Well it is high time people start really thinking about what I was writing about him in his performance thread - Pogba is an expensive football dancing act
We will never win the league with Paul Pogba in the team
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How about playing a 3 man midfield which, you know, plays him in his best and most preferred position? The one which got him to CL final, Serie A titles etc? Seriously, yesterday was an anomaly in that our plan was derailed in 11 seconds.
For anyone saying we shouldn’t have to tweak for great players, go back to see how Fergie used to swap Rooney to the LW spot and move Ronaldo central for big games to ensure he covered Ronaldo’s weaknesses when defending. It’s bizarre how people just can’t view a player’s performance in the right context!
Wow, Matic who has been wank for ages now, walks away generally without much criticism once again whereas Pogba gets lambasted.
And to think there's still fans that say SAF(that's Sir Alex Ferguson)should've played Pogba in a midfield two against Blackburn all those years ago 
This place.
They were both shite last night to be honest.
QuiteWe'll never win this league without Paul Pogba in the team would be closer to the truth.
Definitely knee jerk. Pogba was hugely successful at Juve in a system where he played ahead of the other midfielders so no reason why he can’t do it here. He is definitely not a number 8. That much is definitely true.
Now, while I agree that he needs to be criticised, the way you did it will provoke comments like what you have received. Your post calls into question his attitude and maturity which is laughable. Why is it always a question of willingness and not skill/capability? Your post also goes the full distance and brings in the City comparison to prove that he doesn’t belong to a title winning team which is again laughable.
Yesterday the tactics played a huge part too and as you rightly said, he is 24.
Now, while I agree that he needs to be criticised, the way you did it will provoke comments like what you have received. Your post calls into question his attitude and maturity which is laughable. Why is it always a question of willingness and not skill/capability? Your post also goes the full distance and brings in the City comparison to prove that he doesn’t belong to a title winning team which is again laughable.
Yesterday the tactics played a huge part too and as you rightly said, he is 24.
Shut down the Caf until kick off this weekend
They were both shite because they were given an impossible task. Spurs is the last team we should have played a midfield two against. Scholes and Keane would have had their work cut out last night.
The problem is that the team should be built around him. In other words, you figure out what his best position is and you play him there, and select the rest of the team based on that. Why Mourinho insists on playing a 4-2-3-1 is beyond me. Did we really pay that much money to have him out of position as a holding midfielder? FFS, play him as a box to box midfielder either in a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 diamond
----------------------De Gea----------------------
Valencia-------Jones-------Bailley---------Shaw
----------------------Matic----------------------
-----------Fellaini-----------Pogba--------------
Martial------------Lukaku---------------Sanchez
OR
------------------De Gea-----------------------
Valencia-------Jones-------Bailley---------Shaw
----------------------Matic----------------------
-----------Fellaini--------------Pogba-----------
---------------------Sanchez--------------------
--------------Lukaku-------Martial--------------
But I will agree with the OP about Pogba's attitude. It's time for him to make a statement. First thing is to forget his image. Cut off that ridiculous hair and get serious. He would never get away with that crap under SAF. If he tried, he would have a couple hair dryers and a few shoes kicked at him until he straightens up...
----------------------De Gea----------------------
Valencia-------Jones-------Bailley---------Shaw
----------------------Matic----------------------
-----------Fellaini-----------Pogba--------------
Martial------------Lukaku---------------Sanchez
OR
------------------De Gea-----------------------
Valencia-------Jones-------Bailley---------Shaw
----------------------Matic----------------------
-----------Fellaini--------------Pogba-----------
---------------------Sanchez--------------------
--------------Lukaku-------Martial--------------
But I will agree with the OP about Pogba's attitude. It's time for him to make a statement. First thing is to forget his image. Cut off that ridiculous hair and get serious. He would never get away with that crap under SAF. If he tried, he would have a couple hair dryers and a few shoes kicked at him until he straightens up...
This forum is turning into a bit of a joke.
And you can't even use the newbie excuse anymore because some of the old timers post just as much nonsense.
He played well against Arsenal. Are they Stoke?
And you can't even use the newbie excuse anymore because some of the old timers post just as much nonsense.
He played well against Arsenal. Are they Stoke?
Not sure you got the memo, none of our players are good including manager. League table is a lie.
Do you want to think about that again ?
He had some lovely moments against Arse but let’s not forget we were completely overrun in midfield for most of that game. You don’t concede that many shots with a functional midfield. OP is typically melodramatic but Pogba definitely needs to buck up his ideas. People are saying he’s a naturally attacking midfielder, like De Bruyne or Silva, who can’t play as a deep-lying CM. Maybe, maybe not but if he showed half as much discipline and hard work as they did we’d be a lot better off, no matter where he is asked to play. And hard work/discipline is the least we should expect from every player on the pitch.
