Mourinho in one of his earliest Conferences said that Pogba’s best position is that of the second midfielder. Doubt he plans on using him much in a midfield 3 against non top 5 teams and I agree. Playing Herrera vs the likes of Huddersfield yesterday was pointless.
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By what measure is he our best player?
Pogba DDG Sanchez are our 3 top players Matic Martial Bailey Lukaku and Valencia are top players as well but below our 3 top players. Just my opinion.
If you follow every game, you shouldn't have to ask this question. If he isn't, who is? (discounting DDG since he is the best GK, but can't help us going forward)
He is our best player. But we also don’t have a standout consistent best player apart from the Goalie.
He needs to be paired with Matic + AN Other or with someone other than Matic. Pogba and Matic in a midfield two isn't ever going to work as I don't think Matic is able to provide sufficient protection through the middle on his own as he's not that sort of player, meaning Pogba is having to pitch in and ends up increasingly deeper.
He has bags of ability but seems unable to apply himself at times. He really needs to work hard and put more effort in to be classed as top player, he has the ability for it so hopefully he will realise that he also has to try hard.
I think it was a good move dropping him yesterday, he was dreadful against Spurs and didn't deserve to start.
I think it was a good move dropping him yesterday, he was dreadful against Spurs and didn't deserve to start.
His pass to Mata which led to Penalty incident.
The pass was just brilliant but it still had to be dealt with and Mata dealt with it like few players can in this league.
That’s fine with me.
Pogba is so annoying sometimes either because he loses the simple balls cheaply or because of his lacks of effort. I think Mou was right to drop him. At the moment Pogba does not have competition and that is why he thinks he is indispensable. In the summer we need to bring atleast a top midfielder to keep Pogba on his toes.
For me he's simply a good player capable of world class moments.
For me he's simply a good player capable of world class moments.
Pogba shines in a 3 man midfield. Mourinho must take some of the blame. We need another top box to box midfielder with Matic and allow Pogba to roam to get the very best out of him.
This, it a nutshell.
So was he rested or dropped?
Don't think it was as sublime a pass as people thought. It was fantastic control by Mata who made it look like a sublime one. Don't think there's a player in the squad who can do what Mata did there other than Sanchez and probably Pogba himself. Still for me he has to be one of the first names on the team sheet without dispute
Obviously he is misused but still putting up great numbers, that itself shows his improvement.
Re bold part, as usual pathetic. Expected nothing better but was surprised you could make 2-3 decent posts. Anyways these are your days under sun as ManUtd lost. Enjoy,you will go back to your cave after Huddersfield game.
Playing with more responsibility and delivering is not improvement?
Nice day, not arsed anymore.
Uhm he's a bit older and has more experience, maybe it's due to that?
It is bizarre that you're unable to understand that metrics can't tell the whole picture, as for example NBA has shown. His slightly better number (despite great majority of fans and pundits saying he didn't improve and is being misused) are down to his talent alone and the fact he's been misused shows how Mourinho is actually halting his development by not playing him in the position in which we would get the most out of him.
He is doing everything the same he did at Juve, only difference being that here he is a focal point interested of being a sidekick like he was back at Juve, therefore is expected that some of his numbers gonna rise.
I suggest you take some time and actually watch a game of two.
Me too tbh. They can dab off the pitch for all I care.
If I’m being totally honest, I still hold out Everton performance as some sort of template, and the only alternative is to bench Lukaku (unlikely of course).
I wouldn’t mind seeing:
Sanchez - Jessi - Martial
As a front line, with Jessi false 9ing. I think there’s enough goals, technique and movement in that front line.
"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."
Posters that regurgitate the "does not apply himself...doesn't take the simple route enough..gives the ball away etc..." all to rationalize Pogba being dropped seem to lack a fundamental understanding of the artistic genius. Mctominay aka the new Fletcher is capped at a certain level. Perhaps most people identify with those types of players, because they hold some fantasy of a team of industrious, skill limited players charging around the pitch and winning the league. Sure, those players inevitably exist within a squad but that's not what elevates teams to seasons of brilliance. Even Sanchez was the player that gave the ball away the most yesterday. Stats like those are irrelevant in the context of what the player is creating on the canvas. Those high-skill players can create chances out of nowhere even during their bad games (as Pogba did with his over the top ball to Lukaku in the 2nd half vs Spurs). If you actually were trying to come back in that game, you would never make that sub.
The team that started yesterday is not wining a CL quarter final. That decision by Mourinho was simply to send a message to the team that my word is the law and my ineffective big game tactics shall never be questioned. It's well within his right...but Mourinho's pattern of being ineffectual at utilizing his most lethal attacking talents is the much larger long-term problem. Scapegoating your best MF (over the course of not one but two games) to send messages but denying it when asked, is just clownish. He can't even own it.
