Pogba is the best midfielder in the world

[Jib]

Based on their careers since they've come to Manchester, De Bruyne. He in my opinion was the player of that season, not Salah.

The annoying part about that is that Pogba has the talent to exceed De Bruyne's 2017-18 season at City. It's just a matter of application and being under the right coach. Even now despite his goal/assist output, Pogba can do more in terms of his overall contribution to the game on a consistent basis.

I don't think that you realize what you said.
You aren't asking Pogba to just exceed KDB prime season. You are expecting him to do something that no midfielder has done in the history of football.

And he'll keep annoying you until he does the impossible.

And the scary thing is that you aren't the only one to have the same unrealistic thought.

How unfair !

 

[Cabin Clown]

Since Ole has taken over he's definitely the best midfielder in the EPL (Kevin De Bruyne who?) and it's not even close. More than likely Europe but haven't seen too much of other leagues.

Controversial to say but Lingard was the best player in the world last season between December-January to do what he did in a Jose team and nobody will convince me otherwise.

 

[adexkola]

I don't think that you realize what you said.
You aren't asking Pogba to just exceed KDB prime season. You are expecting him to do something that no midfielder has done in the history of football.

And he'll keep annoying you until he does the impossible.

And the scary thing is that you aren't the only one to have the same unrealistic thought.

Pogba should do a lot more than other to have the same amount of praise. How unfair...

Eh? I said he has the talent to exceed KDB's prime season. That's not expecting him to exceed it. But yeah, if he could match it in terms of performance, output and consistency, it would be great.

The title of the thread is "Pogba is the best midfielder in the world". Is it unreasonable to expect performances and consistency one would normally expect from a player that actually is the best midfielder in the world?

 

[Jib]

Eh? I said he has the talent to exceed KDB's prime season. That's not expecting him to exceed it. But yeah, if he could match it in terms of performance, output and consistency, it would be great.

The title of the thread is "Pogba is the best midfielder in the world". Is it unreasonable to expect performances and consistency one would normally expect from a player that actually is the best midfielder in the world?

Pogba is different but just as good as KDB prime season since Ole took over. If he keep this form for more than 2 months, he'll be the best midfielder in the world even if we win nothing ( you can't compare City's squad with ours ).

But if you ask more than consistency, you are unfair.

 

[Amadaeus]

Unprofessional because he doesn't drink, smoke and because Conte, Allegri and Deschamps praised his attitude many times

And he was our best player with De Gea under Mourinho.

You don't like Pogba, you can say it. No need to lie.

None of those things are of great concern. He just doesn’t appear serious on numerous occasions and when he is not happy or getting his way, he is willing to down tool. Herrera is a good example of what I expect a professional to be. Even though, he has been overlooked by our past managers, he stayed humbled and continued to put on a shift without complaining. I m glad, Ole is finally rewarding that. Also, I didn’t realize he was our best player under Mourinho . The coaching staff might have taught otherwise.

 

[mancan92]

And that's exactly why we need to see more of him in games like this. He also needs to string a whole season together before we can proclaim him as the best.

The problem is football is a team sport. The reason he can't perform at that level consistently can often be down to his team mates not being up to the required level. For example david silva will receive the ball from Fernandinho about 10 times a game in an area he can cause damage. Pogba will be lucky if Matic plays 2 passes in a dangerous area for Pogba. Another example is Man City have many dangerous players so even if you stop one you can't stop the other so even if someone marks silva, KDB is still there. If Pogba was in City's team he would perform easily at the level of those two.

 

[OL29]

Why do people act like he's only just started performing in the big games? His record in big games is much better than people give him credit for, he had a goal and 2 assists vs Arsenal last season, 2 goals at the Etihad, an assist vs Spurs in the FA Cup semi, a number of big game performances for Juve oh and the biggest stage of all, the world cup final. His inconsistency in big games really reflects more on the team than him. He's hardly been given a platform to take those games by the scruff of the neck under Mourinho. I suspect if Ole stays on than this will become a non-argument.

 

[simplyared]

It's close cut imo between him and De Bruyne. Looking at quality, skill or whatever you want to name it, Pogba is superior in that dept definately. However looking at consistency and contribution during a longer period then it must be De Bruyne.

