Poll: Does it make sense to tie Pogba down to a new long term contract?

[Bastian]

To be fair that was his best spell. The one I'm referring to started immediately after the lifting of lockdown and return of football and resulted in us securing CL football.

Pogba came off the bench and won a penalty in the 1-1 away to spurs - the results following this with that midfield 3:

Sheff U - W 3-0
BHA - W 3-0
Bournemouth - W 5-2
A Villa - W 3-0
Soton - D 2-2
WHU - D 1-1
Leicester - W 2-0
BHA - W 3-2

The fact Pogba was in the centre of the park for both runs of form should tell us something, but not if people refuse to see it.

Yeah, that was a great run. But what does it tell us? Why has it been impossible to replicate?

It's not so much you, your post is nuanced. But as a whole our fans are ridiculous, and there's plenty of evidence on this forum alone that I don't need to expand further.

Pogba staying in our team is a net benefit, if he leaves we are left with Matic, McFred, Donny (unless he goes in January) and some academy kids - to me, that reads as us needing at least 2 new midfielders. Anyone who thinks Man United are going to sign two midfielders to plug that gap and instantly step into the first team and mount a title challenge, clearly hasn't been following us for the last 20 odd years.
I also think he's been underrated on here simply because he doesn't score or assist every game but that's another conversation.

I'm not so sure. If he were to sign a pre-contract with another club in January we'd be free (and forced) to look at the midfield situation long term. We might even see Ole give Mejbri a chance (who needs to be playing first team football as soon as possible). With Mejbri, you've got creativity and ball carrying whilst he's young enough to be moulded into a team's vision. I could definitely see Matic leave at the end of the season, Donny sold, and one (if not two) midfielder(s) bought. But I'm keen to see Mejbri promoted proper.

 

[#07]

The answer to this question really depends on whether Pogba can follow the same path as Paul Scholes, to become a deep lying playmaker. The young Scholes was more attacking than Paul. He came into the side as a centre forward, dropped a bit deeper, then played off of Ruud then damaged his eye and returned to the side as a kinda quarterback. Honestly, if you had told me in May 2003 that Paul Scholes' best days at United would come deep in midfield I would have laughed. I guess many people feel the same about Pogba.

Pogba has all the gifts to solve our centre midfield problems. His long passing is exceptional, he has great feet, he is strong, he does compete in midfield battles (despite what Souness may tell you, check the stats). However, he hasn't nailed the art of picking his moments. That makes him look loose positionally, it makes him prone to being sucked towards the ball and leaving space for the opposition counter. If Pogba can emulate Scholes in learning the art of the deep midfielder then there's no reason why we should let him go. However, it depends on whether he wants to. He seems to like attacking more than our system/personnel makes sensible. So its pointless to try and get him to stay unless we know he's up for adapting his game.

 

[Berbasbullet]

The answer to this question really depends on whether Pogba can follow the same path as Paul Scholes, to become a deep lying playmaker. The young Scholes was more attacking than Paul. He came into the side as a centre forward, dropped a bit deeper, then played off of Ruud then damaged his eye and returned to the side as a kinda quarterback. Honestly, if you had told me in May 2003 that Paul Scholes' best days at United would come deep in midfield I would have laughed. I guess many people feel the same about Pogba.

Pogba has all the gifts to solve our centre midfield problems. His long passing is exceptional, he has great feet, he is strong, he does compete in midfield battles (despite what Souness may tell you, check the stats). However, he hasn't nailed the art of picking his moments. That makes him look loose positionally, it makes him prone to being sucked towards the ball and leaving space for the opposition counter. If Pogba can emulate Scholes in learning the art of the deep midfielder then there's no reason why we should let him go. However, it depends on whether he wants to. He seems to like attacking more than our system/personnel makes sensible. So its pointless to try and get him to stay unless we know he's up for adapting his game.

Agree with all of this, I’d absolutely lovely to see him become our metronome

 

[MUFC OK]

Yeah, that was a great run. But what does it tell us? Why has it been impossible to replicate?

For me, two things: first, the fact that having two creative outlets centrally is more valuable than one, in Bruno. Second, I'm not discounting the influence of Matic, I think it shows us that with a specialist DM, we can play both Pogba and Bruno together and be a more creative team.

