6
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 42
- Goals
- 6
- Assists
- 6
- Yellow cards
- 9
- Status
No doubt they got KOed with such toxic mentality. It seems winning the World Cup went into their heads and make them such an arrogant, toxic team.
Rabiots Mam strikes again! 
Would be weird if they weren't insulting each other. There was a lot on the line.
He had a good game some very nice balls played but Mbappe let the team down. His penalty was ice cold aswell. Hoping for a big season from him and he’ll stay I’m 100% sure of that. Great player with flaws but still a great player.
It looked a bit of a toxic team at times and they were getting annoyed with each other, especially during the Portugal game.There was also the business about Giroud and Mbappe before the tournament.
In Pogba's defence if Benzema (I think?) lifts his head up and passes to his right then France have a man over and the pressure is relieved and they can run down the clock; the pass back to the central area was a bit risky but maybe Pogba should have been more aware of what was around him.
In Pogba's defence if Benzema (I think?) lifts his head up and passes to his right then France have a man over and the pressure is relieved and they can run down the clock; the pass back to the central area was a bit risky but maybe Pogba should have been more aware of what was around him.
CM lost the ball many times in midfield. It doesn't mean it's a goal. There's still a long way to the Gk from that point. If Kimpembe just defended normally, instead of fall on his arse, it wouldn't necessarily be a goal.
And feck Rabiot. He's the worse France player on the pitch. He played out of position but still the worst player. He has no right to complain about others.
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Exactly. I'm plenty critical of Pogba but against the Swiss he was a cut above the rest with plenty of sublime moments. Made the game look so easy.
To be fair, those exact points of criticism are also made by almost all pundits, a lot of ex-footballers and fans of clubs other than Manchester United. He was criticised by Mourinho who managed him at United, criticized for his defensive output by French team mates as per recent reports and the Solskjaer doesn't trust him in a midfield two for big games. What do you make of that? Is it all partisan BS?
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Be careful. His cult will be after you with pitch forks for saying this.
But you are of course correct. Sums up Paul Pogba in a nutshell. Even when playing great he finds a way to mess things up. Seems like at least 3 French players think he's a total liability off the ball too. Excuses will still keep rolling in for him though.
Many top footballers can't defend. They are played in positions where they don't have to defend or played alongside those who compliment such players whose assets are covering their partner's deficiencies. The team needs to have a balance. The system and personnel chosen for a particular task is the job of the coaches and not the players' fault who cannot be a master of all the subtleties of football. A good coach should know the players' weaknesses and strengths.
If Pogba is still picked and makes repeated errors that bring more harm than good to the team in a certain position/system then the finger points towards the coach.
His defensive lapses didn't cost the team any more than Kimpembe, Rabiot, Pavard, or even Coman. Deschamps messed up the most by his initial setup and playing a poor defender like Lenglet.
Anyway, If Mbappe did his job as a striker, no one would be mentioning any of this stuff and everyone would be talking up a great performance by Pogba.
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Just put Rice or Kante beside him and not trash like Mct Fred Matic Herera…… or just move Bruno back… or drop Bruno because he’s trash too….
That’s what his fans have sounded like this past month.
Then once you cant blame midfield team mates anymore then move onto the strikers and defenders and then the manager.
That’s what his fans have sounded like this past month.
Then once you cant blame midfield team mates anymore then move onto the strikers and defenders and then the manager.
Players who were absolutely atrocious in the game and the 4 games you might add. The criticism from someone doing a much worse job than you is really irrelevant.
Rice was absolute cack yesterday. Slow as a snail and lucky to not have been sent off. Not much of an upgrade. Kante different beast. Zakaria would be a good option. Has a reasonable release clause
You’re completely missing my point if you’re still saying Kante is the answer to Pogba in a 2
I think you're answering to sarcasm from @Ali Dia
Against 90% of the teams, it won't be a problem. It even worked after the restart and this season with a slow Matic in a lot of games.
Ah my bad. Working and reading too fast.
Honestly Switzerland are worse than 80% of the teams we face every week. All you need to do is press Pogba on the turnover and we are wide open. It’s happened too many times for it to just be a selection issue. When we had Pogba and younger Matic all the talk was still of unlocking Pogba. They went and bought Fred then. Bringing in Rice would just be another one for the list. If Kante can’t do it as the best PL DM of the last decade then I think we can confidently say Pogba doesn’t work in a two.
Pogba has been unlocked plenty. I'm not a fan of 2 man midfield anyway, but I gave you proof of it working with Matic in project restart and this season.
I seriously don't remember more than 2 games with Fred and Pogba playing in a double pivot. Ole this season was alternating his midfield between McFred and Pogba-Matic at least till Pogba got injured against Everton.
Rice is an average midfielder and wouldn't be unlocking anyone if we bought him, so he's irrelevant to this discussion.
Varane played pretty well, no?
Besides, a footballer can play badly and still have legitimate criticisms about a lack of discipline/effort by other players on their team.
I hope he extends and stays, but if he doesnt at least it will be an end to this ridiculous thread. On one hand, people who would literally spit in his face if he gave them a winning lottery ticket, and on the other people who would say please sir can I have some more if he came into their house on christmas day and pissed on their kids. ffs.
