Wish he'd properly twatted that smug emo cnut Henderson
6
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Yes, it's from his instagram
Still sad and angry about Pogba's performance. He was utterly horrendous and cost us the game. Should be dropped for the next game, anyone else would be.
His crap games come against the good sides. He isn't a very good player when it comes to the top top level.
At juve, he was generally great in big games. Even when he wasn't(borussia dortmund, real madrid in CL) he still found ways to have an impact on the game
I think he might be feeling the weight of the united shirt a bit too much. His performance against 'pool reminded me of some of his bad performances for france
I think he might be feeling the weight of the united shirt a bit too much. His performance against 'pool reminded me of some of his bad performances for france
Marchisio was much better than him in the CL final.
He needs to realize that biggest stars in the world have only 4-5 moments of genius in tight matches. The rest of the game they are just doing simple things with high efficiency. He has to pick his moments to impose himself on these types of games. His brilliance will shine when he actually stops trying to cause it.
I think that's the worst thing that can happen to him. He needs to feel that the manager and the teammates still feel confidence in him. Besides, everyone can have one bad game, it's just unlucky that he had a "black out" in such an important game.
Pogba will most likely learn from this (if he's serious about developing in to something great) and make smarter decisions in the future. He has so much talent that when/if he gets everything "sorted out" than he'll be incredible.
...and what does that have to do with my point...?
I don't think I like this.
This is Pogba's first full year in the Premier League. Mentally and emotionally, he has a lot to learn to be an impact player in big domestic matches in England. It was something Ronaldo had to experience in his early United years when his ascension at the club and world football began.
I don't think you can compare the two. If you were talking about Pogba at his first stint at United then maybe. But of course he didn't stay, he left and came back as a world record signing. A little bit like Ronaldo left United to sign for Madrid for a world record fee.
That he wasn't "generally great" in big games with Juve.
Morata was much better than him against Bayern too.
He needs to stop doing that thing where he just stands still with the ball and for some reason expects no one to try and tackle him. In the last 2 games alone he must have lost the ball 10+ times doing this.
He also seems to think he doesn't have to pass if he's being pressed by three opposition players and instead just fecks around trying to beat all three of them, which always ends with him laying on the floor while they run off with the ball.
Last two performances aside I've been more than happy but there's two complete nonsense parts of his game straight away that would improve him massively as a player if he just cut them out.
He also seems to think he doesn't have to pass if he's being pressed by three opposition players and instead just fecks around trying to beat all three of them, which always ends with him laying on the floor while they run off with the ball.
Last two performances aside I've been more than happy but there's two complete nonsense parts of his game straight away that would improve him massively as a player if he just cut them out.
I agree with that. When hes surrounded by three players, theres always one man in space as well. If / when he finds that balance it will be great for us, because it will free up others to get into better positions when he lays the ball off.
For someone who is capable of extraordinary things on a football pitch, he needs to be afforded the breathing space to make mistakes whilst he's still developing/exploring the limits. We didn't buy the finished article, people seem to choose to forget that.
Judging from the scorelines of Juve's run to the final, it's clear a lot was down to Morata and Tevez and Juve's fantastic defense. I have only seen Pogba play against Real Madrid in the second leg and against Barcelona in the final. He was really ordinary in both games.
Overall, I have given you examples from a total of 15 matches (2 in UCL2015, 7 in Euros albeit against some really poor teams in those, 6 in the premier league). If 15 matches are not enough to judge a player over 2 years, then God knows how many is enough for you.
I've heard the "doesn't show up for big games" canard said about so many great players. I remember people saying it about Ronaldo for years.
I'm happy with his contribution this season, but I expect him to get better given time. He has so much potential. I think he'll really come out of his shell next season, and that he'll rack up around 30 total goals and assists.
I'm happy with his contribution this season, but I expect him to get better given time. He has so much potential. I think he'll really come out of his shell next season, and that he'll rack up around 30 total goals and assists.
Not to mention our goal-scorer at the weekend.
It's just one bad game after so many excellent performances in a row. He let the occasion get to him. He needs to get this game out of his mind and move on and so should we.
He better shows up in the next game that's for sure
This irks me too especially when he does it in our own half. It puts unnecessary pressure on our defense when he loses the ball. This also leads to a change in the momentum of the game as the opposition suddenly get a belief that they can score.
Morata being better doesn't mean Pogba wasn't great. He was superb and created fantastic chances.
