[Strelok]

I have no problem comparing him with Bruno....Bruno had a great start after a mediocre debut, until lockdown. Then restarted brilliantly against Sheffield Utd Bournemouth Brighton but some of his performances since have been sloppy, decision making has been terrible, constantly giving the ball away at times in dangerous areas allowing teams to counter, he’s playing to high up the pitch and not in position for teammates to find him and worse he’s leaving his teammates in midfield isolated and outnumbered. He needs to stop taking shots from ridiculous positions and learn to stop forcing things so much.....and for a 10 how many goals has he scored from open play? One vs Everton that my Gran could’ve saved and one vs Brighton....that’s not good enough for a supposedly world class number 10 who leaves his midfield exposed as a result of how high up the pitch he is. He’s a moments player, so his youtube highlights look phenomenal and he’s been fortunate that the unusual amount of penalties we have received have masked his lack of goals. Also fans here love a bit of running so if he loses the ball and runs a bit that’s apparently ok too, even though he rarely wins it back.

See...we can make the comparison by shifting the same negative prism....none of what I have written is made up. All of that can be levelled at Bruno, playing closer to the goal is more likely to result in more goal contributions but frankly a fair few assists have been simple passes that a player has gone on to score from rather than the creation of a great chance.

He will need to get back to his earlier form if we are going to do anything next season, and the fluctuation in performance from his best to worst form is a concern. At his worst he doesn’t look like he can pass it five yards.

I don't want to go into details but anyone watching Bruno can't see that he has been consistently good for us then I'm speechless. Every players have bad games here and there, it's normal. But the ratio between good against average/bad matches is what important here.

Just go read the Bruno performance thread and you'd see I think.

I don't want this to turn into a war who is the better one between Bruno/Pogba. It's no good. I just hope people here can accept and see Pogba as he is.

 

[Escobar]

Deciding the game means winning the game which is usually done by goals + assists. They created platform for attackers to shine instead of winning the games with great end product.

For example, Iniesta scored 35 league goals in 16 seasons at Barca, obviously he was better player than Pogba and better midfielder too.

Point was, midfielders are rarely match winners, especially when the player players in deeper role in midfield 2.

Iniesta with assists, Zidane with goals at the biggest stages

 

[roonster09]

Iniesta with assists, Zidane with goals at the biggest stages

Pogba has already scored more goals, just need 70 assists in around 400 games to equal match winner Iniesta.

He need to score around 10-15 goals and 30 assists in 100 games to match Zidane.

None of them are match winners, they didn't score regularly and they were not judged on goals or assists.

Pogba's mins per Goals and assists is close to Lampard and he is the best goal scoring midfielder in PL.

 

[Jeppers7]

I don't want to go into details but anyone watching Bruno can't see that he has been consistently good for us then I'm speechless. Every players have bad games here and there, it's normal. But the ratio between good against average/bad matches is what important here.

Just go read the Bruno performance thread and you'd see I think.

I don't want this to turn into a war who is the better one between Bruno/Pogba. It's no good. I just hope people here can accept and see Pogba as he is.

I love Bruno, but I’m not the sort of fan that would go on his thread and post what I posted because I don’t watch football and expect a player to play well every game, Roy Keane aside, I’ve not seen a player do that over a season. I also accept that these types of players will give the ball away. He’s had a great impact, however if you looked at it negatively you could ask about the lack of goals, there’s definitely an issue positionally albeit likely related to tactics, and as for ratio....what would that look like over the past 8 games? It wouldn’t be positive.

It hey ho everything is rosey for Bruno...shame the same metrics aren’t offered to other players.

 

[kouroux]

You’re the second person to allude to him being prolific at some point in the past. Penalties aside, when did he ever score regularly for us?

So why do you hope for more scoring threat from him from a position further from the pen box ?

 

[Strelok]

I love Bruno, but I’m not the sort of fan that would go on his thread and post what I posted because I don’t watch football and expect a player to play well every game, Roy Keane aside, I’ve not seen a player do that over a season. I also accept that these types of players will give the ball away. He’s had a great impact, however if you looked at it negatively you could ask about the lack of goals, there’s definitely an issue positionally albeit likely related to tactics, and as for ratio....what would that look like over the past 8 games? It wouldn’t be positive.

It hey ho everything is rosey for Bruno...shame the same metrics aren’t offered to other players.

No not everything is rose for Bruno I think.

