[DanNistelrooy]

In truth his last good game for us was probably the Liverpool home game. And funnily enough, that Liverpool game he just kept things simple, worked hard and showed fight. Nothing he did attacking-wise came off but the effort was there and he did the basics very well - still a solid 6.5/7 performance.

We will have to accept that his run through December to February is not sustainable, there isn't a midfielder in the world who assists or scores every week but I understand there being frustration about games like last night where he is trying things which aren't coming off and the effort appears to have dropped - in games like that it should be head down and revert back to keeping it simple like he did in that Liverpool game.

I can't get my head around so many people in this thread wanting him out, would be a massive step backwards for us in terms of where we are trying to get to. If he was to leave he will end up at a Real Madrid or PSG and there is a reason for that. Thankfully Ole clearly seems him as our main player but it's now time for Pogba to get his head down and hopefully Ole can drill that in to him.

 

[adexkola]

Somebody with their brain switched on for once! our attacking options last night just weren't good enough. Pogba isn't a Hazard or Messi that can dribble 2/3 people and score, he's a playmaker that's got a killer final pass, but for that he needs good movement. Lukaku/Lingard offered none of that.

Movement is 90% coaching. Ole needs to work on this in the offseason.

 

[Adam-Utd]

In truth his last good game for us was probably the Liverpool home game. And funnily enough, that Liverpool game he just kept things simple, worked hard and showed fight. Nothing he did attacking-wise came off but the effort was there and he did the basics very well - still a solid 6.5/7 performance.

We will have to accept that his run through December to February is not sustainable, there isn't a midfielder in the world who assists or scores every week but I understand there being frustration about games like last night where he is trying things which aren't coming off and the effort appears to have dropped - in games like that it should be head down and revert back to keeping it simple like he did in that Liverpool game.

I can't get my head around so many people in this thread wanting him out, would be a massive step backwards for us in terms of where we are trying to get to. If he was to leave he will end up at a Real Madrid or PSG and there is a reason for that. Thankfully Ole clearly seems him as our main player but it's now time for Pogba to get his head down and hopefully Ole can drill that in to him.

People keep saying his effort dropped? I don't get that. Not once did I see him walk around the pitch or not chase people, he did his defensive work fine. He always seems to get's measured differently to anybody else.

 

[DanNistelrooy]

People keep saying his effort dropped? I don't get that. Not once did I see him walk around the pitch or not chase people, he did his defensive work fine. He always seems to get's measured differently to anybody else.

I couldn't agree more with your last sentence. How he didn't win player of the month in January or February for example was mind boggling but because he is a £90m player people just shrugged it off with "well that's how he should be performing" - had Perreira performed like that for example he would have won the award hands down.

To clarify my point around effort, I am not saying he wasn't trying (he can only be accused of that in that Southampton away game IMO) but there was a steeliness to his Liverpool performance, he was flying into tackles and put in a leaders performance. Last night his main role in the team was to create and when things aren't going well maybe he needs to revert back to the determined performance we saw vs Liverpool and keep things simple.

 

[Adam-Utd]

I couldn't agree more with your last sentence. How he didn't win player of the month in January or February for example was mind boggling but because he is a £90m player people just shrugged it off with "well that's how he should be performing" - had Perreira performed like that for example he would have won the award hands down.

To clarify my point around effort, I am not saying he wasn't trying (he can only be accused of that in that Southampton away game IMO) but there was a steeliness to his Liverpool performance, he was flying into tackles and put in a leaders performance. Last night his main role in the team was to create and when things aren't going well maybe he needs to revert back to the determined performance we saw vs Liverpool and keep things simple.

Yeah I get what you're saying, but he can't just keep it simple in this team. When things aren't going well everybody looks to Pogba to create something. He tries his best to do it but sometimes it doesn't happen, that's when we need the others to step up.

We need more than 1 creator in this team, and we don't have it right now, not with that team last night anyway. It forces him to try and take people on and do extravagant things that don't work out.

 

[poleglass red]

And I am not one to be beguiled by stats.. but this is a very interesting visual, and says a lot right. He is by FAR our most active, and creative player. So where are all those other 'creative' players then? Injured? Lost form? Can't be bothered.. or some other excuse.

