[Roane]

No one player did himself any justice and Pogba wasn't up to the standards we rightly expect from him.

However
pogba had more touches than any of the rest of the front 6, and made more passes.

He had 100 touches, 87 passes (87%); mctominay had 92 touches, and 58 passes (63%).

in other words, he did a much better job of getting the ball and moving it on than mctominay, though most people would say that the scot was great, and the frenchman sh!t, just because of a few surging runs from the former.

pogba also made as many successful long passes as the rest of our front 5 combined, and made more interceptions than anyone on the pitch, from either side. he also made one "key pass", whereas bruno made none at all.

he successfully completed 8 of 11 long balls - the rest of the front 5 were 8 from 17 - yet as is often the case all the focus is on the 3, not the 8.

pogba didn't have a great game, but i honestly don't know what people were watching to say that he was awful, or worse than bruno (whose big game record is truly woeful).

 

[Jeppers7]

No one player did himself any justice and Pogba wasn't up to the standards we rightly expect from him.

However
pogba had more touches than any of the rest of the front 6, and made more passes.

He had 100 touches, 87 passes (87%); mctominay had 92 touches, and 58 passes (63%).

in other words, he did a much better job of getting the ball and moving it on than mctominay, though most people would say that the scot was great, and the frenchman sh!t, just because of a few surging runs from the former.

pogba also made as many successful long passes as the rest of our front 5 combined, and made more interceptions than anyone on the pitch, from either side. he also made one "key pass", whereas bruno made none at all.

he successfully completed 8 of 11 long balls - the rest of the front 5 were 8 from 17 - yet as is often the case all the focus is on the 3, not the 8.

pogba didn't have a great game, but i honestly don't know what people were watching to say that he was awful, or worse than bruno (whose big game record is truly woeful).

Exactly

 

[Jeppers7]

Wow - such a deluded post.

It's logic like this which leads to fans accepting these kind of performances for 5 seasons from a supposedly "world class" player.

That kind of performance belongs to a lower end prem team or worse. We have accepted such drivel performances from Pogba that we cant argue objectively any longer.

Pogba had a stinking game - end of. He was awful.

Other players were too, notably Rashford. I'm not saying Pogba is the reason we lost or anything, i just think we have to look at his performance for what it was - utter garbage. I can't look back at that game and recall one single instance of Pogba doing anything that made me think "Nice Play" or "Good pass". It was just littered with average lazy play you'd expect from a much worse player. If any fan out there thinks Pogba played anywhere near to the level he can last night, they need to take up another sport

what a deluded post.

 

[Idxomer]

pogba didn't have a great game, but i honestly don't know what people were watching to say that he was awful, or worse than bruno (whose big game record is truly woeful).

It's called confirmation bias.

He had an average game but the likes of Rashford and Bruno were atrocious and they were the ones most responsible for our sterile attack yesterday.

 

[Craig Ward]

what a deluded post.

So Pogba played well? Get a grip on yourself. He was abysmal

 

[BusbyMalone]

Actually thought he played well in the first half, to be honest. He faded big time as the game went on though, to the point where he was completely anonymous.

 

[Jeppers7]

So Pogba played well? Get a grip on yourself. He was abysmal

he did his job. He was decent. He faded towards the end and I thought Ole did the right thing bringing him off. Atrocious ? That’s ridiculous. How do you rate Bruno’s performance last night ?

 

[golden_blunder]

I think he’s a good player but everything has to align. It’s gonna be a case that the team will work better and have better balance when he’s gone. Even if we lose a good footballer. Much like Ruud

 

[11101]

He is supposed to be a central midfield player. Perhaps thats why?

Atrocious performance. Amazed he stayed on the pitch for so long. Bar Rashford, who had an absolute mare, our worst player by some margin

Offered no composure from midfield. Offered nothing defensively. Offered nothing with the ball. Offered nothing creatively.

A solid 2/10. Sums up his time here for me. All hype no substance

Who says? We knew what we were getting from Juventus, why do we now expect some commanding box to box centre mid?

