We did not let him walkfor free...we let him walk for free
Paul Pogba
- Thread starter dhstriker
- Start date
-
In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
- Status
You're completely ignoring a scenario where the player really wants to go to a different club though. Imagine when Ronaldo was leaving us if a club like Barcelona or City came in for him and offered Mendes more money. Do you honestly think Ronaldo would end up anywhere else other than Madrid when he desperately wanted to play for them? There is only so much convincing an agent can. If a player has their heart set on a particular club then there ain't much they can do about it.
What does Roninho got to do with this? I'm pretty sure City were the only team in for him. They had just come on the scene at that stage so it's only natural when he was moving to a Manchester based club he assumed it was us. Many European based players refer to us as "Manchester" and certainly 7 years ago many of them genuinely wouldn't have heard of City.
I'm pretty sure it was Chelsea that Robinho thought he'd signed for.
He's a great player and who knows if he would be on the same level wouldn't he have joined Juve. For me it's more about whether he's really what we need right now
we had rooney playing CM...
Think he's a very good player, but not convinced that he's worth 50m (or whatever is being discussed). I'll wait and see how he fares in the Champions League.
Anither very poor/average performance by him, since his great form he's been quite average for numerous matches. Dont get how some think he's already one of the best midfielders while he is so inconsistent as it gets, and he still has to shown himself in the CL, where he has never really stood out or player really good.
Bit of the Yaya bug getting to him at an early age. Not a good trait.
He is your typical highlight player. Attempts to dribble past four players at once every time, 9 time it doesn't work but one time he pulls it off and everybody is praising his performance.
Standards must be ridiculously high for that to be classified as a poor/average performance.
He had difficulties controlling the ball. He lost it numerous times, which is basically the biggest mistake a CM can make.
I love watching him play, I have started making sure i watch Juve games simply because of him.
The thing that makes flair players special is that they will try things and dont give up when they fail. George Best used to lose the ball sometimes when he was trying to dribble past everyone. I wish people would view the bigger picture and stop the nonsense of pointing out when he lost a ball and instead make note of when he changes a game. He is one very talented player.
The thing that makes flair players special is that they will try things and dont give up when they fail. George Best used to lose the ball sometimes when he was trying to dribble past everyone. I wish people would view the bigger picture and stop the nonsense of pointing out when he lost a ball and instead make note of when he changes a game. He is one very talented player.
I like Pogba but I prefer a Verratti type midfielder just because of what you said. When Pogba will learn to better choose his moments for being brilliant (which will come with coaching and experience) then really his potential will be unleashed. Verratti can be flashy as he is a good dribbler but he doesn't dispossessed that often and is a great passer under pressure.
Good post this.
Do you watch him regularly or only the highlights? He has pretty much been carrying this Juventus team this season and put in some excellent performances, both in the league, for his nation and in the CL.
I thought he was good yesterday except for the period after conceding the equaliser til Juventus took the lead again. He lost the ball a few times but he has that dribbling ability hes a joy to watch sometimes.
Is he good enough for the box to box role that we want? Or would he be another one who would require protection from 2 other midfielders.
(Of course, I am talking solely with United on my mind)
He certainly has all the qualities to play in a midfield two, although it could limit his attacking capabilities. The position he currently has to the left of central midfield allows him to cover a greater area, to dribble and to take more chances.
There's little point in spending a fortune on him only to put him in a position were he isn't at his strongest. It would be like the cases of Yaya Touré and Fabregas at Barcelona.
He's still a central midfielder, though, and not a Mata/Di Maria/Kagawa-type of player.
To think that he left United because he couldn't get ahead of the pecking order against the likes of Fletcher, Ando and Cleverley.
I thought yesterday showed well why he's a highly rated young player, who can already influence important games, but still is at least one step away from being one of the best midfielders in the world.
He's still too often immature and his decision making is sometimes really stupid. He made some excellent runs in behind Dortmund's pressing which created a few chances for Juventus including the 2nd goal, but on the other hand attempted idiotic dribbles and fancy plays in his own half without realising that a 2nd Dortmund player came from behind to steal the ball from him. It was funny to watch. I like flair players, but CMs in the modern game should choose their moments to do it better than he does, especially when he's playing in a role that gives him enough freedom to move forward and do it anyway.
Calling him a highlight player is probably unfair, but he's often already called one of the best CMs in the world and the reason for that clearly are his spectacular moments, not his overall play. I'd love to see him play against a vintage Dortmund pressing performance, because they would have punished him in a way they couldn't yesterday. 2-1 is a great result for the neutral though, should make for an exciting return leg.