 

[bond19821982]

Man, we could be the only fans in the world to have the audacity to say things like this. We have won feck all, we have been pretty irrelevant since SAF retired and yet, we don't want a player who is one of the best players in his position.

The same analogy for Conte as well. Seriously can't get around that thought. We are as deluded and clueless as RAWK, on things like this.

 

[Teja]

(a) He's amazing and I fully expect a Lukaku situation in a year or two where he joins one of our rivals and kills it.
(b) We don't need him right now because I expect Sancho to take his role in the squad.

I'd rather let Pogba go and spend the 400k or whatever wages he signs for on two proper CMs.

 

[davidmichael]

If we are going to keep Pogba them in the summer Ole NEEDS to play a 4-3-3 and put a pure out and out defensive midfielder between Pogba and Fernandes and allow time for it to work instead of insisting on 4-2-3-1 with Pogba on the left or in a double pivot.

Yes it means Fernandes not playing as a shadow striker but at the same time it means Greenwood, Rashford, Sancho and Martial are freed up of too much defensive work and allowed to fully support Ronaldo or Cavani up top.

It drives me mad that City can play with a midfield of De Bruyne and Foden or De Bruyne and Bernardo or last season De Bruyne and David Silva and just one defensive midfielder between them but it comes down to Pep actually coaching players and setting up tactically, I’d rather we play Fernandes and Pogba with legs just say for example Rice between them and lose going all out then losing whilst playing awful and scared.

In an ideal world if Ole isn’t going to move away from 4-2-3-1 because he’s tactically inept I’d let Pogba go and sign both Rice AND Bellingham as the double pivot with any of Greenwood, Sancho, Rashford and Martial out wide and Fernandes in the hole with Ronaldo up top but if we are going to keep Pogba and on massive wages then Ole needs to set up tactically different and be prepared to play a much more expansive and attacking game.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

The answer to this question really depends on whether Pogba can follow the same path as Paul Scholes, to become a deep lying playmaker. The young Scholes was more attacking than Paul. He came into the side as a centre forward, dropped a bit deeper, then played off of Ruud then damaged his eye and returned to the side as a kinda quarterback. Honestly, if you had told me in May 2003 that Paul Scholes' best days at United would come deep in midfield I would have laughed. I guess many people feel the same about Pogba.

Pogba has all the gifts to solve our centre midfield problems. His long passing is exceptional, he has great feet, he is strong, he does compete in midfield battles (despite what Souness may tell you, check the stats). However, he hasn't nailed the art of picking his moments. That makes him look loose positionally, it makes him prone to being sucked towards the ball and leaving space for the opposition counter. If Pogba can emulate Scholes in learning the art of the deep midfielder then there's no reason why we should let him go. However, it depends on whether he wants to. He seems to like attacking more than our system/personnel makes sensible. So its pointless to try and get him to stay unless we know he's up for adapting his game.

Completely agree with this.

But in addition to the off-the-ball stuff, Scholes's biggest strength as a deep midfielder was his decision-making - he was exceptional at showing for the ball and moving it quickly to create space, with little layoffs and one-twos. Then he'd play the long cross-field pass when it was on and get us on the front foot.

Pogba has the same passing range (probably even better, actually) but he often dawdles on the ball too long and doesn't keep it ticking over. That's what he needs to improve to be a properly great CM, again, just a case of being more disciplined and making use of the gifts we all know he has.

 

[MUFC OK]

It's a very tricky conundrum. I know people like to give definitive, black and white verdicts but there is so much to consider.

With respect, I don't think it is. A Utd team without Pogba is a weaker one. The vast, vast majority of games he hasn't started for us, he's come on off the bench with us needing an equaliser/winner.

I honestly think that having someone like Ronaldo around could help him, in terms of discipline, talking to him/giving instructions on the pitch - which I think he would benefit from. He's basically been the big cheese at utd who hasnt quite lived up to expectations/only done it in spells. I still think he's a once in a generation midfielder, with his skillset and when consider our alternative midfield options, a no brainer that we should want him to stay.

