[Jeppers7]

You can see the incident in question here at 4:27:



You cannot do flicks and kick-ups near your own goal, with your back to goal, and lose the ball, immediately handing the opposition a chance. You just cannot do this at any level of football. It's not indicative of a lack of effort, it shows that his mentality at that time was "I'm Paul Pogba. I'm a superstar. I can do whatever I want".

And that was on top of a display where he just strolled around, clearly not giving 100% effort. And he was at fault for failing to mark properly for a set-piece on one of the goals.

As I said previously, if it was my money going into the club, I would feel a bit piqued that Pogba played like that a few weeks ago, but has now suddenly decided that he's motivated again. I don't doubt his ability as a footballer; that is not in question.

Just rewatched it....not being funny but I was expecting some juggling act, he chested it down then tried to knock it away from a player in front of him.....then he turned and seemed to be about to clear it but the player behind him nipped in. Not sure there were options.


He was awful n that game but which goal was he at fault for ? One was a free kick, the other wasn't a set piece.

 

[Niall]

Can't remember if cartoons are banned from this section. But I will take the risk of an angry mod for this masterpiece

No problem with that kind of image at all, it's topical. It's reaction memes and animated gifs that aren't allowed in the football forums.

 

[ayushreddevil9]

Somehow manage to do it 100x without one? Also managed it more times than any other Belgium. How did he manage to fool the Belgium, Chelsea, West Brom, Everton and Man Utd coaches and managers beggars belief.....

You have to look at the kind of football we are playing for last 2 games vs what Belgium played(won't even consider Chelsea coz he never played an important role for them and the other two clubs are not elite level).

His touch is not suited to this quick 1 touch pass and move play or any good for 1-2 pass interchanges.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

That wasn't happening because the whole team was being restricted and in spite of that Pogba still put in some top performances to show his talent - Leicester, Young Boys, Wolves, Newcastle, Everton, Bournemouth to name a few and other good performances like Chelsea, Watford, Burnley etc. It's people that conclude because he didn't score or assist he was poor , that's where the problem lies. I still maintain no other midfielder could've shown their ability in spite of being held back by the system and tactics like Pogba was doing. It was only in the last two/three games of Mourinho's tenure when he got dropped and accused of being a virus that history was rewritten and people forgot Pogba's contributions to the team.
Now we've actually got a plan which doesn't rely on moments of individual quality we're actually seeing the full potential of each player. Not a surprise to me pogba would shine brighter than most of our other players since he already showed what he can do before.

Was it the also the system at the world cup?

The problem is not the system but his mentality

 

[Oneunited26]

It’s amazing just how crazy jose Mourinho was at the club, that he thought playing fellaini along side matic ahead of pogba was a good idea, that he treated fellaini has some sort of world class superstar

 

[Ashley R1+O]

Some cant enjoy his good performances without waging online battles with whoever doesn't agree with them.

I think it is proper weird as well. Fans trying to one-up each other with their opinions.. I mean what? We all support the same team and this is the theater for the contestation of ideas, yet users are trying to brow beat people into thinking like-mindedly? I definitely find it bizarre. There was a long post not far back that essentially said "have you ever thought that people might think differently to you?" in response to somebody saying they thought he was taking the piss with some of his performances and wasn't as brilliant as everyone kept trying to make everybody think. It was twilight zone stuff, shock horror people have different ideas and see things differently.

 

[Boycott]

It’s amazing just how crazy jose Mourinho was at the club, that he thought playing fellaini along side matic ahead of pogba was a good idea, that he treated fellaini has some sort of world class superstar

He likes players who suck up to him and never question his methods. Those players more often than not are the ones who are the least skilled. A player like Pogba - who arguably is the most naturally gifted in the country - clearly had issues with his methods.

 

[Traub]

Anyone else thinking he’s putting himself in the shop window? Raiola clients don’t stick around for long - his next contract may be his last big one.