I say it time and time again... Paul Pogba needs other good players around him. CR7 and Lionel Messi need other good players around them! We have to look at the quality of the team.. but for me, I don't doubt Pogba's intent or contribution. No, like the rest of the team, he hasn't been as fluent and influential as a few games back.... but maybe, just maybe, SOMEONE ELSE needs to step up and take the next four, five games by the scruff of the neck?

It is all too easy to blame and dimiss Paul Pogba, and IF he leaves, we will miss him.

Re creativity from our mid, he is our only source, as we play him higher up the pitch now and he doesn't have any defensive responsibilites at all. We therefore play 2 defensive based players to compensate for that. We've put all our eggs in basket so to speak, and our now paying the price for it when Pogba is off form or doesn't put in the required effort. We could address that in the summer by buying midfielders who can play add to our attack but also help out in defence. Right now players like Herrera ,Matic or McTominay aren't going to pick up the creative aspect when Pogba is quiet. But what they still have to do when he is quiet is cover him defensively.

 

[DanNistelrooy]

Yeah I get what you're saying, but he can't just keep it simple in this team. When things aren't going well everybody looks to Pogba to create something. He tries his best to do it but sometimes it doesn't happen, that's when we need the others to step up.

We need more than 1 creator in this team, and we don't have it right now, not with that team last night anyway. It forces him to try and take people on and do extravagant things that don't work out.

Yeah I think teams (Wolves and PSG in particular) have noted that he's the main creator and shut his space off and we become quite limited.

I also think signing a right winger to stretch the play and make runs will make it easier for our midfield as at the moment there isn't many outlets for forward passes.

 

[NK86]

Isn't play in his position.
Jose is undermining him.
He needs 2 mids behind him.
Team is not good enough.
No movement around him.
Pogba haters in force.
He deserves to play in Madrid or Barcelona.

Although I agree that Jose's treatment of his was uncalled for many times. However the current shite he is pulling is definitely on him. Cannot believe how disinterested he looked yesterday. Felt for the first time he should just feck off if he is not keen on staying here.

 

[NK86]

We should seriously consider cashing in imo. If we could get 150m plus in the summer and bought 2 midfielders and a rb that would be a good piece of business.

We would then need a creative midfielder. Fekir or someone of that ilk too though

Not a bad call. Pool actually strengthened their team despite losing Coutinho. If he wants to move on and we can get 150-200 mil for him, I suggest we cash in but before that we strengthen our starting 11.

 

[NK86]

So much hatred and agenda in this thread, it really is sickening.

Yes he didn't have his best game but that was Wolves doing a good job of shutting off the space. I genuinely don't understand what people expect from him, he cant/never has won a game by himself. He's not maradona but a very talented forward thinking midfielder.

The attack was shite yesterday with Lukaku/Lingard standing there with their backs to goal surrounded by 5 wolves players, and little to no threat from wide positions.

It's pretty clear to me most of the Pogba haters have been brainwashed by Mourinho and he will always be public enemy 1 from now on. Very sad.

So basically anyone who has a pair of eyes and judge his performance different to how you perceive is a hater? Brilliant.

 

[Janson]

I'd really like to see Pogba with a better ball playing CM next to him.

 

[Canagel]

So basically anyone who has a pair of eyes and judge his performance different to how you perceive is a hater? Brilliant.

You will be mad to think some fans on these boards don't have a intense hatred of PP. There's a good group of about 5 or 6 who seems to take extra satisfaction in winding up anyone who dares to give an benefit of doubt to PP. They also tend to go around many of the other threads making their sarcastic comments. Some of the vitriol and venom aimed in his direction exceeds a lot of other players and it's not just because of football. I just responded to a poster taking aim with his religion.
Tbh I don't intend to stir up trouble and don't see anything wrong with critism but people going over the line deserve warnings and bans.

 

[Janson]

And I am not one to be beguiled by stats.. but this is a very interesting visual, and says a lot right. He is by FAR our most active, and creative player. So where are all those other 'creative' players then? Injured? Lost form? Can't be bothered.. or some other excuse.

I say it time and time again... Paul Pogba needs other good players around him. CR7 and Lionel Messi need other good players around them! We have to look at the quality of the team.. but for me, I don't doubt Pogba's intent or contribution. No, like the rest of the team, he hasn't been as fluent and influential as a few games back.... but maybe, just maybe, SOMEONE ELSE needs to step up and take the next four, five games by the scruff of the neck?

It is all too easy to blame and dimiss Paul Pogba, and IF he leaves, we will miss him.