 

[Red_toad]

Who says? We knew what we were getting from Juventus, why do we now expect some commanding box to box centre mid?

The manager who signed him is gone. So the ‘we’ doesn’t exist anymore. He’s not a puzzle for Ole to solve. I don’t think he’s going to sign any newdeal and will leave the end of next season. Then half the fans will blame the club and the other half him. Personally think once he left, he shouldn’t have come back.

 

[Hugh Jass]

Was good until Villareal scored. Then lost the plot and was atrocious.

I think this is the end of the Pogba experiment. It has failed and we would be better of letting him go and getting 40 million for him.

 

[bsCallout]

He'll look good when things are easy but he doesn't have the mentality. That's why a player like McT was able to overshadow him and run the midfield instead.

 

[Gary_Walsh_Nou_Camp_Hell]

Was good until Villareal scored. Then lost the plot and was atrocious.

I think this is the end of the Pogba experiment. It has failed and we would be better of letting him go and getting 40 million for him.

100%

Nothing personal against Pogba, I watched him come through the ranks and was gutted when he left. But his return has been incredibly underwhelming.

He's been played in various positions, various systems in attempts to get the best out of him. I think we've seen the best we're ever going to and would take any decent offer for him.

I said in a different thread that McTominay looked more like the £90m world cup winner than Pogba last night.

Ole has done well to silence the circus around Pogba but time to move on for both parties.

 

[Hugh Jass]

100%

Nothing personal against Pogba, I watched him come through the ranks and was gutted when he left. But his return has been incredibly underwhelming.

He's been played in various positions, various systems in attempts to get the best out of him. I think we've seen the best we're ever going to and would take any decent offer for him.

I said in a different thread that McTominay looked more like the £90m world cup winner than Pogba last night.

Ole has done well to silence the circus around Pogba but time to move on for both parties.

Merson said the same thing on his sky sports piece. That Mctominah looked the much better MF. Which i agree with.

We must have tried Pogba in every position attainable and he only produces once every four or five games. Or else we are winning three nil and he comes good which any player does.

He has been here what, four or five years and at this stage he is looking like our worst ever transfer signing, given his price. Why Ole persists with him i dont know. When Ferguson signed Veron, he cut ties with him soon enough as he knew he was not up to it. Ole has to do the same with Pogba.

 

[bsCallout]

Merson said the same thing on his sky sports piece. That Mctominah looked the much better MF. Which i agree with.

We must have tried Pogba in every position attainable and he only produces once every four or five games. Or else we are winning three nil and he comes good which any player does.

He has been here what, four or five years and at this stage he is looking like our worst ever transfer signing, given his price. Why Ole persists with him i dont know. When Ferguson signed Veron, he cut ties with him soon enough as he knew he was not up to it. Ole has to do the same with Pogba.

Never use Merson to validate an opinion. They guy is an absolute tool. A clock is right twice a day.

 

[Valencia's Left Foot]

I wouldn't say Pogba was terrible, but he just kind of disappeared, which happens far too often for someone who is supposedly world class.

 

[Hammondo]

His problem is that once opponents get used to him, hes very easy to counter. So he has spells when things change, but it doesn't last long and he becomes ineffective.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Merson said the same thing on his sky sports piece. That Mctominah looked the much better MF. Which i agree with.

We must have tried Pogba in every position attainable and he only produces once every four or five games. Or else we are winning three nil and he comes good which any player does.

He has been here what, four or five years and at this stage he is looking like our worst ever transfer signing, given his price. Why Ole persists with him i dont know. When Ferguson signed Veron, he cut ties with him soon enough as he knew he was not up to it. Ole has to do the same with Pogba.

I do agree but the manager probably thinks, feck I don’t have Scholes and Keane, but I have McFred and Matic. So the Veron’s case is different. Ole wasn’t afraid to sell Lukaku because he already had Rashford and Martial, that’s similar to Veron’s one.

Although, the fact we haven’t extend Pogba’s contract means we might already make the decision to sell him.

 

[Rozay]

If we are going to pay 400k or 500k p/w on player then it’s fair to expect him to be game changer. There is no point to pay that much of wages on player who can’t be game changer, should move on and invest the money on player who is more suitable for the manager.

