Baby elephant is growing quickly in the room

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I can't figure out whether you're being willfully obtuse, or genuinely can't comprehend what I mean when I'm implying top class players tip games in their teams' favour?

Otherwise, I agree that we need to be better as a team, but if the individuals that should be acting as the focal points of our team had delivered per expectations in the key moments today, it would have been an easy victory instead of two points wasted.

Top class players don't always do that. Sometimes they hit the bar and sometimes opposing keepers have very good performances. That's football.
 
What a knee jerk thread!! Juve asked for it and we paid it. How is that Pogba's fault?

Also, he is not playing ahead of two midfielders as he generally did at Juve when he was at his best. If anything, he has been underwhelming because we used him wrong. If Pogba is the baby elephant then ROONEY is the fecking Hulk in the room. It's because of him we have had to shoehorn good players away from their natural positions and had to stick with some form or the other of 4-2-3-1. Rest of the logic is absolute bollocks.
 
I agree! For 90 million we should be getting Messi, but in midfield! This is an outrage! What were we thinking?!
 
Seeing the word 'luck' an awful lot in this thread. Does Pogba's ability to finish easy chances really come down to luck? That seems a bit worrying but I suppose explains his pretty average scoring record at Juventus.
 
I am very disappointed with Pogba. And this is based on all the games he played for us, not just today.
Today for me, he was the worst outfield player for us [the blonde guy for Stoke was the worst :lol:].

In his first game for us, he played like a Galactico class player, but since then, he's played similar to the level we expect of Fellaini or Herrera.
At present, for me, Herrera is our best CM and I'd have no issues having Pogba on the bench, with Carrick in his place.

There was an on-going joke regarding spurs and GlastonSpur, who said that Pogba would need to prove himself to get into the Spurs team. I now agree with his assessment.

For his and our stakes, I hope get gets better.
 
£90m+ should buy you instant world class impact. Especially if that new incoming player has virtually zero new club, country or league adjustments to go through. In that context, we should call a spade a spade: Paul Pogba's start to his 2nd Manchester United career has been way under expectations.

He has struggled to find his role in the team, has been suspect to plenty off midfield indiscipline and his scoring attempts are fanciful. In general he has made very little impact.

People will make excuses and accommodations but a player of this supposed value should be superior to that, they should be able to shape the environment around not and not expect it to be shaped for them.

Im not saying Pogba will be a flop, far from it and am willing to give him a lot more time. But his poor start should be noted and its concerning.
Well the Caf does love a knee-jerk.

If Madrid fans had gotten their way Modric would have been sold within his first 6 months.
S
 
He's had no pre-season and has virtually played non stop football for a year. His transfer fee is not HIS problem.

How long are people going to use the pre-season excuse?
He has played plenty of games for us now....those extra 3 pre-season games which some of our players played cannot be used as an excuse for him playing so badly.
 
What a knee jerk thread!! Juve asked for it and we paid it. How is that Pogba's fault?

Also, he is not playing ahead of two midfielders as he generally did at Juve when he was at his best. If anything, he has been underwhelming because we used him wrong. If Pogba is the baby elephant then ROONEY is the fecking Hulk in the room. It's because of him we have had to shoehorn good players away from their natural positions and had to stick with some form or the other of 4-2-3-1. Rest of the logic is absolute bollocks.
This is a Pogba Thread and you managed to drag Rooney into it..Boringly
 
The talent is there, but at the same time he needs to tidy his game up and get back to basics ASAP.

He trying too hard and trying to force things.

He also isn't to be played in a midfield 2, he can't do it.

Needs to be played with Herrera and Carrick/Blind/Morgan.
 
The Problem with Pogba and Utd at the Moment is we need 2 CM and Pogba to play ahead of them,I don't think Pogba will ever dominate games in a midfield of 2.
I'll play Carrick and Hererra as CM and put Pogba/Mata/Rashford or Martial ahead of them.
 
You can't just drop Rooney and expect him to be great

At the moment we're just trying to force a squad Pog into a Roond hole:
 
But it never went in!!! thats the point!

I'd have to watch it again but I don't think it was unlucky either. I think he fluffed the header, might have come off his shoulder.

I'm kind of with you on this. He was really poor today and we can't have players underperforming on a regular basis. The league will be out of sight before we know it if this carries on.
 
That potential assist and almost brace.. He is getting in the right places in terms of having an impact .. Bit of patience and he could be a match winner.

Fans are idiots. Yes he might end up a flop but let the guy settle down. He's almost winning is matches it is not like he is non existent and having zero impact - the potential is there to see.

:lol:

Sorry, I don't make a habit of intervening during your postmortems, but I just couldn't let that one go.
 
Seeing the word 'luck' an awful lot in this thread. Does Pogba's ability to finish easy chances really come down to luck? That seems a bit worrying but I suppose explains his pretty average scoring record at Juventus.
Finishing tends to even out to the norm over a course of a season, even for the likes of Ronaldo, Messi, Ibra, Neymar or Suarez. If you look at the stats and their expected goal contributions and all that, you'll find it matches pretty well to their actual contributions. The ability to finds yourself in goalscoring positions and get in those chances consistently is a much more important quality then finishing. Things like Rashfords finishing since he broke through is unsustainable and will inevitably die down eventually. The important thing is getting in the right positions which we did in abundance today, mainly through Pogba and Ibra.
 
£90m+ should buy you instant world class impact. Especially if that new incoming player has virtually zero new club, country or league adjustments to go through. In that context, we should call a spade a spade: Paul Pogba's start to his 2nd Manchester United career has been way under expectations.