 

[Litch]

You have to look at the kind of football we are playing for last 2 games vs what Belgium played(won't even consider Chelsea coz he never played an important role for them and the other two clubs are not elite level).

His touch is not suited to this quick 1 touch pass and move play or any good for 1-2 pass interchanges.

Shall we wait and see plus Ole seemed excited about having him available. For me all he needs to be on the end of the passes and do what he's proven to do better than 90% of the players in this league consistently over a number of years.

 

[Marcelinho87]

Anyone else thinking he’s putting himself in the shop window? Raiola clients don’t stick around for long - his next contract may be his last big one.

Nah I reckon he will wanna retire here... All signs point to him loving being back at Manchester United but found himself unhappy under Mourinho.

I reckon his next contract with us will be the big one you mention.

 

[breakout67]

Nah I reckon he will wanna retire here... All signs point to him loving being back at Manchester United but found himself unhappy under Mourinho.

I reckon his next contract with us will be the big one you mention.

Pogba loved us so much that he was scouting out moves last season for January...before Mourinho had any problems with him or was melting down. Coincidentally the first time he was ever dropped came on the 31st Jan 2018 after a shambolic performance against Spurs. You would think the two would be connected.

This idea that Pogba is some selfless club man is unfounded. He already left the club for god's sake, and his agent has been making noises for ages now. Pogba cares about himself first and foremost, if we don't sort ourselves out next season he will be off to a better team.

 

[Oly Francis]

I see a LOT of posts here interpreting Pogba's mentality through missed flicks that would mean that he thinks he's the best and that he doesn't care about the Man Utd's jersey. I've never read anything so far fetched. He does things because he thinks it's going to work, it's not always true, he makes mistakes but it doesn't mean he thinks he's bigger than the club.

At PSG we have Verratti that does an incredible amount of risky stuffs close to our box, fortunately he really rarely looses the ball but when he does. nobody thinks that's because he thinks is better, we just call it a poor judgement and hope he won't do it anymore knowing that it might happen the next game because that's just the way he plays. And when you're not in the right state of mind, it has a tendancy to happen more oftent. Pogba doesn't do it on purpose, he doesn't think "lets try this because i might loose the ball and i don't care because i don't give a feck about this club", it's not about professionalism, it's just about being in the right state of mind.

And when he see these comments about instagram and the haircuts... god that's such a cheap way to try to find trash about him.

 

[Apokalips]

We really do have some weird "supporters". I honestly don't know who is trolling and who isn't.

The desperation to find negatives and hate on Pogba (and Martial in the past) reminds me of how I speak of Liverpool players that are quite good...searching for anything I can find to pretend that they're shite.

If those two are not the sort of players you'd rather us have than the opposition then who the hell do you want?!

 

[sam147]

So glad Jose is gone. Jose played all his cards right the manipulative sod. He constantly criticized Pogba. When performances got bad he benched him. I checked the date today and realised Jose said he will have top 4 by the end of December. He really thought he could blame Pogba for his own problems. The worst part is our own fans jumped on the bandwagon. Pogba would be sold in January if Jose was still here and some of you would be cheering about it. He has shown tremendous character and resilience to overcome the berating of his manager and his own fans. He loves the club and the fans. He is a class act with the fans always giving his shirt and applauding. He is by far our best outfield player.

 

[FootyGirl88]

 

[Brwned]

I think it is proper weird as well. Fans trying to one-up each other with their opinions.. I mean what? We all support the same team and this is the theater for the contestation of ideas, yet users are trying to brow beat people into thinking like-mindedly? I definitely find it bizarre.

I agree in general but almost everyone does it. Including you.

Sorry, but he was not good against West Ham and the blind sycophancy above in trying to excuse him and deflect the personal responsibility for his poor performances is nauseating.