Posters that regurgitate the "does not apply himself...doesn't take the simple route enough..gives the ball away etc..." all to rationalize Pogba being dropped seem to lack a fundamental understanding of the artistic genius. Mctominay aka the new Fletcher is capped at a certain level. Perhaps most people identify with those types of players, because they hold some fantasy of a team of industrious, skill limited players charging around the pitch and winning the league. Sure, those players inevitably exist within a squad but that's not what elevates teams to seasons of brilliance. Even Sanchez was the player that gave the ball away the most yesterday. Stats like those are irrelevant in the context of what the player is creating on the canvas. Those high-skill players can create chances out of nowhere even during their bad games (as Pogba did with his over the top ball to Lukaku in the 2nd half vs Spurs). If you actually were trying to come back in that game, you would never make that sub.
The team that started yesterday is not wining a CL quarter final. That decision by Mourinho was simply to send a message to the team that my word is the law and my ineffective big game tactics shall never be questioned. It's well within his right...but Mourinho's pattern of being ineffectual at utilizing his most lethal attacking talents is the much larger long-term problem. Scapegoating your best MF (over the course of not one but two games) to send messages but denying it when asked, is just clownish. He can't even own it.
If Mourinho is open to benching Pobga then maybe Lukaku isn't so safe either ? I liked the linking up between Lingard and Sanchez tbh. Lingard's off the ball movement is interesting.
I think he needs another box to box. In an ideal world that would be Thiago Alcántara but he's injured way too much.
Completely correct he should be displaying more energy in the position he is played no matter which position that is which is why I said it works both ways. However when you have a player with his ability to link midfield to attack then it is a waste not to just play the player in his natural position. I also believe just isn't well suited to tracking runners so if that not part of his natural game but we are crying out for a world-class player in the areas that are part of his natural game then the solution should be simple.
Pogba should be a part of a dynamic midfield 3, 4 or 5. We should only apply one DMP, play our defence further forward in order to make it compact and forget all about a defensive midfield pairing. As far as I do rembember, this idea was implemented in order to compensate for Keane’s lack of mobility towards the end of his time at United and this ”P.N. 12” solution should be binned for good in order to allow us to play more dynamic attacking football.
If you think in terms of physics, Pogba is a huge guy and completely ill suited to tracking runners the way kante does. He’s very fast in a straight line once he’s up and moving like a heavy vehicle or a Usain Bolt but poor at direction changes. He would be devastating in a technical team like City which is closer to the way Juventus played.
I’m kind of glad Mourinho dropped him after the shite he dished up on Saturday, let’s hope gets the message because he’s one of our best players and the team is better with him in it. Done well when he came on a few tidy passes but in his defence, like many have said on here, he seems to look and play better in a 3, being able to roam forward more, him and Sanchez could really click if they get their shit together.
He needs to work on his positioning.
I checked the average positions against Spurs, and he's way too high (didn't need to check to know). I can't imagine that was tactical by Jose, as Matic had way too much to do.
I feel if he can work on his positioning (so not bomb forward at every moment), he can be converted into a Pirlo, Carrick, Alonso type of player - a deeplying playmaker. Someone who is going to just sit in front of the back four and dictate play.
I checked the average positions against Spurs, and he's way too high (didn't need to check to know). I can't imagine that was tactical by Jose, as Matic had way too much to do.
I feel if he can work on his positioning (so not bomb forward at every moment), he can be converted into a Pirlo, Carrick, Alonso type of player - a deeplying playmaker. Someone who is going to just sit in front of the back four and dictate play.
Yes I agree.
Think maybe Jose has realised Pogba's defensive indiscipline makes him unsuited for the deep midfielder role in some games.
Was the last game a one-off or will we now see him open to dropping Pogba for the more industrious McTominay in certain games?
Was the last game a one-off or will we now see him open to dropping Pogba for the more industrious McTominay in certain games?
All our outfield players have been very inconsistent. Pogba as much as anyone but I guess his good performances probably do have him as our best this year so far.
Ok, so no basis for calling him our best player other than you think he is
Maybe towards his late twenties, but I think now that would be such a waste of his quality in the final third. Either play him as a number 10 or in a midfield 3.
I just don't get it. A bizarre narrative that says that underperformance from Pogba is not his fault.
If I am the coach, then I always play Pogba against Huddersfield but not in the CL quarter final. Typically he blows away the weaker teams but goes missing in the big games e.g. league cup final last year, Chelsea away last year, Liverpool away this season and I could go on. (He played well in europa league final last season but to be fair Ajax weren't much better than Huddersfield).
He fully deserved to be dropped, and either his performance has to improve or he should be sold. We don't have another year to wait for this guy to mature. I don't doubt his talent for a second but his poor performances are his fault alone and it is up to him to deliver right now.
Just as he doesn't have the positional discipline to play in a two he doesn't have the positional discipline to play as a 10. 3 man midfield in the big games or bust
Rooney: “For me, Pogba is a classic box-to-box player. He can do everything really well. If he is in a role where he doesn’t really have to think about his defensive role, he can really do damage. He is that talented.“
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