[Web of Bissaka]

Had a good break.

Very good all-around B2B performance, both in attacks and defense. His workrate helping the defense, confidence and imposing play are the most impressive parts today. Our players realize it and starts to feed him more and more, and he delivered. Shii that was so good.

Should have many assists.

Huge potential to be the most complete type of midfielder.

Big test next week.

 

[M Bison]

Played well but you’d expect that against a lesser team at home, these are the sort of games when he typically plays well.

Needs to do it against City next week.

 

[kouroux]

Had a good break.

Very good all-around B2B performance, both in attacks and defense. His workrate helping the defense, confidence and imposing play are the most impressive parts today. Our players realize it and starts to feed him more and more, and he delivered. Shii that was so good.

Should have many assists.

Huge potential to be the most complete type of midfielder.

Big test next week.

That's one thing he should never blamed of this season and the last one. He's had so many good passes that somehow our players decided not to score from them.

 

[Greck]

That's just Juan Mata, he could have controlled the ball and scored a tap-in vs Liverpool to make it 3-0 but he went for an overhead kick.

Same can be said for this situation.

There's a reason a player with such good movement around the box has such a low goal tally. Has developed a phobia of finishing easy chances

 

[OldSchoolManc]

Pogba was way better against Swansea than he has been for months. He played as part of the team rather than for himself. Only saw one sit down protest after he was dispossessed - that needs to stop completely.
The big test is next week vs City. Hope he doesn’t go missing again.
This game showed he can be part of the whole. Turning point?

 

[ice-bionic red]

Much better. He looked like he had a point to prove and compared to his last few games he did prove it. Just give 100% every game and he’ll do great things for us

 

[Bobski]

It is one of the false narratives about him playing in 2, that he is somehow massively restricted in his attacking game. Still has many opportunities to find an attacking pass, be creative, which is a much stronger part of his game than goal-scoring. If he can adapt to the defensive responsibilities required then he is a monster of a player.

 

[MyOnlySolskjaer]

Some Arsenal fans on Arsenal Mania think Ramsey is better than him.

Statswise they are really close in almost all departments. Sometimes one is slightly ahead, sometimes the other.

pogba is surely the technically superior player in terms of skill on the ball and first touch as well as physicality. But I think that's what's a bit deceiving, including the allround atmosphere and image of these two guys.

Ramsey has the better engine, his offensive movement off the ball is better, his positioning is better, and, at least for me, he's shown a stronger mentality.

Now, I will admit as much as that pogba looks superior because he's got more flair to his game. He might even be the more naturally talented of the two. But in terms of what they've actually achieved on the pitch, Ramsey is, to both club and country, the more important one and has done more than pogba.

With pogba there's so much hype and media deception going on. He's an adidas icon, he's flashy, he's been hyped up ever since, he's in with the young generation, blabla. Ramsey is the rather quiet guy from Wales whose most daunting public action was to dye his hair blond for a month. To each his own, but don't let that get into your thinking. And I truly believe that pogba being constantly in the public eye for whatever reasons and the hype created around him since his breakthrough are actually working in his favour when assessed.

I just looked at the stats, and they suggest they're very similar players on a very similar level. But the difference to me is, Ramsey, given the context, has achieved more and is the more influential player for the teams he's played in. Even if you consider Ramseys 13/14 form a purple patch (and in terms of output it slightly was), but if pogba is so much better than him why hasn't he shown anything that comes near to that dominant stretch of play in England? If he's so clearly better, why isn't he doing it on a regular basis? Why hasn't he done it just once? Because he just isn't that good.

I mean, pogba is still regarded as the man in the french NT, but really it's been Griezmann all those past years now. Matuidi and Dembele were running that midfield. He's walked the Serie A a couple of times, but in the challenging situation at Utd he's just shown mental weakness thus far.

By the way with mentioning Utd: Someone who rated Ramsey highly and thought of him as "one that got away" when he couldn't sign him, was SAF.