I'm glad somebody else notices it. To be honest, I'm worried about some of the comments in general in here that completely ignore his horrendous first half's and praising his "yeah he ran a bit second half" as a complete package containing 90 minutes of brilliance. It's out there, for sure.

Rather quiet in here considering how many gloved up Pogba-defenders were throwing bombs at everyone on the last few pages.

People who thought differently to you were labelled sycophants who blindly ignore the obvious, and when the moment suited you, you were quite happy to remind these sycophants how quiet they were.

It's strangely satisfying sometimes. We instinctively want people to think like us. It's the intellectual stuff that comes on top that makes some people want to have diverse views, and others who prefer people sharing similar views. Maybe you're more towards the former, but you're hardly immune to it, and there's no good reason to judge people for where they fit on that spectrum.

It is a bit weird, but let's not pretend we aren't part of that weirdness. Especially when the evidence is beginning to suggest you might have gotten this one wrong.

 

[Sayros]

Whenever I read a post on here and saw the words, 'haircut', 'diva', or 'unprofessional' I would immediately skip to the next post because these are just people repeating nonsensical points that they heard from someone else. It's good to see some putting those people back in their place now concerning Pogba. The guy has consistently been one of the better players on this team, he is indispensable to the success of it, and when we know how things went down with Mourinho, he has been nothing but class personified, even after Mourinho was sacked and Pogba thanked him for helping him improve (which we all know was not the case, but the classy thing to say to someone who called you a virus despite the fact the entire team loves Pogba).

I hope the taste of crow is growing on those people, they will hopefully be eating it all of the remaining season long.

 

[Oneunited26]

He likes players who suck up to him and never question his methods. Those players more often than not are the ones who are the least skilled. A player like Pogba - who arguably is the most naturally gifted in the country - clearly had issues with his methods.

Oh no question that is the case, lukaku and fellaini prime example. Jose Mourinho is the William Bligh of football manager, and pogba is fletcher Christian, he vouched for pogba when he bought him, relationship sours in February 2018, and it’s chaotic from there.

Jose mourinho 2018 edition would rather eat glass and lava then ever play the game how it should be played. What was pogba’s words to Jose? When he lost the captaincy, we need to play the game more attack minded. The guy is a crazy old man that any top club now who have ambition on wanting to play exciting football, burn this guy with fire, not literally but do not touch him, he’s almost unworkable if you want least talented players at your club, like Fellaini. Mourinho angers me more now than when he was here, because he’s set us adrift so far it’s beyind a joke and he did on purpose it seems, no sane person can think those team sellections were a good idea

Pogba has the swagger and auro of a ronaldo, he’s got that swagger in his step, and idiots who wanted him gone will see why he’s that A list player on why the virus/cancer/the snake in the grass needed to go, and the future needed to come first in which Paul pogba is that player, he’s the future, mourinho is the relic

 

[Brwned]

It's good to see some putting those people back in their place now concerning Pogba.

Why does that matter to you? If you're just ignoring people you don't agree with, why do you care so much that they're now seeing the light - or seeing things how you see them?

 

[Rozay]

I really hate the ‘consistency’ argument with him, and it’s down to the unreasonable expectation on him. Same thing happened last season. We go through spells where the press are gushing, the forum is gushing, and we can’t play without him - but then he has two bad games, usually in front of the Sky cameras, and those games are never seen as what they are. Bad games. All of a sudden, he’s had ‘another underwhelming season’.

Pogba has had a handful of poor games this season. I’m not blind enough to ignore that, but it seems there’s a group, from this forum and beyond, that are extremely quick to forget all of his good games when he has a bad one. Now there’s an implication, due to the wider narrative, that Pogba has just started playing against Cardiff. It’s bollocks, but as long as he’s judged like this, he will ALWAYS be seen as a disappointment. Others who have poor games overlooked will always be seen as better.

Perception is so powerful I’m learning. It’s almost impossible for Pogba to be the player he’s meant to be when the wider narrative is that United are not the team they need to be.

