[el3mel]

That stats, I believe, was over many games. Like maybe 8 games against Spurs, 8 games against United etc.

If you go and count the actual average stats for Ozil in big games, it would still be pretty bad.

And let's not forget, Arsenal lost 3-6 to Man City in the match. Ozil was totally missing in defence. Ozil did not bother to wrestle and fight for the ball because Ozil is small. Ozil's weak point is his defensive attributes is extremely bad. At least we know that for Pogba, he will fight for the ball.

My point is Pogba isn't really that different isn't it ? He seems to always play well against Arsenal but against the rest of top 6, he had about 1 or 2 remarkable games against each in 3 years now, and that doesn't include Liverpool as well. Ozil isn't that different as he had some good games against top 6 but the general view he's underwhelming in the rest.

Pogba doesn't fight for the ball much when he's off the ball imo.

 

[Stacks]

Liverpool lost Luis Suarez, a player in his prime who had done far more for them than Pogba has done for us, and 3 years later they were fielding the likes of Salah, Firmino, Mane, Van Dijk, and Robertson, any of whom I'd gladly welcome into our team.

Don't forget Cutinho

 

[Cladistics_Fan]

Why is Pogba's thread or all of his threads going haywire when all of these strangers to reality keep reminding us he is not the best mid or he isn't this and that.

I am no expert but from my calculations we started with 11 players against wolves, why concentrate on him??

Other than Pogba having to learn to hold off niggling players like Neves and Marquinhos while finding space like Scholes there is no problem with him at all.

He should hold his head high and keep his consistency because there is no midfielder currently playing or in recent history who has ever shown a top level like Paul Pogba has, none.

Shaka Hislop says it better below :
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuXN-uysW48

With all due respect, I didn't watch the video however, I think your post cannot remain unanswered. What you have to remember is that Paul Pogba was bought because of what he could bring to the team. This was a new challenge not only for him, but also for us to see how he could cope with the rigours of a typical league season. Pogba seems to do quite well against the pretty good teams, but then either goes missing, or, he cannot be bothered to help his teammates against teams of inferior quality. In saying that, he reminds me so much of Jamie vardy, who is a player who is not scared of going against the big teams and scores too however, against teams that are average at best, he does go missing more often than not.

Therein lies the problem with Paul Pogba. He is too inconsistent to be labelled a "world class player", yes, he does some world class things with the ball, but when it comes to a 90 minute performance, then sometimes, he can be completely average at best. Again, I am not saying he is a terrible player, I do not think that and my argument isn't based on that either. However, when we look at the performances of Kevin DeBruyne, David Silva/Bernardo Silva, Iniesta, Scholes, Xavi or even Messi; these are players who kept their game simple i.e. they used their intelligence to decide when is the best time to launch a long diagonal and when it is time to play a simple pass.

Having watched Iniesta/Xavi and Iniesta over a long period of time, their game was simple; one touch and short. Paul cannot do that because he always tries to launch the ball long i.e. hollywood pass, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If he wants to become the "world class player", that he thinks he is, he needs to get back to basics and try and do the simple things first. That is how Pep Guardiola managed to transform a pretty good City side into an excellent attacking force.

Anyway, back to your post and with the point about "niggling players." This is part and parcel of the game and he will have to adjust to it and if I remember correctly, each time he lost the ball, there was not one single fouled called which meant that those "niggling players", won the ball cleanly. Also, comparing him to Scholes is indeed an opinion, but can you justify that? Pogba maybe able to do things that Scholes can do, but there are a great number of things that Scholesy could do that Pogba could dream of doing. Anyway, that is besides the point and we can go on for ages about that.

As for the bolded statement and in blue, what do you actually imply by "keeping his consistency?" Isn't this where the problem lies with Paul Pogba? Players need to be consistent in their game no matter who the opposition is, and this is where your opinion breaks down, simply because he hasn't shown a level of consistency since he had a very bad game against Paris Saint Germain in the first match. From then on, he has been prolific i.e. consistently bad which doesn't help our midfield out. Remember, there are people who think Matic is terrible (and they may be justified in their opinion), so, when Matic and Pogba are together and playing "terribly", it doesn't inspire the rest of the team at all.