 

[Saffron]

I don't think that you realize what you said.
You aren't asking Pogba to just exceed KDB prime season. You are expecting him to do something that no midfielder has done in the history of football.

And he'll keep annoying you until he does the impossible.

And the scary thing is that you aren't the only one to have the same unrealistic thought.

How unfair !

Don’t mind adexkola, he’s just desperately trying to justify his December prediction that top 4 is impossible ”with this current squad”.

We're not getting top 4 without title winning form from this point onwards. That will not happen with a new manager and this current squad.

 

[adexkola]

Pogba is different but just as good as KDB prime season since Ole took over. If he keep this form for more than 2 months, he'll be the best midfielder in the world even if we win nothing ( you can't compare City's squad with ours ).

But if you ask more than consistency, you are unfair.

Stats wise I agree.

General performance wise, I would that he can impact the game more beyond the goals and assists. We should not be losing control of the midfield like we did at Wembley against Spurs, with Pogba in the midfield. I'm not giving him a pass on that. And of course part of that responsibility falls on his midfield partners, and the system. KDB has the advantage of playing with Silva and Fernandinho, and playing in a well formed system. But I see room for growth in Pogba's game.

Yes, if he keeps this form up until the end of the season he will have a strong resume to make that claim. Partly dependent on what other midfielders do in the CL going forward as well.

 

[adexkola]

Don’t mind adexkola, he’s just desperately trying to justify his December prediction that top 4 is impossible ”with this current squad”.

What does that point have to do with this thread?

I've made other posts where I've said it would take title winning form, AND the improbable collapse in form of 2 teams above us at the time, to make top 4. Fair fecks to you if you saw it, I didn't see it. Now what on earth does that have to do with Pogba being the best midfielder in the world?

 

[cyberman]

Pogba is different but just as good as KDB prime season since Ole took over. If he keep this form for more than 2 months, he'll be the best midfielder in the world even if we win nothing ( you can't compare City's squad with ours ).

But if you ask more than consistency, you are unfair.

It doesn't make sense Jib since its impossible for Pogba to be consistent when what is asked of him is inconsistent itself.
We are just lucky he's scoring now or he'd be criticized for not keeping it simple. Or not matching the runs from Callum Wilson into our box.
We have fallen into the English trap of judging Paul by goals and assists. The Gerrard / Lampard curse.
He could be as good as he is right now but with a less critical / fluent front line and he would be getting shit on left, right and centre.
If Paul isn't scoring then he has to be perfect in every way.

 

[Brwned]

The crazy thing is he's already managed a Lampard-esque goal return, while being the creative fulcrum. With a third of the season still to go. Between 2003-2013 Lampard got an average of 13 league goals a season, and only got above 15 twice. Pogba's on 11 already and you'd expect him to get 15 goals, while doing far more creatively and no less defensively. We aren't as good a team so he won't be playing 55-60 games every other year, and probably won't break the 20-goal barrier as often, but it should be recognised his productivity is right up there with the very best midfielders in PL history.

 

[Saffron]

What does that point have to do with this thread?

I've made other posts where I've said it would take title winning form, AND the improbable collapse in form of 2 teams above us at the time, to make top 4. Fair fecks to you if you saw it, I didn't see it. Now what on earth does that have to do with Pogba being the best midfielder in the world?

You said it wouldn't happen "with our current squad", full stop. That means you must have major reservations about our squad just like Mourinho did. But now that Pogba and the rest of the squad have shattered that illusion, I don't think you or Mourinho will ever be able to admit to yourselves that Pogba could possibly be the best midfielder. You will continue to find faults no matter how good he becomes.

If you made other posts saying something else, then you are obviously already contradicting yourself.

In my opinion, Pogba since Ole took over has been the best midfielder.

 

[adexkola]

You said it wouldn't happen "with our current squad", full stop. That means you must have major reservations about our squad just like Mourinho did. But now that Pogba and the rest of the squad have shattered that illusion, I don't think you or Mourinho will ever be able to admit to yourselves that Pogba could possibly be the best midfielder. You will continue to find faults no matter how good he becomes.

