Where to fit Pogba?

[gza the genius]

#10, that's his best position too. Not as traditional 10 but as part of midfield 3 where he can bomb forward.

This. He doesn't have to specifically be a 10. Give him a sort've free role and let him drop deep/bomb forward when he sees fit, etc.

He may not press like Lingard or Periera but he makes up for that in literally every other category you could want from a midfielder.

 

[Random Task]

He doesn’t fit the pl very well. Lovely player on his day. It’s not the league for him. You have to turn up and work, every single match. It’s for the relentless, the never satisfieds. That’s not him. If you’re going to build a side to win the pl and tolerate a luxury player, that luxury player sure as heck can’t be in central midfield.

If deployed at 10, with the freedom to roam and create at his leisure, I'm sure we will see a more consistent and influential Pogba.

The guy has literally everything in his locker to become an exceptional number 10 - he has a wide range of passing, dribbling ability, a blistering shot (that's bizarrely attracted to the opposition crossbar), he has vision, awareness, pace, strength in abundance and is one the few players in the PL with the ability to steamroll through an entire midfield. He looks like a man playing with boys on his day.

He's the type of player you build a team around.

 

[red woppit]

If deployed at 10, with the freedom to roam and create at his leisure, I'm sure we will see a more consistent and influential Pogba.

The guy has literally everything in his locker to become an exceptional number 10 - he has a wide range of passing, dribbling ability, a blistering shot (that's bizarrely attracted to the opposition crossbar), he has vision, awareness, pace, strength in abundance and is one the few players in the PL with the ability to steamroll through an entire midfield. He looks like a man playing with boys on his day.

He's the type of player you build a team around.

Yep, a totally committed Pogba would be ideal for us at the moment, but as you said 'on his day', that is the crux of the whole thing. As long as Pogba is totally honest with club, and if he wants to leave, then he must leave, as long as we get suitable replacements, but if he wants to stay, then he has to at least put the effort in on the pitch. I would love Pogba to have 3,4,5 years of success with United, but equally I wouldn't shed tears if he left. We need players totally committed to Manchester United.

 

[Jacob]

I miss his ridiculous assists out of nowhere. He wins you points, it's as simple as that.

 

[RUCK4444]

@Random Task - Completely agree, he has no real weakness in his game technically.

If anything his one flaw is when he seemingly dwells on the ball and tries to do too much and sometimes loses possession when he’s in that mood, seems to happen more when playing deep in a two man midfield.

As a number 10 though he could be really devastating imo, he can hold the ball and will almost always make the right pass, with the pace we have going forwards that could be deadly.

His ball retention in the final third and his ability to keep the tempo I find impressive, especially compared to our other players, we need players that can do this and pick passes in order to break defensive teams down. I really hope he stays and is part of this rebuild under Ole.

 

[Mibabalou]

Number 10.

Martial
Rashford - Pogba - James
McT - Fred

 

[SaintMuppet]

Sell, Invest, Move on

 

[CM]

Free role in front of The Sauce and Fred.

It's no-brainer.

The correct answer

 

[edcunited1878]

Wonder how Pogba will work off the ball when the team has possession and without.

Lingard consistently picked up good positions off the ball, stuck close to Rodri and closed him down. Once the team retained possession, he picked up good positions and combined well and quickly with his teammates.

Pogba can hold onto the ball too long. I think Pogba in the 10 against packed defenses can be immense, provided his teammates move.

 

[Wishe]

Don't fit him anywhere, sell him as soon as possible and use the money to strengthen multiple positions. He has shown that he is not committed to the club and I certainly do not want people jogging around the pitch looking like they can't be bothered for 90% of the game, while doing 1 "world class" pass or shot every month. Don't know about you guys?

 

[DON’T PANIC ™]

Number 10.

Martial
Rashford - Pogba - James
McT - Fred

This

 

[Jonty]

i doubt he is capable of playing 10 in the current formation. He doesn’t have attributes for that. He dwells on the ball, loses ball in tight spaces, doesn’t press a lot. It’s better to sell him when he is in high regard.

100%. Undoubtedly we have missed Pogba's creativity this season but if the template of the team is now set Pogba has not shown the ability or desire to press from the front or chase back which the role requires. I think it is best for both parties if they part ways. On the other side of the coin I can't think of too many grafting AM with Pogba's attributes

 

[wolvored]

He doesnt want to be here. I would sell him. I dont want Bale and Rodriguez or whoever Real would offer as we would have 2 more aging injury prone big salaried players. Sell to Juve get the cash , buy Havertz or Grealish or Maddison. We could also get Haaland in with the money if he really has a £20 million buyout.

 

[Red00012]

This place will be in meltdown when Ole drops Fred and slots Pogba in alongside McTom.