I surely don't wear Arsenal tinted glasses saying Ramsey is one of the world's top, top CMs. There's a couple of superior players out there, of course, but I just think pogba, while clearly being a very good player, isn't one of them or that he has shown anything Ramsey couldn't do. pogba is overrated - not in terms of being truly ****e, but in that he's just not as good as a lot of people seem to think.

I don't want to get in a massive compare and contrast thingy with you, I just think pogba's assessment is heavily influenced by his media persona and that he's overrated, and that him and Ramsey are very good players on a similar level - but not wordlcass atm - , with both having the potential to be even better, but with the Welshman a good stretch ahead right now.

Pogba is miles behind Ramsey. One word you describe Pogba with: weak.

That's ridiculous. Pogba showed some fantastic things at Juve, but nothing Ramsey hasn't shown here at times. He was the free roamer in a midfield three, no defensive duties, shielded with one of the best defences around, in a league his team walked every season. No serious longterm injuries.

Best young player at WC2014 is utter BS, it's been awarded only three times and the only absolute standout performance is Thomas Muller in 2010 with 5 goals/3 assists. Pogba dominated **** all in 2014.

At Utd, he's been a disappointment, nothing less. Is it down to Mourinho...whatever.

All the frenchie has done is cost a fortune and hire a pr company to make him a hip trendsetter with the younger generations to generate more money for everyone involved. In no way has he fulfilled his Juve days promise at Utd or done anything of note in the english league - while Ramsey has dragged Wales into EC semi-finals, made team of the tournament (with Payet and Griezmann being the french top performers and not Pogba) and decided two FA finals for Arsenal.

Stop wanking off other teams' players, especially when they haven't shown anything of note. Saying Kroos is better, or Modric or Khedira...sure. But, if you just blend out the hype, not Pogba.

It's the same with Verratti. So many rave about him, but when I see him in the CL he's nowhere near what you'd suspect going by the love for him. He's been walking the french league in a billionaire squad for years. And once they had a proper opponent, Monaco, they got beat.

Pogba has been like Rooney at his worst levels of bad for Utd....... not even Xhaka at his worst has reached those levels of bad.

 

[Member 90678]

I think next week we will see how good he is against city
I have zero faith that even when we have possssion
that he will be our main man in the middle of the park.

Overall I think his season has been pretty poor, had some good games mixed with poor games.
I'm sure that if you asked pogba what he thought of his season he would be disappointed.

 

[Full bodied red]

Dare I suggest that he looked better yesterday because he played MF in much the same way as we've seen Fellaini play MF for the past couple of seasons.

Keep it simple, put your tackle in when you can, first time passes when you can, only the occasional Hollywood ball, and drop back to edge of the Penalty Area when the opposisition are attacking.

It's all pretty basic stuff, so although yetserday was better than his shitshows that we've seen the last couple of months, it was still nothing special.

 

[breakout67]

The issue was more about their ages and maturity which is applicable in many ways to lads of their age making poor choices.
I know you are trying to make a point but I'm sure you aren't aware how active most footballers are, and for me maybe they arent as marketable.

I think it's the companies that determine how marketable he is and with the utmost respect, multi billion pound company like adidas probably are better placed than you are to make that assessment.

It's amazing as often the people that say it's not about 'X' are often the ones that never have to think about it anyway. Bold statement but I would suggest if he was white, he might have the same criticism but if people were honest, when they talk of lifestyle it wouldn't have the same context.

I'm not questioning his marketability, he does so much promotion because he is one of the most popular footballers in the world. I personally do not care one bit about his promotions, but when he had that emoji as part of the game vs Liverpool I thought it was too far. It felt as if Pogba's brand was just as important as the game itself which is in my opinion not right.

 

[TwoSheds]

He's a half a game player. Much better but if he really wanted to prove something to Mourinho or the fans he would have kept on dominating Swansea for the 90 minutes rather than taking his foot off the gas. But tbf to him, he's got City to think about next week so no point running himself into the ground in a game that's already won.

