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2016-17 Performances


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6.3 Season Average Rating
Appearances
51
Goals
9
Assists
6
Yellow cards
10
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Not sure how much of Modric you saw. But he was better at 24 than what I've seen of Pogba at United this season IMO. Don't agree that this is as clear an argument as many claim. I rarely hype up Spurs players, but Modric was absolute class. And in his last few seasons was absolute world class.

In any case. I'm willing to give Pogba some time. And although his first season may be underwhelming at best (unless he makes a big contribution towards the end of the season). I think it's likely that he will improve quite a bit next season, although not as 100% certain as some posters.

There are mitigating factors, and his talent is very obvious. The only thing I find strange is how aggressively some people defend him, and what steps are taken to justify his performances. In my opinion he has not been good enough so far, he will most likely improve if he has good coaching and attitude. How much remains to be seen.

Sounds about fair given how aggressively every media outlet, all the opposition fans and even some of United supporters slate him on an hourly basis despite him being good on multiple occasions. Go back a few pages on this very thread and there are people rating Pogba's season so far a 4 out of 10. How come it is strange then if I propose he's been 10 out of 10? We're only trying to balance out the bloated and illogical criticism our player has been receiving ever since he stepped on the pitch for us.
 
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Sounds about fair given how aggressively every media outlet, all the opposition fans and even some of United supporters slate him on an hourly basis despite him being good on multiple occasions. Go back a few pages on this very thread and there are people rating Pogba's season so far a 4 out of 10. How come it is strange then if I propose he's been 10 out of 10? We're only trying to balance out the bloated and illogical criticism our player has been receiving ever since he stepped on the pitch for us.

I can understand that. He has received a lot of attention, and some of it comes from his price tag and performances of the team as a whole (not his fault, and can seem unfair). However, a lot of attention he also puts on himself through the Pogba brand, social media and so on. When you release an emoji before the Liverpool game it is natural that the media focus on your performance.

I do agree with you that some criticism is quite over the top. But it seem to come from people wanting him to play really well, so I can understand some post match venting.

I would suggest that 4/10 can be a fair rating based on his expectations. But 10/10 sounds ridiculous to me. And I'm not a big fan of balancing views in general, just leads nowhere.

Best thing united supporters can do imo would be to be patient with him, and hope that the coaching staff and Pogba works well. But if Mourinho and Pogba already believe he's a giant I would start getting nervous.
 
Not sure how much of Modric you saw. But he was better at 24 than what I've seen of Pogba at United this season IMO. Don't agree that this is as clear an argument as many claim. I rarely hype up Spurs players, but Modric was absolute class. And in his last few seasons was absolute world class.

In any case. I'm willing to give Pogba some time. And although his first season may be underwhelming at best (unless he makes a big contribution towards the end of the season). I think it's likely that he will improve quite a bit next season, although not as 100% certain as some posters.

There are mitigating factors, and his talent is very obvious. The only thing I find strange is how aggressively some people defend him, and what steps are taken to justify his performances. In my opinion he has not been good enough so far, he will most likely improve if he has good coaching and attitude. How much remains to be seen.
At 23/24, Modric was in his first season at Tottenham. I can't say I watch him more than you Tottenham fan, but he was not influential at all & has the same problem of not finding his own role at Tottenham. Tried more in attacking role similar to David Silva's role; wide play maker for Tottenham which he was very underwhelming. He was deemed as too weak for PL & did pick up some injuries here & there. It did took him awhile to adapt to PL too. He had a memorable EURO with Croatia in the summer but rather as good prospect than actually star carrying the team. Pogba had the expectation as star player which some say he failed, but if using the prospect scope like Modric to judge him, he's one hell of superior prospect. I watched fair few of Pogba at Juventus, France in the past years; IMO he was more impressive than Modric when I first knew about him.

Then Modric was not burdened to carry a team with big ambition (getting back to the very top), when Modric was just part of Tottenham team at best fighting for top 4 finish & domestic cup. Modric reached a level Pogba yet to reach at older age but I think you're remembering thing wrongly or we as opponent fans have different view on players.