Really? So a player who has consistantly been great often get dropped if they have one bad performance? When?
Football fans are so fickle. He had a bad game (wasn't the only one either), it happens.
He's an incredible talent and in my eyes will go down as one of the best players of his generation. Saying that he isn't yet world class, in my eyes he isn't a ready made article like Modric who could adapt and play to a top class level in any league pretty much straight away, the reaction is so big in regards to his indifferent performance because United supporters some of them have been hyping up him up heavens partly in counter reaction to rival fans who have tend to underrate him since coming to United.
Comparisons with Zidane and what not won't do him any good, even though he is an 80m player we still have to remember that he is a 23 year old, and the type of player he is, is on with incredible attributes and skill, but one who may not develop a more cerebral approach to his game till a couple years, he still plays like the best biggest kid on the playground at times, and in regards to the biggest rivalry in England with a team that presses like dogs, thats not always the best approach to take, for one he wa splaying against two players in Henderson and Emre Can who are just as big and physical as him if not near him technically.
It may take him a season or so to get the balance between his self confidence and arrogance which makes him such a player on his best days, with the knowledge that in some games in England he sometimes has to curtail that and play a more simplified game, someone said before on this thread that the best players do most thing simple and have 3 or 4 pieces of magic in the big games, that is right, and something Pogba needs to take on board, and i think will in time.
Comparisons with Zidane and what not won't do him any good, even though he is an 80m player we still have to remember that he is a 23 year old, and the type of player he is, is on with incredible attributes and skill, but one who may not develop a more cerebral approach to his game till a couple years, he still plays like the best biggest kid on the playground at times, and in regards to the biggest rivalry in England with a team that presses like dogs, thats not always the best approach to take, for one he wa splaying against two players in Henderson and Emre Can who are just as big and physical as him if not near him technically.
It may take him a season or so to get the balance between his self confidence and arrogance which makes him such a player on his best days, with the knowledge that in some games in England he sometimes has to curtail that and play a more simplified game, someone said before on this thread that the best players do most thing simple and have 3 or 4 pieces of magic in the big games, that is right, and something Pogba needs to take on board, and i think will in time.
Seconded. It's weird how immature he is in his gameplay at times.
Indeed, this thread has been a joke since Sunday.
Those "two complete nonsense parts" are basically the same thing described in two different ways but yes, it's infuriating.
'Poor game' by a 'great' player doesn't cut it for me. it was an absolute shambles of a performance and Pogba should be embarrassed by how mediocre he was. At the same time, it is a great opportunity for him and Jose to look at his game and what needs to be done for him to step up a level as a player, because right now he is a world away from the Pogba we need him to become.
@noodlehair good post which pointed out his key deficiencies. Now someone mentioned Modric being a ready made top player, not true. Modric was 27/28 when he went to Madrid after learning alot from Spurs (playing out on the left before being trusted centrally), even the likes of Xavi took a long time to mature into proper midfielders of the highest order.. Pogba is 23, so he has time on his hands and with the physical fitness he has, he should age pretty damn well.. so the rush to turn him into a top player right now, is not necessary but nor should he think he has made it and it is just a case of a bad day at the office.
Flaws he has are as follows..
1) He doesn't know how to make the best out of the physique he has and how to negate its short-comings
4) Movement off the ball/relentless movement/endurance
To summarise, big talent but not a great player, very far from it and only through hard work will he realise his potential. I have faith in him and he has a great manager looking out for him. I won't judge him in the here and now, it is aged 25 where he should start coming into his own.
@noodlehair good post which pointed out his key deficiencies. Now someone mentioned Modric being a ready made top player, not true. Modric was 27/28 when he went to Madrid after learning alot from Spurs (playing out on the left before being trusted centrally), even the likes of Xavi took a long time to mature into proper midfielders of the highest order.. Pogba is 23, so he has time on his hands and with the physical fitness he has, he should age pretty damn well.. so the rush to turn him into a top player right now, is not necessary but nor should he think he has made it and it is just a case of a bad day at the office.
Flaws he has are as follows..
1) He doesn't know how to make the best out of the physique he has and how to negate its short-comings
- Over-confidence in his strength and holds onto the ball longer than he should and gets bullied off the ball by quicker more aggressive players. He should use his strength in small bursts, protect the ball and release it when he realises he's on the verge of being caught on it.. I also think he needs to put more muscle on personally.