 

[friendlytramp]

I do think Pogba can be more influential from deep, especially in a counter attacking team...also doesn’t press. We may actually see him as deep playmaker alongside McT with Fred furthest forward for his pressing. Or sell Pogba and buy an AM

 

[DoomSlayer]

This place will be in meltdown when Ole drops Fred and slots Pogba in alongside McTom.

I don't think that is possible. Everyone has been praising him, Ole himself and the players too, Rashford even tweeted about it. Fred gives us midfield stability right now, it would be madness to change him unless it is to give him a rest when needed.

 

[dogwithabone]

Why rock the boat by bringing him back ? We’ve had the two most impressive back to back performances in the Solskjaer reign, we are workmanlike and have partnerships developing everywhere on the pitch. Everything is suddenly rosey, we don’t need him or his surliness.

 

[ThinkTank@Cafe]

The majority is split between “sell” and “10”. The Caf thinks McFred is formidable indeed

 

[He'sRaldo]

The majority is split between “sell” and “10”. The Caf thinks McFred is formidable indeed

Caf is a fickle place. Best revisit the question after the next loss or two.

 

[Silas]

Why rock the boat by bringing him back ? We’ve had the two most impressive back to back performances in the Solskjaer reign, we are workmanlike and have partnerships developing everywhere on the pitch. Everything is suddenly rosey, we don’t need him or his surliness.

Maybe because he's our best player?

 

[croadyman]

I know that Facebook isn't a true reflection of fan opinion but noticed there were a lot of people on there who feel that we are better team without him and should look to cash in at the end of the season, think it's highly unlikely he would be allowed to leave in January but then if the right midfielders became available then stranger things have happened.

 

[sglowrider]

The problem with Paul further upfront like as #10 is that:

1) He won't press which changes our current aggressive intent, with fast transition.
2) He won't have as much time on the ball to make his trademark passes. (He tends to hold on to the ball too long for my liking.) This was why Ole played him further back to afford him more time on the ball. See below:


But as someone said above, Paul is the sort of player a club needs to build around. But whilst he's been gone, the team has moved forward, albeit it one step forward two steps back at times.

Can we afford to build a team around him just when we think we are just starting to sort our identity for this season at least? (I expect us to add more layers and patterns of play next season esp for the lesser teams who defend in the low block -- by getting additional players over the summer.)

Can we also afford to build a team around a player who has clearly stated that he would like to leave?

Decisions, decisions.

 

[Sterling Archer]

The majority is split between “sell” and “10”. The Caf thinks McFred is formidable indeed

If you've actually watched Manchester United over the last couple years, you have plenty of evidence on display to suggest there's great potential in the partnership.

PSG away
Chelsea away
City away
Spurs home

That's the first few that came to mind in the time between scratching my *#* and sniffing my fingers. Sure there's more on top of that.

 

[ThinkTank@Cafe]

If you've actually watched Manchester United over the last couple years, you have plenty of evidence on display to suggest there's great potential in the partnership.

PSG away
Chelsea away
City away
Spurs home

That's the first few that came to mind in the time between scratching my *#* and sniffing my fingers. Sure there's more on top of that.

I myself think that McFred is the way to go in midfield. They are brilliant together. Stating that the Caf has a certain opinion is not the same as opposing that opinion) I reckon though that lately it’s trendy to express disagreement mentioning stupid Cafe) let’s get rid of that. Respect.

 

[Sterling Archer]

I myself think that McFred is the way to go in midfield. They are brilliant together. Stating that the Caf has a certain opinion is not the same as opposing that opinion) I reckon though that lately it’s trendy to express disagreement mentioning stupid Cafe) let’s get rid of that. Respect.

Yeah I think it came off as a cafe condescending comment. To be fair, cafe gets plenty right and plenty wrong as a whole.

That behind us, I think the crux of the discussion here is way off. Fred and McTominay shouldn't be in the discussion at all. Pogba has to come in for a role ahead of them. Leaves Lingard, James, Martial and Rashford. And I think it's an obvious choice.

 

[SAFMUTD]

Is this really a debate? Pogba should be the advanced midfielder in a midfield of 3.

People saying we wont press as much as lingard or pereira they must had forgett that the main job of the position is to create chances not pressing the opposition.

Pogba woul walk into the starting XI of any team, specially our current team with our glass midfield.

 

[Santoryo]

Hehe. Lingard and Pereira are ‘the reason our attack works so well’. Give me strength.

 

[clarkydaz]

If you've actually watched Manchester United over the last couple years, you have plenty of evidence on display to suggest there's great potential in the partnership.

PSG away
Chelsea away
City away
Spurs home

That's the first few that came to mind in the time between scratching my *#* and sniffing my fingers. Sure there's more on top of that.

Barca at home aswell

 

[MuranoLover]

I miss his ridiculous assists out of nowhere. He wins you points, it's as simple as that.