There are a reason too many clubs were hesitant & let Modric went to Tottenham (afraid that he couldn't adapt to top league) even at reasonable price, while if Pogba's price was reasonable (talent wise only) I feared we would be able to sign him with a host of other suitor.
 
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At 23/24, Modric was in his first season at Tottenham. I can't say I watch him more than you Tottenham fan, but he was not influential at all & has the same problem of not finding his own role at Tottenham. Tried more in attacking role similar to David Silva's role; wide play maker for Tottenham which he was very underwhelming. He got injured & was deemed as too weak for PL did pick up some injuries here & there. It did took him to adapt to PL too. He had a memorable EURO with Croatia in the summer but rather as good prospect than actually star. I watched fair few of Pogba at Juventus, France IMO he was more impressive than Modric when I first knew about him.

Then Modric was not burdened to carry a team with big ambition (getting back to the very top), when Modric was just part of Tottenham team at best fighting for top 4 finish & domestic cup. Modric reached a level Pogba yet to reach but I think you're remembering thing wrongly or we as opponent fans have different view on players.

Modric in his first season played mostly from left side and he wasn't world class. Same with David Silva, he wasn't as good as he was later in his career and his first season was okaish.
 
I do agree with you that some criticism is quite over the top. But it seem to come from people wanting him to play really well, so I can understand some post match venting.
Does it though? Because I scanned through the logs of posts made by some and they seem to only post in the thread when he's having a bad game or when they think he's having a bad game. I bet if I scrolled all the way back to the Pogba Transfer thread, I will see the same people moaning in there.

I would suggest that 4/10 can be a fair rating based on his expectations. But 10/10 sounds ridiculous to me. And I'm not a big fan of balancing views in general, just leads nowhere.
Not far off from being as ridiculous and agenda oriented than rating him a 4 and throwing about question such as what has Pogba got to offer that Fellaini and Herrera can't.

Best thing united supporters can do imo would be to be patient with him, and hope that the coaching staff and Pogba works well. But if Mourinho and Pogba already believe he's a giant I would start getting nervous.
I think Mourinho knows very well how much work Pogba has got to do in order to be anywhere close to fulfilling his potential. He is his manager after-all and watches him train day in and day out. He is only doing what you accuse the posters on here of doing and that is aggressively defend a player who he knows has the quality and who he knows hasn't been anywhere near as bad as most people are making it out to be.

I get what you're trying to say and of course your argument makes a whole lot more sense than both the people slating him and the people defending him. But I do not think many are capable of holding such an unbiased opinion of his abilities and performances so the debate will roll on.
 
Modric in his first season played mostly from left side and he wasn't world class. Same with David Silva, he wasn't as good as he was later in his career and his first season was okaish.
I'll wait for other to give their view. I think we see thing similarly here. Modric at same age was not as good as Pogba. The difference was one have to live up to the price tag while one could enjoy a little leeway to regroup when they hit the wall.
 
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Not sure how much of Modric you saw. But he was better at 24 than what I've seen of Pogba at United this season IMO. Don't agree that this is as clear an argument as many claim. I rarely hype up Spurs players, but Modric was absolute class. And in his last few seasons was absolute world class.

In any case. I'm willing to give Pogba some time. And although his first season may be underwhelming at best (unless he makes a big contribution towards the end of the season). I think it's likely that he will improve quite a bit next season, although not as 100% certain as some posters.

There are mitigating factors, and his talent is very obvious. The only thing I find strange is how aggressively some people defend him, and what steps are taken to justify his performances. In my opinion he has not been good enough so far, he will most likely improve if he has good coaching and attitude. How much remains to be seen.

All I want is for people to be realistic. Before the Chelsea match, people were saying now that Zlatan is out, it's time for Pogba to step up. Like wtf? What do they want from him, what is their expectations of him? Score 3 goals at the bridge? People don't understand that the price tag is for the player the club hope Pogba can be. I have no doubt Pogba will get there. I have seen post saying they will bite the hands off anyone that offer 60M for him in the summer and you are saying defending him is strange? Seriously?