There's criticism of he losing the ball or misplacing passes. Or sometime overcomplicating his final passes. All are true imo. But overall performance speaking, you can't deny the fact that he's been consistently good for us.

 

[JPRouve]

No not everything is rose for Bruno I think.

There's criticism of he losing the ball or misplacing passes. Or sometime overcomplicating his final passes. All are true imo. But overall performance speaking, you can't deny the fact that he's been consistently good for us.

He hasn't been consistently good, he has actually been inconsistent since restart with generally poor games overall with few great moments within games.

 

[Strelok]

He hasn't been consistently good, he has actually been inconsistent since restart with generally poor games overall with few great moments within games.

You should go read the Bruno thread I think. Or make a poll in the United forum to see. Surely Bruno had average/bad games. But saying he's been inconsistent since restart is not accurate.

One thing I really like about Bruno is him being so consistent, even talent wise he maybe not as good as Pogba imo.

 

[JPRouve]

You should go read the Bruno thread I think. Or make a poll in the United forum to see. Surely Bruno had average/bad games. But saying he's been inconsistent since restart is not accurate.

One thing I really like about Bruno is him being so consistent, even talent wise he maybe not as good as Pogba imo.

So you missed the part where people were saying that he was clearly exhausted, the many comments about him being too sloppy, the "not his best game" and so on? Go read most posts between pages 75-90.

 

[Strelok]

So you missed the part where people were saying that he was clearly exhausted, the many comments about him being too sloppy, the "not his best game" and so on? Go read most posts between pages 75-90.

Yeah as I said he surely had bad/average games. But even on his worst days he still manage to deliver something that can change the game. And you need to look at his overall performance and output over all his games to see how many bad/average games he had. In that thread you can see of the 99 pages there's like only a period of 10-15 pages that people criticised him. That's the ratio I'm talking about.

Imo consistency is what distinct good and class players. World class players usually have 7-8 good games per 10 games. And they shine in big occasions, big moments, when their team need them the most. That's my definition of world class players. Every players have bad/average games here and there. And no one is perfect. It's the ratio between good against bad/average games that counts imo.

Tbh it's pretty weird for me to see poster saying Bruno is not consistent.

 

[JPRouve]

Yeah as I said he surely had bad/average games. But even on his worst days he still manage to deliver something that can change the game. And you need to look at his overall performance and output over all his games to see how many bad/average games he had. In that thread you can see of the 99 pages there's like only a period of 10-15 pages that people criticised him. That's the ratio I'm talking about.

Imo consistency is what distinct good and class players. World class players usually have 7-8 good games per 10 games. And they shine in big occasions, big moments, when their team need them the most. That's my definition of world class players. Every players have bad/average games here and there. And no one is perfect. It's the ratio between good against bad/average games that counts imo.

Tbh it's pretty weird for me to see poster saying Bruno is not consistent.

He isn't consistent, he hasn't even managed to be consistent technically within games where sometimes he has a clinical passing game for 15 minutes and then can't make simple passes for 30 minutes. But don't get me wrong, saying that a player is not consistent isn't necessarily a terrible remark because Bruno's best game is energetic and adventurous, so he will be inconsistent since he won't be able to maintain the same level of fitness over a long period of time and he will lose sharpness and lucidity. That''s something that we need to take into account, the role that he plays and his style, Bruno isn't economical that's why his passing rate is relatively low despite the fact that he is a very good technician.And it's also important to not put everything on his shoulders, he is a difference maker but he cannot be the only one, that type of players need to be surrounded with other creators and finishers if we want to be a top team.

 

[Strelok]

He isn't consistent, he hasn't even managed to be consistent technically within games where sometimes he has a clinical passing game for 15 minutes and then can't make simple passes for 30 minutes. But don't get me wrong, saying that a player is not consistent isn't necessarily a terrible remark because Bruno's best game is energetic and adventurous, so he will be inconsistent since he won't be able to maintain the same level of fitness over a long period of time and he will lose sharpness and lucidity. That''s something that we need to take into account, the role that he plays and his style, Bruno isn't economical that's why his passing rate is relatively low despite the fact that he is a very good technician.And it's also important to not put everything on his shoulders, he is a difference maker but he cannot be the only one, that type of players need to be surrounded with other creators and finishers if we want to be a top team.

All you said is true. Bruno is relatively not consistent with his passing. But it's the output and overall performance of all his games we're discussing here I think.

