Where to fit Pogba?

[Bebestation]

If our forwards continue their runs and continue showing for the ball upon Pogba’s return, then he will release them, and find them more frequently than Jesse Lingard does.

And I get that & I'm not taking anything away from Pogba's obvious abilities-I want him to start.

However, we create space for easy passes to happen because on the counter we play with 4 forwards usually against 3 to 4 defenders on the other side - making it ridiculously easy for players to pick a pass or players like Rashford, James & Martial to play it between themselves.

When Pogba comes we may reduce those runs for more passing ability. It should work & hopefully it does.

 

[Classical Mechanic]

Pogba is clearly a better player & a player we need against the teams that we can't counter attack against -

Saying that

People must not underestimate the importance of our ability to attack 424 on the counter & Lingard has been vital to that in the last 2 games.

Lingard was pretty great against City with some lovely touches to link the attacking transitions.

 

[The_Order]

If Ole wants to use him, there is only spot open imo.

Player-Manager?

 

[Noc-Z]

Even if he hadn't made it blatantly clear that he wants to leave I'd be considering the team without him going forward. But he has made it clear, so there should be no discussion - sell him ASAP and plan a team without him.

If the discussion is what can we do with him to get the most out of him until he leaves, well yeah, play him in front of Fred and McT. But even so, I don't think he has the discipline, drive, motivation or commitment to do it.

 

[Shimo]

There are a lot of Ole-out people kind of leaning towards dipping a toe into Ole in. If he does something like the quoted part, they'll lose their minds.

Yeah, more than the last 2 games, it was the games from Liverpool on that finally gave me a little hope for Ole, at least in the short term that he will make the right decisions to get results now. The Sheffield and Villa games were kind of a forced situation which he didn't handle too well but, when Pogba is back and a full team to select from, if he goes back to "oh am building for the future and that future is Pogba in a midfield 2 in a 4-2-3-1 formation, definitely going to tip me back to he is not the right man even for the short term.

 

[tjb]

We should be looking to sell pogba and getting an attacking midfielder that can create against a set defence, hold up the ball and play ok the counter. Grealish makes a lot of sense. Then we should use the remaining money in the summer to buy a player who is a better passer than Fred to play alongside mctominay

 

[Canuckred64]

When will he actually play again?

 

[jackal&hyde]

Fred is much better as a CM than Lingard or Mata have been as an AM for us this season. Not even close

Right now yes, at the beginning of the season when Pogba played CM i'm not so sure. Fred was late on his fitness work if i remember well. Got married or something.

 

[The_Order]

After two wins.

CAF - We should sell our best player!

 

[The Red Thinker]

I can see him taking that role and making it his if nothing else than to make RM anxious to bid for him. If he comes in and plays a part for the rest of our season and helps us secure top 4 then he can leave with no hard feelings.

100% Agreed. The greatest thing to have come out of this period under Ole, is that United have found a way to be a force without Paul Pogba.

 

[Tarrou]

After two wins.

CAF - We should sell our best player!

don't be daft

people want to sell him because he wants to leave

I'd love it if he wanted to stay, but there is no point keeping him if he wants out

 

[Random Task]

After two wins.

CAF - We should sell our best player!

I highly doubt anyone wants Pogba to leave, but it's fairly obvious at this point that he wants out of the club.

Why keep him against his will?

 

[Random Task]

don't be daft

people want to sell him because he wants to leave

I'd love it if he wanted to stay, but there is no point keeping him if he wants out

Ole didn't hesitate to sell the last two players who wanted to leave and rightly so.

 

[Rozay]

I highly doubt anyone wants Pogba to leave, but it's fairly obvious at this point that he wants out of the club.

Why keep him against his will?

Read this thread then. Many are putting forward football justification for him having no future here, not even commitment. Seemingly a lot of questions as to whether he’s simply a good enough midfielder to get into our XI, in a nutshell.

 

[DoomSlayer]

His shooting has declined a bit tbh, it isn’t the best. I don’t think it’s a technical issue, more a mental one. Mentally, he’s not instinctively a goal scorer for me. He’s not purposeful enough in terms of trying to score. By instinct, he is a passer I think. Similar to Hazard. Some players are like that. Both he and Hazard can score goals, but they do not have the mentality of a goal scorer. Leads to them either scuffing shots and either scoring tap ins or worldies. Someone like Lampard or Alli - when they are in position, they mean it. Pogba is most comfortable passing the ball. It’s one of the reasons that I disagree with him being a selfie player. He’s a passer by nature, and maybe almost even bottles some shooting chances.

He has to score if we are to play him as a CAM. Unless he just provides a shitload of assists, we need goals from midfield to be a proper competitive team.