Btw, Modric was not even close at 24.
 
I'll wait for other to give their view. I think we see thing similarly here. Modric at same age was not as good as Pogba. The difference was one have to live up to the price tag while one could enjoy a little leeway & regroup.

I would ignore most of the Spurs fans opinion though. I agree Modric wasn't as good as Pogba at the same age. Easy to forget how good Pogba was for Juventus.
 
Not sure how much of Modric you saw. But he was better at 24 than what I've seen of Pogba at United this season IMO. Don't agree that this is as clear an argument as many claim. I rarely hype up Spurs players, but Modric was absolute class. And in his last few seasons was absolute world class.

In any case. I'm willing to give Pogba some time. And although his first season may be underwhelming at best (unless he makes a big contribution towards the end of the season). I think it's likely that he will improve quite a bit next season, although not as 100% certain as some posters.

There are mitigating factors, and his talent is very obvious. The only thing I find strange is how aggressively some people defend him, and what steps are taken to justify his performances. In my opinion he has not been good enough so far, he will most likely improve if he has good coaching and attitude. How much remains to be seen.
Decent post.

The over-the-top defences is usually as a result of the over-the-top criticism he gets.

This place tends have no middle ground with players fluctuating from world class to Fellaini each week.
 
We might have a more dynamic game but the idea that his only contribution is long, direct balls is silly. Of the 1400 players that have played at least 90 minutes across the top 5 leagues, he ranks 17th for average passes per game. 2nd in the Premier League. Ahead of the likes of Kroos, Weigl, Koke, Silva, Modric and many other caf favourites.

Of those 75 passes per game, 5.5 of them are what is categorised as "long passes". The likes of Kroos (8), Alcantara (7), Henderson (7), Alonso (6) make more long passes overall, and as a proportion of their passes either the same proportion or higher are long passes.

That's a long way of saying Pogba makes a feck-tonne of short passes. 70 a game. More than the vast, vast, vast majority in Europe. If that isn't an indication of his influence on our team then I'm not sure what is. It's obviouslt true that making a short pass does not equal influencing the game, but making that volume of passes undoubtedly underlines a level of influence. There's a reason the other midfielders in there are all recognised as key players in their team.

We take it for granted that Pogba has that level of involvement because we hold him to such high standards in every facet of the game - defending, controlling the game, creating, scoring. We do that because he has a vast array of talents and pops up in all areas, but the reality is that one talent for ball circulation is hugely influential for us. We might well be more dynamic but we generally lose a level of control when he's not playing. We've played dominant attacking football throughout this season and that's undoubtedly partly down to Pogba. The fact his fatigue has coincided with our loss of dominance is hardly surprising in that context.
Absolutely this.
 
People don't like stats ffs. It's what they see from stretford end that matters.
Yeah, 'I have seen it with my own eyes.' 'Stats are the death of football' seem to be the go to mantras. Yet, time and time again, studies show eye witness accounts are unreliable.
 
Not sure how much of Modric you saw. But he was better at 24 than what I've seen of Pogba at United this season IMO. Don't agree that this is as clear an argument as many claim. I rarely hype up Spurs players, but Modric was absolute class. And in his last few seasons was absolute world class.
He was class at the Euros but I definitely don't agree he was better at Spurs at 24 than Pogba has been. Modric actually had a pretty disappointing first season in the PL.
 
At 23/24, Modric was in his first season at Tottenham. I can't say I watch him more than you Tottenham fan, but he was not influential at all & has the same problem of not finding his own role at Tottenham. Tried more in attacking role similar to David Silva's role; wide play maker for Tottenham which he was very underwhelming. He was deemed as too weak for PL & did pick up some injuries here & there. It did took him awhile to adapt to PL too. He had a memorable EURO with Croatia in the summer but rather as good prospect than actually star carrying the team. Pogba had the expectation as star player which some say he failed, but if using the prospect scope like Modric to judge him, he's one hell of superior prospect. I watched fair few of Pogba at Juventus, France in the past years; IMO he was more impressive than Modric when I first knew about him.

