Posted this in the Pogba thread, but it might be more appropriate here:
Pogba just hasn't been good lately, but the buck has to come down with the manager in this case.
It's like this: if your company isn't performing well, it's your fault. A specific employee may be doing badly, and doing your best to try to improve their performance is great, and it's exactly what you should do, but ultimately we're not worried about a specific individual here. It's about the company. Sure it's made up of individuals, but you cannot expect them to perform at their best if they are not bought into the vision and the team effort of the unit. As the leader, that's your job.
Look at Elon's companies, for example. Tesla and SpaceX get enormous buzz resulting in some of the best talent available to them, and yet they famously demand 110% of all their employees in terms of work ethic, pay (although still very well) not exceptionally, and consistently achieve great results. And it's clear why that is - the employees are just bought in. They have an awkwardly charismatic leader who just seems like a great guy and leads by example. And most importantly, they're bought into the vision, what the companies are trying to do, and the way in which they go about doing that.
Now compare that with United. We have a manager who is not known for being the most genuine person around, which is fine cause it's football and no one is 100% popular in football, but that's not the most important thing. It's his vision, aim, strategy, philosophy, etc. That's the problem!
Players look across the road and see City flying this season by playing expansive, attractive and very attacking football. And that's exactly why you want to be a player. You want to be playing like that. It's just obvious.
Going back to Pogba, of course he doesn't think to himself, well De Bruyne is just better than me. None of these players think that, they're all at the top of their field capable of great football and ability. I doubt Mata thinks he's worse than his friend David Silva, or Alexis think he's worse than Aguero, Martial worse than Sane, Rashford worse than Sterling, etc.
So instead they must be thinking (and OF COURSE they are thinking this) - our neighbours and main rivals are just being set up better than us. They have a better vision of how they want to play, and even though every football philosophy has its limitations, they are executing it with complete belief and great success.
I think that is the elephant in the room when talking about any of our players' performances on a macro scale (obviously I'm not talking about a single match performance, but the bigger picture). Human psychology just plays too big a role and when, in a competitive sport, your neighbours are doing it more successfully, more consistently, and in a more aesthetically pleasing way, you are bound to wonder, well what do they have that we don't. The answer: a clear idea of how they want to play, backed by a manager and coaches who are trying to make that way of playing get results and be stylish at the same time.
...And some of you wonder why De Bruyne runs around like a maniac and Pogba limps around looking uninterested. If I worked for SpaceX I think I'd dump my girlfriend, never sleep again, and work my ass off.
Pogba will be fine. We need a better manager. Maybe not in the summer, or next summer. But hopefully sooner rather than later. I'm happy to wait and be proven wrong.
Better to have mentioned Swansea, they are better.