But one of these days he's gonna need to put in a top performance against a big side or piss on a smaller team for 90 mins or he won't shake the shirker tag.

Very pleased to see him breaking forward and getting in goalscoring positions again mind. If he can score 15 goals in a season then everyone will just have to keep talking.

 

[breakout67]

Some Arsenal fans on Arsenal Mania think Ramsey is better than him.

Arsenal fans are bordering on Liverpool levels of delusion; they always have the best players in the league yet are always under performing because of 'injuries' 'Wenger' 'referees'.

Pogba is basically better at everything. Ramsey is even worse at defensive awareness and Pogba is average at that. If you think Pogba doesn't do his defensive duties, then you'd blow your lid watching Ramsey play past the striker for half of the game. Both have good engines, Pogba is clearly physically stronger and faster. Pogba has a better range of passing as well as passing vision.

Ramsey will never amount to anything other than a workhorse, so better players can actually run the team. Both Xhaka and Ozil are given the responsibilities of running the midfield over Ramsey because of their qualities. Even Wilshere is favoured over Ramsey for building play.

 

[haram]

I think Ramsey is a good player, certainly in terms of his runs in and around the box. He is never better than Pogba though.

 

[Lentwood]

Dare I suggest that he looked better yesterday because he played MF in much the same way as we've seen Fellaini play MF for the past couple of seasons.

Keep it simple, put your tackle in when you can, first time passes when you can, only the occasional Hollywood ball, and drop back to edge of the Penalty Area when the opposisition are attacking.

It's all pretty basic stuff, so although yetserday was better than his shitshows that we've seen the last couple of months, it was still nothing special.

I'm not sure that I would go as far to compare him to Fellaini but I did notice that Pogba definitely kept it far simpler yesterday

I remember a comment Jose made recently where during a post-match interview he mentioned Carrick's ability to always choose the right pass and you could just tell it was a dig at Pogba

It's all part of Pogba's learning curve, when to keep it simple, when to try three drag-backs, a flip-flop and a 65-yard throughball

 

[Vanya]

He Looks great when he has time and space. Thats whats difficult to find against top teams. Mourinho has to create the conditions such that the players in his team that have world class passing ability in the final third - Pogba, Mata and Sanchez - are able to find time and space in the final third to attempt to pick out our strikers. City/Spurs do that very well with Silva/De Bruyne/Erkisen, eve in the big games. Mourinho needs to find ways to do that for Pogba (and others) instead of sticking them in deeper roles. If he does that and Pogba et al. still fail to find the right passes, then we can blame the players.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

He Looks great when he has time and space. Thats whats difficult to find against top teams. Mourinho has to create the conditions such that the players in his team that have world class passing ability in the final third - Pogba, Mata and Sanchez - are able to find time and space in the final third to attempt to pick out our strikers. City/Spurs do that very well with Silva/De Bruyne/Erkisen, eve in the big games. Mourinho needs to find ways to do that for Pogba (and others) instead of sticking them in deeper roles. If he does that and Pogba et al. still fail to find the right passes, then we can blame the players.

I think maybe the 4222 we played against Chelsea will suit those type of players.

With a solid double pivot, who protect the front four, it will allow the front four, as it did against Chelsea, to counter.

That game, I specifically remember Pogba getting the ball and driving through the middle.