 

[MUFC OK]

If we are going to keep Pogba them in the summer Ole NEEDS to play a 4-3-3 and put a pure out and out defensive midfielder between Pogba and Fernandes and allow time for it to work instead of insisting on 4-2-3-1 with Pogba on the left or in a double pivot.

Finally, some sense.

 

[saivet]

If he wants to stay and we're not paying him any more than the offer already on the table then it makes sense. I don't think he is really all that big a problem for our midfield either. If he stays we'll need a DM and if he goes we'll still need a DM as well as a CM to replace him. The DM is one issue, but I think replacing him is a tricky one and I wouldn't trust the club to get that signing right, so I'd rather Pogba stayed.

 

[villain]

I'm not so sure. If he were to sign a pre-contract with another club in January we'd be free (and forced) to look at the midfield situation long term. We might even see Ole give Mejbri a chance (who needs to be playing first team football as soon as possible). With Mejbri, you've got creativity and ball carrying whilst he's young enough to be moulded into a team's vision. I could definitely see Matic leave at the end of the season, Donny sold, and one (if not two) midfielder(s) bought. But I'm keen to see Mejbri promoted proper.

Mejbri comes in, fine, but we also have players like Ronaldo, Bruno, Varane, De Gea, Sancho etc who are eager to win trophies and compete at the highest levels - are we then going to take a risk on a recently promoted academy player to be a CM at a club like United? And dictate play against midfields of City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Bayern etc? Who will he play next to?
Or is the more likely scenario that we have to bed him in at a detriment to our success and part of our ongoing rebuild and when we're finally 'ready', by then Ronaldo will be 38, Bruno 28/29 would he want to leave? Varane 30/31, Rashford & Sancho will be entering their peak years and are looking elsewhere for trophies etc and teams around us have gotten better, and at that stage we are 10+ years without a PL trophy, and possibly 6+ years without any major trophy.

Would you gamble our success on Mejbri coming into the squad and taking on such an integral role with that amount of pressure on his shoulders?
The Class of 92 spoiled us, the reality is very few academy kids can come into a club of our size and be a game changer.

 

[M Bison]

I bet in three years time we will still be arguing over him.

No we wont...

 

[Hammondo]

Creativity isn't useful? How come Ole's best spell as manager coincided with deploying Pogba and Bruno in midfield together with a true defensive midfielder (matic)?

We need two creators in the middle imo, much easier to mark Bruno out of the game and let McFred have the ball as to be honest I've had more overseas holidays in the past 18 months then they've had assists.

Because that creativity is massively overstated. Most matches he's not creative.

His weaknesses are a lot more significant than his creativity.

We have been terrible in midfield more often than good with him there.

 

[largelyworried]

Finally, some sense.

It'll take more than a DM to make that trio work. There is no way you can play those two in midfield and two attacking wide players and Ronaldo up front. That's just fantasy. The opposition could drive a bus through your midfield. City made De Bruyne-Fernandinho-Silva work by regularly playing a false 9, and/or by having fullbacks who double up as extra midfielders and/or having players like B Silva and Mahrez out wide, who also like to drift into the middle and make the extra man. They always make sure that they have an available pass in the middle of the park, and cover to stop the counter attack. So yes, we could make Pogba & Bruno work with the right coaching, but only by changing quite a few other players in the team too. So then its a question of whether Pogba is worth sacrificing Ronaldo, Rashford, Greenwood, Sancho etc for, to get the right balance.

 

[Jacob]

No, he's not a good fit for us.

 

[Smores]

Man, we could be the only fans in the world to have the audacity to say things like this. We have won feck all, we have been pretty irrelevant since SAF retired and yet, we don't want a player who is one of the best players in his position.

The same analogy for Conte as well. Seriously can't get around that thought. We are as deluded and clueless as RAWK, on things like this.

In what position is he one of the best exactly? Certainly not central midfield or on the left.

He simply isn't worth building a team around at the expense of Bruno. If people don't understand that by now they've not been watching very closely.

Get rid and sign a proper midfielder that doesn't need everyone else to cover for their weaknesses.

 

[#07]

Completely agree with this.

But in addition to the off-the-ball stuff, Scholes's biggest strength as a deep midfielder was his decision-making - he was exceptional at showing for the ball and moving it quickly to create space, with little layoffs and one-twos. Then he'd play the long cross-field pass when it was on and get us on the front foot.

