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2018-19 Performances


View full 2018-19 profile

5.8 Season Average Rating
Appearances
47
Goals
16
Assists
14
Yellow cards
7
Red cards
1
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@SquishyMcSquish even on here people were raving about him (and rightly so) in the first half of the season. He fell out with Mourinho, which coincided with a slight drop in form and him being benched — and then Mourinho played the press and the fans like a fiddle. I mean I regularly saw Pogba being included in the Worst/Dissapointing XIs and his season being rated as a terrible one!

Not to say that Mourinho's criticism was baseless — Pogba was a bit lazy in the defensive phase, but the whole stunt with McTominay was way over the top.

Seriously? :wenger:

Football fans can be really weird. I guess expectations at United are extremely high and that can lead to fans being a little hasty to jump on a players back. Having high standards isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can get a bit much when you have players being crucified for a bit of bad form. Spurs fans can be similar with some players, but even when our best players (Eriksen, Kane etc) have periods where they're not on it they rarely get attacked to the same extent, may be calls to drop them but that's about it.

I guess that's what comes with playing for a top tier club though, that added pressure is part of it. I mean Madrid fans took to booing the likes of Bale and Ronaldo when they had poor runs, it's pretty insane.
 
I mean, there are large sections of United fans that decide they want players sold after one bad match. All previous form or return goes right out the window after one bad performance.
 
Do we have any quotes from anyone to say Jose has requested Pogba and Lukaku to return early? All I can see is the below quote, which MEN seemed to have decided is directed at the afforementioned players, for no reason whatsoever.

Speaking to MUTV afterwards, he said: “I just hope the boys on deserved holidays, they take care of themselves a little bit and somebody wants to do what Rashford and Jones do, which is to be back a little bit earlier to try to help the team because for the beginning of the season we are going to be in trouble.”
 
Hoping this is not true:

"Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has reportedly met with Barcelona's technical director Eric Abidal in the United States to discuss a potential move. The France midfielder has reportedly decided he wants to leave the Premier League club and La Liga champions Barcelona are keen to sign him. Pogba has a long-term contract at Old Trafford but his fractious relationship with Jose Mourinho has resulted in him considering his future (Tuttosport)"
From Here: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11456136/euro-papers-pogba-meets-with-barca
 
Hoping this is not true:

"Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has reportedly met with Barcelona's technical director Eric Abidal in the United States to discuss a potential move. The France midfielder has reportedly decided he wants to leave the Premier League club and La Liga champions Barcelona are keen to sign him. Pogba has a long-term contract at Old Trafford but his fractious relationship with Jose Mourinho has resulted in him considering his future (Tuttosport)"
From Here: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11456136/euro-papers-pogba-meets-with-barca

I'm not Italian, but apparently Tuttosport is garbage. There's no way we'd sell this late in the window and without a replacement already lined up, anyhow.
 
We wouldn’t sell him without replacing him. It’s too late now.
 
I'd rather we sacked Jose to be honest. He won't be here for more than 1-2 more years anyway and the writing is on the wall.
 
It's not just Jose but aye, annoys me too.

On Talksport yesterday they were interviewing a reporter who had written an article about players breaching contract and returning early.
The journo said that per PFA rules, every player is entitled to 5 weeks holiday per year and must take 3 weeks together, no excuses. This, apparently, is written into every players contract and is non-negotiable. They discussed that, for the vast majority of players, they will have most summers off and are therefore able to take the three weeks together in the summer without incident. However, many who were at the latter stages of the World Cup now need to take the three week break right into the start of the season, as per this rule. It's not just United, as Loftus Cheek and others have returned early too, but the journo ended by saying pressuring players to return for their teams just because the manager wants them back is selfish and ultimately wrong. Sure, some players will do it no questions asked, but any player who exercises their right to their time off should absolutely not be lambasted for doing so, considering it is their right. Players like Rashford and Jones will end up breaching their own contract to return to the team and while this is their decision, it seems like it may lead to issues down the road between the PFA and the clubs, as the PFA are looking after the players welfare.
Finally, they made the point that other leagues start later than the premier league, and also have a winter break. So other leagues seem to be doing much more to ensure the welfare of the players, while the lads here are brought back, start really early, have no winter break and end up playing consistently all the way through to May.

It's a very long and enduring season, so if Pogba wants time off for another week or so before he returns to training, he is perfectly entitled to do so.
So many good points you make.

The premier League doesn't seem to care about the players either. The league could have easily started on the week of the 25th-26th and maybe play two games a week from in a particular week in September and October.

But players should rest. This is a very long season. A player like Sanchez had not taken a full Summer break in almost a decade. It shouldn't be that way.
 
Hoping this is not true:

"Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has reportedly met with Barcelona's technical director Eric Abidal in the United States to discuss a potential move. The France midfielder has reportedly decided he wants to leave the Premier League club and La Liga champions Barcelona are keen to sign him. Pogba has a long-term contract at Old Trafford but his fractious relationship with Jose Mourinho has resulted in him considering his future (Tuttosport)"
From Here: http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11456136/euro-papers-pogba-meets-with-barca

Barca cannot afford Pogba. We would rightly demand at least 150M sterling for him. Probably closer to 200M euros. After the money they've spunked on Coutinho and Dembele, I imagine the coffers are quite empty. The money they spend on Messi really eats into their budget.
 
Everyday that went past without this Pogba/Barça thing made me feel relieved, that perhaps we were out of the woods on this one. Then it pops back up again .
 