To summarise, each and every player who plays for Manchester United who don't perform to their maximum capacity need to actually apologise for their performances. They need to stand up and say, "ok, I didn't play well and I will take the responsibility for the goal that was scored." So, when a player implies or perhaps supporters who imply that he needs better players around him, shouldn't he first admit that he is playing badly instead of blaming everyone else? If Ole can take the blame (for deliberately taking out a player and saying "I had to do it") for his errors, then the players in the team should be able to assume their errors, and only then can we move forward.

 

[Amar__]

He should hold his head high and keep his consistency because there is no midfielder currently playing or in recent history who has ever shown a top level like Paul Pogba has, none

This is why people tend to criticise Paul Pogba more than other players. It's quite often that you can read stupidity like this from his fans.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

This is why people tend to criticise Paul Pogba more than other players. It's quite often that you can read stupidity like this from his fans.

What is that guy thinking

Suddenly players like xavi & schweinsteiger never existed

 

[Lemur]

This is why people tend to criticise Paul Pogba more than other players. It's quite often that you can read stupidity like this from his fans.

The only one showcasing stupidity is you lad, blaming me and other posters for your own prejudices against our best player.

I'm not a Paul Pogba fan outright either but I will be if he leaves this club as he would be doing his career a solid service.

Why stay here, where some supporters like you are worse than hecklers.

 

[Lemur]

What is that guy thinking

Suddenly players like xavi & schweinsteiger never existed

And thinking is obviously foreign to you if those are the two players who you're suggesting have a higher top level than Pogba; they did not.

Xavi was great at consistently finding space while playing neat simple pass and move football. Dimensions Pogba needs to add to his game, sure.
Any other aspect I have seen Pogba do, and do better, not often enough in the United shirt but I have seen it which is enough.

The other player mentioned.....ah no. Go try to think again.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

And thinking is obviously foreign to you if those are the two players who you're suggesting have a higher top level than Pogba; they did not.

Xavi was great at consistently finding space while playing neat simple pass and move football. Dimensions Pogba needs to add to his game, sure.
Any other aspect I have seen Pogba do, and do better, not often enough in the United shirt but I have seen it which is enough.

The other player mentioned.....ah no. Go try to think again.

 

[Aloysius's Back 3]

@Lemur

Where was Pogba during modric's balon dor win? Pogba is better than Kroos too right?

Pogba had the mentality & ability of Yaya toure when he moved from CDM to CAM for City. Big headed & tried to dribble with the ball in to space first before trying to score a goal. Atleast yaya toure did that.

Since we all cover up Pogba's average performances with the need for newer players - tell me why Pogba doesn't score the long range crackers that I aas expecting to see atleast once every 5-6 games?

 

[roonster09]

Where was Pogba during modric's balon dor win?

Think he was busy polishing his world cup winners medal.

 

[tenpoless]

People start hating on him when They think He'll leave us.
Zidane is back, of course people will criticize his performances much harsher this time. Insecurity.
Ole has said it time and time again that He wants to build the team around Pogba. I hope He'll stay.

Also, at least his productivity is way better now even if He's had shite performances under Ole. Under Jose this season, He was not productive and shite.

 

[PSingh]

I can’t see United selling him this summer. IIRC he’s still got 3 years left on his contract, so at this stage we hold the power. The links to Real Madrid are strong due to Zidanes return, but who’s to say Zidane will be their manager next season? We know that Perez is trigger happy and I strongly doubt they can afford Pogba.

One of the main issues in our team is creativity. At the moment Pogba is our main and perhaps only creative force, so if an opposition can stifle him you’ve got a good chance of winning the game.

The challenge for Ole is to find a way to make Pogba more involved but not diminish his attacking threat - I think in marches that are open with lots of space in midfield Pogba should play further forward and have the freedom to run at defences. Against tight park-the-bus style teams id play him deeper and allow him to dictate play.

After a full pre-season with Ole and hopefully some much needed quality additions I think we’ll see the best out Pogba.

 

[TMDaines]

As much as many of us were disappointed with him at Wolves, he did create five chances. We’re seriously fecked without him creatively.

 

[OldTrevil]

Think he was busy polishing his world cup winners medal.

 

[Baxter]

 

[Lemur]

@Lemur

Where was Pogba during modric's balon dor win? Pogba is better than Kroos too right?