Football doesn’t work like that. And in any case, he can be a ‘game changer’. By your logic, if we’re going to spend that money on him, then he has to be played in a position where he can have offensive influence.

That’s of course considering the hypothetical wage his dearest friends like to repeatedly quote has any credibility at all in the first place.

 

[UNITED ACADEMY]

Football doesn’t work like that. And in any case, he can be a ‘game changer’. By your logic, if we’re going to spend that money on him, then he has to be played in a position where he can have offensive influence.

That’s of course considering the hypothetical wage his dearest friends like to repeatedly quote has any credibility at all in the first place.

What football? I’m talking about his contract. 400k or 500k p/w is not for anybody, it’s a wages we can share to 2 or 3 good or top players. If Pogba is not a type of player that can change the game or we can’t make him as our game changer then we should move on.

Of course that wages is just something I’m estimating based on how Raiola does his business. DDG is on 370k p/w, I expect that fat guy to ask something minimum 390k or 400k p/w.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Merson said the same thing on his sky sports piece. That Mctominah looked the much better MF. Which i agree with.

We must have tried Pogba in every position attainable and he only produces once every four or five games. Or else we are winning three nil and he comes good which any player does.

He has been here what, four or five years and at this stage he is looking like our worst ever transfer signing, given his price. Why Ole persists with him i dont know. When Ferguson signed Veron, he cut ties with him soon enough as he knew he was not up to it. Ole has to do the same with Pogba.

I guarantee he will be long retired and debates will still rage about how to get the best out of him.

He’s 28 years old ffs. Supposed to be at the peak of his powers and he’s able to speak for himself. If he actually knows what his best role in the team is he just needs to say what it is out loud. I’m sure the manager would be all ears.

Failing to get a tune out of him has been a huge factor in Mourinho’s sacking and no doubt the same will be true for Ole. He’s not going to force Pogba to play in a position he doesn’t want to play in. It’s pretty fecking obvious the player himself either doesn’t know his best position or is deluded about his own abilities. And he’s too old now for any of this to change, unfortunately.

 

[Jeppers7]

I guarantee he will be long retired and debates will still rage about how to get the best out of him. He’s 28 years old ffs. Supposed to be at the peak of his powers and he’s able to speak for himself. If he actually knows what his best role he just needs to say what it is out loud. I’m sure the manager would be all ears. Failing to get a tune out of him has been a huge factor in Mourinho’s sacking and no doubt the same will be true for Ole. He’s not going to force Pogba to play in a position he doesn’t want to play in. It’s pretty fecking obvious the player himself either doesn’t know his best position or thinks he’s capable of playing positions that everyone else can see he’s not. And he’s too old now for any of this to change, unfortunately.

Yes wait three months for a poor performance or until he retires to post in his thread. Pathetic

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Yes wait three months for a poor performance or until he retires to post in his thread. Pathetic

Three months?!? When have we ever had to wait that long for a shit performance from Pogba, you absolute weapon. Three weeks, more like it. At most.

When you find yourself basically the only dissenting voice amongst dozens it’s time to take a long hard look at your own opinions, or risk making a fool of yourself. Although that ship has already sailed, unfortunately.

 

[Number32]

His role in the pivot was to ensure we dominated possession and take the ball from the back four and circulate it. Keep shape etc. This isn’t a role you’re going to see Pogba demonstrate his ability in, but he ensured we dominated possession. He was a bit like Carrick back there, who I think was incredibly overrated but that role is never spectacular. Keep it simple, tick over and play the odd good pass.

He made a diagonal pass to AWB while McT was free and just 5 yard from him. He tried to looks clever but scare to dribble forward and never try a gamble pass to Cavani. He only made one good pass to Greenwood early in the game. He never penetrate into the box before 70 minutes of the game (this is a box to box MC job). While he's not a DM like Carrick, McT and Shaw could regain ball possesion if he lose it.

