'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
- 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
2)
His dribbling isn't as good as he thinks it is under pressure
- 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
3)
Careless short passing
- 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.
5) Quick one-touch passing, using triangles, linking up with others
- 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.
6) Defensive work in general
- 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.