 

[starman]

Hopefully on a plane to Madrid, with 140m deposited into the coffer that will be reinvested directly back into the squad

 

[The_Order]

I highly doubt anyone wants Pogba to leave, but it's fairly obvious at this point that he wants out of the club.

Why keep him against his will?

Then I dont think you've been paying attention

 

[Random Task]

Read this thread then. Many are putting forward football justification for him having no future here, not even commitment. Seemingly a lot of questions as to whether he’s simply a good enough midfielder to get into our XI, in a nutshell.

People say a lot of things.

In my opinion - Pogba's not the most consistent player in the world, but his ability is beyond question. He's one of the most influential players in Europe on his day.

If the club can convince him to stay then great, otherwise just let him go.

 

[pmgeorge]

If Pogba wants a new challenge, how about this challenge: "Win Premier League with Manchester United". It is quite hard challenge. Harder than winning the title with Real

 

[Random Task]

Then I dont think you've been paying attention

You're right, I haven't.

 

[Valencia's Left Foot]

McFred has become a formidable partnership in the middle. They proved themselves against LIverpool, Spurs and City. We won 6 in the last 7 games they played together. Given this circumstance, the question trending now on the forum is: where to fit Pogba? Opinions, please.

1. Number 10.
2. Number 6. Deep lying playmaker (taking over Fred)
3. Number 8. Box to Box (instead of McT).
4. Sell him. Buy some class
5. Use another formation to accommodate him.

I like him, but will swap Paul for a world class AM. So, my call is option 4.

can we have a poll?

Sell him and go get the best 10 we can buy. If we are going to continue to run a counter attcking style, then he's too damn slow on the ball to be a number 10, and when we are trying to break teams down in the box he's not good enough in tight spaces. He doesn't put in enough effort to take over for Fred or McT IMO. He's a great player, that's no doubt, but his style and and mentality make him too damn difficult to fit in the squad, especially for someone as expensive as he is.

 

[Valencia's Left Foot]

It’s obviously as a 10 infront of Fred and McTominay.

If he wants to leave, sell in the summer and go buy Maddison as the replacement.

Agreed. Pogba is the better player than Maddison, but Maddison would fit MUCH better in this squad. Let Pogba go and go build a proper squad.

 

[norm87cro]

Another "where with Pogba" thread. First it was Jose who was limiting poor Paul, then there was the "let him roam free" argument. If he is willing to stay (which I don't think he is) he should be in the middle of the pitch alongside Mctominay. We should buy another AFM in front of those two. The reason half of the people don't want him in the team is his motivation not the fact we won two games and that all of a sudden we don't need a player like him. I really hope he proves me wrong and sets an example of how a world class midfielder should play week in week out.

 

[izzydiggler]

Pogba is probably our most talented outfield player but in the past week we’ve seen 2 great results/team performances (possibly our best in years) without him.

Granted it’s a small sample but the question should be more about ‘how does Pogba earn his place bag in the side’? We’ve been trying to accommodate him for more than 3 years with (at best) mixed results...take away all of the questions of commitment etc, he should have to work for his place.

 

[He'sRaldo]

Offensively, Pogba is miles better than Lingard/Peirera/Mata. Defensively, give me Lingard every time on his intensity.

I think Pogba is the best of these defensively as well. I don't like how Lingard never actually challenges for the ball while running around, and the other 2 can't tackle or win duels to save their life.

Don't forget Pogba is a CM, he wins defensive duels regularly. It's just he's not a DM like Kante or Ndidi, but he's hardly Ozil. Definitely better than the others defensively.

 

[VJ1762]

After two wins.

CAF - We should sell our best player!

We sold Beckham, and he did more for United than Pogba can in 10 lifetimes. And he was iconic. If Pogba wants to stay, it is excellent for the club. If he is set on leaving, sell him and reinvest into making a better team.

 

[VJ1762]

I think Pogba is the best of these defensively as well. I don't like how Lingard never actually challenges for the ball while running around, and the other 2 can't tackle or win duels to save their life.

Don't forget Pogba is a CM, he wins defensive duels regularly. It's just he's not a DM like Kante or Ndidi, but he's hardly Ozil. Definitely better than the others defensively.

I actually think Pogba should be kept as far away from any defending as possible. He has been injury prone in his time with us and the last thing I want him to do is him tackling somebody and coming out worse.

 

[Bastian]

The only thing Lingard and Pereira offer in a #10 that Pogba doesn't, is more mobility and better pressing. But we've struggled to break down defensive teams so it's pretty obvious that Pogba is a million times better alternative there than the previous two.

That being said, given his wanting out, if we get a great price we should cash in. Trouble is, who wants him for the money we want?

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Between now and the end of the season, I would put him as a 10, meaning hopefully we buy/loan a 6 in January to rotate with Fred/McTominay.