 

[United_We_Stand]

"It's true (being benched) has never happened to me, but it can strengthen me. You have to go through these periods to make you stronger."
"There is no problem with Mourinho. Ask the coach if you want to know why I play less. I respect his choices."
“It’s too early to talk about a departure from United, the situation can change.”
“Neymar? I said I dream of playing with him, [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo], but that doesn’t mean that I want to move clubs.”
http://www.football365.com/news/pogba-insists-he-has-no-problem-with-mourinho

 

[Andycoleno9]

"It's true (being benched) has never happened to me, but it can strengthen me. You have to go through these periods to make you stronger."
"There is no problem with Mourinho. Ask the coach if you want to know why I play less. I respect his choices."
“It’s too early to talk about a departure from United, the situation can change.”
“Neymar? I said I dream of playing with him, [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo], but that doesn’t mean that I want to move clubs.”
http://www.football365.com/news/pogba-insists-he-has-no-problem-with-mourinho

What to think about this? What situation?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

What to think about this? What situation?

The situation of him being a United player? He’s only been here two seasons so it’s too early to talk about a change.

 

[ash_86]

Dare I suggest that he looked better yesterday because he played MF in much the same way as we've seen Fellaini play MF for the past couple of seasons.

Keep it simple, put your tackle in when you can, first time passes when you can, only the occasional Hollywood ball, and drop back to edge of the Penalty Area when the opposisition are attacking.

It's all pretty basic stuff, so although yetserday was better than his shitshows that we've seen the last couple of months, it was still nothing special.

He needed it IMO. Sometimes he tends hogs on the ball too much for the attack to break down or get a foul that might been a missed opportunity. There is nothing bad with going back to basics and adding what is required. He still managed to play an oozing ball to find Mata. Should've ended up with an assist.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

"It's true (being benched) has never happened to me, but it can strengthen me. You have to go through these periods to make you stronger."
"There is no problem with Mourinho. Ask the coach if you want to know why I play less. I respect his choices."
“It’s too early to talk about a departure from United, the situation can change.”
“Neymar? I said I dream of playing with him, [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo], but that doesn’t mean that I want to move clubs.”
http://www.football365.com/news/pogba-insists-he-has-no-problem-with-mourinho

Neymar to United it is then.

 

[Adam-Utd]

What to think about this? What situation?

That if he keeps being benched he will want to leave, fairly simple really.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

The front four benefit from having him when he plays deep. Didn't try anything spectacular yesterday, but his in between the lines passing was superb. May not look that effective, but it really is, and players like Lingard, Sanchez and Mata - players who like finding little pockets of space, really do benefit from having a player who plays those kind of passes. It's an underrated quality that we often missed when Carrick was out of the team.

 

[JJ12]

Not too keen on his comments about possibly leaving

 

[KM]

The United manager complimented Pogba on his efforts in the first 45 minutes and felt the Frenchman's form throughout the game mirrored the team's.

"I think he [Pogba] played like the team," Mourinho said. "The team played very well in the first-half, he played very well in the first-half. The team in the second-half went a little bit down and Paul also went a little bit down.

Fair comments by Mourinho on him re; Swansea match. Good to see him being complimentary of Pogba.

 

[Kostov]

People should not be so worried about his comment and leaving. It's the way things work, if he isn't getting picked, he will want to leave, and that fair enough. If he isn't picked it's probably because something is wrong with him, or something is wrong with Jose, and that won't last long either way. He is our most talented player, if both of them do their job properly there won't be a problem whatsoever.

 

[Denis79]

Fair comments by Mourinho on him re; Swansea match. Good to see him being complimentary of Pogba.

Expectations are high when it comes to Pogba, I'm happy to see him focused and showing professionalism again. I was absolutely fuming after the Sevilla game but this is in the right direction. As long as he gives 100% I'll never complain no matter how bad a game he has.

 

[James Peril]

Am I being harsh or is that really not that difficult a chance to convert? I appreciate he is turning on the volley but he's in the 6 yard box...

If it was Lewa or Kane, sure. It’s a big miss, but I guess he’s «stressed» by doing that sexy turn and not knowing if the keeper is in his face when striking the ball. Scared of getting clattered perhaps?

 

[James Peril]

Big test for him next week against City. They're obviously susceptible to the counter attack, and if we're to capitalise on that then he's going to be key.