If you made other posts saying something else, then you are obviously already contradicting yourself.

In my opinion, Pogba since Ole took over has been the best midfielder.

Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Keep that in mind as you nurse that muscle strain.

 

[KirkDuyt]

Guess we can expect the same annoying and hostile discussion style about Pogba that we see in the Ronaldo and Messi threads from now on. God forbid someone questions he's the best in the world after a few months of reaching a consistently high level.

Pogba is the most talented midfielder in the world and it's been showing since Mou left. Depending on your definition, he might currently be the best, bit early to go this far with the best in the world stuff if you ask me.

Also before quoting someone who made a wrong prediction, please quote us where you said in december that this squad would easily make top 4 this season. It's easy to act smug when waiting for the results before airing an opinion.

 

[Canagel]

He's always been there. The guy didn't make a world XI team for nothing . So why should it be suprise to make this claim? He only confirmed the quality and level he had shown previously.
Normal service has been resumed since we got rid of the real virus and it shall not surprise me if he is the best player in the world quite soon. Forget midfielder.
Ballon dor winner of 2019= Pogba
If not this year the one after it.

 

[wythyred]

& in other news water is wet.

He is the real deal

 

[Nikelesh Reddy]

There, I said it. Get him motivated and he’s irrepressible. Convince me otherwise.

On current form,I would be stunned if there’s a better midfielder anywhere in the world...But Ofcourse his challenge is to maintain this form until the end of the season and Ofcourse he has to maintain this for the next 3-4 years to really fulfill his potential...

 

[ivaldo]

Messi is a terrible example.

All I'm saying is that imo Pogba needs to do it more against the best teams before I'll consider him to be THE best. He's had a great two months for sure but I still want to see more from him over a longer period of time.

When was this?

It was 9 games before Messi registered an assist against an English club, and 10 before he found the back of the net, so the example is fine.

 

[Owen06]

It wasn't fair comparison last year. One played for Mourinho and the other for Pep. It's fair and level comparison now because each has manager that trusts him .

Even some city fans said gundogan was better than him last season,
Shows how low his stock fell.

 

[Gandalf Greyhame]

Pogba right now reminds me of Ronaldo before he had that 31 goal season for us. Right on the edge of greatness in terms of sheer talent, but having off games here and there. Ronaldo's mentality helped him push on and become one of the two best players of his generation for the next decade. I would love to see Pogba go down that road, too. just not to Madrid lol

 

[Toad]

The above just looks like a random collection to me. For a start it omits Eriksen - 7 goals (doesn't take penalties) and 11 assists so far this season in all club competitions: 0.75 per 90 mins

Eriksen - 990 minutes at CM - 2 goals and 4 assists. 0.55 per 90 minutes.
I am going by when they have been playing CM as that is where pogba plays most his games as in the original question.

 

[Toad]

Interesting. I was under the impression Sarabia was a winger/no.10?

This is just based on the games they have all played at CM. Played roughly 60% of games as a CM.

 

[GlastonSpur]

Eriksen - 990 minutes at CM - 2 goals and 4 assists. 0.55 per 90 minutes.
I am going by when they have been playing CM as that is where pogba plays most his games as in the original question.

What's that got to do with it? Eriksen is a midfielder (see thread title) not a striker or forward.

 

[Toad]

What's that got to do with it? Eriksen is a midfielder (see thread title) not a striker or forward.

14 goals and 10 assists in 32 games. Is there a central midfielder who comes close to those stats?

I was actually referring to this post not the thread title. Central midfield, not attacking midfield, not defensive midfield, central midfield. Central. Central.

 

[shahzy]

People just say De Bryune because its like comfortable. They have seen him produce it over a longer period and thus are more inclined to pick him. Personally for me i think Pogba's form as of now is better than De Bryune but overall wise i'd put them on par. Will be interesting seeing him do it over full seasons what kind of stats he could get. My prediction is he would be a 15-20 goals a season midfielder which is better than De Bryune has ever achieved in the PL. He's scored around 15-16 in the Bundesliga before i know, but that's a different league so different playstyle etc

 

[breakout67]

Form and talent absolutely. But, Pogba needs to be playing it at this level season on season. I would say he has finally surpassed his 15/16 season, he sacrificed quite a lot moving from Juventus to United when it came to quality of team mates which meant he had to take on more responsibilities. I believe Pogba has a level to go up, if we get better players around him he'll be better.