And how much loses you with his silly behaviour? He is like a lady, you don't know in what mood will wake up and play.

 

[simonhch]

He should play as our 10 in front of McTominay and Fred. Glaringly obvious.

 

[sglowrider]

He should play as our 10 in front of McTominay and Fred. Glaringly obvious.

Not really. Pogba tends to dwell in the ball and slows down transition for a #10.

Look at the gaps by both wingers during the City match. Pogba would hold on to the ball and then those gaps would evaporate. That's why Olé played him deep like a #6 last season.
But we were too ponderous then.

 

[imonkmc]

Pogba hold onto the ball a little longer, and it gets very annoying when he is playing deep and is targeted by 2 players giving ball away in dangerous areas. It's more obvious playing against good teams. He should be playing regularly in advanced position, with runners around his creativity comes into play, plus he has a good shot on him ....

 

[Class of 63]

Been watching Pogba for a decade now, and can safely say i've not once, not once watched him and though d'ya know what he's tailor-made to play as a no.10, and i'm sure most who want him to play there now want it to happen think it would probably mean no more Jesse Lingard, than what tools he's actually got to play there.

 

[Judas]

Is this really a debate? Pogba should be the advanced midfielder in a midfield of 3.

People saying we wont press as much as lingard or pereira they must had forgett that the main job of the position is to create chances not pressing the opposition.

Pogba woul walk into the starting XI of any team, specially our current team with our glass midfield.

It's blatantly obvious for Ole's system to work the 10 needs to press and work hard? If you allow Pogba to not do that, the system doesn't function. We don't win that game on Saturday without Lingard working so hard and doing brilliantly. That's the whole point. If Pogba can't do that task, he doesn't really fit. Yes the main job is to create, but we don't have the luxury where we can allow that to be all he does.

Pogba does work hard though, its a bit of a myth that he doesn't, I'm just making the point there's more to being a number 10 in the system we played on Saturday than simply assisting goals.

 

[sglowrider]

Been watching Pogba for a decade now, and can safely say i've not once, not once watched him and though d'ya know what he's tailor-made to play as a no.10, and i'm sure most who want him to play there now want it to happen think it would probably mean no more Jesse Lingard, than what tools he's actually got to play there.

Wat?

 

[sglowrider]

It's blatantly obvious for Ole's system to work the 10 needs to press and work hard? If you allow Pogba to not do that, the system doesn't function. We don't win that game on Saturday without Lingard working so hard and doing brilliantly. That's the whole point. If Pogba can't do that task, he doesn't really fit. Yes the main job is to create, but we don't have the luxury where we can allow that to be all he does.

Pogba does work hard though, its a bit of a myth that he doesn't, I'm just making the point there's more to being a number 10 in the system we played on Saturday than simply assisting goals.

Fifa 19 versus real football.

 

[Stadjer]

It is so strange to read that there are actually people who prefer a player who basically only runs around (Lingard) instead of a player who has the vision and ability to play passes no other midfielder in the world can make. (Pogba)

 

[Class of 63]

Wat?

Go on then, when did it hit you that the 6' 3" Paul Pogba would be suited for the no.10 position?

 

[theklr]

It is so strange to read that there are actually people who prefer a player who basically only runs around (Lingard) instead of a player who has the vision and ability to play passes no other midfielder in the world can make. (Pogba)

That's because one suits our current system and the other doesnt.

For me, its more of a game-to-game issue. For every low block teams we meet, Pogba should start.

The problems arise in the big games like these against Spurs and City. Would the result be the same with Pogba in it? You never know.

But it is evident that Lingard actually played a good part in both pressing and transition.

 

[romufc]

Not really. Pogba tends to dwell in the ball and slows down transition for a #10.

Look at the gaps by both wingers during the City match. Pogba would hold on to the ball and then those gaps would evaporate. That's why Olé played him deep like a #6 last season.
But we were too ponderous then.

I agree, most fans want him in a 10 because we play Lingard or Perreira.

2 weeks ago the same people were all over Fred and his lack of quality.

Pogba and McT should be the starter. or a 4-3-3 with Fred in the pivot, McT on the right side of 3 and Pogba left.

But Ole prefers 4-2-31 and I would have pogba as a 6 because:

1. He likes to come deep and start attacks
2. He isnt mobile enough to receive the ball and turn.
3. He doesn't press
4. We have 2 pacey wingers who can get in behind. Against teams that are hard to break down, Pogba playing balls over the top to James and Rashford making inverted runs could be what we need.

How many times do Liverpool play balls over the top for their wingers? We just dont have the quality to find the ball, I have watched Rashford make run after run and no one even attempts the ball.

When Pogba plays watch how many times he finds Rashford over the top. He cannot do that playing in the 10.