I do too, but when it comes to who stays at the club I readjust that standard so that everyone is under the same standard.. It doesn't make sense to have a different standard in that context. Otherwise, how would you end up with a squad as good as 2008-2009?
I'm not defending his sloppiness in and of itself. I'm defending his overall quality which includes his good moments and his bad moments. I'm suggesting moving him forward because you yourself stated that he loses the ball which can cost us in deeper areas. Fact of the matter is, Pogba is not Modric, Xavi, or Scholes. He's not going to be that constant source of passing always gravitating towards the ball to receive passes and bail out his partners to help the side retain possession. Quite clearly he likes getting forward from time to time. Nor is he some defensive specialist. He's not disciplined which is why I feel like Gomes if you were to look at 18 year old Pogba in the reserves and Gomes in the reserves, I would be more inclined to believe Gomes could do the job that Pogba can't. Not necessarily a bad thing.
If we recognize this, why would you not want to compliment him with 2 other midfielders who are of that high quality, but for their roles? Midfielders aren't robots who are all well rounded and who are equally good at all facets of the game, with the only difference between midfielders being quality. There are players like Kante who is not that great at passing, but is brilliant at disrupting play. There are players like Modric, who run the show through their passing and are the side's best passing option due to being technically brilliant and disciplined. There are passing specialists who are a bit slow, so become holding midfielders. There are midfielders who have energy as a really big asset to the team. There are jack of all trades midfielders.
If we had Kante instead of Pogba, we instantly become a rock solid side. Thing is, we lose creativity and we still lack a player who can distribute the ball constantly. You don't get rid of Kante because he lacks in those areas. You compliment him with players who are brilliant in those other areas. You compromise by complimenting him with players who their best traits are those things Kante isn't good at, but aren't world class in that department.
This is what we had with Herrera and Matic. Herrera is not prime Vidal, nor is he Keane. He was very valuable to us because he complimented Pogba, but you could still easily upgrade. He was a compromise to an ideal United midfield. McTominay is currently a compromise and he is more useful next to Pogba, then he is if you were to play him next to Vidal and Herrera. His best trait is that he's energetic, but if Vidal and Herrera are already providing that in abundance, you're going to want someone who is a better distributor or someone with Magic to unlock defenses.
Similarly, Matic was a compliment to Pogba only because he was more defensive oriented than our other midfielders. He wasn't some defensive titan like Kante. And because we know Pogba isn't some energetic player (which understandably can frustrate fans), Matic actually is a pretty bad compliment because he's incredibly slow. As a result our midfield still lacked in several areas. He was a compromise, not some ideal Pogba partner meant to solve our midfield.
This is how I view midfields and I would venture a lot of managers view it the same way. It's the same reason why Gerard, Xabi, and Mascherano worked well together. It's the same reason why Busquets complimented Xavi, as he was more defensively gifted, and why Iniesta complimented all 3 by providing more of an attacking asset to the team in the final 3rd. This is why Juve's midfield was largely thought of as the best in the world or 2nd best to Barca's midfield at the time. Vidal complimented Pogba and Pirlo because he provided energy when they lacked it. Pirlo was the passing maestro from deep and would try to break up plays more often by positioning himself as he was the deepest player, and Pogba provided magic from time to time, while chipping in all the other areas, but not being the primary source of those assets.
It's a lot harder to find someone to replace Pogba's production than it is to replace Matic's production, or McTominay's production. If we had Verratti, it would be very hard to find someone to replace him. If we had Kante it would be incredibly hard to replace him. That's why quality is important and teams are scrambling to find those talents.
This is where I agree and disagree with you. I think Pogba would love to stay here, on the condition that United were good enough to compete for the biggest trophies.
And I'm in agreement that we need to try Garner and Gomes. I believe so because they're compliments to Pogba provided they take to men's football like Rashford did initially. A tall ask, but we have no other internal options who fit the profile or have the potential to provide in key areas we lack with or without Pogba.
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