No. Football has changed since they played. It doesn't matter who the two are, they would struggle against a packed midfield of that ability. We were outnumbered by not one but two men at times in midfield last night.
2 man midfield = Pogba shit
3 man midfield = Pogba good
Top 6 team = Pogba shit
3 man midfield = Pogba good
Top 6 team = Pogba shit
Excellent anti-jinx thread. Just like the "Hating Lingard' thread.
I see what you're doing there.
I see what you're doing there.
None of us are denying any of that, but its a far cry from this frankly childish OP.
At Euro2016, Pogba showed enough discipline to play as a deep lying midfielder in order to allow the rest of the team to shine. He is more than just some one trick pony that some try to portray him as. There is just an obsession with triers and players who run a lot in English football for some reason. Pogba has been one of best players this season. One game doesnt change that.
He has been good overall but he’s been quite poor in the last few games and you could definitely argue the case that it’s hard to win the league when your best player is such a massive liability on an off day. We can cope when he’s not creating/scoring (his primary role) but when he’s constantly losing possession and not doing the basics, defensively, it really fecks us over.
Yes we will, however we will do it despite losing to the top 6 away from home.
Pogba and Sanchez both want a free role with minimal defensive responsibility. The problem for Pogba is that Sanchez will give 25 goals a season with that freedom, and Pogba will not. Can't have both just doing as they wish so Pogba is going to have mature and accept that at times you have to sacrifice for the good of the team.
Considering the teams that have won the league recently, I would actually disagree. City are the first properly decent team to win the title post the Alex Ferguson era. The caliber of league winners has hardly screamed quality since.
Overall he has been good. And yes he does have off games like yesterday. But the key to a league win is having other players step up when Pogba isnt there or out of form. We tend to look far much worse without him, even against the so called smaller sides. We have had match winners before in the past that suddenly went off the boil. I remember in 2013 when we last won the league, when RVP, who had carried us that season, suddenly went of the skids and didnt score for a month and a half. Sadly that period coincided with our tie with Madrid, where he missed many guilt edged chances. However, the rest of our players stepped up then, and it didnt cost us much.
What are you on about. At Euro 2016 he was not very good at all in the CM role. He looked out of place and was just shoehorned there so they could get Griezmann in which is what would have happened to Pogba if we sign a player like that or Dybala. He looked very hesitant in that role and only got away with it because France were just that good a side and can obviously keep the ball a lot better than a United side. Frankly Scholes was right and he's never going to be an elite level CM imo and we need to quit this experiment and focus on his attacking abilities otherwise he will become an albatross in the big games.
1 CL final and he lost that one along with Euro 2016.
2nd half Everton away was the best we and Pogba have looked for ages with him on the left of a 3 man midfield. Baffles me we don't do that more often.
So it was Mourinho's fault ? I can live with that.
He's having to cover an entire midfield on his own on a regular basis and is not at his physical peak.. of course it's going to affect him as he is knackered. Matic is the last player on the pitch who is a problem.
Yeah, that’s a fair point. Our lack of options in midfield has been a big issue this season. With Fellaini and Carrick perma-crocked we’ve had no chances to freshen things up. I still think we should be expecting more from Pogba though. The way that his poorer performances are so very bad for is unusual for such a talented player and a massive detriment to the team. More reminiscent of Rooney’s last few years than RvP tbh.
Yes, when we played and beat them earlier in the season we had two banks of three and packed out the middle of the pitch. This time we had two banks of two. It was never going to go well.
He was disciplined enough to play in unfamiliar role. That was the point I was making.
Keep up.
That I completely agree with. And its why I would never defend last night's perfomance per se.
But that's not what this thread is about, and therein lies my problem with it.
He's not a problem per-se, but he seems to get afforded a-lot more patience than Pogba, who regularly gets absolutely berated. Matic was fecking shocking yesterday and yet there's barely a word said about it. There is a clear agenda against Pogba from some, it's blatantly obvious.
He has a terrible bottom level and he doesn't work in a midfield two against any team who works hard but he's still one of our best players. We'd be a lot worse off without him.
The one big game we won. And we didn't even play that well. They properly battered us for good portions of the game.
Daft thread. The guy is class. He had a poor game, playing in a system that didn't suit him. All v frustrating.
The front four were awful though, the balance of the team was all wrong.
The front four were awful though, the balance of the team was all wrong.
This should be in the classics section. United won the league with Cleverley, surely they can do it with Pogba, who is, for all intents and purposes, in the top 10 best midfielders of the moment if you ask me.
He was rubbish yesterday, but that was mostly down to tactics.
He was rubbish yesterday, but that was mostly down to tactics.
ridiculous thread
O come on man.....
Pogba is a tremendous player. I would imagine any side in the world would have him. His work rate last night (not for the first time) however was an absolute joke
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