I agree he is not the worst performer but his role was to shock Emery who had anticipated him playing on the left wing. They had a plan to stop Bruno, you could see a huge space left for Pogba to do his magic, but he never turned up and just jogging around. Even Cavani shows more determination to help the midfield than him.

 

[Jeppers7]

Three months?!? When have we ever had to wait that long for a shit performance from Pogba, you absolute weapon. Three weeks, more like it. At most.

When you find yourself basically the only dissenting voice amongst dozens it’s time to take a long hard look at your own opinions, or risk making a fool of yourself. Although that ship has already sailed, unfortunately.

So you do wait until he doesn’t play well and here you are? Weapon.

This is an Internet forum where weapons like yourself have personal issues against individual players based on perceived character flaws, not based on performance. It is why you’re in the Bruno thread giving him credit for nothing assists and scoring penalties when a few years ago you were deriding Pogba if the assist wasn’t spectacular and the goal was a penalty. It’s why you are desperate for Bruno to have an assist when he didn’t even touch the ball, but would be in here slating people if they tried to claim an assist for something like that.

It’s why you’re in Bruno’s thread defending four months of sub par performances and an absolute abysmal performance in yet another big game. What is it now about 1 good game in 10?

I don’t need to look in the mirror because if Pogba has a decent game I’ll say so, if he drops a level in the last 20 mins and rightly gets brought off I’ll say so, if he has a good game I’ll say so, if he’s brilliant I’ll say so. If he’s terrible like against Liverpool I’ll say so. If Bruno is abysmal (often since xmas) I’ll say so, if he’s brilliant I’ll say so. If anyone gets an assist for nothing, I won’t be jumping up and down, if they assist brilliantly I will give credit to them. If any players score a decent amount of goals which include penalties they will get the same credit as the next guy.

A simple search of your posts in this thread shows that you disappear when Pogba plays well and only return, and get really vocal, when he has an off day. That’s poor.

But there’s more than just one of you? Nice one. You win the internet

 

[Diabovermelho]

Would you guys accept a Pogba/Ronaldo swap deal? Or perhaps a Pogba/Varane? I rate him highly, but honestly, it's better we gain something from him this summer (either a sale or a swap deal) than lose him for free next summer.

 

[Jeppers7]

He made a diagonal pass to AWB while McT was free and just 5 yard from him. He tried to looks clever but scare to dribble forward and never try a gamble pass to Cavani. He only made one good pass to Greenwood early in the game. He never penetrate into the box before 70 minutes of the game (this is a box to box MC job). While he's not a DM like Carrick, McT and Shaw could regain ball possesion if he lose it.

I agree he is not the worst performer but his role was to shock Emery who had anticipated him playing on the left wing. They had a plan to stop Bruno, you could see a huge space left for Pogba to do his magic, but he never turned up and just jogging around. Even Cavani shows more determination to help the midfield than him.

We had a plan for Pogba to recycle possession, for the fullbacks to be the outlet, you could see Ole blasting Shaw all first half for not carrying out his role, for the midfield to feed the fullbacks and Bruno, and Bruno, as he does every game had license to do whatever he wanted. Pogba didn’t have that freedom and so it was Bruno who failed. Pogba was decent, is that enough in a final? Not really but at least he did his job for 70 minutes. I thought Cavani was exceptional and didn’t deserve to lose, McT grew into the game second half after a poor first half and was brilliant by the end....Rashford and Bruno were terrible. In addition Bruno has been poor now mostly for six months, he messed us up as captain by opting to let Villereal go first in the penalty shootout reducing our chances of winning and actually took the worst penalty of ours bar DeGea, Tuanzebe managed a better penalty. During the game he spooned crosses and passes for fun and was otherwise anonymous. The only danger he created was from two terrible shots that Cavani almost salvaged. This is a player who has license to be where he wants and do what he wants all game.
But yeah excuse him and try to pin it on someone who did his job, if not spectacularly.

 

[Jeppers7]

Would you guys accept a Pogba/Ronaldo swap deal? Or perhaps a Pogba/Varane? I rate him highly, but honestly, it's better we gain something from him this summer (either a sale or a swap deal) than lose him for free next summer.