Pogba has the same passing range (probably even better, actually) but he often dawdles on the ball too long and doesn't keep it ticking over. That's what he needs to improve to be a properly great CM, again, just a case of being more disciplined and making use of the gifts we all know he has.

This is true.

Scholes' speed of thought, in any position, was always exceptional. Hate to sound like a cliche but the whole picture in his head before he got the ball thing was so true with Scholes.

Scholes was like football chess. I will put the ball here, to move you there, so I can go here and get the ball back and release one of my forward players.

With Pogba, I do wonder sometimes whether its just a case that he holds the ball because he doesn't trust what's around him. Pogba seems very happy to give the ball to Bruno, for example. Sometimes it actually gets annoying seeing the two of them just look for one another, rather than other options.

You can understand how, playing with Fred and McTominay, you might feel nervous about giving them the ball. Its not that they're awful players. Its just you can't bank on them retaining the ball and recycling it. Sometimes they will, sometimes they'll get it all wrong. Its never a guaranteed 6 out of 10, its either 7 or 5. That'd make anyone playing next to them nervous about the quick lay off.

Guess that adds to the need for us to get a Carrick type player, if we keep Pogba. If we want Paul not to hog the ball we have to pair him with someone he trusts to give it to. If we just stick him next to a tough tackler who can't pass he will probably continue to ball hog.

 

[MUFC OK]

It'll take more than a DM to make that trio work. There is no way you can play those two in midfield and two attacking wide players and Ronaldo up front. That's just fantasy. The opposition could drive a bus through your midfield. City made De Bruyne-Fernandinho-Silva work by regularly playing a false 9, and/or by having fullbacks who double up as extra midfielders and/or having players like B Silva and Mahrez out wide, who also like to drift into the middle and make the extra man. They always make sure that they have an available pass in the middle of the park, and cover to stop the counter attack. So yes, we could make Pogba & Bruno work with the right coaching, but only by changing quite a few other players in the team too. So then its a question of whether Pogba is worth sacrificing Ronaldo, Rashford, Greenwood, Sancho etc for, to get the right balance.

Why cant our fullbacks push up? I don't see why we'd have to sacrifice those players - if we played as a team - more compact and as a unit, it would certainly help. The reason our midfield looks exposed is because we play essentially 6 defenders and 4 attackers and we are terrible in transition.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

So yes, we could make Pogba & Bruno work with the right coaching, but only by changing quite a few other players in the team too

Not necessarily by changing the players themselves.

Walker, for example, was a traditional up-and-down-the-line full back for Spurs, and he was excellent at it (their best season under Pochettino came with him and Rose providing the width). He adapted after joining City to fit into their defensive structure, tucking in when they have the ball as you said.

And they didn't play a false 9 with that Fernandinho-Silva-De Bruyne three in the middle, Aguero was the striker pretty much permanently in those two 2017-19 seasons where they amassed 199 points. That was with Sterling and Sane either side of him, neither of whom were particularly renowned for their work rate. Neither was Mahrez, who spent most of his time at Leicester as their main outlet on the break.

I've said this before but I don't see any reason you couldn't get players like Sancho, Greenwood and Rashford to adapt to the kind of system City/Liverpool play that demands intensive off-the-ball work. And the way City in particular use their full-backs is probably more suited for our starting pair than what we have them currently doing - Wan-Bissaka should be tucking in and using his incredible 1v1 ability to protect us on the break, not pushing all the way up to the byline.

 

[TMDaines]

I posted this in the performance thread, but it's a worthy discussion in its own right.

Is it to the benefit of the team as a whole to extend his contract? He's a tactically demanding player and the wages he's on and his profile mean he's a pretty guaranteed starter. We've got a better and more natural alternative on the left in Rashford, if we're playing in a 4231 shape, and we've already seen that there is no silver bullet midfielder (at least not currently at the club) who can make up for what he lacks in a midfield 2. There was a rumour this summer that Ole would go to 433 which made people think Bruno and Pogba would both play as #8s, but again, we don't have that superhuman midfielder to hold that together and we've yet to see how that would affect Bruno's output.

