking gametime away from Martial and Rashford currently and to be honest I'd rather use the pre-season to integrate him into the team because he is struggling now. Set up like this:
Matic McTominay
Mata Pogba Rashford
Lukaku
Mata Pogba Rashford
Lukaku
We need to find a solution to make him fit in the team without disturbing the balance. Matic and Scott provide solidity needed to play 4-2-3-1 with 4 attacking players upfront. Pogba in double pivot leaves Matic alone so we're basically playing a one man midfield. The only way is to play all 3 together.
Yeah it's hard to see where he fits in. Obviously we change things constantly, but him and Sanchez like picking up those inside left positions all the time. Mourinho likes playing a 4-2-3-1, and there's no doubt that Sanchez as the 10 is much better then Pogba in that position. If we play a 4-3-3, Sanchez on the left leaves us a bit narrow but can still work, just not with Pogba on the left of the midfield 3. They're on top of each other. He needs to learn to develop as a controlling, disciplined midfielder and play it quickly. Put him on the right of midfield and maybe... but it's just a big balance question. Can he come in and do the role McTominay did from a positional viewpoint while still providing his attacking burst? If he can, then brilliant. But he needs to show that.
Thing is Pogba is not good enough attacking wise to play that role. He's not a good finisher, he doesn't score many goals, and he doesn't create enough chances to play the 10. Doesn't pick up the right positions. He's a midfielder, not so much an attacker. Just a midfielder with not the best positional awareness. Sanchez as the 10 today did what Pogba can't. That aggressive pressing, some of his quick interplay, the positions he takes up, either in the middle or drifting on either wing to aid with the wingers and quick counter attacking. Doesn't always come off, but it's a much more natural #10 having Sanchez there. Pogba has never done well as a pure 10. Has to be in midfield. And for that, he has to learn to play in the double pivot, or if we go midfield 3, learn how to dominate games and control them on the ball without losing his position.
Pogna is not a #10 but that's not because he doesn't create enough chances. How can anyone say he doesn't create enough chances is beyond me. Creatively, he's one of the best in the league.
But he's not a #10 in any case. He's a lot better when he has space to run into than playing as a #10 where he can end up facing his own goal at times.
Doesn't score enough goals to justify a pure attacking role. Let's just nip that in the bud - it's not happening.
He needs to get better with his overall game to play in midfield.
He needs to get better with his overall game to play in midfield.
He creates chances but not the frequency that you'd want a pure #10 to do. Creative with your movement on and off the ball, and creative with your passing, and the positions you pick up. Pogba is a terrific passer of the ball, but his movement isn't that of a #10 and if you'd put him there, he just wouldn't create anywhere near enough chances to justify that because of his movement.
Maybe, but it would be a massive step forward if Pogba showed that he could take on a destructive role like that with little freedom to express himself. Not every match of course, but winning requires sacrifice, can't always play as you wish, in the role you want, sometimes you have to suck it up and do a job for the team. Team comes first.
Sanchez might not have had the best game in the world, but he puts in an absolute shift. I really don't think the recent trend of Pogba ambling around the pitch like he's too good to work hard would have improved us tbh.
Conspiracy nuts wont like this.
He's one of the most creative players in the league even whilst playing deeper. His creativity and passing is unquestionable. The only question Jose needs to answer is how we can enable that side of his game and make the team stronger at the same time. I'm of the opinion that Pogba is perfectly fine in a 2 man midfied for most of our games. Stick in a 3rd CM in the bigger games to help the midfield out.
What we saw today was Jose's wet dream, that 4 man square in front the keeper is why he loves 4-2-3-1 and has resisted all season from fully committing to another formation. Pogba's only way into that would essentialy be to play on the left of the 3 behind the striker, problem is that means Sanchez as the #10 and he's not creative enough and gives the ball away too much for that position.
Also all the talk of fitting Sanchez and Pogba into the team is only half the issue, it's clear Mourinho loves Matic, but it's also clear Matic needs that other CM square of him as he doesn't have the mobility or stamina to cover both CB's on his own, and we aren't good enough in possession to give him the respite in a single pivot. Pogba will never be able to do the job McTominay does in the role and it would frankly be a complete waste of him.
Also all the talk of fitting Sanchez and Pogba into the team is only half the issue, it's clear Mourinho loves Matic, but it's also clear Matic needs that other CM square of him as he doesn't have the mobility or stamina to cover both CB's on his own, and we aren't good enough in possession to give him the respite in a single pivot. Pogba will never be able to do the job McTominay does in the role and it would frankly be a complete waste of him.
Pogba wouldn't have had as good a game as Sanchez today. He has all the talent in the world but he's just so lazy.
Maybe we should play Pogba on the right of the midfield three. Give him the freedom to move up and down the entire right channel.
It keeps him out of Sanchez’s way and might also fix the issues we have on the right hand side.
It keeps him out of Sanchez’s way and might also fix the issues we have on the right hand side.
Do you mean where Mata was playing today? If so can you see Pogba being willing track a full back all day like that?
The Beeb have a great vid of the Pogba and jose moment, was brill to see!
If he had better workrate he would fit as Mourinho's 8\10 hybrid like he has said that he likes, the role where he used Oscar.
Wasn't sure if he'd been left out because he suffered a gash or because he's been gash.
We paid 89m for Pogba, and not because his game wasn't up to scratch. The questioning of the lads ability is just daft.
Nowhere. But i could see him playing on the left with a new right winger.
-------Alexis - Lukaku
Pogba - Matic - CM - RW
Pogba has carried us most of the season but the moment he struggles a few games this nonsense comes out. We’d probably be 6th without Pogba this season
Was watching the game this morning first thing out of bed and didn't even realize we were missing someone until around the 70 minute mark 
I don't know about that, Sanchez was pretty horrible today.
I'd far rather see Sanchez out on the right if we're going to ask one of them to play out of their preferred position. As good as Sanchez is, Pogba is far more talented.
Maybe the answer is actually McTominay and Pogba in the double pivot, but I’m really not sure.
In any event we don’t play games like today very often, so I suppose it might not be too much of an issue.
There is still a question mark overall, however, as I’m not sure how you can ever completely free up a left-midfielder in the modern game unless half the team is carrying him.
In any event we don’t play games like today very often, so I suppose it might not be too much of an issue.
There is still a question mark overall, however, as I’m not sure how you can ever completely free up a left-midfielder in the modern game unless half the team is carrying him.
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The full Pogba-Mourinho thing
The answer is not picking him. We can't afford to have a player in our midfield who doesn't get any work done. Ronaldo and Messi are the only players who you could argue shouldn't have to get through defending. Pogba is not nearly as talented as these players, and as such if he doesn't want to work for the team, then the team won't work for him and he can go and find a side that will.
United don't live or die due to how Pogba plays, I think we showed that today by beating our biggest rivals with a youth product and a little attacking mid in midfield.
United don't live or die due to how Pogba plays, I think we showed that today by beating our biggest rivals with a youth product and a little attacking mid in midfield.
He gets plenty of work done.
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