Then Modric was not burdened to carry a team with big ambition (getting back to the very top), when Modric was just part of Tottenham team at best fighting for top 4 finish & domestic cup. Modric reached a level Pogba yet to reach at older age but I think you're remembering thing wrongly or we as opponent fans have different view on players.

There are a reason too many clubs were hesitant & let Modric went to Tottenham (afraid that he couldn't adapt to top league) even at reasonable price, while if Pogba's price was reasonable (talent wise only) I feared we would be able to sign him with a host of other suitor.

Good post. And I completely agree with you regarding expectations; Pogba doesn't have the luxury Modric had of being allowed time to improve without being overly scrutinized.

I think Modric's first season is a little underrated, and although he was far from brilliant he had some great moments, and I was very excited to see what he might become. He was also utilized wrongly imo in a team that was far from stable, and not a top team. I remember being positively surprised at times, although I admittedly didn't expect a lot from his first season, perhaps this expectations is clouding my judgement somewhat when comparing their first season, it's possible. In any case, I was mainly reacting to some repeated claims that Pogba at 24 is so far ahead of other midfielders at 24, something I don't agree with. Maybe we have some different views here, and I remember disagreeing with people at the time who were critical of Modric, when I thought he did quite well.

Modric was at Spurs for 4 seasons, the first season he was improving, adapting and being shifted around in a team that was changing around him. The second season he was very good, and the last two seasons undoubtedly world class imo. I think he proved all doubters about his physicality and adaptability wrong, and showed that he was capable of dominating and dictating games against the very best clubs in the PL from a midfield 2, often with two wingers. And I can't agree that Pogba is a superior prospect, to me that's like saying Pogba is a superior prospect to Iniesta, just because he's bigger and stronger; players can fulfill different roles.

In any case, I don't think there's much in it (who shaded their first PL season). And my point was mainly against the people who seem to claim he is playing so well for someone who is so "young".

Modric in his first season played mostly from left side and he wasn't world class. Same with David Silva, he wasn't as good as he was later in his career and his first season was okaish.

I can agree to that. :)

I would ignore most of the Spurs fans opinion though. I agree Modric wasn't as good as Pogba at the same age. Easy to forget how good Pogba was for Juventus.

I was mainly comparing their first season in the PL so far, but yeah - Pogba's time with Juve was very good, especially considering his age.

Does it though? Because I scanned through the logs of posts made by some and they seem to only post in the thread when he's having a bad game or when they think he's having a bad game. I bet if I scrolled all the way back to the Pogba Transfer thread, I will see the same people moaning in there.


Not far off from being as ridiculous and agenda oriented than rating him a 4 and throwing about question such as what has Pogba got to offer that Fellaini and Herrera can't.


I think Mourinho knows very well how much work Pogba has got to do in order to be anywhere close to fulfilling his potential. He is his manager after-all and watches him train day in and day out. He is only doing what you accuse the posters on here of doing and that is aggressively defend a player who he knows has the quality and who he knows hasn't been anywhere near as bad as most people are making it out to be.

I get what you're trying to say and of course your argument makes a whole lot more sense than both the people slating him and the people defending him. But I do not think many are capable of holding such an unbiased opinion of his abilities and performances so the debate will roll on.[/SPOILER

If people were capable of that the forum sure would be a boring place ;)

In any case, you got some big games coming up at the end of the season, let's see how he performs, he may still be the hero and play a big part in helping United get CL football one way or another (or he may get slaughtered by pundits and fans alike). That's football.[/SPOILER]
 
Honestly, from a neutrals perspective, I don't think Pogba has been bad, he has not been great for the money spent on him which isn't his fault to be fair but that how it is in this era. If you go for big money, you have to justify the price tag or your get criticism from fans and pundits.
 
Does it though? Because I scanned through the logs of posts made by some and they seem to only post in the thread when he's having a bad game or when they think he's having a bad game. I bet if I scrolled all the way back to the Pogba Transfer thread, I will see the same people moaning in there.

Guilty as charged, Your Honour.

I did say then that in my opinion he's a bit overrated and nowhere near as good as the reputation / price tag.