Tuttosport just make shit up, and Abidal has denied it. Barca couldn't even hope to afford him at the moment.
 
Like I said in the Martial thread if he genuinely does not want to be here then get rid of him. €200m please Barcelona.

The problem isn't the money we could get for him, it's more so who would replace him and is available.

Personally if we could pick between Martial and Pogba or Jose I know who I would pick...
 
Arguably, the way he plays for us he is worth more in transfer fee than he is on the pitch. We could get a much cheaper option to do the same job as Jose has him doing. In fact maybe he's already got that in Fred plus we know he rates Fellaini and McTominay highly
 
Arguably, the way he plays for us he is worth more in transfer fee than he is on the pitch. We could get a much cheaper option to do the same job as Jose has him doing. In fact maybe he's already got that in Fred plus we know he rates Fellaini and McTominay highly
Because he was so swashbuckling and expansive under Deschamps right?
 
I would think that even if he’s unhappy and had his head turned, Mourinho would be saying to him “give me one big season, you owe us that much and if you’re unhappy at the end of it, we’ll reassess things...”. Bit like SAF reportedly did with Ronnie.

If he’s fit and at the top of his game this season, surrounded by the type of quality and choice we have in midfield, and he can recreate the discipline of his WC performances, he could take us very close to some major pots.

I think a PL title might go some way to shutting up the media and settling a player down. We shall see though.
 
Has his bromance with Lukaku hit the skids?

Lukaku fired Raiola and hired Jay-Z's agency for representation while Pogba is still with Raiola. I'm half sure its Raiola shopping him again trying to milk another big agent fee.
 
Lukaku fired Raiola and hired Jay-Z's agency for representation while Pogba is still with Raiola. I'm half sure its Raiola shopping him again trying to milk another big agent fee.

Lukaku hasn’t fired him.

Apparently he signed up with Jay Z’d agency so he can be marketed outside of football. Anything to do with football like transfers then Raiola is the man.
 
half of Redcafe will be delighted with the news no doubt.

No chance Barca will sign him unless it's another world record, he's just too important to us.

Jose needs to sort it out though, when was the last time we've had our 2 best players want to leave?
 
Abidal said there was no secret meeting between them as reported earlier. The new reports from a Barcelona-based newspaper aren't too worrying, no reliable source has talked about him leaving. The financial factors and time are on our side too. Let's see how he does alongside Fred.
 
Wouldn't even take 200m for him. Who are we going to buy that is as good?
This club needs to add more top end quality, not lose them.
Thankfully, I am positive he won't be sold.
 
half of Redcafe will be delighted with the news no doubt.

No chance Barca will sign him unless it's another world record, he's just too important to us.

Jose needs to sort it out though, when was the last time we've had our 2 best players want to leave?
It was around the last time a two-bit hack made some shit up to generate clicks.
 
Starting with what's good for the club in the abstract is not the way to analyse these things. Star player, age 25, who's unhappy and not allowed to express himself, coming off a WC win, playing for a manger who does not fit the ethos of the club nor the natural style of the player.

Scenario 1: Pogba stays, wastes another year, does not develop to maximum capability, remains unhappy. Best possible outcome: 1) results somewhat hide tumescent football and he doesn't get used in some JM LSD-Scott McTominay inspired ego trip or 2) Mourinho goes.

Scenario 2: Pogba in a WC afterglow, forces a move realizing he does not want to waste his prime years playing under such a limited attacking manager. Best possible outcome: Playing for Juve (for Allegri who he knows) or Barca, while escaping the idiot class who obsess about hair styles.
 
Starting with what's good for the club in the abstract is not the way to analyse these things. Star player, age 25, who's unhappy and not allowed to express himself, coming off a WC win, playing for a manger who does not fit the ethos of the club nor the natural style of the player.

Scenario 1: Pogba stays, wastes another year, does not develop to maximum capability, remains unhappy. Best possible outcome: 1) results somewhat hide tumescent football and he doesn't get used in some JM LSD-Scott McTominay inspired ego trip or 2) Mourinho goes.

Scenario 2: Pogba in a WC afterglow, forces a move realizing he does not want to waste his prime years playing under such a limited attacking manager. Best possible outcome: Playing for Juve (for Allegri who he knows) or Barca, while escaping the idiot class who obsess about hair styles.

Scenario 3: Pogba realizes the discipline and maturity he played with in a deeper lying role for France is more substantive in helping his team win matches and titles, which is what Mourinho's has been attempting to coax out of him. At 25 the light truly turns on for him and he actualizes his potential to become the complete midfielder capable of controlling matches.
 
Scenario 3: Pogba realizes the discipline and maturity he played with in a deeper lying role for France is more substantive in helping his team win matches and titles, which is what Mourinho's has been attempting to coax out of him. At 25 the light truly turns on for him and he actualizes his potential to become the complete midfielder capable of controlling matches.

Scenario 4: Pogba realizes that Scenario 3 is a straw man concocted by keyboard warriors and lazy pundits who completely fail to realize/ignore the role of a manager in coaxing the best out of his players, as well as the role of gifted technical players in playing fluid purposeful football.
 
Scenario 4: Pogba realizes that Scenario 3 is a straw man concocted by keyboard warriors and lazy pundits who completely fail to realize/ignore the role of a manager in coaxing the best out of his players, as well as the role of gifted technical players in playing fluid purposeful football.

Ahh yes, I forgot about all the fluid purposeful football France played in the World Cup. Deschamps was fantastic at coaxing such entertaining football from his players.
 
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