Pogba had the mentality & ability of Yaya toure when he moved from CDM to CAM for City. Big headed & tried to dribble with the ball in to space first before trying to score a goal. Atleast yaya toure did that.

Since we all cover up Pogba's average performances with the need for newer players - tell me why Pogba doesn't score the long range crackers that I aas expecting to see atleast once every 5-6 games?

You just mentioned two players with lower levels than the first two.

It is already common knowledge that Modric only won that accolade because the popular narrative was they had to break up the Ronaldo and Messi duopoly.

In no way was he better than Ronaldo last year.

Nor was he better than Pogba in the world cup, particularly not in the final; Manduzic and the wings carried all of Croatia's threat throughout.

Individually Kroos can't get close to Pogba either, imagine immobile Kroos in our midfield in place of the Frenchman, man we would be in far more trouble.

The only thing I agree with there is that Pogba should score more from distance, he did it almost every game at Juventus but maybe someone has told him to avoid doing that.

 

[Hammondo]

And thinking is obviously foreign to you if those are the two players who you're suggesting have a higher top level than Pogba; they did not.

Xavi was great at consistently finding space while playing neat simple pass and move football. Dimensions Pogba needs to add to his game, sure.
Any other aspect I have seen Pogba do, and do better, not often enough in the United shirt but I have seen it which is enough.

The other player mentioned.....ah no. Go try to think again.

Are you on drugs? Xavi makes Pogba look like a championship player. Hes arguably the best midfielder for several decades.

 

[Canagel]

Better than Kroos, Modric and Yaya. Arguably a top 3 talent in the world imo. I think he has a case to be behind the Messi, Ronaldo duo or in that group of players.
That dinked assist the other day- only Messi can do that . Which other midfielders apart from PP can do that in the world? He's a unique player.

 

[Canagel]

Think he was busy polishing his world cup winners medal.

 

[Adam-Utd]

He's better than Kroos, Modric and Yaya. Arguably a top 3 talent in the world. Behind the Messi, Ronaldo duo at the top of that group.
That dinked assist the other day- only Messi can do that . Which other midfielders apart from PP can do that in the world? He's a unique player.

Exactly. He nearly even had an assist against Wolves with his knee pass to Lukaku (it just went wide)

It actually baffles me how people will happily see our only genuine world class player walk away, just because he didn't get on with Mourinho (the man who fell out with half the squad)

People keep using this "he can't be bothered" excuse, but apart from the Southampton away game I can never say he's not tried. Sometimes he tries too hard and that's when he gets caught on the ball, but that's because he can't rely on anybody else. For France he doesn't have this issue as he's got Griezmann/Mbappe to help him out.

I have plenty of opposition fans as friends, and they all love what Pogba can do. Why do you think Real are desperate to get him AGAIN?

 

[el3mel]

Better than Kroos, Modric and Yaya. Arguably a top 3 talent in the world imo. I think he has a case to be behind the Messi, Ronaldo duo or in that group of players.
That dinked assist the other day- only Messi can do that . Which other midfielders apart from PP can do that in the world? He's a unique player.

You're talking about Pogba ? Better than those in their prime ? Impossible. Only United fans will say things like this. Any neutrals will laugh on this.

 

[Canagel]

You're talking about Pogba ? Better than those in their prime ? Impossible. Only United fans will say things like this. Any neutrals will laugh on this.

Yes he can do more things with the football than those players. Specifically talking in attributes. only weakness I can think of is finding space to get away from tight markings and it's off the ball.

 

[el3mel]

Yes he can do more things with the football than those players. Specifically talking in attributes. only weakness I can think of is finding space to get away from tight markings and it's off the ball.

All of these were far better and more complete in their prime it's not even a question. Pogba can be better than a past it Yaya Toure but definitely not prime Yaya.

 

[Amar__]

Nani was better than Messi because he could score with his weaker foot 30m away from goal. He also scored some wonder goals Messi could never score so that means he is definitely better footballer than him.

 

[.Rossi]

You just know he'll put in the performance of his life against City and hand Liverpool the league

What an absolute disaster of a situation

 

[soaphroniscuss]

Any one of the following MF players would perform better in our team and do more for the team than Pogba.

Peak...

Vierra.
Seedorf.
Xavi.
Scholes.
Yaya Toure.
Pirlo.

 

[Adam-Utd]

Any one of the following MF players would perform better in our team and do more for the team than Pogba.