Given this will be his last major contract, it's likely he'll push for at least 4 years. I can't help think that we are doing a similar mistake to the Rooney deal, for different reasons (Rooney was declining fast), with limiting our tactical options and how we can develop this team.

Caveat: He's a class player. Just a difficult fit.

I know I am in the minority on this, but if you told me United would only have Pogba or Bruno next season, I’d rather have Pogba.

Pogba’s less “tactically demanding” than Bruno, who seemingly at this stage can not be reigned in to do anything other than play with complete freedom as a second striker. Pogba’s the one who shows really flexability with what roles he can offer. Bruno has not.

 

[city-puma]

pogba has matured mentally. But I feel he has also become Veron mark II. Maybe he will sign for Newcastle United if Saudi takes over it eventually.

 

[Abraxas]

With respect, I don't think it is. A Utd team without Pogba is a weaker one. The vast, vast majority of games he hasn't started for us, he's come on off the bench with us needing an equaliser/winner.

I honestly think that having someone like Ronaldo around could help him, in terms of discipline, talking to him/giving instructions on the pitch - which I think he would benefit from. He's basically been the big cheese at utd who hasnt quite lived up to expectations/only done it in spells. I still think he's a once in a generation midfielder, with his skillset and when consider our alternative midfield options, a no brainer that we should want him to stay.

I'm not sure it is significantly weaker unless we can find a way to use him consistently. Playing off the left or in a 2 only against poor sides (which still isn't great) isn't going to be a long term solution. It's not a solution that justifies the colossal wages for the next however many years. He's had a nice productive start to the season but that is short term, we have to be able to see that consistently to say it's truly a good use of finances.

That is the conundrum of Pogba and why he's so heavily debated. We really haven't found it yet. You can have these vague notions about Ronaldo helping etc, maybe it will, but from what is actually known it at the least requires some thought.

Also, we have no idea what he's thinking. I think that's another point that makes it less simple than "he's one of our better players." This is obvious in talent terms but if he's still scouting around for his next transfer and isn't especially commited to the club, or only taking it because we offer the most then we may see things unravel over the coming years. It's quite a common thing when players get their last big contract.

 

[Neil_Buchanan]

It’s funny how much current form effects people’s answers. Ask the same question after the first day of the season when he bagged four assists and you’d all be desperate for him to sign up.

 

[Sayros]

If he's going to stay, Pogba needs to be a big boy and accept the responsibility that comes with playing in central midfield.

None of this faffing around on the left wing so he doesn't need to switch on until he has the ball - he's not a winger, and we have better ones. He's never been a number ten at any point in his career, and we have one of the best ones around.

The last couple of times he was rumored to be leaving (2019, 2020) I was in favor of the club doing whatever it took to keep him, simply because he was one of our best players on the pitch. Think there's a genuine argument now that the team has moved beyond him, unless he adapts his game to the team's needs.

I don't think a new contract will change that and it would be dangerous to assume otherwise. You either pay Pogba to keep what you have and maybe hope for better as the team improves or you let him go. He's a player who can be formidable on his day, but it hasn't been too many of those, which to be fair can be said about almost every player on the squad.

 

[He'sRaldo]

That is the conundrum of Pogba and why he's so heavily debated. We really haven't found it yet.

We definitely have, we just never stuck with it. Left midfielder in a 4-3-3 is what everyone and their granny will tell you, but how often have we played that?

It's like discovering Rashford's ideal position is on the left, but then for some reason rotating him up top or on the right. And then fiercely debating whether or not he's good enough.

 

[RedDevil@84]

In my opinion no. That silly salary will not be worth it. After seeing enough of Pogba, I think he is a luxury player. He will keep blowing hot and cold and I don't think our team can afford that from a 290k player, leave alone a 400k player.

One can argue that replacing him with same quality will cost more and that is true, but I don't think we will need an 80M replacement. We are unable to get the best out of the team trying to fit Bruno and Pogba.

I see some people posting "Can't believe we want to drive out a WC winner", but it is not what the thread is all about. His contract is up and just months left. The decision we take today should be good enough for next 4 years at least. In terms of that, I don't think it is worth it.

Having said all that, I am pretty sure he is going to get 400k or more and get a new contract and then the fans are set to moan and repent one year from now.

