Subbing Pogba instead of Matic

[noodlehair]

I'm firmly in the pro Ole camp but this was some genuinely dumb shite.

Pogba was in midfield on his own all night getting pressed by three players and his midfield partner Matic spent literally the entire game pretending to be a centreback for some reason...I can only presume he was told to as he never got taken off but we conceded two really soft goals so I'm not even sure what this achieved.

When Fred appeared on the touchline I thought Ole had finally figured out what was going on but then he takes Pogba off and just replaces him with someone else. He'd have been better off doing nothing. Even when he brought Mctominay on he still didn't address the problem.

We have five players who can play in midfield to a decent level. There's no reason to spend an entire game struggling and under pressure because we choose to only have one of them in midfield. Absolutely bizarre stuff.

 

[Skills]

Thought Matic was coming off too. He was fecking shite.

 

[RedStarUnited]

I can only assume Pogba was more tired maybe?

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Thought Pogba looked leggy all game and we needed more defensive solidity.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Personally thought Fernandes should have been the one to come off.

 

[Judas]

Our whole midfield looked knackered honestly.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

Pretty sure Matic slotting in between the center backs wasn't his doing, but per instructions from Ole and the coaching staff to try to lessen Southampton's press.

It didn't work.

That said, I don't think Pogba AND Bruno should have been subbed. One of them always need to play. Which you could argue is a problem that may need to be rectified.

 

[Deery]

Pogba looked wrecked

 

[Fooza]

At half time I said we needed to sub in a midfielder for Mason as we needed to be more heavy in the midfield (and I'd have been happy if it was around the 60min mark).

I'm more surprised he took a midfielder off for another midfielder. It was clear Southampton was just dominating.

 

[He'sRaldo]

It was the setup that needed addressing moreso than any sub.

Obviously Pogba was on his own like you said, so there should have been some adjustments to beat Southampton's traps. Either Fernandes deeper, or bring on another midfielder beside Pogba.

 

[AaronRedDevil]

That's why I was wondering why the hell have we fielded the same starting 11 every bloody week. There needs to be some rotation or the players will get burnt out.

 

[GenZRed]

Pogba did not have a good game, apart from that decent shot he had. He has been good since the restart so I'm not being overly critical of him, but it wasn't a bad call to sub him off.

 

[Cutch]

Wouldn't have argued with any of the 3 of them coming off at that point to be honest

 

[GenZRed]

That's why I was wondering why the hell have we fielded the same starting 11 every bloody week. There needs to be some rotation or the players will get burnt out.

You are right in saying that rotation is needed. The only catch is we have no strength in depth. I think Ole wanted us to win today and then rest players for our next game.

 

[bond19821982]

Should have taken Mason off and brought in Fred.

 

[Paul_Scholes18]

I thought Bruno should have been off and Pogba moved further forward.

 

[Cassidy]

Pogba did not have a good game, apart from that decent shot he had. He has been good since the restart so I'm not being overly critical of him, but it wasn't a bad call to sub him off.

It was a bad call for the simple fact that he was the only one finding an out ball for the attackers. Bruno should have been subbed instead

 

[Prodigal7]

OP are you fecking kidding me. Pogba was the worst player on the pitch today along with AWB

 

[2 man midfield]

All the players had an off night, I don't really blame Ole for this tbh. I thought Maybe Ighalo could have come on instead of James, but other than that the players just had a horror show all round. Just forget it and move onto the next one.

 

[Icemav]

I'm firmly in the pro Ole camp but this was some genuinely dumb shite.

Pogba was in midfield on his own all night getting pressed by three players and his midfield partner Matic spent literally the entire game pretending to be a centreback for some reason...I can only presume he was told to as he never got taken off but we conceded two really soft goals so I'm not even sure what this achieved.

When Fred appeared on the touchline I thought Ole had finally figured out what was going on but then he takes Pogba off and just replaces him with someone else. He'd have been better off doing nothing. Even when he brought Mctominay on he still didn't address the problem.

We have five players who can play in midfield to a decent level. There's no reason to spend an entire game struggling and under pressure because we choose to only have one of them in midfield. Absolutely bizarre stuff.

Tiredness. Would have been nice to keep him on.

Igalho though... where was he? Perfect player for that type of problem at the end.