Midfielders are hard to evaluated. But you can clearly see the difference between the Bruno thread and this thread I think. Each can have a different evaluation of Bruno/Pogba per game. People are biased, you and I, we're all biased. That's why we should look at the accumulated opinions of everyone to see what's true.

Regardless of Bruno is consistent or not, or he's world class or not that's for another debate. But imo it's pretty safe to say Pogba is not consistent, and thus not world class I think.

 

[JPRouve]

All you said is true. Bruno is relatively not consistent with his passing. But it's the output and overall performance of all his games we're discussing here I think.

Midfielders are hard to evaluated. But you can clearly see the difference between the Bruno thread and this thread I think. Each can have different evaluation of Bruno/Pogba per game. People are biased, you and I, we're all biased. That's why we should look at the accumulated opinions of everyone to see what's true.

Regardless of Bruno is consistent or not, or he's world class or not that's for another debate. But imo it's pretty safe to say Pogba is not consistent, and thus not world class I think.

His output is mainly made of penalties and set pieces, in this thread people have been criticizing Pogba for his lack of output in open play when he has played deeper than Bruno. And the difference between both threads is that Bruno is for some more likeable but he hasn't been more consistent than Pogba and the accumulated opinions won't actually tell you much because Pogba has two things that Bruno will never have against him, he decided to leave at age 19 and he cameback for a world record fee that's the source of a lot of bias when it comes to Pogba.

And while I have the same criteria for the term world class, I also don't care about that term it's very subjective and when you use consistency you quickly realize that you honestly won't go beyond 5 players per position every year which is silly when you consider that most CL quarterfinal teams have midfielders that aren't consistent and are still playing at a very high level which is what actually matter not subjective and restrictive categories that have no meaning on the field. For example Goretzka isn't world class, he was struggling to get into that Bayern team earlier in the season, iirc he struggled during his last months at Schalke too but since the restart he has been ideal for Bayern. Individual status are pointless in football, it's a team sport.

 

[Strelok]

His output is mainly made of penalties and set pieces, in this thread people have been criticizing Pogba for his lack of output in open play when he has played deeper than Bruno. And the difference between both threads is that Bruno is for some more likeable but he hasn't been more consistent than Pogba and the accumulated opinions won't actually tell you much because Pogba has two things that Bruno will never have against him, he decided to leave at age 19 and he cameback for a world record fee that's the source of a lot of bias when it comes to Pogba.

And while I have the same criteria for the term world class, I also don't care about that term it's very subjective and when you use consistency you quickly realize that you honestly won't go beyond 5 players per position every year which is silly when you consider that most CL quarterfinal teams have midfielders that aren't consistent and are still playing at a very high level which is what actually matter not subjective and restrictive categories that have no meaning on the field. For example Goretzka isn't world class, he was struggling to get into that Bayern team earlier in the season, iirc he struggled during his last months at Schalke too but since the restart he has been ideal for Bayern. Individual status are pointless in football, it's a team sport.

Agreed Goretzka isn't world class yet, and tbh I don't see what he has to do with our discussion. But if you look at Modric, Scholes, Inesta, Xavi etc. do you see what they have in common? Consistency. And they usually shine in the big matches. Can we say the same about Pogba ?

And penalty and set pieces are no easy feat. People usually look down to those but it's actually very important in the game. It's not easy at all like many think. Especially under pressure. And tbh it's not the goals or assists that matter to me tbh. I'm not stats obsessed. As I said it's really hard to evaluate midfielders. Their performance is not based solely on numbers. So again, we should look at the accumulated evaluation of everyone to have the best evaluation.

Btw what is your definition of a world class player?

 

[JPRouve]

Agreed Goretzka isn't world class yet, and tbh I don't see what he has to do with our discussion. But if you look at Modric, Scholes, Inesta, Xavi etc. do you see what they have in common? Consistency. And they usually shine in the big matches. Can we say the same about Pogba ?

And penalty and set pieces are no easy feat. People usually look down to those but it's actually very important in the game. It's not easy at all like many think. Especially under pressure. And tbh it's not the goals or assists that matter to me tbh. I'm not stats obsessed. As I said it's really hard to evaluate midfielders. Their performance is not based solely on numbers. So again, we should look at the accumulated evaluation of everyone to have the best evaluation.

Btw what is your definition of a world class player?