Ronaldo I’d hate to come back now, he’s the best player I’ve seen at United and one of my favourite ever but he wouldn’t be doing himself any favours coming here at 36. Varane possibly but I worry about Madrid cast offs and how hungry they will be to play for us. I’d rather an up and coming defender and take money for Pogba.

 

[Highfather_24]

We all know Pogba is his best at the left wing position. Its on Ole that he was playing off position. I think he was decent, and there were worse players on the pitch namely Bruno, Rashford and De Gea.

 

[Craig Ward]

he did his job. He was decent. He faded towards the end and I thought Ole did the right thing bringing him off. Atrocious ? That’s ridiculous. How do you rate Bruno’s performance last night ?

Bruno had a bad game also

 

[Craig Ward]

Who says? We knew what we were getting from Juventus, why do we now expect some commanding box to box centre mid?

He played central midfield for Juve. He played central midfield for France.

Different systems perhaps, but he is a central player.

He's more of a central midfielder than he is a wide forward anyway

 

[Rozay]

Bruno had a bad game also

He did, but people in this thread appear more aggrieved that a player who played in front of our own defence didn’t do enough dribbling and creating of chances and only made simple passes - than a player not tasked with any discipline at all and in the team literally to create doing nothing. People have simply concluded ‘Bruno had no space, so it should have been Pogba’. No no no, ‘Bruno had no space’ isn’t just an acceptable mitigation. Go and get some. That’s the point, you’re a 10, find some space. Maybe turn away from your man and make some space for yourself. Drop a shoulder etc.

People seem more mad at Pogba for not having a creative impact than our 10, who is in the team to have a creative impact. I don’t think PP did anything special, but I don’t see how his game was as terrible as some are making out at all. I can guarantee that he will put in similar performances for France within weeks and people will say it was a mature and disciplined performance. A ‘see, he CAN play in a midfield two’. Of course, ‘when he wants to’. Pogba showed he can play in a two again against Villarreal. He sat, intercepted, won the ball and circulated. I can’t think of much more say, a Toni Kroos would have done in the same role. He wouldn’t have been the ‘game changer’ or whatever stick is being used today. He may have had a slightly higher pass completion, perhaps. But as is often the case, people seem mad that they didn’t see the Pogba that has been penetrating on the left wing in the final, ignoring the job he was given.

Do you think Dani Parejo was ‘terrible’ on the opposite team? If Pogba should have been doing all the things people are saying he should have been doing, what exactly was Bruno’s role supposed to be?

 

[11101]

He played central midfield for Juve. He played central midfield for France.

Different systems perhaps, but he is a central player.

He's more of a central midfielder than he is a wide forward anyway

Always in a 3 with virtually no defensive responsibility though.

For France he had Kante next to him and Matuidi tucking in from wide to do defensive work. For Juventus he had Pirlo and Marchisio.

 

[youmeletsfly]

He played central midfield for Juve. He played central midfield for France.

Different systems perhaps, but he is a central player.

He's more of a central midfielder than he is a wide forward anyway

For Juve he played a bit of an advanced LCM and that's where he made his name, especially considering that Juve were playing a high fullback line back then.

Ole is sometimes trying to replicate that here but he doesn't really get that sending Paul out too wide really limits his passing range and combination play. And let's be honest, Shaw has been good this year but he still has those fecking stupid moments when he just passes the ball to Pogba and then he doesn't make the run leaving Paul with the option to only dribble or move the ball backwards/on the other side of the field.

For him to thrive he'd need to be played in a system like the below 4-1-2-1-2 or a 4-1-2-3:

LS RS
CAM
Pogba RCM
DM
LB-- CB- CB - RB

Hi success in both systems would be conditioned by:
- DM being able to cover space
- LB playing a high line
- CAM playing around his area but not too close (to create space/passing options)
- LS to play more as a false 9

The big disadvantage is that you'd build a team around a player that plays 7 games out of 10 at 60% of his capabilities and the other 3 at full send.