Peak...

Vierra.
Seedorf.
Xavi.
Scholes.
Yaya Toure.
Pirlo.

What's that got to do with anything they aren't here now are they? I'm sure a prime Ronaldo would be better than rashford too

 

[breakout67]

Any player can be flawless when you only look at their best bits and ignore their worst bits. Looking at Pogba at his best is a clearly dishonest way of assessing him, since he spends large parts of a season being Pogba at his worst.

When some people say that players are allowed a bad day they ignore that Pogba has bad weeks not bad days.

 

[soaphroniscuss]

What's that got to do with anything they aren't here now are they? I'm sure a prime Ronaldo would be better than rashford too

Good question.

there is no midfielder currently playing or in recent history who has ever shown a top level like Paul Pogba has, none.

This is why people tend to criticise Paul Pogba more than other players. It's quite often that you can read stupidity like this from his fans.

 

[Lemur]

All of these were far better and more complete in their prime it's not even a question. Pogba can be better than a past it YayaYayaYaya Toure but definitely not prime Yaya.

You are right it's not a question, it's not a question that you have no idea what you are talking about, seeing as Yaya Toure in his prime was not more complete than Pogba is at all.

His repertoire included mainly running from deep and holding off players very well. However his passing and creativity was nowhere near Pogba's mate.

Yaya would be more effective on his own in our team though I believe.

The other two players you mentioned....impossible and it is not even close.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...ons-decision-hand-Luka-Modric-Ballon-dOr.html

Are you on drugs? Xavi makes Pogba look like a championship player. Hes arguably the best midfielder for several decades.

Thanks for the offer but I have no interest in doing the Fifa19 drug with you though from your comment you must have been on that for some time.

I prefer to watch games before I rate players.

Plus being the best midfielder in a stacked team for both club and country in Xavi's time doesn't automatically make him better than Pogba is today, it just means his competition was different.

The only thing Xavi could do that Pogba obviously needs to learn is to find space when he is tightly marked, Pogba routinely has at least 2-3 players tightly closing him down at any point, attention like that was never paid to Xavi so we don't know how he would have dealt with it.

Other than that there is nothing Xavi could do with the ball that I have not seen Pogba do better, simple as.

 

[Lemur]

Any one of the following MF players would perform better in our team and do more for the team than Pogba.

Peak...

Vierra.
Seedorf.
Xavi.
Scholes.
Yaya Toure.
Pirlo.

Xavi and Pirlo placed into our team as it is as a replacement for Paul Pogba would most likely fail.

You can't name drop players from any league and say they will do better for Manchester United.

There is a reason some players choose to never come to England and those two are the slowest out of that lot.

While I agree the others would be more consistent, none of those listed have a higher top level than Pogba.

 

[Cladistics_Fan]

You are right it's not a question, it's not a question that you have no idea what you talking about, seeing as Yaya Toure in his prime was not more complete than Pogba is at all.

His repertoire included mainly running from deep and holding off players very well. However his passing and creativity was nowhere near Pogba's mate.

Yaya would be more effective on his own in our team though I believe.

The other two players you mentioned....impossible and it is not even close.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...ons-decision-hand-Luka-Modric-Ballon-dOr.html



Thanks for the offer but I have no interest in doing the Fifa19 drug with you though from your comment you must have been on that for some time.

I prefer to watch games before I rate players.

Plus being the best midfielder in a stacked team for both club and country in Xavi's time doesn't automatically make him better than Pogba is today, it just means his competition was different.

The only thing Xavi could do that Pogba obviously needs to learn is to find space when he is tightly marked, Pogba routinely has at least 2-3 players tightly closing him down at any point, attention like that was never paid to Xavi so we don't know how he would have dealt with it.

Other than that there is nothing Xavi could do with the ball that I have not seen Pogba do better, simple as.

With all due respect, you really are doing a disservice to one of the finest midfielders that has ever graced the game. I am far from being a Barcelona fan however, I have watched enough La Liga games to actually form an opinion that would be agree by most football fans, if not all in the world of football.

Xavi may not have been your midfielder that sprays 50-yard balls around the field, but then again, he didn't need to, since his Barcelona side at the time was tiki-taka. This not only conserved energy for the majority of the Barcelona side by keeping the ball 75% of the time, but also making the defenders/midfielders work extremely hard, using vast amounts of energy chasing after shadows, and a majority of the time, it worked.