Well Modric has only been consistent after 27 years old before that he wasn't considered world class, the same is true for Scholes and the other players that you mentioned are all time greats. So my question is do you genuinely often expect players to be all time greats or even reach Scholes/Modric level? Because if you do then there is few players that have reached that level and consistency, to me that's the overrating that I have mentioned in 2016 people putting an awful lot of expectations on someone that has never been a consistent player and if we judge him retrospectively there is even less midfielders that have reached Ballon d'Or level before 27.

And I don't think that Pogba will reach that level anyway and have never thought it. I would be happy if he reaches Vieira's level.

 

[Strelok]

Well Modric has only been consistent after 27 years old before that he wasn't considered world class, the same is true for Scholes and the other players that you mentioned are all time greats. So my question is do you genuinely often expect players to be all time greats or even reach Scholes/Modric level? Because if you do then there is few players that have reached that level and consistency, to me that's the overrating that I have mentioned in 2016 people putting an awful lot of expectations on someone that has never been a consistent player and if we judge him retrospectively there is even less midfielders that have reached Ballon d'Or level before 27.

And I don't think that Pogba will reach that level anyway and have never thought it.

Yeah that's why Modric, before moving to Madrid and shined there was not considered world class yet. He's only considered a very good player back then if my memory serves me right.

My example of Scholes or Xavi is a bit high, that's true. But imo a player must consistently deliver good performances at top level over a long enough period of time to be considered world class. Like at least 6 months - a year. And of course he'd need to continue to do so after that to remain considered world class.

If Pogba can deliver 7-8 good matches per 10 over at least 6 months for us then we can have a discussion whether he's world class I think. Problem is he hasn't yet.

 

[JPRouve]

Yeah that's why Modric, before moving to Madrid and shined there was not considered world class yet. He's only considered a very good player back then if my memory serves me right.

My example of Scholes or Xavi is a bit high, that's true. But imo a player must consistently deliver good performances at top level over a long enough period of time to be considered world class. Like at least 6 months - a year. And of course he'd need to continue to do so after that to remain considered world class.

If Pogba can deliver 7-8 good matches per 10 over at least 6 months for us then we can have a discussion whether he's world class I think. Problem is he hasn't yet.

But why does he have to be world class? We both agree on the fact that he isn't, so why do you insist with that?

And my definition of world class player is that you need to be consistently in the top 10/15 at your position group for 3/4 years at least. That's why I don't have a lot of world class players in my mind.

 

[Strelok]

But why does he have to be world class? We both agree on the fact that he isn't, so why do you insist with that?

And my definition of world class player is that you need to be consistently in the top 10/15 at your position group for 3/4 years at least. That's why I don't have a lot of world class players in my mind.

Oh it's good to agree that he's not then I think.

Imo it's a bit large and not accurate to say a player in top 10/15 of his position for 3,4 years is world class. Like Lukaku, we can say he is within the top 15 strikers in the world for the last 3 years I think. But do you think he's world class ?

 

[JPRouve]

Oh it's good to agree that he's not then I think.

Imo it's a bit large and not accurate to say a player in top 10/15 of his position for 3,4 years is world class. Like Lukaku, we can say he is within the top 15 strikers in the world for the last 3 years I think. But do you think he's world class ?

Imo top 5 is more accurate I think.

By group I'm talking about attackers, midfielders and defenders, I'm not talking about roles. For example among attackers you will have Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski or Salah in the same category.

 

[OrcaFat]

Yeah that's why Modric, before moving to Madrid and shined there was not considered world class yet. He's only considered a very good player back then if my memory serves me right.

My example of Scholes or Xavi is a bit high, that's true. But imo a player must consistently deliver good performances at top level over a long enough period of time to be considered world class. Like at least 6 months - a year. And of course he'd need to continue to do so after that to remain considered world class.

If Pogba can deliver 7-8 good matches per 10 over at least 6 months for us then we can have a discussion whether he's world class I think. Problem is he hasn't yet.

I find this to be pretty reasonable, even if the criteria are arbitrary.

Whether world class or not, he doesn’t play well enough often enough for himself or any of us to be satisfied with his contributions.

The first question to ask is: is he one of our best two or three midfielders? He is.

Could he develop into one of the best midfielders in the world? He could.

What is the best way to develop him? Select him often, encourage him, rest him when he looks tired, surround him with other good players. Mostly this stuff is happening. He is not going to become stupendous overnight in the current team but I think he will start to come good soon.