 

[Oneunited26]

He likes players who suck up to him and never question his methods. Those players more often than not are the ones who are the least skilled. A player like Pogba - who arguably is the most naturally gifted in the country - clearly had issues with his methods.

Oh no question that is the case, lukaku and fellaini prime example. Jose Mourinho is the William Bligh of football manager, and pogba is fletcher Christian, he vouched for pogba when he bought him, relationship sours in February 2018, and it’s chaotic from there.

Jose mourinho 2018 edition would rather eat glass and lava then ever play the game how it should be played. What was pogba’s words to Jose? When he lost the captaincy, we need to play the game more attack minded. The guy is a crazy old man that any top club now who have ambition on wanting to play exciting football, burn this guy with fire, not literally but do not touch him, he’s almost unworkable if you want least talented players at your club, like Fellaini. Mourinho angers me more now than when he was here, because he’s set us adrift so far it’s beyind a joke and he did on purpose it seems, no sane person can think those team sellections were a good idea

Pogba has the swagger and auro of a ronaldo, he’s got that swagger in his step, and idiots who wanted him gone will see why he’s that A list player on why the virus/cancer/the snake in the grass needed to go, and the future needed to come first in which Paul pogba is that player, he’s the future, mourinho is the relic

 

[OldTrevil]

Was it the also the system at the world cup?

The problem is not the system but his mentality

Deschamps and Mourinho are both negative managers who set up their teams to defend first and mostly rely on individual brilliance to attack on the counter, the difference is France is littered with world class quality from back to front and they won the whole thing despite their system's limitations.

 

[cheeky_backheel]

Deschamps and Mourinho are both negative managers who set up their teams to defend first and mostly rely on individual brilliance to attack on the counter, the difference is France is littered with world class quality from back to front and they won the whole thing despite their system's limitations.

So now Deschamps too is in on the plot with Mourinho? Two successful managers conspire to limit poor pogba.

this is just too funny

 

[Sayros]

Why does that matter to you? If you're just ignoring people you don't agree with, why do you care so much that they're now seeing the light - or seeing things how you see them?

Well, obviously because it's quite fun when you see people being proven wrong, no matter how little their opinion matters to you.

 

[Steerpike]

Whenever I read a post on here and saw the words, 'haircut', 'diva', or 'unprofessional' I would immediately skip to the next post because these are just people repeating nonsensical points that they heard from someone else. It's good to see some putting those people back in their place now concerning Pogba. The guy has consistently been one of the better players on this team, he is indispensable to the success of it, and when we know how things went down with Mourinho, he has been nothing but class personified, even after Mourinho was sacked and Pogba thanked him for helping him improve (which we all know was not the case, but the classy thing to say to someone who called you a virus despite the fact the entire team loves Pogba).

I hope the taste of crow is growing on those people, they will hopefully be eating it all of the remaining season long.

Let's be clear, Pogba's behaviour in the aftermath of Mourinho's sacking was anything but classy. One suspects his thanks to Mourinho may indicate that he's feeling a bit sheepish about what he did (or maybe he's taken some of Carrick's observations on board).

I'm just pleased that he has started to put in some proper and committed performances now Ole is the manager, and I hope that continues. We certainly do look better with him in the side and looking like he wants to be there. Some will argue that Pogba's indifferent performances in his latter games under Mourinho were a consequence of the managers tactics, while others will argue that Pogba was giving less than 100%. Only Pogba will know for sure whether that latter argument is true or not.

 

[el3mel]

No one has ever questioned his quality. We all know he's a great player capable of such great games. Other things were questioned and if he went on the next full 6 months with 2 or 3 poor games only we can be happy we finally have what we paid for worth it.

 

[El-Manos]

He's been brilliant recently. Hopefully he signs a new contract in the summer.