Apparently Herrera compliments him perfectly, which is far from the truth imo. Pogba needs an actual ball playing CM beside him.

 

[Snowjoe]

Just cleaning up the religion stuff, don’t need to get into it here

 

[bdspeedy]

My concern is that he has had NO memorable positive impact on any of our last several games. His head doesn't seem to be right. All I can remember is Pogba losing possession. Sloppy, careless first touches. Poor passes that end promising attacks. Getting EASILY knocked off the ball. Does he want to be the star and leader of this team or does he just enjoy being a celebrity? We know he can control and turn a game around in an instant. We know he can dab. We know he can celebrate and dance around and enjoy the spoils of fame and a hefty paycheck. We love his infectious attitude. He's welcome to enjoy it, but if he intends to be at United, he needs to live up to his "world class" potential or move on. He's shown glimpses and short lived, fantastic displays of talent, but in my estimation, he has fallen far short of expectations. We need guys to step up and take care of business these last several games or we will be out of the champions league this year and next.

 

[Infordin]

Pogba, like Dybala, is something that I call a "YouTube footballer"

 

[dannyrhinos89]

The more time goes the more I feel bad for Jose and that he had to deal with him, it’s become obvious Pogba was a problem. I couldn’t careless if he’s sold.

 

[Adam-Utd]

So basically anyone who has a pair of eyes and judge his performance different to how you perceive is a hater? Brilliant.

No, fairly judging him for a poor game is fair enough. But the fact is he was no worse than Lingard, Fred, Lukaku, Shaw, De Gea.

But as usual those threads are quiet and the usual suspects are in here making out like it was the worlds worse performance.

people expect him to play at messi levels every game which just isn’t possible.

The more time goes the more I feel bad for Jose and that he had to deal with him, it’s become obvious Pogba was a problem. I couldn’t careless if he’s sold.

Posts like this are exactly what I mean. What did he do that shows he’s a “problem” they can’t stand their poor Jose god sacked and won’t be happy until pogba follows suit. The agenda is hilarious.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

No, fairly judging him for a poor game is fair enough. But the fact is he was no worse than Lingard, Fred, Lukaku, Shaw, De Gea.

But as usual those threads are quiet and the usual suspects are in here making out like it was the worlds worse performance.

people expect him to play at messi levels every game which just isn’t possible.

Not true is it - you hear Lukaku & Fred getting pointed at all the time & even shaw - only reason that has reduced is because he had bad plenty good matches recently so can afford one or 2 bad ones at max.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

As I replied in the matchday thread on a similar post. This isn't solving Pogba's problem. This is just covering it. Getting good players who will cover for his arse when he's having one of his stinkers who are very often. This isn't a solution.

Midfield in England can't hold a luxury player who decides to switch off when he doesn't care even if the rest are playing great.

Pogba's problem solution is for him to either get consistent and start putting on a certain consistent level of performance or just sell him and bring a more consistent player. The later seems to be the most logical to happen.

One could argue that better players will bring out better performances from Pogba, thus seeing more consistency. He's surrounded by superstars when he plays for France, and very rarely has a poor game.

Psychologically, maybe he thinks he doesn't have to force his game or be the superstar every game, meaning he can relax more. He gives off this arrogance like he hasn't got a care in the world, but being the main man could be too much for Pogba. He wasn't at Juventus, and whilst he is influential for France, the pin up boy is probably Grieezmann or Mbappe.

Lets go out and buy players of that class!

 

[poleglass red]

No, fairly judging him for a poor game is fair enough. But the fact is he was no worse than Lingard, Fred, Lukaku, Shaw, De Gea.

But as usual those threads are quiet and the usual suspects are in here making out like it was the worlds worse performance.

people expect him to play at messi levels every game which just isn’t possible.




Posts like this are exactly what I mean. What did he do that shows he’s a “problem” they can’t stand their poor Jose god sacked and won’t be happy until pogba follows suit. The agenda is hilarious.

Difference is it's now probably 4 or so games he has been extremely poor in, not just a one off. Shaw was Man of the match in previous game. De Gea has been roundly criticised this season. Lingard is coming back from injury as is Lukaku, who has done well in recent games. Pogba was lauded and rightly so when Ole first came in. You pay well you get kudos, you play poorly and you get stick, that's football

 

[clarkydaz]

if the team is so poor around him and he is so helpless, why did he go on an incredible run of form the moment Jose left, tearing up and down the pitch all of a sudden? Its starting to sound like we are going down the 'Rooney needs runners, is a striker/midifelder' rabbit hole again

 

[westmeath]

Would love to know what goes on in this guy’s head.