 

[Strelok]

By group I'm talking about attackers, midfielders and defenders, I'm not talking about roles. For example among attackers you will have Messi, Ronaldo, Lewandowski or Salah in the same category.

Ok I see, agreed then.

I find this to be pretty reasonable, even if the criteria are arbitrary.

Whether world class or not, he doesn’t play well enough often enough for himself or any of us to be satisfied with his contributions.

The first question to ask is: is he one of our best two or three midfielders? He is.

Could he develop into one of the best midfielders in the world? He could.

What is the best way to develop him? Select him often, encourage him, rest him when he looks tired, surround him with other good players. Mostly this stuff is happening. He is not going to become stupendous overnight in the current team but I think he will start to come good soon.

Yeah he's definitely a very good player, that's for sure.

Let's hope he'd be consistently good for us next season, especially CL

 

[Feed Me]

Pogba played really well. He’s getting flak because our streaky forward players couldn’t get the job done. Just like when Zlatan needed five chances to score.

 

[Jeppers7]

Yeah as I said he surely had bad/average games. But even on his worst days he still manage to deliver something that can change the game. And you need to look at his overall performance and output over all his games to see how many bad/average games he had. In that thread you can see of the 99 pages there's like only a period of 10-15 pages that people criticised him. That's the ratio I'm talking about.

Imo consistency is what distinct good and class players. World class players usually have 7-8 good games per 10 games. And they shine in big occasions, big moments, when their team need them the most. That's my definition of world class players. Every players have bad/average games here and there. And no one is perfect. It's the ratio between good against bad/average games that counts imo.

Tbh it's pretty weird for me to see poster saying Bruno is not consistent.

On Pogbas worst days he still manages to deliver something that can change a game.

You sound like your opinion of performance is based on the general theme of player performance threads.

However the reality is that context is necessary. The people on here criticising Pogba for the exact same things Bruno is guilty of don’t like Pogba if they are honest for various reasons.

If you look at the pairs performances since Pogbas return....

 

[Strelok]

On Pogbas worst days he still manages to deliver something that can change a game.

You sound like your opinion of performance is based on the general theme of player performance threads.

However the reality is that context is necessary. The people on here criticising Pogba for the exact same things Bruno is guilty of don’t like Pogba if they are honest for various reasons.

If you look at the pairs performances since Pogbas return....

Both the bold parts are simply not true.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

Pogba's bottom level is pretty dire. And he does not tend to deliver anything which directly contributes to a result when he's having an off day. *

* For United, at least.

 

[Clermontois]

Zidane, Iniesta.... there were a few but I get what you're saying. As long as Pogba plays so deep, it is also not easy for him to influence our attacking game. On the other hand, he needs to become more consistent

Nah they did not, it very easy to revere retired players as though they never had bad games. Zidane in partciular was inconsistent but nevertheless absolutely world class.

I don't want to compare him to Bruno but look. In his years with us, he has never won a single POTY or I haven't even seen much here suggesting so. And Bruno, only half a season here and like a third of the caf think he should win the POTY. That speaks volumes imo.

Player of the year awards, especially in house awards are highly subjective and rarely objective. Paul was more decisive for us last year yet Shaw won where externally Paul was far more decisive than Modric at the world cup yet Modric won, see the issue..

I don't want this to turn into a war who is the better one between Bruno/Pogba. It's no good. I just hope people here can accept and see Pogba as he is.

There is no war now and there wont be one in the future, Paul is on a completely different level to Fernandes and still has improvements to make to his game. Fernandes has all the hallmarks of someone who is playing at their peak.

Regardless of Bruno is consistent or not, or he's world class or not that's for another debate.

Fernandes is not world class unless you are talking about his penalty taking ability.

Oh it's good to agree that he's not then I think.

Imo it's a bit large and not accurate to say a player in top 10/15 of his position for 3,4 years is world class. Like Lukaku, we can say he is within the top 15 strikers in the world for the last 3 years I think. But do you think he's world class ?

The discussion on Paul was always going to take a turn from mistakes he made, to if he was worth x, to if he is world class, now to some saying he isn't world class for reason x or y that makes little sense. Consistency is a measue of consistency, if a player is world class or not is based more so on his talent level. For instance during Ronaldinhos decline at Barcelona in the same season he scored the bicycle kick he was very inconsistent but wasn't he still world class then?! The way Paul is discussed even by french people is just odd, especially the same people will try to say that Giroud or Greizmann are world class and more influential; it is funny.

On Pogbas worst days he still manages to deliver something that can change a game.