That will give us the option of:

Pogba/Lingard
Fred/New 6 McTominay/New 6

At the end of the season, it all depends on what Pogba wants to do. If he wants to leave, we sell him and put the money towards a top class number 10 and right winger. Preferably Maddison/Grealish and Sancho.

 

[nainaisson]

McFred has become a formidable partnership in the middle. They proved themselves against LIverpool, Spurs and City. We won 6 in the last 7 games they played together. Given this circumstance, the question trending now on the forum is: where to fit Pogba? Opinions, please.

1. Number 10.
2. Number 6. Deep lying playmaker (taking over Fred)
3. Number 8. Box to Box (instead of McT).
4. Sell him. Buy some class
5. Use another formation to accommodate him.

I like him, but will swap Paul for a world class AM. So, my call is option 4.

can we have a poll?

Switch to a 4-3-3, make McTominay the CDM, and hope he's able to compensate for Pogba's languid style and tendency to lose the ball in dangerous areas.

However, Ole seems religiously devoted to having a No.10, so option 1 is far more likely.

 

[Shimo]

Not sure why people keep hammering on him wanting out. So his agent, maybe or maybe not at Pogba's behest made some noise about him wanting out but, he is here. He trained without issue, showed up for pre-season when people were saying he is going to go AWOL (purposely ignoring the tin foil hat =) conspiracy theory about his injury

We had DDG who wanted out, would have been out were it not for a fax machine, Martial, there was a lot more noise when it came to him wanting out from his agent and he even went AWOL. But, we want the most talented players out there on the pitch. So whether Pogba wants out is not relevant to this season. When he is fit, then he comes back into the team, even if it is for month and a half. We are coming up against all the types of teams we've had real difficulty all season and having a player that can change the game in a moment, he needs to be out there.

I've not really bought into that he really wants out but, even if he does, if he plays in a team that for once will play with pace and verve, where he isn't the person we completely rely on, he might buy into this is the right place for him.

 

[jamesjimmybyrondean]

We clearly don't have the perfect no. 10 for Ole's system. Lingard would have been if he was creative. Pogba would have been if he could press. But I'd rather have someone that has proven to be a goal threat and creator in Pogba.

This shouldn't be a debate. It's like some of you have forgotten how good Pogba was when he was playing higher up the pitch. I mean the thought of him behind Rashford Martial and James should be convincing enough.

Besides Pogba is more of a liability playing in Fred's position than in the no.10

 

[Valencia Shin Crosses]

Literally just play how Lingard has in that position, except with actual quality and probably less work rate pressing. It’s not a hard thing to figure out.

 

[Manny]

Ahead of McFred.

But in all honesty, I think if he comes back in now, the team will revert to type. The problem with having in him in the side is other around him, particularly the midfielders, can hide behind him - 'give the ball to Pogba, he'll do something with it'.

Pogba's absence has meant the others have had to really step up and I wouldn't want to disrupt that. Let this run of confidence and growth run its course.

 

[horsechoker]

Whether he wants to leave or not, you shouldn't leave out a player with his talent.

Unless we bring in his replacement in January then I don't see the point to leave out a creative midfielder when the team struggles to create chances against teams who defend deep.

 

[Borys]

It's the very first time since he's here that we can fit him in formation where he has the right players in their best position both higher up the pitch and behind him. He will flourish in that setup.

 

[jackal&hyde]

Ole didn't hesitate to sell the last two players who wanted to leave and rightly so.

And then says we will build the team around Pogba. His motivation for wanting out seemed to me to be motivated by wanting to compete rather then wanting Spain or Real or Zidane. If we continue to improve i could see him staying. He came back to win with Manchester United after all.

If he was good with Matic and Herrera last season he will be great with McFred. Watch us have a very good mid by the end of the season.

 

[fps]

I highly doubt anyone wants Pogba to leave, but it's fairly obvious at this point that he wants out of the club.

Why keep him against his will?

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.

 

[Random Task]

And then says we will build the team around Pogba. His motivation for wanting out seemed to me to be motivated by wanting to compete rather then wanting Spain or Real or Zidane. If we continue to improve i could see him staying. He came back to win with Manchester United after all.

If he was good with Matic and Herrera last season he will be great with McFred. Watch us have a very good mid by the end of the season.

Yeah, nothing is set in stone where footballers are concerned.

He could easily change his mind by the end of the season, finishing in the top four and claiming a trophy (EL is very winnable on current form) will contribute to that.

 

[SungSam7]

Instead of playing Donkeys like Pereira and Lingard, leave Pogba do his thing sitting behind Martial, Rashford and James either side of them. Martial is quite capable of playing the one two with either 3. This could be our way of breaking down deep lying teams.