With that being said, Xavi was the link from defence to attack, he was the metronome that set the tempo of the Barcelona attack. Again, he didn't need to head the ball, he didn't need to take penalties, he didn't even need to run fast. His job was to keep the Barcelona engine ticking over. He was a player who anticipated his opponents/teammates before, during and after the ball has been passed to him. He was a player that needed to be able to make split-second decisions to ensure that the team ticks. I watched one match where he looked the other way before he even received the ball (he could only do this if an opponent wasn't close to him) and he made a decision before he received the ball to make the pass that will be intercepted by his teammates.

Basically, whether he is being tightly marked or not marked at all, he was a player who was difficult to play against and there is a reason why he averaged over 100 passes per game with an insane pass success throughout his career. Another point I don't like is the idea that Paul Pogba is the only player who was tightly marked by 2-3 players at a time. This has happened countless times to Xavi (being in the opposition half, it would be impossible to find space to move) and I don't think he ever got dispossessed. It is all about footballing intelligence, and whether we like it or not, his intelligence was out of this world, something that Paul Pogba is not blessed with (he could find himself with the ball against 1 player, then 5 seconds later, he still has the ball and another 2 defenders or midfielders around him when he should have got rid of the ball as soon as he saw the first player approach, it isn't rocket science) with regards to keeping the game ticking over.

To summarise, Paul Pogba is a good player with some very good attributes, but I fail to see any comparison to Xavi. Secondly, I feel that in spite of what he has achieved and all the efforts he put in to that dominant Barcelona side; he gets relegated to a tier behind Paul Pogba, when it is clear as day that Xavi, in his prime, was the best in his position. There are many others besides, who were, historically better than Paul Pogba. We just go with the subjective view because he plays for us and not Liverpool. Dare I say it, if Pogba had signed for Liverpool for the amount we paid for him, we would be laughing, would we not? However, that is another argument altogether.

 

[soaphroniscuss]

Xavi and Pirlo placed into our team as it is as a replacement for Paul Pogba would most likely fail.

You can't name drop players from any league and say they will do better for Manchester United.

There is a reason some players choose to never come to England and those two are the slowest out of that lot.

While I agree the others would be more consistent, none of those listed have a higher top level than Pogba.

Pogba simply doesn't have the short passing game to consistently dominate midfield.

What does "higher top level" mean? Over the course of an entire game or just a few minutes sprinkled here and there. The problem with Pogba is that while he is very good at the things that he excels in, his basic game has flaws in areas which are fundamental to being a good midfield player. Because he doesn't have those fundamentals to fall back on, or at least to a similarly high-ish level as everything else, when the spectacular is not on or not working, his game collapses to a degree that you do not see with his more rounded peers. Vieira for example could not long pass like Pogba and scored fewer goals but in everything else he was superior as a player, and in a team playing association football (rather than a random kickabout with mates) that makes Vieira the superior player.

It is like Tennis. Some players have unstoppable serves, others are magnificent shot makers, some are magnificent returners, others strike the ball harder but in addition to those stand-out skills you need master the basics in most (if not all) fundamental skills to a high level in order to dominate the sport and/or to be said to be the best.

Football being a team sport differs in that it is about building effective teams rather than individuals but when judging players individually we have to consider their all around game and Pogba's is lacking.

Pogba's short passing lacks the purpose, intuition, inventiveness, speed and progressiveness to be able to run midfield. And in addition he doesn't have fast feet, is slow off the mark, lack concentration sometimes, has high but not superlative close control and his positioning needs improving. Pogba is somewhat like Krajicek, Roddick, Lendl or even to some degree Nadal who are/were able to win tournaments regularly (given the right circumstances) because they excel or excelled in particular areas but at the same time lack the all round game to be said to be the very best of their generation. When players like that come or came up against more well-rounded players (like Djokovic or Sampras) their flaws cost them. I could name many other Tennis players where this was true.

I bet that the majority of the Cafe would swap Pogba for peak Vieira in a heartbeat.

 

[Janson]

Xavi and Pirlo placed into our team as it is as a replacement for Paul Pogba would most likely fail.

You can't name drop players from any league and say they will do better for Manchester United.

There is a reason some players choose to never come to England and those two are the slowest out of that lot.