You sound like your opinion of performance is based on the general theme of player performance threads.

However the reality is that context is necessary. The people on here criticising Pogba for the exact same things Bruno is guilty of don’t like Pogba if they are honest for various reasons.

If you look at the pairs performances since Pogbas return....

Well said was just about to say the same.

That poster is speaking as though sentiment on this forum is any indication of a player's quality.

 

[Strelok]

Nah they did not, it very easy to revere retired players as though they never had bad games. Zidane in partciular was inconsistent but nevertheless absolutely world class.


Player of the year awards, especially in house awards are highly subjective and rarely objective. Paul was more decisive for us last year yet Shaw won where externally Paul was far more decisive than Modric at the world cup yet Modric won, see the issue..


There is no war now and there wont be one in the future, Paul is on a completely different level to Fernandes and still has improvements to make to his game. Fernandes has all the hallmarks of someone who is playing at their peak.



Fernandes is not world class unless you are talking about his penalty taking ability.


The discussion on Paul was always going to take a turn from mistakes he made, to if he was worth x, to if he is world class, now to some saying he isn't world class for reason x or y that makes little sense. Consistency is a measue of consistency, if a player is world class or not is based more so on his talent level. For instance during Ronaldinhos decline at Barcelona in the same season he scored the bicycle kick he was very inconsistent but wasn't he still world class then?! The way Paul is discussed even by french people is just odd, especially the same people will try to say that Giroud or Greizmann are world class and more influential; it is funny.




Well said was just about to say the same.

That poster is speaking as though sentiment on this forum is any indication of a player's quality.

Tbh you seem a bit biased. But well, we all are I guess. I had enough with Pogba today so one question only: do you think Pogba is world class?

 

[Jeppers7]

Both the bold parts are simply not true.

This post is simply not true

 

[Pogue Mahone]

So why do you hope for more scoring threat from him from a position further from the pen box ?

I expect him to

Pogba's bottom level is pretty dire. And he does not tend to deliver anything which directly contributes to a result when he's having an off day. *

* For United, at least.

If only.

He’s already conceded two penalties after handling the ball in our box - during an off day - that directly contributed to the result.

 

[Jeppers7]

I expect him to


If only.

He’s already conceded two penalties after handling the ball in our box - during an off day - that directly contributed to the result.

Context.....in four years

 

[ghaliboy]

I don't want to go into details but anyone watching Bruno can't see that he has been consistently good for us then I'm speechless.

I wouldn't bother, it is one of the usual suspects in here who will blindly ignore everything, make things up (like the same questionably bogus stat tweets that keep popping up every month), argue on future performances that haven't been delivered yet and never let it go.

Bruno good or bad on a day or during a window of performance fits the team better in general and that isn't even a slight on Pogba, they're both great players. His signing and subsequent performances really make me question what the point of Pogba is in this team as an 8. Pogba hasn't delivered a performance or string of performances anywhere near the consistency of knitting this team together since the dominant run post-Mourinho. That came with him mainly having the aim to get the ball and be damaging in the opponents third with all the responsibly that Bruno has had.

Looking at his performances then and now is night and day. He's an expensive and talented player but I still question whether you would bother with playing him as an 8. If he isn't the main star doing all the main star things having all the main star responsibility to break the rules in search of opening the game up for goals and assists then, I don't really see the point of him in this team. Based on these post pandemic performances in the 8 position.

 

[criticalanalysis]

Here's a hypothetical thought, how do you think Pogba would perform if he was playing Bruno's role with the exact same Pogba that we're seeing today behind him?

So based on the last game, imagine this:

Pogba
Fred Pogba

Defensively weak as feck but considering how high Bruno plays, it might not make much of a difference because Pogba would be playing a bit more closer to the centre of the pitch as he likes to be on the ball and dictate play. However, possession and attacking wise, I would think it's a signficant upgrade. Perhaps less goals but a more 'rounded' midfield effort than this 4-2-4 abomination.

 

[Borys]

I can understand why Ole is playing him that deep. Not his best position but I think his first touch can be quite erratic, so he has more time on the ball than high up the pitch.

If he can cut out unnecessary dribbling in the middle of the park, and learn to pick easier options to release pressure he can be very good midfielder. He should also be a little more mobile, pass and move but I guess that’s not his style.