We can all see the potential, but only some of us on here seem to be able to admit that up to now it's all been very average to say the least
 
Why is anyone surprise, it's not like this forum or the media have not criticize Cristiano before. Even the season he got 42 goals, he still got criticized. :lol:
 
Good post. And I completely agree with you regarding expectations; Pogba doesn't have the luxury Modric had of being allowed time to improve without being overly scrutinized.

I think Modric's first season is a little underrated, and although he was far from brilliant he had some great moments, and I was very excited to see what he might become. He was also utilized wrongly imo in a team that was far from stable, and not a top team. I remember being positively surprised at times, although I admittedly didn't expect a lot from his first season, perhaps this expectations is clouding my judgement somewhat when comparing their first season, it's possible. In any case, I was mainly reacting to some repeated claims that Pogba at 24 is so far ahead of other midfielders at 24, something I don't agree with. Maybe we have some different views here, and I remember disagreeing with people at the time who were critical of Modric, when I thought he did quite well.

Modric was at Spurs for 4 seasons, the first season he was improving, adapting and being shifted around in a team that was changing around him. The second season he was very good, and the last two seasons undoubtedly world class imo. I think he proved all doubters about his physicality and adaptability wrong, and showed that he was capable of dominating and dictating games against the very best clubs in the PL from a midfield 2, often with two wingers. And I can't agree that Pogba is a superior prospect, to me that's like saying Pogba is a superior prospect to Iniesta, just because he's bigger and stronger; players can fulfill different roles.

In any case, I don't think there's much in it (who shaded their first PL season). And my point was mainly against the people who seem to claim he is playing so well for someone who is so "young".
I am not saying about how much more potential one may have more than another; it's more at the same age Pogba showcased enough to say he's more guaranteed to reach his full potential than Modric, who at same age needed to prove that he had it to adapt to bigger league/ team. You know, like compare Aguero vs L. Suarez career age for age. Aguero steadily showed from young age he had it while Suarez needed to move up at slower rate within Dutch league, then L'pool, then Barcelona . Arguably Suarez at his peak is more influential while both are in same world class bracket.

You know, many United fans followed play makers who can influence game through the central area because we're dire through the central area back in the day. Modric was one of the prospects many of us followed; so while we couldn't say we knew about Modric more than the Tottenham fans, many of us remembered him well. So yes, it's the opinion matter thus I can't say you're wrong that you can see Modric would definitely fulfill his potential; it's just that from neutral point of view there was much doubt on Modric's adaption to the PL for the first 1 & half season. Those injuries also didn't look helpful for the neutral watcher.
 
I believe so too - almost agreed with every word he said there and I don't usually agree with him on anything
Agree. I said in post match France - Germany in EURO that Pogba was the best midfielders (minus second forward, wing play maker); even though Bastian & Kroos bossed the first half; Matuidi plugging holes & energetic. It's Pogba playing the holding role; shaping how France midfield & system like Fellaini in the video. Pogba that game did a great job that with him as the positioning pointer/ main holding midfield, his teammates could adjust their position & contain Germany. In same post, I said Pogba showed that he's Mourinho's midfielder in case we try get him at all cost(without hindsight).

This is good & fair assessment from Hagreaves. Even with excuse playing with 10 men, Fellaini showed that his tactical understanding, reading of the game was poor. Easily got sucked out from central area & making his partner to deal with too much threat. It's terrible at "holding" there. Pogba in this instance ain't the one to be blamed. Too many things going on for one man to deal with.
 
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Anyone seen this?



I think Hargreaves nails it to be honest.


Have always like what Hargreaves says as a pundit/commentator. Never got/get the hate he gets so much.

He's a cultured guy and tells things straight. Maybe there was some bitterness with Utd but I don't think he has agendas.
 
Have always like what Hargreaves says as a pundit/commentator. Never got/get the hate he gets so much.

He's a cultured guy and tells things straight. Maybe there was some bitterness with Utd but I don't think he has agendas.
He still has tendency to talk crap about thing he doesn't know. For example, he commented after CL 16 round draw, that City should open champagne getting Monaco!!! Anyone who watched a bit of French league this season know that Monaco is terrifying offensively. City's defense on the other hand... That's where the problem is.