 

[OldTrevil]

So now Deschamps too is in on the plot with Mourinho? Two successful managers conspire to limit poor pogba.

this is just too funny

You must be arguing with yourself fella, my post says none of the things that seem to have put you in a twist. Hilarious

 

[chiz2kul]

Unbelievable some of the comments on here.

Fact is Pogba is not just a United player - he is also a brand. And with being a "brand" comes things that old timers may not like - but it doesnt make him any less of a fantastic player or less loyal to united.

 

[wub1234]

Not sure why you care so much, but you clearly do so much that you've become fixated on a single incident. Not sure there were options.

I'm not fixated on it. People keep answering me, including yourself, so I have answered them.

In terms of options, you boot the ball away from goal. You don't start juggling the ball and then lose it there. But it was the incident in the whole context of his performance, which was obviously lackadaisical and lacking in effort. That's why he has been criticised so much by so many people. It is also symptomatic of his profile in the game, but he is largely responsible for that. If he wanted to then he could fly under the radar far more than he chooses to do so.

In terms of ability vs work ethic, you don't have a choice. You have to have both. If you don't have both then you will not fulfil your potential in any sport at the highest level.

Finally, I don't see how you can claim that Pogba works as hard as anyone at United, when he has continually been criticised for his attitude, and has quite obviously been shown to have a lax approach at times.

It's pretty amazing to me that people will give this guy, who has significantly underachieved for United, who is being paid vast amounts of money, who absolutely loves being the centre of attention, who has been playing like a drain, and then just magically starts playing really well as soon as a new manager comes along, such a free pass. Maybe it's a generational thing.

 

[Lennon7]

He was one of our best performers this season bar a few games, but don't let me stop you peddling the narrative

I’m not peddling any narrative, take the tinfoil hat off. He’s not been the player we’ve needed him to be since he joined in general - never mind this season, a season where his attitude dropped as well as his performances. No chance he’d get away with stuff like this 10/15 years ago.

I have a great feeling that from now he’ll really kick on and be that player we expected, but frankly outrageous for anyone to argue he’s not been sub par. Stats for goals and assists alone are enough proof.

Some United fans really are deluded - I bet you weren’t fighting his corner a few weeks back. Half the people on here thought he was the actual problem, glad to see people seeing what the real problem was.

 

[Brwned]

It's pretty amazing to me that people will give this guy, who has significantly underachieved for United, who is being paid vast amounts of money, who absolutely loves being the centre of attention, who has been playing like a drain, and then just magically starts playing really well as soon as a new manager comes along, such a free pass. Maybe it's a generational thing.

No, people from your generation think that too. People from your generation that you know are mostly people who grew up in a similar environment. Most people from your generation didnt grow up in a similar environment. There's plenty of people from your generation on here that don't give a shit about half of that, that you don't even realise are from your generation. The things you value in football aren't based on anything real or important so it's silly to think they would just be how people from an entire generation think about it.

To me, the fact he wants to be the centre of attention is irrelevant. And it's been irrelevant for generations. Georgie Best loved it as much as Cantona loved it. Pogba doesn't love it more than Best. It's just easier to see it because of the media. And he was given many free passes for doing many things to disrespect the club, many times after underperforming due to his own selfish actions. If you think he never lacked effort then you've never cared to look hard enough. And it's not like he wasn't paid a relative fortune. Yet he was adored most of the time by most people, because they were willing to put that aside and concentrate on the more important stuff.

What Pogba does is qualitatively different and you might take more issue with how he goes about doing these things, or the environment he exists in (money, media, management) but substantively...nahhh. It's just mythology. Many superstars acted unreasonably in many ways in every generation. Superstardom has some adverse effects, unfortunately. If you want yo avoid them then following mediocrity is a pretty safe bet.

 

[BluesJr]

I really hate the ‘consistency’ argument with him, and it’s down to the unreasonable expectation on him. Same thing happened last season. We go through spells where the press are gushing, the forum is gushing, and we can’t play without him - but then he has two bad games, usually in front of the Sky cameras, and those games are never seen as what they are. Bad games. All of a sudden, he’s had ‘another underwhelming season’.