In about 25% of games he is practically unplayable, delivering world class displays. The rest of the time we get complete dross like last night when he really looked like he could not care less.

He’s not worthy of our club and should be sold while he still has some value.

The narrative on here about it being everybody else’s fault is really wearing thin now. He needs to own his bad performances and blaming them on the players around him or the manager or the style of play is just ignoring the elephant in the room. Pogba’s attitude is the problem, his time should be up.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Difference is it's now probably 4 or so games he has been extremely poor in, not just a one off. Shaw was Man of the match in previous game. De Gea has been roundly criticised this season. Lingard is coming back from injury as is Lukaku, who has done well in recent games. Pogba was lauded and rightly so when Ole first came in. You pay well you get kudos, you play poorly and you get stick, that's football

I have zero problem with saying he’s not playing his best form - I have a big issue with people labelling him “a problem” or “trouble we need rid off”. it’s a witch hunt for some people, they can’t wait to get the knife out at the first opportunity.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

I think Ole handled Zidane's comments poorly. A better response would have been "Of course clubs that are not in the Champions League quarter finals will be interested in our players. That's normal in football but Paul is contracted to us and we are not interested in selling him."

 

[JPRouve]

if the team is so poor around him and he is so helpless, why did he go on an incredible run of form the moment Jose left, tearing up and down the pitch all of a sudden? Its starting to sound like we are going down the 'Rooney needs runners, is a striker/midifelder' rabbit hole again

It was a different team and a different surrounding. Pogba form went down the moment the trio Martial-Rashford-Lingard broke down, Pogba shines when he can play one-twos and can find running teammates. Defensively he will do his job but it's more based on impact and physical dominance which is a good thing for France because players like Matuidi and Kanté are great in terms of anticipation and containment, so Pogba is rarely an actual liability and will in fact be the second blade more often than not. In attack someone like Griezmann shares a big part of the playmaking duties, they are generally both good when they do their own share and don't try to do what the other is good at.

I will repeat what I said about him in 2016, Pogba is your spoiler. While it's a very important part of a racing car, it's not what makes it run.

 

[bdspeedy]

My concern is HIS unforced mistakes when the season is on the line. He's either up to it or he isn't. Top four WAS ours to lose and as of today, we have lost it. Anyone on the team COULD step up but none have. Pogba's opportunity is now. I'm not saying he has to carry the team on his back but he's not a kid anymore. As the teams biggest and most visible star, he needs to pull his head out and do his fecking job.

 

[Janson]

No, fairly judging him for a poor game is fair enough. But the fact is he was no worse than Lingard, Fred, Lukaku, Shaw, De Gea.

But as usual those threads are quiet and the usual suspects are in here making out like it was the worlds worse performance.

people expect him to play at messi levels every game which just isn’t possible.




Posts like this are exactly what I mean. What did he do that shows he’s a “problem” they can’t stand their poor Jose god sacked and won’t be happy until pogba follows suit. The agenda is hilarious.

Lukaku's thread is never quiet. He gets it the most.

 

[Dve]

What Pogda had to two months ago - and is lacking now - is the ability to pass the ball quickly when he receive it in the midfield. Now, he always has to shovel away any opponent that might challenge him for the ball before he starts thinking of passing it. A sort of arroganse. In the 36th minute of first half against Wolves, he lost the ball for the 8th time. I think Young had better numbers than that.

And he can be better at seeking room and make himself available for passes. Like Fred actually does, and Fred makes it easier for United to build from the back. He moves around, while Pogba sometimes can look sort of uninterested, and he becomes invisible. I know he gets man-marked more than he used to, but still. It doesn´t have to look like he´s already given up. Or maybe his motivation has taken a dip, if he has already achieved what was his goal: Interest from Real Madrid.

 

[finneh]

I've been doing some research on the amount of chances that we create. But to provide more context to your statement (throwing in KDB):

Big Chances Created (in the league)

2018/19: Erikson - 9. Pogba - 7. KDB - 6
2017/18: Erikson - 15. Pogba - 4. KDB - 19
2016/17: Erikson - 16. Pogba - 7. KDB - 24 ()

These stats would suggest that you're right. The fecked up part is that I think Pogba is to blame partly, but I think that if we swap Erikson and Pogba, we would see Erikson's stats drop, and Pogba's stats rise. Which is part of what Ole has to fix in the offseason.