 

[Lebowski]

From a commercial perspective it absolutely makes sense to tie him down so I'm sure the club are desperate to do so. From a football perspective I am still unsure about Pogba and that is probably a bad thing at this stage.

Basically this.

Commercially it's a no-brainer, lock down one of the most commercially exploitable players in the world and retain his value instead of losing him for a free.

Football-wise he creates as many problems as he solves. He seems to play best in a midfield 3 which I can't see working even if we sign a dedicated number 6 because Bruno thinks he's a striker and has the numbers to back it up.

There's probably some creative diamond formation or 352 that let's us play Bruno and Pogba, but you have to sacrifice somewhere else to make it work, whether that be out wide or at fullback.

It seems from the outside that we were planning on Pogba leaving and Bruno and Donny were probably brought in with a fresh midfield without Pogba in mind. It's a bit similar to Ronaldo- you get the impression we signed Sancho to fix our problems on the flanks, then Ronaldo becomes available, the club assumes we have to sign him, and we're left working out how to fit two incredibly talented players into an increasingly imbalanced squad.

 

[Gary_Walsh_Nou_Camp_Hell]

One of United's main problems is shoe horning Pogba into the team. He can be great, but not often enough to feck up the balance of the team.

It's not worked out and the thought of watching another 4 years of Pogba doesn't excite me. I think the club should take the hit and let his contract expire.

 

[Abraxas]

We definitely have, we just never stuck with it. Left-sided midfielder in a 4-3-3 is what everyone and their granny will tell you, but how often have we played that?

It's like discovering Rashford is better off the left than up top, and then for some reason rotating him up top or on the right, rarely in his ideal position, and then fiercely debating whether or not he's good enough.

How can it be a solution if we've hardly ever seen it? The jury is still out at the very least, you're hoping rather than knowing that it wilI work.

I go off what we've actually seen which is that he's seemingly incapable of playing with the concentration required within the current setup. Before the Juventus or France argument comes up I'm not convinced he doesn't cause similar problems for France at times, and both these sides had experienced, quality and defensively minded players around him. We are some way off that. Maybe we can build towards that but it also should be considered that Paul Pogba isn't the only way to build a midfield. That's what the management have to consider with our finances and future planning, how do we build something cohesive, can Pogba be part of it and does he truly want to be part of it?

Nothing like Rashford in my opinion. Rashford has a role that he is clearly best in within our side which is largely shown. Pogba does not have this within our setup.

 

[King Azaz the Unabridged]

We definitely have, we just never stuck with it. Left midfielder in a 4-3-3 is what everyone and their granny will tell you, but how often have we played that?

It's like discovering Rashford's ideal position is on the left, but then for some reason rotating him up top or on the right. And then fiercely debating whether or not he's good enough.

This was true and glaringly obvious before we signed Fernandes - when Mourinho was insisting on 4-2-3-1 and sticking Pogba in the center to play Rooney/Mata/Mkhitaryan (2016/17) and then Lingard (2017/18) at number ten, or when Ole briefly did the same thing while Pogba was fit in 2019/20 with Lingard/Pereira behind the striker, pretty sure we weren't the only ones wondering what the hell was going on.

But Fernandes kinda changes that argument, because he's clearly been our best player since he signed (arguable now with Ronaldo there), and his best position is behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1. So it's not as simple now to say we should just stick with the formation that lets us play Pogba's best position.

 

[He'sRaldo]

How can it be a solution if we've hardly ever seen it?

Because it's worked most of the time we've seen it. Not every single time of course, but the percentages are in favour of that role.

Nothing like Rashford in my opinion. Rashford has a role that he is clearly best in within our side which is largely shown. Pogba does not have this within our setup.

This is a good example because Rashford, while clearly the same player, generally played better from the left than when he was tried up top. The difference was simply that he has played more often in his preferred position and role.

 

[elmo]

Man, we could be the only fans in the world to have the audacity to say things like this. We have won feck all, we have been pretty irrelevant since SAF retired and yet, we don't want a player who is one of the best players in his position.

The same analogy for Conte as well. Seriously can't get around that thought. We are as deluded and clueless as RAWK, on things like this.

That's nice, so what's his position?