Pogba has had a handful of poor games this season. I’m not blind enough to ignore that, but it seems there’s a group, from this forum and beyond, that are extremely quick to forget all of his good games when he has a bad one. Now there’s an implication, due to the wider narrative, that Pogba has just started playing against Cardiff. It’s bollocks, but as long as he’s judged like this, he will ALWAYS be seen as a disappointment. Others who have poor games overlooked will always be seen as better.

Perception is so powerful I’m learning. It’s almost impossible for Pogba to be the player he’s meant to be when the wider narrative is that United are not the team they need to be.

I’ve always argued this too, to me perception in football has become almost as powerful as the results themselves.

 

[Canagel]

Exactly. It's quite ironic seeing these posts reminding people that it's only been 2 games and people should opt for patience in assessing Pogba but most of these posters were quick to claim that he's had a bad season and been terrible so far because of 2 games while completely forgetting his form prior to those few poor games.

Funny bunch.

Nah I'm done with it. They weren't prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt and were out in full force slating him on these boards after he got labelled a virus and was dropped from the team . Remember when we were supposed to be better because Pogba wasn't slowing things down?
He's been our best outfield player since he joined. Or one of the top 3 performers at the very least. Not any worse than that. His statistics are in line with what you expect from a player in his position. Beyond that he's was not responsible for the style of football we played or not challenging for the PL/CL in both years. Very important not to get it confused. Our lack of success on the pitch was not Pogba's fault. It's just easy to blame the big names when the results go bad just as Mourinho did this season to great effect in a bid to turn attentions away from his own failings. He had half the fanbase on strings . thinking pogba is toxic and negative influence on dressing room when none of his previous coaches had any issues with his proffesionalism and unfortunately this culminated in some fans even booing the lad a few weeks ago despite having a perfectly good/solid season up until that moment. Even in days like today they will only give him praise through gritted teeth . Some of them seem genuinely gutted when I read through their posts. I feel sorry for you, I really do.

 

[Isotope]

Against Cardiff, Pogba shot was saved by a worldie save. Now at least the Huddersfield goalkeeper was being normal, thus those shots went in.

Seems like Pogba is improving on this shooting business. I don't see goals as the ends meet for a playmaker like him, but it certainly eye catching for non-United audience to get recognized.

 

[EB100]

I'm not fixated on it. People keep answering me, including yourself, so I have answered them.

In terms of options, you boot the ball away from goal. You don't start juggling the ball and then lose it there. But it was the incident in the whole context of his performance, which was obviously lackadaisical and lacking in effort. That's why he has been criticised so much by so many people. It is also symptomatic of his profile in the game, but he is largely responsible for that. If he wanted to then he could fly under the radar far more than he chooses to do so.

In terms of ability vs work ethic, you don't have a choice. You have to have both. If you don't have both then you will not fulfil your potential in any sport at the highest level.

Finally, I don't see how you can claim that Pogba works as hard as anyone at United, when he has continually been criticised for his attitude, and has quite obviously been shown to have a lax approach at times.

It's pretty amazing to me that people will give this guy, who has significantly underachieved for United, who is being paid vast amounts of money, who absolutely loves being the centre of attention, who has been playing like a drain, and then just magically starts playing really well as soon as a new manager comes along, such a free pass. Maybe it's a generational thing.

It’s not a generational thing. There are just some people, like you and many others in the English media, that are so biased (negatively) when it comes to Paul Pogba that your analyses of his performances and character tend to be unhinged from reality, constantly shifting from “he’s overrated”, to “he’s lazy” and now to “he’s unprofessional”. Has, for example, Paul Scholes or Ryan Giggs never put in lethargic performances for United by the standards you’re applying to Pogba? Is Pogba the first top professional player, or indeed human being, to lose motivation and form under a manager? He’s not even the first under Mourinho!