While I agree the others would be more consistent, none of those listed have a higher top level than Pogba.

Pirlo and Xavi don't need to be fast. Their position and role doesn't require pace. Carrick played a similar role. Did he have pace?

Obviously, just putting them in our midfield now maybe wouldn't be great. But put the right players around them in midfield and they will dominate anywhere in any league.

I'm all for Pogba too, and he has the potential to be there with the best. But man, some of his fans are getting way ahead of themselves. He has a lot more to achieve to be put in that company. It kind of reminds me of how some overrate Martial. They talk about as if his potential is already realised, when in fact that's far from the truth.

 

[el3mel]

You are right it's not a question, it's not a question that you have no idea what you are talking about, seeing as Yaya Toure in his prime was not more complete than Pogba is at all.

His repertoire included mainly running from deep and holding off players very well. However his passing and creativity was nowhere near Pogba's mate.

Yaya would be more effective on his own in our team though I believe.

The other two players you mentioned....impossible and it is not even close.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...ons-decision-hand-Luka-Modric-Ballon-dOr.html



Thanks for the offer but I have no interest in doing the Fifa19 drug with you though from your comment you must have been on that for some time.

I prefer to watch games before I rate players.

Plus being the best midfielder in a stacked team for both club and country in Xavi's time doesn't automatically make him better than Pogba is today, it just means his competition was different.

The only thing Xavi could do that Pogba obviously needs to learn is to find space when he is tightly marked, Pogba routinely has at least 2-3 players tightly closing him down at any point, attention like that was never paid to Xavi so we don't know how he would have dealt with it.

Other than that there is nothing Xavi could do with the ball that I have not seen Pogba do better, simple as.

That's a post full of delusion.

I'll take Yaye Toure of 2013/2014 over the current Pogba any time of the day and any year. Anyone thinking otherwise is either deluding himself massively or didn't see this season.





I won't even replay on the Xavi part because it's beyond a joke at the moment.

As I said, you'll only see discussions like these on a United forum. For neutrals the choice is pretty easy.

 

[JPRouve]

Any one of the following MF players would perform better in our team and do more for the team than Pogba.

Peak...

Vierra.
Seedorf.
Xavi.
Scholes.
Yaya Toure.
Pirlo.

At their pick Seedorf and Pirlo played together, Xavi played with Yaya Touré and Iniesta among others, Vieira player played alongside the likes of Petit, Parlour or Gilberto Silva. Pogba would do better if had Seedorf and Gattuso around him.

 

[Canagel]

All of these were far better and more complete in their prime it's not even a question. Pogba can be better than a past it Yaya Toure but definitely not prime Yaya.

The only thing they share is the same build and height .PP is more complete than Yaya. Infact Yaya only got pushed forward later into his carrer. He used to play CB before.
Modric and Kroos controlled the games but Ronaldo goals made them look better. If PP was playing with Ronaldo in one of the midfield roles real Madrid will have been even more dominant.

 

[el3mel]

The only thing they share is the same build and height .PP is more complete than Yaya.
Modric and Kroos controlled the games but Ronaldo goals made them look better. If PP was playing with Ronaldo in one of the midfield roles real Madrid will have been even more dominant.

Yaya was great technically. See the video of his skills I posted above.

In his prime he was the complete midfielder. He didn't lack any aspect a midfielder will ask for. Pogba is definitely not a complete midfielder as far as I'm concerned. He excels at one area only and heavily inconsistent.

 

[Janson]

With all due respect, you really are doing a disservice to one of the finest midfielders that has ever graced the game. I am far from being a Barcelona fan however, I have watched enough La Liga games to actually form an opinion that would be agree by most football fans, if not all in the world of football.

Xavi may not have been your midfielder that sprays 50-yard balls around the field, but then again, he didn't need to, since his Barcelona side at the time was tiki-taka. This not only conserved energy for the majority of the Barcelona side by keeping the ball 75% of the time, but also making the defenders/midfielders work extremely hard, using vast amounts of energy chasing after shadows, and a majority of the time, it worked.