- Because he is so tall and gangly, it is hard for him to be elusive and quick-footed on the ball when being pressed quickly.. now he has good feet for a big man, but regardless of how skilful he becomes, he is never going to be Iniesta.. therefore he needs to pick and choose his moments to take on the press and beat a man, keep opponents guessing. If you try and take them on all the time, they will clock on and being as gangly as he is, they will easily pick him out and target him
- Now Pogba has fantastic skills in his locker, and he can carry the ball well.. but we only see this properly in the smaller games where we need him to be creative. In the bigger games, his footwork is more suspect and is quite loose.. he doesn't keep the ball close enough to himself and he can be pretty clumsy when surrounded. Now he has great natural talent in this regard but he needs to tighten up his game and really focus on taking this to a world class level
- Messes up far too many simple short passes ala Wayne Rooney. a £90m midfielder should not be doing that and it is lack of concentration. Now the likes of Modric, Scholes etc they even when they were developing into midfielders would never lose the ball so carelessly, so he clearly isn't a natural 'keep-ball' sort of player and falls into the Gerrard category in this regard. He is 22 though and I think he really needs to instil some discipline into his passing and treat every pass with due care and attention.
4) Movement off the ball/relentless movement/endurance
- For a guy who thinks of himself as an athletic specimen, he doesn't really impress me with his coverage on the pitch. He can get up and down the pitch okay but moving side to side, finding pockets of space.. compare it to Coutinho and he is very average in this regard. Like Carrick another tall man who lacks mobility, he makes himself very easy to pick up and tries to rely on his strength to bail him out in this regard. He thinks he is that gifted that the ball will find him even if he ambles around the pitch and he will change defence into attack easily. No Pogba, you need to work your arse off especially in the big games and constantly keep the opponent guessing as to when and where you are going to get on the ball.
- Doesn't do this enough which is a big shame because when he does use his brain and interchanges with the likes of Zlatan, it leads to some majestic football. He needs to bring this into his game more and rely less on his ball-carrying. It will make him harder to pick up, he'll contribute to us controlling big games more as it leads to greater possession and more chances will be created.
- Again, another area in which due to him not mastering his own body and working on his endurance, it leaves him vulnerable. He can clearly protect a flank and track runners in patches but can you trust him to put in a world class defensive shift for 90 minutes.. no chance at the moment. He either thinks it is below him, or he lacks the positional awarenss to contribute effectively in a defensive sense. Again another area in which he is fortunate he has Mourinho as a manager because in the long term this will not be tolerated.
To summarise, big talent but not a great player, very far from it and only through hard work will he realise his potential. I have faith in him and he has a great manager looking out for him. I won't judge him in the here and now, it is aged 25 where he should start coming into his own.
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Rightly so. Ronaldo was the biggest star of our team at the time, now Pogba and Ibrahimovic.
People rightly expect these players to make a difference in biggest of the occasions, like Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Drogba(always great in finals), Eto'o(just like Drogba), Mata(always plays better in bigger matches), Robben, Sneijder(again, a big game player), Bale, Rooney(at least he used to), Keane etc. regularly do or did in big matches.
Ronaldo, Pogba, Ibrahimovic often make little impact in grandest of the occasions.
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I don't feel we should compare these two what so ever. Ronaldo came to us a relatively unknown teenager and Paul has come as the World's most expensive signing EVER, one of the best players in his position and the world. we should be judging them by a different standard. Also Ronaldo's 1st game vs Arsenal was good and in only his second season he bagged a brace at Highbury. he also had a great International tournament at aged just 19.
I do agree about Paul having to adjust to big games here as they are extra competitive
But he was. Even in the final, having just come back from a long injury, he was good. Not being the team's standout performer doesn't make his performances any less good.
Yet the big game bottler/flat track bully accusations stayed with him for at least a decade after that.
It's one game. He's still young is allowed to have some off days.
Let's be patient because we have a gem on our hands.
Let's be patient because we have a gem on our hands.
He is almost 24 years old.
Fixed.
I heard this from only non United fans as a stick to beat him with.
It stayed with him throughout his United career and accompanied him to Madrid. Obviously, he gets more stick from people who aren't fans of the club he plays for. Him and every other footballer.
He hasn't been consistently great. Yes he has been pretty good the last few weeks against poor to average opposition but he has been poor against the majority of the top teams. To say he has been consistently great is a massive overstatement. I was getting a little ahead of myself though and I don't think he should be dropped.
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