However, in the current system where he plays at LW or at CM/LCM, the overall setup of the team is wrong for him to succeed:
When played CM:
- Bruno drops too deep and too close to Pogba, wanting to be involved in the play always
- Rashford is hinding behind the defender
- Wan Bissaka is always 3 seconds late to make a run on the other side
- Mctominay is always behind another player limiting the central space

Basically when played at CM for his outrageous passing and dribbling abilities, we have 0 movement around him. Thus, we don't create space and nullify his position.

When played LW:
- Shaw is, in most cases, too late with the runs
- Bruno drifts towards the right side in most cases leaving the middle last third unoccupied
- Rashford, when coming close, his combination play is atrocious(example in the Villa game) or, when trying to create space, is too far away from his LW (Again, example, the Villa game)

In both cases our team is wrongly set up to favor his position and, even if I love Paul as a player, I think, with the current manager and team, it's too big of an adjustment to make for him, also considering his form. Can it be done though? Yes, it can:

Cavani Greenwood
Bruno
Pogba DVB
Fred
Shaw - Maguire - Lindelof - AWB

In this setup Shaw's job would be to bomb forward, Fred's to cover his ass and Cavani's to create space in the combination play between Shaw-Pogba-Cavani. That would help Bruno find the middle pockets he's always looking for and Greenwood to drift inside on the other side. However, if not played perfectly and with high tempo when having the ball, this would make us a very narrow team.

Considering all the above, even if I love Paul as he's my favorite United player, I think we either need a capable manager to create such a system or we just need to let him go as the effort to make his positional functional is far too big.

 

[Rozay]

So you do wait until he doesn’t play well and here you are? Weapon.

This is an Internet forum where weapons like yourself have personal issues against individual players based on perceived character flaws, not based on performance. It is why you’re in the Bruno thread giving him credit for nothing assists and scoring penalties when a few years ago you were deriding Pogba if the assist wasn’t spectacular and the goal was a penalty. It’s why you are desperate for Bruno to have an assist when he didn’t even touch the ball, but would be in here slating people if they tried to claim an assist for something like that.

It’s why you’re in Bruno’s thread defending four months of sub par performances and an absolute abysmal performance in yet another big game. What is it now about 1 good game in 10?

I don’t need to look in the mirror because if Pogba has a decent game I’ll say so, if he drops a level in the last 20 mins and rightly gets brought off I’ll say so, if he has a good game I’ll say so, if he’s brilliant I’ll say so. If he’s terrible like against Liverpool I’ll say so. If Bruno is abysmal (often since xmas) I’ll say so, if he’s brilliant I’ll say so. If anyone gets an assist for nothing, I won’t be jumping up and down, if they assist brilliantly I will give credit to them. If any players score a decent amount of goals which include penalties they will get the same credit as the next guy.

A simple search of your posts in this thread shows that you disappear when Pogba plays well and only return, and get really vocal, when he has an off day. That’s poor.

But there’s more than just one of you? Nice one. You win the internet

I remember those posts. I remember @Pogue Mahone and a few others before coming with the ‘yea but when was the last open play goal’ regarding Pogba when he scored a few pens and downplaying his statistical contribution. Even when played in a midfield two for most of that time. Or it was ‘okay, when was the last at Old Trafford’ - with the stadium taking on more importance then! I don’t think Bruno has scored more league goals in open play than Pogba this year, and PP was out injured for a month.

What will be interesting to see is, as time passes, how this season is reported. Doubtlessly, it will be ‘couple of good games and months of dreadful performances’ once the facts become hazy.

 

[Rozay]

Considering all the above, even if I love Paul as he's my favorite United player, I think we either need a capable manager to create such a system or we just need to let him go as the effort to make his positional functional is far too big.

Agree with this. Said it before, but Ole made his choice when he bought Bruno. Think he wanted to have it all, but I don’t think he can. An optimum midfield is one where only one of them play. Unless Pogba is on the left perhaps. But Ole, or anyone else, shouldn’t just expect all the good parts of Pogba’s attacking game but ask him to keep his discipline, keep the shape and play some sort of Toni Kroos role at the same time. If we are to go down the Bruno route, we need midfielders of a different profile to Pogba. If we wanted to have Pogba as a creative force, we should have bought Barella or Saúl instead of Bruno. But we can’t have it all.