 

[shahzy]

Pogba was tired you could tell. Back to back to back games for a guy coming back from injury is very difficult. He wanted too much time on the ball which could just be him but could also be because he was tired from the off. But we really dont have much option but to play bruno and pogba out till the end of the season. Desperately need a new midfielder that can deputise for these two

 

[SER19]

All three played terribly

 

[simmee]

We've been playing like that since the break (Matic moving down in a back three in the build up). Hardly shocking.

 

[The Original]

All three played terribly

And that's because of Southampton and their aggression. Same for Greenwood. They obviously have watched the tapes and figured out that Utd's dynamo is in the midfield and banked on stopping that while preventing Greenwood from shooting.

In previous games this would have rendered Martial and Rahsford ineffective but not today which was fortunate.

 

[He'sRaldo]

We've been playing like that since the break (Matic moving down in a back three in the build up). Hardly shocking.

True, but it wasn't the right setup for this game. A few adjustments were needed to avoid being overrun as we were, especially with a 2 man midfield that sometimes becomes even less.

 

[Bilbo]

Pogba had a bad night. Gifted them a goal, and aside from that two of their most dangerous moments came from his errors. The major chink in his armour has always been that complacency, or over confidence or whatever you want to call it, tends to creep into his game.

Pogba was showing for the ball very often, to his credit, but rarely in any kind of space. Given those errors that he had made, on this occasion, would you as a centre back feel confident about giving him the ball against a good pressing team? I wouldn't.

 

[Lash]

We've been playing like that since the break (Matic moving down in a back three in the build up). Hardly shocking.

Except for when it doesn't work, then it's ole's tactical naiviety. This is not at all a knee jerk thread.

 

[Gerald G]

I would have kept Matic on, but Bruno would have been the one to come off for me and I would have brought on Fred to play alongside Pogba. Hindsight is always a wonderful thing but that's what I thought should have happened at the time.

 

[ivaldo]

3rd game on the bounce Matic was poor.

 

[Infra-red]

There's no chance of Matic starting against Palace - I assume that was the reason he was left on. Ole is generally dreadful with his subs though - rarely succeeds in changing the game from the bench (somewhat ironic, given that it was one of his specialities as a player).

 

[macheda14]

Pogba was playing really poorly and we needed someone in front of the back 4. It wasn’t that bad a sub

 

[Cassidy]

OP are you fecking kidding me. Pogba was the worst player on the pitch today along with AWB

Fernandes was alot worse than Pogba today

 

[georgipep]

Tiredness. Would have been nice to keep him on.

Igalho though... where was he? Perfect player for that type of problem at the end.

We couldn't make another sub (3 slots only) and Martial was fantastic, I wouldn't sub him off.

 

[arthurka]

Fred on was something he hasn't got composure, period.

 

[Andycoleno9]

Dumb shit was putting in McT and James. That was something on which Caf went crazy when Jose was here. It was clear plan to park the bus which we did. 15 minutes (with added time) to play

 

[AFC NimbleThumb]

Pogba looked laboured all game & player the previous 90.

The issue really is that when one of Pogba/Bruno/Matic have to come off we’re relying on players that had a purple patch a few months ago but aren’t anywhere near the level of those they’re replacing.

With games coming thick & fast if we’re not out of sight by 60mins we’re f’d.

 

[Ace of Spades]

There's no chance of Matic starting against Palace - I assume that was the reason he was left on. Ole is generally dreadful with his subs though - rarely succeeds in changing the game from the bench (somewhat ironic, given that it was one of his specialities as a player).

Except for the first game of the restart where Pogba changed the game when he came on, and some other times that the subs have worked. No manager can get the subs 100% right, it works sometimes and sometimes it does not.

As for Pogba, he was as poor as the the rest of the midfield, and was caught by their pressing a few times.

 

[Ace of Spades]

Dumb shit was putting in McT and James. That was something on which Caf went crazy when Jose was here. It was clear plan to park the bus which we did. 15 minutes (with added time) to play

No, Greenwood and Fernandes both looked tired, made sense to change it up. In the end, unless the quality in the bench improves, then there is not much to hope for in terms of game changers.

 

[Red00012]

That's why I was wondering why the hell have we fielded the same starting 11 every bloody week. There needs to be some rotation or the players will get burnt out.

I know I’d find it somewhere

 

[Red00012]

Fernandes was alot worse than Pogba today

Pogba was worse I thought .
caught in possession, giving away needless frees, not offering enough between midfield and attackers