He has struggled to find his role in the team, has been suspect to plenty off midfield indiscipline and his scoring attempts are fanciful. In general he has made very little impact.

People will make excuses and accommodations but a player of this supposed value should be superior to that, they should be able to shape the environment around not and not expect it to be shaped for them.

Im not saying Pogba will be a flop, far from it and am willing to give him a lot more time. But his poor start should be noted and its concerning.
What makes you think Pogba has no adjustements to make in terms of playing for a new team and a new league ? Just because he was there before, means absolutely feck all. Do we have the right to expect more ? Absolutely yes but you cannot change the reality. Pogba had zero PL experience and most of this team is different from the one he was last part of.
 
This is a Pogba Thread and you managed to drag Rooney into it..Boringly
How is it not relevant? Rooney is the reason we play a system that doesn't get the best out of the costliest player in the world. It may change eventually which will be refreshing. He is also the reason why Mata never got sustained opportunities at the number 10 position.
 
I'm not too worried. He does a lot of good work and creates chance and gets into good goal scoring positions. He is playing badly for him but there is a lot more to come. We have him on a 5+1 contract and he is 23. He will be one hell of a player for us.
 
Hasn't really found his place in the team and doesn't yet have the ability to boss a game like you would maybe expect. If we're saying the same thing towards the end of the season I'd be a bit worried, for now we just have to be patient and hope he can find his feet and improve with each performance.
 
I'm not disappointed at all. He's not an intelligent player, never was, isn't now and never really will be. He might be an intelligent guy but that's a different thing, he hasn't got the football brain to be playmaker. Most players haven't one, so it doesn't need to be a problem, the problem is that United needed a midfielder with a great football brain and paid 90 million for him.
 
:lol:

Sorry, I don't make a habit of intervening during your postmortems, but I just couldn't let that one go.

I don't get what is so funny. Its not like they were 50/50 chances, they were gilt edged chances which should have been buried. The Zlatan chance was a 9/10 chance in favour of Zlatan usually and Pogbas chances were very easy. If he keeps missing them even by next year, of course we should be worried but the positive is that he is showing that he could potentially be a match winner. He's being creative and getting in good positions.

The bigger worry for me is that tactically he is a liability and we can only get away with that if he is putting chance away but when he isn't winning us games, he is a liability. Again totally understand why people are thinking wtf have we paid £90m for a work in progress and they are totally justified in thinking that. My argument is that feck it, yes we did overpay and he is definitely not worth it but that doesn't mean we don't have a talented player on our hands. We do, so let him grow here and lets support him. Its not like he looks like an absolute donkey, he does look very very gifted we just need to mould that and make it into something effective.
 
Anyone who thought Pogba would come in and have a world class impact obviously didn't watch him before.
 
Mourinho knows his best position and how to get the best out of him yet doesn't seem to know who to play with him. I think Carrick needs to be in there as a DM as Herrera and mop head ain't up to the task!!!
 
He isn't a 90m plus player in value even in today's market. He isn't Messi, He isn't Ronaldo, he isn't even Bale or Neymar. He isn't even Modric for that matter. He is just a good strong midfielder who has the odd moment of magic. He doesn't dominate games on his own and I doubt he ever will. He will be a decent player for us but never a world beater.
 
£90m+ should buy you instant world class impact. Especially if that new incoming player has virtually zero new club, country or league adjustments to go through. In that context, we should call a spade a spade: Paul Pogba's start to his 2nd Manchester United career has been way under expectations.

He has struggled to find his role in the team, has been suspect to plenty off midfield indiscipline and his scoring attempts are fanciful. In general he has made very little impact.

People will make excuses and accommodations but a player of this supposed value should be superior to that, they should be able to shape the environment around not and not expect it to be shaped for them.

Im not saying Pogba will be a flop, far from it and am willing to give him a lot more time. But his poor start should be noted and its concerning.


Will have to agree to disagree on this one.
 
I'm not his biggest fan by any stretch but he was desparately unlucky today. The big issue I had with him all along has come to pass. He doesn't dominate midfield, we need a domininat midfielder in the centre, Pogba isn't that.

Yep exactly. We need a strong play maker who can dominate and dictate play. Then you may see the best of Pogba if played in a 3 man midfield with someone controlling the game from behind him. He is never going to control a game and win it on his own, he isn't that sort of player.
 
"just a decent player" some ridiculous posts in this thread that ignore all context. And I'm a poster that didn't really fancy him in the first place.
On another day, he'd be having a brace and we all be saying how fantastic he is. Just look at his thread from this time last week?
 
He was fecking shit today. And has been fecking shit a few times already this season. The excuses are wearing thin. We can't blame Fellaini today, right? An individual "lowlights" showreel from today's game would be as bad as any of the clips of Rooney stinking the place out that some people find hilarious.

I think/hope he'll come good but his slow start is hurting us and is a crushing disappointment after all the hype and expectations that he'd settle quicker than most because he's "coming home".
 
He was fecking shit today. And has been fecking shit a few times already this season. The excuses are wearing thin. We can't blame Fellaini today, right? An individual "lowlights" showreel from today's game would be as bad as any of the clips of Rooney stinking the place out that some people find hilarious.

I think/hope he'll come good but his slow start is hurting us and is a crushing disappointment after all the hype and expectations that he'd settle quicker than most because he's "coming home".

He simply wasn't.
 
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