That's trivial yes, but that'd take us 3 per match closer to Chelsea for example (although you always drop some poins against such teams, every team has) but if we had beaten Chelsea, they'd have 3 points less than they do now and we'd have 3 points more getting us 6 points closer to Chelsea. This season the top 6 do very well against bottom sides apart from the occasional drops which every team will have, but if you dont win against top 6, you're out.
6
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 51
- Goals
- 9
- Assists
- 6
- Yellow cards
- 10
- Status
Not necessarily. I am quietly confident that the teams above us have the odd few games that they "should have won" but for poor finishing or decisions. All things being equal, we would perhaps be in the same position
Bingo
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...t-day-terrible-display-Manchester-United.html
I could be an English journalist. Easiest job in the world.
This guy has absolute bucket loads of ability. He can do it all. Which is why his performance yesterday was so, so infuriating.
Basically everything that's wrong with him is in his head. Sort that out and you have an immense football player. Yesterday he fell right back into his MO from the start of the season where he tried to set up a chance, score a goal or do something ridiculous every single time he had the ball instead of just playing football. He needs to realise that he's only better than everyone else in the league when he's playing like he isn't. Meaning that he moves the ball swiftly and with purpose until the pass or shot is one.
I can deal with players not doing everything right from a technical point of view, after all there's 11 players trying to make you fail, it's when they decide to act like kids not having their way afterwards it really gets to me. As long as you continuously make the right decisions you'll succeed sooner or later. Pogba could learn a thing or two about the less glamorous sides of football from even someone like Herrera who'll at least get on with things.
Oh well, at least we didn't lose. On to the next one.
Basically everything that's wrong with him is in his head. Sort that out and you have an immense football player. Yesterday he fell right back into his MO from the start of the season where he tried to set up a chance, score a goal or do something ridiculous every single time he had the ball instead of just playing football. He needs to realise that he's only better than everyone else in the league when he's playing like he isn't. Meaning that he moves the ball swiftly and with purpose until the pass or shot is one.
I can deal with players not doing everything right from a technical point of view, after all there's 11 players trying to make you fail, it's when they decide to act like kids not having their way afterwards it really gets to me. As long as you continuously make the right decisions you'll succeed sooner or later. Pogba could learn a thing or two about the less glamorous sides of football from even someone like Herrera who'll at least get on with things.
Oh well, at least we didn't lose. On to the next one.
Curious about the penalty, because it clearly wasn't deliberate nor were his hands in an unnatural position. But we can all agree that it was definitely a penalty. I can't count how many times in previous handball incidents I've seen pundits and fans saying "it's not handball because it wasn't deliberate", yet we have one of the most clear accidental handballs I've ever seen here and I'm yet to see a single defense of it. I have to stress that I agree it was a penalty, I'm just bemused as to where the "it has to be deliberate" crowd have gone. Let's not forget that the laws of the game state that a handball has to be deliberate for a foul to be given.
Id say his hand was in an unnatural position.
They were.
I'd say they were in a normal position for someone mid-jump, you have to put them out for leverage and stability in the air, plus he was trying to get in front of his man. I don't think the laws actually state anything about unnatural position anyway. The FIFA laws of the game simply say it has to be deliberate to be a foul, nothing about unnatural position. Not sure if this is another Sky Sports "last man back" fake rule or if there's a more thorough rule book that I haven't seen? I'd be interested to know.
I just looked through FIFA's laws and you're very right. There's nothing about unnatural position or something like that.
Of course it's a penalty, but surely it would make sense to actually have somewhere in the rules where it says it is.
Source
His hands unwillingly (?) moved to the ball...penalty.
You're right. The unnatural position stuff has never been in the laws of the game, although this is the first time I realised that FIFA specifically mention that the position of the hand doesn't necessarily mean there's an infringement. That's news to me and does go against common practice in the UK. I think the unnatural position explanation came out of a briefing to referees, a few years back. It's a reasonable pragmatic approach to an unsolvable problem. The idea that a referee needs to read someone's mind to be 100% certain that any given handball was deliberate.
Agreed. A few years ago I think I heard something to the effect of "if you benefit from having handled the ball then it's an offense". Which seems sensible (albeit still leaves it to interpretation) although I reckon most incidences would be covered by the ref giving the advantage as the only way you cannot benefit from handling the ball is if you somehow give it straight back to an attacker or something.
With every passing big match, he's proving my perception correct. HE IS NOT A BIG MATCH PLAYER. He is as big a flat track bully as it comes.
1. He disappeared in 2015 UCL final.
2. He was ordinary in the Euros.
3. He was rubbish against City and Liverpool at OT, ordinary against at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and against Arsenal at OT.
4. His best big match was against Spurs, but that too was nothing amazing.
Psychologically he is exactly the opposite of what Zidane was. Zidane used to focus on football, not on fashion and always raised his game on big occasions. Pogba focuses on fashion, little on football and disappears in big matches.
1. He disappeared in 2015 UCL final.
2. He was ordinary in the Euros.
3. He was rubbish against City and Liverpool at OT, ordinary against at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and against Arsenal at OT.
4. His best big match was against Spurs, but that too was nothing amazing.
Psychologically he is exactly the opposite of what Zidane was. Zidane used to focus on football, not on fashion and always raised his game on big occasions. Pogba focuses on fashion, little on football and disappears in big matches.
I think the benefitting from the handball stuff covers whether or not to book someone. If they cynically handle the ball to gain an unfair advantage then they get booked. Which is something that seems to blow the mind of pundits who often seem to think that you should be booked if you handle deliberately (ignoring the laws which state that it has to be deliberate to be a foul at all)
That's an extremely selective subset of games. How did Juve get to the UCL final without playing any big games en route?
A shocking performance. He seems to struggle a bit with a high press.