My only doubts concern his off the ball movement, which is below average for a midfielder, and in general defensive contribution other than winning headers. You won’t see that watching clips of his performances, but I’ve been looking at him very closely lately and that’s my opinion. First Sevilla goal is a good example (not that it was his fault).

 

[Jeppers7]

I can understand why Ole is playing him that deep. Not his best position but I think his first touch can be quite erratic, so he has more time on the ball than high up the pitch.

If he can cut out unnecessary dribbling in the middle of the park, and learn to pick easier options to release pressure he can be very good midfielder. He should also be a little more mobile, pass and move but I guess that’s not his style.

My only doubts concern his off the ball movement, which is below average for a midfielder, and in general defensive contribution other than winning headers. You won’t see that watching clips of his performances, but I’ve been looking at him very closely lately and that’s my opinion. First Sevilla goal is a good example (not that it was his fault).

He sounds shite

 

[kouroux]

I expect him to


If only.

He’s already conceded two penalties after handling the ball in our box - during an off day - that directly contributed to the result.

That makes no sense to me, you cannot have it both ways. If the man isn't a consistent scoring threat then it's crazy to expect him to be dangerous when attacking . You're setting yourself up for criticizing him easily

 

[He'sRaldo]

Here's a hypothetical thought, how do you think Pogba would perform if he was playing Bruno's role with the exact same Pogba that we're seeing today behind him?

So based on the last game, imagine this:

Pogba
Fred Pogba

Defensively weak as feck but considering how high Bruno plays, it might not make much of a difference because Pogba would be playing a bit more closer to the centre of the pitch as he likes to be on the ball and dictate play. However, possession and attacking wise, I would think it's a signficant upgrade. Perhaps less goals but a more 'rounded' midfield effort than this 4-2-4 abomination.

Two Pogba's in a working system would be unfair.

 

[Clermontois]

I can understand why Ole is playing him that deep. Not his best position but I think his first touch can be quite erratic, so he has more time on the ball than high up the pitch.

If he can cut out unnecessary dribbling in the middle of the park, and learn to pick easier options to release pressure he can be very good midfielder. He should also be a little more mobile, pass and move but I guess that’s not his style.

My only doubts concern his off the ball movement, which is below average for a midfielder, and in general defensive contribution other than winning headers. You won’t see that watching clips of his performances, but I’ve been looking at him very closely lately and that’s my opinion. First Sevilla goal is a good example (not that it was his fault).

He would have more time on the ball further up as we are pressed heavily from the front these days.

If we are asking the most skillful midfielder in football to stop dribbling then the club is not fit to have him and it only happens in England. Imagine Paris saying to Neymar only dribble in the opponents box; such a silly notion. Also he is already an exceptional midfielder all the while he is being played out of position by Ole against all common sense. Now for your last myth Paul pass and moves when the option is there in our team you rarely see that option unless it is literally outside the opponents box so that is down to the lack of options from the players ahead of him.

Off the ball movement is more important for attacking midfielders, wingers and strikers, it literally does little for a deep lying midfielder but continue to clutch at straws mate.

 

[Chesterlestreet]

If only.

He’s already conceded two penalties after handling the ball in our box - during an off day - that directly contributed to the result.

Hum. Yeah. But what I meant was that he doesn't tend to contribute positively to a result when he's having an off day (contrary to what some of his most blinkered fans tend to claim). And, yes, on occasion he has even contributed negatively to the result - but in fairness that hasn't happened too often.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Hum. Yeah. But what I meant was that he doesn't tend to contribute positively to a result when he's having an off day (contrary to what some of his most blinkered fans tend to claim). And, yes, on occasion he has even contributed negatively to the result - but in fairness that hasn't happened too often.

I was just being glib. Although it does stick in the craw a bit that - in terms of big game-changing moments this season - he has more in the debit than the credit column.

 

[GiddyUp]

He would have more time on the ball further up as we are pressed heavily from the front these days.

If we are asking the most skillful midfielder in football to stop dribbling then the club is not fit to have him and it only happens in England. Imagine Paris saying to Neymar only dribble in the opponents box; such a silly notion. Also he is already an exceptional midfielder all the while he is being played out of position by Ole against all common sense. Now for your last myth Paul pass and moves when the option is there in our team you rarely see that option unless it is literally outside the opponents box so that is down to the lack of options from the players ahead of him.

Off the ball movement is more important for attacking midfielders, wingers and strikers, it literally does little for a deep lying midfielder but continue to clutch at straws mate.

Urrgh, cringe.