Pogba attracts such strident negative narratives about his so-called “bad attitude”, “arrogance”, “laziness”, “unprofessionalism” etc from people that do not know him or his situation simply because the combination of his price tag, his extroverted/out-there nature and the fact that he’s black triggers a lot of bias in folks’ minds.

 

[POF]

He's been excellent in the last 2 games. There is absolutely no doubting his talent. I really do hope he has now turned a corner and he can continue to perform like this consistently for the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, with Pogba, there have been far too many false dawns.

 

[Sayros]

Let's be clear, Pogba's behaviour in the aftermath of Mourinho's sacking was anything but classy. One suspects his thanks to Mourinho may indicate that he's feeling a bit sheepish about what he did (or maybe he's taken some of Carrick's observations on board).

I'm just pleased that he has started to put in some proper and committed performances now Ole is the manager, and I hope that continues. We certainly do look better with him in the side and looking like he wants to be there. Some will argue that Pogba's indifferent performances in his latter games under Mourinho were a consequence of the managers tactics, while others will argue that Pogba was giving less than 100%. Only Pogba will know for sure whether that latter argument is true or not.

It's almost the end of December and you still believe the whole Adidas IG post was aimed at Mourinho? Okay, not much I can say if you don't believe Pogba, Adidas, or almost anybody who knows Pogba who simply would not do something like that, and never has. He is class personified, and the fact that there's been stories made up about him, false quotes attributed to him, and yet some of you still take any negative stories about him from the press as gospel, well there's not much anyone can do to prove to you otherwise. This is another reason why I'm enjoying his form under the new manager. Still has to show he can do it against the bigger team, but that's a team-wide issue, not singular to Pogba. I will always take the opportunity to defend about the professionalism and class of Pogba because there is a clear agenda to paint him as someone he simply has never been.

 

[MikeKing]

I don't see goals as the ends meet for a playmaker like him

Initially true, but it is a lot more forgivable from an attacker to lose the ball and not chase after it, than it is with a midfielder. Not that he should be doing that in dangerous positions anyways like he has been, on a few occasions, but I will certainly be more forgivable with some of his nonchalant shenanigans if he could add goals to his performances to compensate.

 

[.Rossi]

I'm not a United fan, so I think I can give a neutral perspective on Pogba.

It is clear that Mourinho was managing the team extremely badly, and this impacted on numerous players, including Pogba. In my opinion, United should be challenging for the title with this squad. Not necessarily winning it, but player for player they should not be 13 points behind Spurs.

However, a few weeks ago, I think it was against Southampton, Pogba was dreadful, just ambling around, and even doing kick-ups next to his own penalty box and being dispossessed.

You cannot just handwave that away, and say it was all Mourinho's fault, and a result of negative tactics and poor man management. I accept that Mourinho wasn't getting the best out of Pogba, but no professional footballer, or pretty much any footballer at any level, should be doing kick-ups near the own goal, before being dispossessed.

That is totally on Pogba. It is the responsibility of the player to play like a professional. The fact that he's now playing really well, while I agree that it's due to tactics and management to some extent, or possibly even to a very great extent, as a professional footballer, let alone supposedly one of the best players in the world, it is incumbent upon you to display professionalism at all times. This is regardless of what you're being asked to do, regardless of the climate of the club, and regardless of how you might feel.

It should be noted that Pogba completely failed to do this, and it's not right, in my opinion, to simplistically state that he's playing well now because the shackles are off. As the most expensive player in the history of the Premier League, he has to take some responsibility for his performances, regardless of who the manager is.

This x100

Two class performances so, let's hope he keeps it going from a United perspective.

If he wants to be the best, he has Silva, KDB, Modric, Rakitic, Erikson all in front of him right now.

He has the ability to be so much better than them and to have a far bigger impact than them. Let's hope he pushes on and becomes the best