The sub-title of this thread is “Does Pogba have a point?”
One of the things I have been reflecting on is the differing attitudes of players such as Pogba and De Gea to sticking around at Manchester United, signing big contract extensions with probably some acceptance that United are not the club who are best served to deliver major titles currently.
As much as people can lament the timing of Raiola’s intervention, I’m not sure it really told us anything, other than Pogba wouldn’t mind going back to Juve, given the interview happened with the Turin paper. I don’t really have any problem with Pogba’s position even.
For me, it is entirely logical. Bruno’s now the star man at Old Trafford, with Pogba being very much in a bit part supporting role that doesn’t match his skill set. For whatever reason, the 4-3-3 with Bruno and Pogba we all hoped to see has not materialised. Instead Bruno’s essentially being used as some some sort of minor upgrade on Pogba. If I was Pogba, I wouldn’t want to commit to United either. Ole seemingly has the club’s backing and therefore it makes little sense for Pogba to commit to a supporting role in a side unlikely to compete for too many major honours, let alone league and European titles.
Let’s contrast that with De Gea, who essentially got to the top of the goalkeeping profession, -and then continued to settle for playing for an indifferent team, albeit one winning a few cups. Rather than push for a transfer or drift towards free agency, De Gea re-signed for astronomical wages, when no real challenge for the truly major honours could be expected. Frankly, he’s now pissed away what should have been his peak years. His form and drive has seemingly suffered from not having a fresh challenge on the pitch or a strong manager who would demand that he addressed his weaker areas. We’re now in De Gea’s third season of sheer regression. He’s now more of a burden to his club than Ozil. At least Ozil is done at Arsenal next summer. De Gea is here until 2023!
I’d rather have players like Pogba and Rooney that rock the boat and either challenge the club to do more to make the most out of their careers or look to move themselves on, even if it strays into becoming toxic. There’s a reason why De Gea is at United, and Auba and Ozil are at Arsenal.
This brings us on to Bruno Fernandes. We know all about his personality from his time at Sporting, where he walked the fine line of professionalism in chastising his teammates publicly and the club for not meeting his level. Bruno isn’t going to be a shrinking violet if we are just rehashing these last two seasons for the duration of his contract. He’ll become spiky or toxic. Moreover, I’d be disappointed if someone like Bruno did just tolerate this mediocrity for potentially bigger wages.
Bruno might have a contract to 2025, but he’s apparently only on wages comparable to Lingard of just over £100k per week. That situation is not going to tenable for long. He’s going to have a massive decision to make over whether to commit to United or not, whether he demands the salary of the highest earner at the club, or whether he instructs his agent to seek out a move to a club that can give him a better chance of consistent silverware.
Would you commit to United for what would ostensibly be the peak years of your career if you were Bruno? Or would you use United as a stepping stone now that you have shown that you can’t just deliver in the PL and Europe, but you are an elite player?
One of the things I have been reflecting on is the differing attitudes of players such as Pogba and De Gea to sticking around at Manchester United, signing big contract extensions with probably some acceptance that United are not the club who are best served to deliver major titles currently.
As much as people can lament the timing of Raiola’s intervention, I’m not sure it really told us anything, other than Pogba wouldn’t mind going back to Juve, given the interview happened with the Turin paper. I don’t really have any problem with Pogba’s position even.
For me, it is entirely logical. Bruno’s now the star man at Old Trafford, with Pogba being very much in a bit part supporting role that doesn’t match his skill set. For whatever reason, the 4-3-3 with Bruno and Pogba we all hoped to see has not materialised. Instead Bruno’s essentially being used as some some sort of minor upgrade on Pogba. If I was Pogba, I wouldn’t want to commit to United either. Ole seemingly has the club’s backing and therefore it makes little sense for Pogba to commit to a supporting role in a side unlikely to compete for too many major honours, let alone league and European titles.
Let’s contrast that with De Gea, who essentially got to the top of the goalkeeping profession, -and then continued to settle for playing for an indifferent team, albeit one winning a few cups. Rather than push for a transfer or drift towards free agency, De Gea re-signed for astronomical wages, when no real challenge for the truly major honours could be expected. Frankly, he’s now pissed away what should have been his peak years. His form and drive has seemingly suffered from not having a fresh challenge on the pitch or a strong manager who would demand that he addressed his weaker areas. We’re now in De Gea’s third season of sheer regression. He’s now more of a burden to his club than Ozil. At least Ozil is done at Arsenal next summer. De Gea is here until 2023!
I’d rather have players like Pogba and Rooney that rock the boat and either challenge the club to do more to make the most out of their careers or look to move themselves on, even if it strays into becoming toxic. There’s a reason why De Gea is at United, and Auba and Ozil are at Arsenal.
This brings us on to Bruno Fernandes. We know all about his personality from his time at Sporting, where he walked the fine line of professionalism in chastising his teammates publicly and the club for not meeting his level. Bruno isn’t going to be a shrinking violet if we are just rehashing these last two seasons for the duration of his contract. He’ll become spiky or toxic. Moreover, I’d be disappointed if someone like Bruno did just tolerate this mediocrity for potentially bigger wages.
Bruno might have a contract to 2025, but he’s apparently only on wages comparable to Lingard of just over £100k per week. That situation is not going to tenable for long. He’s going to have a massive decision to make over whether to commit to United or not, whether he demands the salary of the highest earner at the club, or whether he instructs his agent to seek out a move to a club that can give him a better chance of consistent silverware.
Would you commit to United for what would ostensibly be the peak years of your career if you were Bruno? Or would you use United as a stepping stone now that you have shown that you can’t just deliver in the PL and Europe, but you are an elite player?