All of this doesn’t reflect well on Ole to me. Suggests at a lack of planning and a tactical naivety.

 

[rotherham_red]

Agree with this. Said it before, but Ole made his choice when he bought Bruno. Think he wanted to have it all, but I don’t think he can. An optimum midfield is one where only one of them play. Unless Pogba is on the left perhaps. But Ole, or anyone else, shouldn’t just expect all the good parts of Pogba’s attacking game but ask him to keep his discipline, keep the shape and play some sort of Toni Kroos role at the same time. If we are to go down the Bruno route, we need midfielders of a different profile to Pogba. If we wanted to have Pogba as a creative force, we should have bought Barella or Saúl instead of Bruno. But we can’t have it all.

All of this doesn’t reflect well on Ole to me. Suggests at a lack of planning and a tactical naivety.

I think it's more down to the circumstances, rather than planning. Pogba, by January 2020 looked for all intents and purposes, off at the end of the season. Back channel discussions had, according to reports, taken place with Raiola, but they had been given short shrift. We adapted to this and expected a sale in the summer of 2020, hence the purchase of Bruno and the strong links to Grealish. Then COVID happens, and all those plans went to shit. Instead of a sale, we had Pogba stay, and instead of Grealish we went for VdB, again, in anticipation of Pogba eventually going (optimistically that summer) but the prospect of a move now is remote.

What Ole is doing, is adapting to the situation at hand. I do think he'll eventually leave, but I don't think it'll be this summer.

 

[youmeletsfly]

Agree with this. Said it before, but Ole made his choice when he bought Bruno. Think he wanted to have it all, but I don’t think he can. An optimum midfield is one where only one of them play. Unless Pogba is on the left perhaps. But Ole, or anyone else, shouldn’t just expect all the good parts of Pogba’s attacking game but ask him to keep his discipline, keep the shape and play some sort of Toni Kroos role at the same time. If we are to go down the Bruno route, we need midfielders of a different profile to Pogba. If we wanted to have Pogba as a creative force, we should have bought Barella or Saúl instead of Bruno. But we can’t have it all.

All of this doesn’t reflect well on Ole to me. Suggests at a lack of planning and a tactical naivety.

Yup, think he wanted to have two overall game plans and switch it up based on the opposition, but it seems he mastered none of the two and we're in the current position of trying to shoehorn both of them where we can and hope for the best.

 

[Ali Dia]

People were expecting something that isn’t his game and our team just isn’t set up to cover anymore. He’s not a box to box midfielder. He’s admitted himself he can’t defend. Perfectly good as the most attacking of the 3 or put him on the left he only really needs to track back as far as half way or so and he can create space and danger. There’s a constant obsession on here with our central midfielders creating chances which drives me nuts. “Pogba in the middle and we create loads more” and so on…. In our system we have the full backs attacking and the midfielders cover them. Bruno does all the creating once our midfield get it to him as fast as possible. That’s why Fred and McT work well in this context.They enable Bruno to be as wasteful as he is. If Pogba went running up the pitch past Bruno and beat 2 players and was robbed and they scored he’d rightly be slated so he can’t really win unless he’s perfect.

I thought he played the role ok. It’s not really productive to keep swapping players positions around the way Ole insists on doing. He was doing good on the left. happy out, sign the thing and all that. Just when it looked like Rashford had majorly hit the wall too. What good luck for us…. Why not finally play Donny in there with McT, Pogba left and Rashford on the bench to come on and grab the glory giving everything for the last 30 minutes if he must play? It’s just poor and confusing management all round by the end of the season. Maybe it has to do with a lack of progress on the contract. Who fecking knows at this stage…

 

[miked99]

I thought Pogba played pretty well in the final. Obviously it wasn't a great attacking performance all round, but many times he received the ball in extremely tight spaces and found an out ball where one didn't seem to exist. He also switched the play really effectively, certainly more than any other player managed. Nothing earth shattering but a decent enough performance.