Still, he's young and will learn from it. He did look nervous to me.
Still, he's young and will learn from it. He did look nervous to me.
I think he needs to be benched for a few games. Bring him down to earth.
Dunno about benching him but I am wondering exactly how badly he needs to play to get subbed off. He seems to have diplomatic immunity. Which must be at least slightly galling to the likes of Mata and Carrick.
He just needs more experience. Everyone knows he has the ability and the arrogance. He needed a game like that yesterday to educate him further.
He was awful yesterday, there's no denying it, but we can't judge his United career so far over it.
I have complete faith in him. We will have to wait and see I guess.
He was awful yesterday, there's no denying it, but we can't judge his United career so far over it.
I have complete faith in him. We will have to wait and see I guess.
The last thing I would do is bench him, unless he starts scoring own goals, red cards for a few consecutive matches.
He needs as much playing time as possible. He is still new to the Premier league. He needs to learn more about this league.
He needs as much playing time as possible. He is still new to the Premier league. He needs to learn more about this league.
Unintentional contact in a deliberate attempt to control or manipulate the movement of the ball is also penalized. The ball doesn't come to his direction in a way that he can't avoid contact, he wants to make contact, hence the penalty. The fact that neither Pogba nor anybody else objected the decision should tell you all you need to know. In a similar situation the ref awarded a penalty for Bastian's handball in the Euro semi against France. It was the correct decision back then too.
I think a lot of comes down to maturity mixed with a little bit lack of technical execution. The maturity issues are when he tries to be the star and do too much when there seems more intelligent options available. This is most obvious in his bad games as when they do come off it looks great. That's why I suggest its also partly technical execution. I say this because flairy, creative players should play with a degree of freedom to express themselves. Guys like Ronaldinho most certainly played with expressive freedom yet did not deteriorate to the level Pogba can, even when he was old.
I am a harsh critic but this is too harsh. He has been fine these last few games. Sometimes young players need to experience the harsh realities of getting owned in big matches to get a reality check, mature etc. I know he is 24 soon but I feel he needs to get used to the big occasion in England and these sort of games where you will literally get no space and be under high intensity high pressure, which could help him develop and maybe think quicker. I would rather he play in these games and fail.
Bench him for one bad game when the last 2-3 months he has been amazing game after game? Bit harsh
In an ideal world he wouldn't have stayed on the full 90 minutes but as poor as he was he is still one of the few potential game changers we have. Yesterday displayed our lack of options in midfield if the default (Carrick, Herrera, Pogba) isn't working. Rooney was never going to excel in a congested, high tempo environment and as impactful as Fellaini was, he doesn't really bring control and composure to an area we were struggling in. We have decent numbers and variation but lack another technical option in CM.
Good lad, Pogba.
#shithappens... That's when we need be strong. I'm here, ready to fight and ready for the next one!!! I'd like to thank the supporters who are always there and keep believing in me. At least we did not lose. Never stop fighting
#shithappens... That's when we need be strong. I'm here, ready to fight and ready for the next one!!! I'd like to thank the supporters who are always there and keep believing in me. At least we did not lose. Never stop fighting
Mentally and emotionally, they are very much alike. Pogba is still learning his craft in the Premier League as the main cog in the middle and the one player to stop in the middle. At Juve, he had two or three years where he wasn't the primary focal point. He could have a shite match and get away with it due to his supporting cast. This is no longer the case.
Worst player on the pitch, but he was consistently fantastic in the last 10 games or so, he's allowed to have a crap game here and there. It's a shame that his worst game came against these wankers, but it happens.
One massive mistake, and generally untidy, but am sure he can put it out of his mind, and get going again.
United v Liverpool often is a bit of a slog, let alone when they're actually above us for one of the few times in 2 decades.
United v Liverpool often is a bit of a slog, let alone when they're actually above us for one of the few times in 2 decades.
TBF, I'm sure a few of us played around with the theory. Writing a "professional" article about it, in an attempt to sound clever or get clicks is pretty pathetic.
So he's a 23 year old with the mind of a 19 year old?
This thread reads like he had a nightmare 2/10.
He actually had some very nice passes, 5/10 for me
He actually had some very nice passes, 5/10 for me
I'd agree with that. But 5/10 is just not good enough in a game like this.
There are some worrying temperament and slow-thinking problems with PP - because world-class players generally put a mistake out of their heads and vow to do better the next time they get the ball.
He's not been able to do that in particular, in two games, this one and Everton away, which was also became painful to watch.
I'll judge him properly early next season, when there'll be no excuses for not being in 'synch' with the pace of the Premier League or with his team-mates.
At present, he's just an expensive work-in-progress with flashes of brilliance and a spider-like talent that doesn't know whether to crawl or sprint. It's either too fast or too slow. He's like a watch with too many dials that needs readjustment.
Only then might we have a player on our hands. Right now, he's a bit decent but nothing more.
He's not been able to do that in particular, in two games, this one and Everton away, which was also became painful to watch.
I'll judge him properly early next season, when there'll be no excuses for not being in 'synch' with the pace of the Premier League or with his team-mates.
At present, he's just an expensive work-in-progress with flashes of brilliance and a spider-like talent that doesn't know whether to crawl or sprint. It's either too fast or too slow. He's like a watch with too many dials that needs readjustment.
Only then might we have a player on our hands. Right now, he's a bit decent but nothing more.
Last edited:
It is not good enough but we were still very close to winning the game with Pogba on the field.
And yet the audience lap it up.
The state of this pathetic profession. Things such endorsement deals barely affect a players perfomances especially when the player only has to show up for a few hours of photo shoots while the professionals work behind the scenes to sort things out. It pains me that so many readers are so gullible.
We were. We might have won it without him on the field. He had a poor game.
- Status