Some of his analysis when it comes to tactic is spot on though. He's tactical astute compare to his peers as player & as pundits, I can see that. Should do more analysis, where he can use his knowledge than commentary or punditry where it's more about entertaining the audience & trying to be funny, which he ain't good at...
 
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I am not saying about how much more potential one may have more than another; it's more at the same age Pogba showcased enough to say he's more guaranteed to reach his full potential than Modric, who at same age needed to prove that he had it to adapt to bigger league/ team. You know, like compare Aguero vs L. Suarez career age for age. Aguero steadily showed from young age he had it while Suarez needed to move up at slower rate within Dutch league, then L'pool, then Barcelona . Arguably Suarez at his peak is more influential while both are in same world class bracket.

You know, many United fans followed play makers who can influence game through the central area because we're dire through the central area back in the day. Modric was one of the prospects many of us followed; so while we couldn't say we knew about Modric more than the Tottenham fans, many of us remembered him well. So yes, it's the opinion matter thus I can't say you're wrong that you can see Modric would definitely fulfill his potential; it's just that from neutral point of view there was much doubt on Modric's adaption to the PL for the first 1 & half season. Those injuries also didn't look helpful for the neutral watcher.

I see, maybe I slightly misunderstood. That's fair enough, at the same age Pogba definitely showed more than Modric did, definitely agree with you on that. Now it's time for Pogba to prove his quality, and he still got plenty of opportunities and time to do so.
 
This injury, hoping its nothing serious and he'll be back in 2 weeks, has actually come at a very good time for Pogba. He'll get a good rest for 2 weeks and will only miss one game for us. He has been playing non-stop and is never substituted. This rest will help him charge up for the next two months of football where we play every 3-4 days.
 
Age aside, Pogba isn't better than Modric or Kroos, that's well off.
Though I'd add I think he can reach that level and be the best CM in the world.
 
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He still has tendency to talk crap about thing he doesn't know. For example, he commented after CL 16 round draw, that City should open champagne getting Monaco!!! Anyone who watched a bit of French league this season know that Monaco is terrifying offensively. City's defense on the other hand... That's where the problem is.

Some of his analysis when it comes to tactic is spot on though. He's tactical astute compare to his peers as player & as pundits, I can see that. Should do more analysis, where he can use his knowledge than commentary or punditry where it's more about entertaining the audience & trying to be funny, which he ain't good at...

Yeah that's deffo true. He's not a good commentator but is good at specific things like the ones you mentioned.

Most of all though, he mentions details as opposed to the rest, who chime in with very generic comments.
 
Our next game is on 1/04. This injury could be a blessing in desgiuse as it'll have afforded him a 3 week rest. Hopefully he comes back fresh and back on form for the run in.
 
Anyone seen this?



I think Hargreaves nails it to be honest.

Feels like forever since I've heard that much sense from punditry, pleasantly surprised.


Didn't know Forlan is now writing about football, another pleasant surprise. I was very fond of him in his time here. Can never forget the goal he scored against Chelsea when a agonizing draw and a boost for Arsenal looked certain.
 
Didn't know Forlan is now writing about football, another pleasant surprise. I was very fond of him in his time here. Can never forget the goal he scored against Chelsea when a agonizing draw and a boost for Arsenal looked certain.

He used to write in the four four two mag and it was usually a good read.
 
Of those two, one is 27yr old and the other is 31yrs. Pull both of their records at the age of 23/24. :rolleyes:

That alone is a testament to Pogba.

The posters above have already covered Modric.

In regards to Kroos, he was a CL winner at 23 or 24, and won the world cup at 25. Lets see if Pogba can follow suit next year to support your argument.
 
The posters above have already covered Modric.

In regards to Kroos, he was a CL winner at 23 or 24, and won the world cup at 25. Lets see if Pogba can follow suit next year to support your argument.

Kroos was injured in the quarter finals first leg against Juventus and didn't play again that season. He was injured in the first 20 mins.
 
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