People just say De Bryune because its like comfortable. They have seen him produce it over a longer period and thus are more inclined to pick him. Personally for me i think Pogba's form as of now is better than De Bryune but overall wise i'd put them on par. Will be interesting seeing him do it over full seasons what kind of stats he could get. My prediction is he would be a 15-20 goals a season midfielder which is better than De Bryune has ever achieved in the PL. He's scored around 15-16 in the Bundesliga before i know, but that's a different league so different playstyle etc

De Bruyne was a forward that supported Das Bost at Wolfsburg, couldn't really call him a midfielder. De Bruyne doesn't score much from midfield, but his delivery on his crosses are ridiculous.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

1) Modric
2) Pogba
3) De Bruyne (Nearly back to his best.)

Honorable Mention
Veratti (easily top 3 material, if he played in a top competition)

Modric is not even top 30 midfielders this season.

He's fallen off a cliff.

 

[arthurka]

He makes me moist

It might just be a fungal infection? You should have someone take a look..

 

[charlenefan]

I think Pogba needs to do what he's doing now for an entire season before any calls for him to be the best in the world are made

What he is right now though is one of the most in form players in the world

 

[Jib]

I think Pogba needs to do what he's doing now for an entire season before any calls for him to be the best in the world are made

What he is right now though is one of the most in form players in the world

the most in form*

 

[Sanjuro]

Modric is not even top 30 midfielders this season.

Since FIFA Club World Cup in December Modric plays great. His return to form has been apostrophized by Spanish media as one of the main reasons why Real played well in recent weeks.

 

[SAFMUTD]

He's got a long way before being named the best midfielder, to be called the best in the world you have to be almost unanimously recognized as such and if you ask the regular football fan they won't mention Pogba at the moment, he has already perform at the world cup but he needs to do the same at club level specially in the UCL.

He has been really REALLY great since Ole came and if he keeps performing like this and we as a team start getting some titles or at least challenging for them, then we can start talking about him being the best. But he's got to keep it up, he has proveed to have a massive ceiling and to be extremely talented so it's up to him to continue with his current form.

I don't think any other midfielder in the world can do what Pogba can at his very best, but we can't judge on only 1 season and certainly can't judge on 13 games. We need consistensy for a couple of years at least, but for now lets enjoy the moment. It has been a long long time since we had a truly world class player, besides De Gea, playing at his very best for us so only good things can happen.

 

[Will Singh]

Pogba right now is the best in the world and he's work rate is unbelievable he just goes on and on. Kevin who?

 

[Gazza]

De Bruyne last season got 8 goals 16 assists in the league, without penalty taking duty obviously. Pogba will probably end up beating that. Dele Alli in 17/18 ended up on 9 goals 10 assists, but that's down to whether or not you consider him an actual CM.

Pogba's goal/assist record for a central midfielder is obviously superb, but it's arguable he does play more advanced than your average CM and a lot of his play is in and around the box. In terms of past central midfielders who were similarly productive Frank Lampard is one that springs to mind, Gerrard as late as the 13/14 season ended up on 13 goals 13 assists in the league.

I do think Pogba is probably (on current form) the best attack minded central midfielder in the world.

You might be surprised. Check his heatmap against Fulham, a recent match in which he scored 2 goals (and neither of them penalties):

 

[P-Nut]

He's more than capable of producing 20 goals and 20 assists in a season. Which when you think what most strikers manage is fecking unreal.

If we can get another goal scorer to add to the front 3 and a playmaker to replace Matic we should fly up the goal scoring charts next season.

 

[jem]

You might be surprised. Check his heatmap against Fulham, a recent match in which he scored 2 goals (and neither of them penalties):

The second goal was a penalty.

 

[RedRonaldo]

Definitely among the best 2 midfielder in the world, his only real competition is De Bruyne.

 

[Infordin]

People are sleeping on Eriksen. Perhaps he needs to go to Barca/Real and win trophies to get the recognition he deserves.