Fact is Pogba has been more underwhelming than actually world class during his time with us and you can blame the tactics, managers and his teammates but at the end of the day he plays very sloppily and if he's not scoring/assisting, he's a complete liability.

 

[MadMike]

From a football perspective, he's not worth it based on our current state. He creates a tactical nightmare that the two managers he has played under since his return have not managed to solve.

We play 4-2-3-1 under Ole and when we tried 4-3-3 it was horrendous. He cannot play in the base of the midfield in a 4-2-3-1 he lacks the discipline. At the same time we have a better #10 in Bruno and better LWs in Rashford and Sancho. We no longer have the same dependency on him as we used to and it seems we cannot play a system that will get the best out of both him and the team as a whole. If he renews he'll probably be our highest earner and you cannot leave that player on the bench, you have to shoehorn him into the starting XI even if you cannot figure out how to do it without unbalancing the team.

But from a commercial perspective I'm sure he's valuable to keep and we'll try desperately to renew him. And if we do, we'll be having the same discussions we've had the last 5 years for the next 5 too.

 

[He'sRaldo]

This was true and glaringly obvious before we signed Fernandes - when Mourinho was insisting on 4-2-3-1 and sticking Pogba in the center to play Rooney/Mata/Mkhitaryan (2016/17) and then Lingard (2017/18) at number ten, or when Ole briefly did the same thing while Pogba was fit in 2019/20 with Lingard/Pereira behind the striker, pretty sure we weren't the only ones wondering what the hell was going on.

But Fernandes kinda changes that argument, because he's clearly been our best player since he signed (arguable now with Ronaldo there), and his best position is behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1. So it's not as simple now to say we should just stick with the formation that lets us play Pogba's best position.

Yeah, and that's a different argument. Like you said, the addition of Fernandes who seemingly can only play #10 with freedom makes it a separate debate.

But I don't buy the argument that Pogba doesn't have a position, or is difficult to incorporate. In fact, I think he's quite a flexible player who has competently played multiple positions for us, and as a result hasn't played in his ideal role as often as he'd like.

 

[soapythecat]

Keep him. He’s massively inconsistent but so is the whole team. When we replace Ole at the end of the season a good manager will be able to find the best for Pogba.

 

[HerbT]

Why cant our fullbacks push up? I don't see why we'd have to sacrifice those players - if we played as a team - more compact and as a unit, it would certainly help. The reason our midfield looks exposed is because we play essentially 6 defenders and 4 attackers and we are terrible in transition.

You honestly watch United but you don’t know?

Pushing fullbacks up doesn’t make your team more compact it stretches you by leaving a big gap between your keeper and your last line of defence. Your keeper would need to control that gap by moving right out and leaving the box if required to clean up.

What’s obvious to anyone who watches you play is that your fullbacks can’t ‘push-up’ more than they already do because you don’t have a keeper who can play behind a high line.
Push up, like say City do, with DeGea in between the sticks and everyone will have fun pinging balls over the top for runners going through at pace. You‘d get taken to the cleaners if you did it and, as much as many on here have deep rooted disrespect for Ole’s managerial nous, he’s not daft at all and that’s why he doesn’t do it.
You’ve got some truly fantastic players but they don’t have the energy, application and attitude (and in the case of DeGea, bravery and ball skills) to press like demons and play a high line and that’s why Ole sets you up in a more traditional style - and he‘s had good success like that.

 

[elmo]

I know I am in the minority on this, but if you told me United would only have Pogba or Bruno next season, I’d rather have Pogba.

Pogba’s less “tactically demanding” than Bruno, who seemingly at this stage can not be reigned in to do anything other than play with complete freedom as a second striker. Pogba’s the one who shows really flexability with what roles he can offer. Bruno has not.

Flexibility is useless when it comes without productivity.

 

[Giggsy13]

As others have stated, a 4-3-3 is a must:

CDM

Bruno Pogba

Sancho Ronnie Rashford

We all know the missing piece to this puzzle. Bissouma operating in that line up could arguably make us favourites for the title, depending on the manager as well.

 

[peridigm]

Only if we get a world class midfielder to partner him and Bruno. If Ole is going to continue using him on the left and sporadically in MF with Fred, McTominay, or Matic, feck no!