I wouldn’t be very surprised if Pogba was benched for this one, playing McTominay or Fellaini instead. 100% focus on the defensive game - look very poor and still lose. This is a game Mourinho really can’t win anything from.... either we draw and defend for 90 minutes (and get slaughtered by the press), or lose by a couple. There’s no way we’re winning this - sadly.

 

[Adisa]

Am I being harsh or is that really not that difficult a chance to convert? I appreciate he is turning on the volley but he's in the 6 yard box...

Like the Liverpool game, a player of his quality has no business not hitting the target.

 

[The Original]

Played well but you’d expect that against a lesser team at home, these are the sort of games when he typically plays well.

Needs to do it against City next week.

This is the thing people don't get: he most likely won't be able to do it against city for the most obvious reason which is the fact that the rest of the team simply aren't good enough for the most part. If you mark Pogba tightly enough and everyone else is hiding from the ball then he won't be able to do much.

Against Swansea Pogba may have shown what he is capable of but it's not really Pogba raising his game, it's the rest of the team being comfortable against that level of opposition. Against better opposition they all seem to wilt with the exception of Matic and Sanchez, and you can't expect a midfielder like Pogba to do it all on his own.

It's really that simple.

 

[Rasfene]

I think Ramsey is a good player, certainly in terms of his runs in and around the box. He is never better than Pogba though.

King Pogba definitely has higher potentials. Pogba can score goals from headers regularly and shoot from really far. Ramsey can't.

 

[Bastian]

I'm not happy with that quote about it being too early to talk about leaving. If he would be committed and wanting to captain the side in the future he'd laugh off that question and say something much more affirmative. Annoyed me that.

 

[tenpoless]

Neymar to United it is then.

Sometime during the next transfer window, all the planets will be aligned and Woodward will be ready to sign Neymar. He is always ready.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

That's one thing he should never blamed of this season and the last one. He's had so many good passes that somehow our players decided not to score from them.

Agreed, although I don't think anyone criticize his assists nor chance creations. It's damn a lot, he's that good at it. Can easily become Master of Assists. All top leagues included, he's already one of the bests, appearances and minutes applied.

 

[roonster09]

Watched the full game today, thought he had a good game, at least in the first half.

Whole team dropped in the second half but when Pogba plays well we are good to watch. He shifts the ball so effortlessly and should have had at least 2 assists.

 

[Hitchez]

Very good game but he really would be a much better player if he didn't ponder on the ball as much as he does. It's also what gets him into trouble in the bigger games when time on the ball is at a premium.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

"It's true (being benched) has never happened to me, but it can strengthen me. You have to go through these periods to make you stronger."
"There is no problem with Mourinho. Ask the coach if you want to know why I play less. I respect his choices."
“It’s too early to talk about a departure from United, the situation can change.”
“Neymar? I said I dream of playing with him, [Lionel] Messi or Cristiano [Ronaldo], but that doesn’t mean that I want to move clubs.”
http://www.football365.com/news/pogba-insists-he-has-no-problem-with-mourinho

Spoiler: When he was being interviewed

Found the vid, but it won't play, country restricted.

Not the first time he's being honest and speaking his mind. Interview is in French, so maybe some translation issue. Some of the indications there is not so clear. Anyway, doubt he's leaving this soon (this summer or next). That would be twice leaving without putting big marks at this club i.e. winning big trophies and help raise the level of this team to the top. Ideally wants him to stay forever, but just in case, similar to C.Ronaldo, leave after winning us many big trophies. If he wants to leave that is.

 

[The Original]

Very good game but he really would be a much better player if he didn't ponder on the ball as much as he does. It's also what gets him into trouble in the bigger games when time on the ball is at a premium.

All creative types tend to ponder on the ball a bit, especially within the offensive third, because they are looking for the best pass and not the "pass-to-the-next-man" option that average players usually take. Often when such a player is playing with players beneath his level he tends to look bad simply because the movement of the other players is not matching his vision.