I agree Pogba's would improve for Spurs but i think thatd be solely because of Kane and Eriksen's might drop for that very same reason.

However I think adding a right winger and with Rashford having another season as first choice striker with Eriksen I believe his numbers would quickly return to his current level (mid teens). However with Pogba I think it's a mental thing unfortunately.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

What Pogda had to two months ago - and is lacking now - is the ability to pass the ball quickly when he receive it in the midfield. Now, he always has to shovel away any opponent that might challenge him for the ball before he starts thinking of passing it. A sort of arroganse. In the 36th minute of first half against Wolves, he lost the ball for the 8th time. I think Young had better numbers than that.

And he can be better at seeking room and make himself available for passes. Like Fred actually does, and Fred makes it easier for United to build from the back. He moves around, while Pogba sometimes can look sort of uninterested, and he becomes invisible. I know he gets man-marked more than he used to, but still. It doesn´t have to look like he´s already given up. Or maybe his motivation has taken a dip, if he has already achieved what was his goal: Interest from Real Madrid.

Yeah, he seems to need a half a dozen touches to get moving. Scooby Doo football.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

I'd really like to see Pogba with a better ball playing CM next to him.

Why? It's not like Kante is. Pogba's form is down to Pogba. Yes, some more movement would be great but it can get annoying when he doesn't do the basics.

 

[Champagne Football]

Pogba seems to become a different player when his head gets turned by foreign clubs offering far more weekly salary than we will.

 

[Dve]

I'd really like to see Pogba with a better ball playing CM next to him.

Pogba is supposed to be that better player.

 

[Suedesi]

No, fairly judging him for a poor game is fair enough. But the fact is he was no worse than Lingard, Fred, Lukaku, Shaw, De Gea.

But as usual those threads are quiet and the usual suspects are in here making out like it was the worlds worse performance.

people expect him to play at messi levels every game which just isn’t possible.




Posts like this are exactly what I mean. What did he do that shows he’s a “problem” they can’t stand their poor Jose god sacked and won’t be happy until pogba follows suit. The agenda is hilarious.

Thing is the other players don't have "Jesse Lingard is the best midfielder in the world" threads but rather "Why did we buy Fred". Lukaku is fairly criticized and so is Shaw. De Gea is clearly getting a fair amount of criticism especially in light of his absurd wage demands and recent performances.

But none of them (De Gea aside) can claim to be a world class player like Paul, so the criticism is calibrated by the built-in expectations...

PS and feck Jose, I couldn't stand the cnut you can do a thorough search of my post history if you think otherwise.

 

[Nipower888]

You should check it out. It's active mostly after our games against the likes of Huddersfield, etc., after we win 5-0 or so.

I really didnt know that was a thread. The thread only has 4 pages which this thread got in a day so my point that people love to criticize him way more than praise him stands. People really want to hate him, constantly underrated him over exaggerate his bad performances, and compare him to players that he shouldnt be compared to. He cant win unless he performs at unsustainable rates in an honestly mediocre team.

 

[Kostov]

I hope Ole does realize that licking Pogba's ass all the way around will come back to bite him. Pogba is not the guy that you put your hopes on and not someone on who you can build a team around. He clearly flirts with Madrid and what does Ole do? Yeah lick his ass some more.

 

[.Rossi]

In defence of Paul Pogba...

Ravel Morrison, apparently a much better/talented player, needed better players around him, needed to be played in his proper position and needed a better manager over him, to bring out his amazing talent and world class ability too...

 

[Bwuk]

Lack of movement from our front three, and him being the only creative midfielder playing. Not entirely sure what people expect.

 

[Eyepopper]

I hope Ole does realize that licking Pogba's ass all the way around will come back to bite him. Pogba is not the guy that you put your hopes on and not someone on who you can build a team around. He clearly flirts with Madrid and what does Ole do? Yeah lick his ass some more.

To be fair, if Ole has learned anything from SAF's style of management, what he says in public and what he says in private may well be two different things.

I really want Pogba to show his class for but, right now, it seems to get the best out of him the best approach would be to sit him down a few hours before kick off and say "well Paul, fancy playing football today?"