With that being said, Xavi was the link from defence to attack, he was the metronome that set the tempo of the Barcelona attack. Again, he didn't need to head the ball, he didn't need to take penalties, he didn't even need to run fast. His job was to keep the Barcelona engine ticking over. He was a player who anticipated his opponents/teammates before, during and after the ball has been passed to him. He was a player that needed to be able to make split-second decisions to ensure that the team ticks. I watched one match where he looked the other way before he even received the ball (he could only do this if an opponent wasn't close to him) and he made a decision before he received the ball to make the pass that will be intercepted by his teammates.

Basically, whether he is being tightly marked or not marked at all, he was a player who was difficult to play against and there is a reason why he averaged over 100 passes per game with an insane pass success throughout his career. Another point I don't like is the idea that Paul Pogba is the only player who was tightly marked by 2-3 players at a time. This has happened countless times to Xavi (being in the opposition half, it would be impossible to find space to move) and I don't think he ever got dispossessed. It is all about footballing intelligence, and whether we like it or not, his intelligence was out of this world, something that Paul Pogba is not blessed with (he could find himself with the ball against 1 player, then 5 seconds later, he still has the ball and another 2 defenders or midfielders around him when he should have got rid of the ball as soon as he saw the first player approach, it isn't rocket science) with regards to keeping the game ticking over.

To summarise, Paul Pogba is a good player with some very good attributes, but I fail to see any comparison to Xavi. Secondly, I feel that in spite of what he has achieved and all the efforts he put in to that dominant Barcelona side; he gets relegated to a tier behind Paul Pogba, when it is clear as day that Xavi, in his prime, was the best in his position. There are many others besides, who were, historically better than Paul Pogba. We just go with the subjective view because he plays for us and not Liverpool. Dare I say it, if Pogba had signed for Liverpool for the amount we paid for him, we would be laughing, would we not? However, that is another argument altogether.

This is the same excuse that keeps being brought up for both Pogba and Martial. Martial keeps getting doubled because of his lack of movement. Pogba just takes way to long on the ball and invites pressure from several players. That is actually one of his strengths. Because he is good at shielding the ball and getting out of those situations, and when he does, it becomes a massive advantage for us since it frees up other players. That's great when it works, the problem is that it fails a lot of the time and that's where his football iq comes into question. He needs to make better decisions of when to take on players like this and when to just release it quicker. I would also say that his positioning awareness on defense isn't as good as some of those top different types of CM's of the past.

 

[Cladistics_Fan]

The only thing they share is the same build and height .PP is more complete than Yaya. Infact Yaya only got pushed forward later into his carrer. He used to play CB before.
Modric and Kroos controlled the games but Ronaldo goals made them look better. If PP was playing with Ronaldo in one of the midfield roles real Madrid will have been even more dominant.

We are dealing with totally hypothetical situations here though. Here is another "hypothetical situation", for you. Let us swap Xavi and put in Paul Pogba as he is now. When a team like that who are playing tik-taka football, they don't want players to dwell on the ball for long periods. Also, with exception to Messi, every single player played with a single rule in their head; if their opponents have the ball, they had a set time to try and get the ball back as quickly as possible and this is something I cannot see Paul Pogba doing.

Getting back to my original hypotheses and replacing Xavi with Pogba. Are you really telling us that Pogba, in the same situation as Xavi, would be able to analyse before, during and after the ball has been passed to him, that he would be able to benefit Barcelona? There is not a hope. Firstly, they don't like playing long balls, secondly, you need to be able to have a mental picture of what is happening and what you are going to do about it. I have seen enough of Paul to form an opinion and that, against a few teams in the Premier league where he has scored goals (a majority of those penalties) he has lost the ball on many occasions due to dilly-dallying on the ball. I refer you to my previous post on the matter where he anticipates 1 player going towards him, and instead of getting rid of the ball, he invites 2-3 other players to surround him and he loses us possession.

So, what we need to do is get back to reality and say how we see it to be honest. He has some good attributes, but he is nowhere near the likes of other midfield players of the past. Further to that, we can hate him or love him but, I rate Patrick Vieira over Paul Pogba simply because he had more in his locker and when it comes to midfield battles, he won a fair majority of them because he had the bottle to take the midfield by the scruff of the neck and make it his own. Is this any wonder why there was so much animosity between Keane and Vieira; two players who would always stand their ground when the going got tough. Having Vieira in midfield was a major coup for Arsenal just as Keane was for Manchester United; they helped both Arsenal and us through a very successful period of Arsenal/Manchester United dominance.