He's still too often immature and his decision making is sometimes really stupid. He made some excellent runs in behind Dortmund's pressing which created a few chances for Juventus including the 2nd goal, but on the other hand attempted idiotic dribbles and fancy plays in his own half without realising that a 2nd Dortmund player came from behind to steal the ball from him. It was funny to watch. I like flair players, but CMs in the modern game should choose their moments to do it better than he does, especially when he's playing in a role that gives him enough freedom to move forward and do it anyway.
Calling him a highlight player is probably unfair, but he's often already called one of the best CMs in the world and the reason for that clearly are his spectacular moments, not his overall play. I'd love to see him play against a vintage Dortmund pressing performance, because they would have punished him in a way they couldn't yesterday. 2-1 is a great result for the neutral though, should make for an exciting return leg.
I suppose that's the difference between Serie A and CL's tempo that he still has to understand, there's no time or space for such trickery against a team whose pressing 1 or 2 years ago was one of the best in Europe.
He also got really lucky that the ref didn't give him a yellow card for that tackle that injured Pisczek. It was stupid, dangerous and would have seen him suspended for the return leg with a 3rd yellow card.
It still is.
It's not. They lack cohesion, open up space in behind the pressing that is rather easy to exploit. They really miss Bender to keep it together.
He is given the freedom to try silly dribbles and be creative because he has 2 other midfielders to back him up. Every team need's a player that takes risks, and Pogba is 1 of them. Otherwise it all ends up sideways and never probing. Sure he makes mistakes but when his pass is accurate or his shots deliver he can do something world class. I think people forget how young he is still too.
He got robbed from behind once throughout the whole match. The other failed dribbles by him were in the opposition half where he sometimes acts as a false winger of sorts. When dortmund were on top in the game in the first half him and pirlo looked the only 2 on the field that knew how to control and pass the ball.
He was the only one that could resemble keeping the ball when juve were under pressure. He was the only juve mid that could find accurate passes, worked hard throughout the game, had an assist, had numerous clearances with his head. Had a couple of bad moments in the first half, but nothing to warrant it being called a poor or average performance especially under those conditions.
There were quite a few stupid moments, an outside the foot pass that went wrong and killed an attack, the funny moment when he tried to control the bouncing ball 3 times as fancy as possible, one stupid dribble that went wrong. A few times he dribbled for the sake of it and went nowhere, but kept possession of the ball and avoided a counterattack, still completely unnecessary risks, especially against a team that plays like Dortmund does.
He was still the best CM on the pitch, especially Vidal was shockingly bad. But overall, I wasn't impressed with either team.
Marca going crazy about him in the past couple of days. Galactico 3.0, and will probably cost more than Zidane.
Is there any chance of seeing him in a United shirt again? Maybe lure him to OT using Mata plus cash???
Of course he is Madrid bound, it will start sooner rather than later. How long till the tapping up begins?
Zidane is probably sending him texts as we speak.
"Paul, show me your biquine".
He won't come back for sure. He would still be playing for us if he wanted it. He was so sure of his ability that he would have signed the contract offered to him even after the Rafael-Park debacle. He was just using us, and Juve too, as a stepping stone to get to Real Madrid.Is there any chance of seeing him in a United shirt again? Maybe lure him to OT using Mata plus cash???
I just wonder if him going to Juventus was the best thing for him as a footballer. I worry that he might have stagnated here.You look at some of the kids we have all drooled over and they seem to come to a standstill once they get into the first team. All the changes of manager might not have helped either. Not great for Manchester United, but the move was great for him.
Which kids? We are giving great deal of chances to the real talents like Januzaj and Wilson, and even Welbeck and cleverley. He was just too impatient. We have a policy to bring kids through slowly in order to not burn them out too quickly. We also educate their attitude. He would set a bad example in terms of not toeing the line. He should have signed the new contract offered and give himself another season or so with us. At least we would get some fees from his purchase if he decided to leave anyway. He is a great example of someone who thinks only about himself and not the club. Not a good example to the other kids in my opinion.
welcome back, Paul:
The suggestion he has a "bad attitude" seems to be nothing but speculation. He's a big talent so will be talked about regularly and may even be put on the spot to respond. Doesn't mean he's thinking about himself.
The fact that he's been a regular for Juve since he went there as a teenager suggests his attitude, application and overall behaviour is pretty good.
In fact, a young player who wants to make the grade will look up to a player who has already done so.
He took a massive risk to move to Juve, probably not being hugely better off financially and seemingly likely to be loaned out for a season or two. Instead he's now a regular for a big European side and one of the better national teams and linked with almost every big European side for mega money.
The assumption that he's badly behaved or hugely arrogant seems to stem from a belief that he thought he was bigger than the club. The reality is he thought he was worth a chance, and didn't get it. He's then probably thinking he's not that highly rated - and needs to decide whether to sign a long term deal. He chose not to and it's worked very well for him. I see no reason to criticise the player on that basis.
- Status