My bad too. It’s very early in day for sarcasm. I want Pogba to fit as much as the next guy because he’s world class on the ball but at this stage I’m just tired of his teammates constantly getting blamed because he doesn’t fit or stick to the box to box role. Stick him on the left or in a 3 in Europe and I think we can still get the best out of him. This putting him in a two on the off chance it’ll work is too risky.
If he showed up for preseason with the midset that he was finally going to improve his defensive side and up his intensity that would be amazing but he doesn’t really seem to want to. He’s had years of it now and no change.
@Idxomer I’ll grant you project restart but that midfield petered out majorly by the end and couldn’t even get the EL over the line. Pogba gave away silly penalties and turnovers and Matic and everyone else was coming back completely fresh. Matic is done and Pogba was still found wanting defensively beside Kante. It’s just not going to work in a 2 and Bruno misses out in a 3.
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Varane was terrible tbh. A true liability and not just in this game but vs Portugal and Hungary too.
Easily beaten in the air by Seferovic. Rabiot too, was watching the Swiss player cross. It was a major clusterfeck, when players start pointing fingers, often it's to make people forget their own shortcomings
I understand what you're saying and agree with it. What I don't agree with folks brushing away a player's weakness under a rug calling it some sort of agenda when we really should be acknowledging those weaknesses and hoping the team/coach can come up with a solution for the same. Personally I'd love for there to be a system at United where a special player like Paul Pogba can flourish.
Inappropriate Behavior
Pogba fanboy alert.
I have accepted he has played a good tournament. Also accept he's a much better player for France than he is for us.
However it was his error that led to the game going to ET. The end.
We can disagree without you being childish. I just don't like one side of the truth being talked and the other conviniently forgotten.
If you think he is much better for France then honestly you have no idea what you are talking about.
If Pogba cannot defend AT ALL, then there's only two roles for him in a modern football team. Striker and Wing forward. He needs to start having a shitload more goals and assists, we can stick him upfront like Cristiano as a goalscorer and no one gives a shit about his defending.
If he wants to play from centre/left/attacking midfield, get involved in the nitty gritty mechanics of the game and make those bursting runs to the edge of the box, then also HE MUST DEFEND at a good enough level for a big team.
I don't know why people keep making excuses for him.
If he wants to play from centre/left/attacking midfield, get involved in the nitty gritty mechanics of the game and make those bursting runs to the edge of the box, then also HE MUST DEFEND at a good enough level for a big team.
I don't know why people keep making excuses for him.
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It's weird because that was the one thing Deschamps did well leading up to and in the World Cup. Now they appear to have reverted to classic French NT type.
Remember Evra leading a revolution against the manager once? It's weird because that was the one thing Deschamps did well leading up to and in the World Cup. Now they appear to have reverted to classic French NT type.
There is a traitor in the camp!
Kante is probably in the dressing room with his hands on his head thinking "you're all a bunch of tits"
Probably something to do with him being the best player for the strongest team in this tournament, who are currently world champions, with him playing a key role in that trophy win too. Maybe there is more flexibility in modern football roles and systems than you’ve considered, or he can play those roles plenty well enough.
Pogba is an attacking #8 or a #8/10 hybrid. Players who play the position he plays(but not necessarily have the same style or ability) are players like Iniesta, Grealish, Fabregas, Ballack, Havertz, KdB, Eriksen, Maddison, Cazorla etc(even if you dont agree with the example, the point still stands). These are players that when you play with a #6, and two #8s, are the furthest forward among the midfield 3.
These players are not known for their defensive ability, and they will not play to their full potential if you play them in a midfield 2, which puts too much defensive onus on them, and restricts their attacking freedom. They play best closer to goal, drifting between the lines, playing between the midfield and the attack.
Saying Pogba is not good at defending, is not a criticism. Neither was Wesley Sneijder(although he was a diff kinda player). It doesnt matter. Not all midfielders need to be excellent at defending. And regardless, Pogba is better at defending than a lot of pure #10s, but is not as good as a deep lying CM should be because he is not one. Its not his game. You cannot put someone like Jack Grealish in a midfield 2 and then complain he is not good at defending.
These players are not known for their defensive ability, and they will not play to their full potential if you play them in a midfield 2, which puts too much defensive onus on them, and restricts their attacking freedom. They play best closer to goal, drifting between the lines, playing between the midfield and the attack.
Saying Pogba is not good at defending, is not a criticism. Neither was Wesley Sneijder(although he was a diff kinda player). It doesnt matter. Not all midfielders need to be excellent at defending. And regardless, Pogba is better at defending than a lot of pure #10s, but is not as good as a deep lying CM should be because he is not one. Its not his game. You cannot put someone like Jack Grealish in a midfield 2 and then complain he is not good at defending.
He was the best offensive player in the strongest team on paper but yet his team just tanked below expectations. When they won the World Cup, he was purposefully more disciplined to help his team and was offensively blunted as a result. So yes I believe he can do a short term defensive job if needed, but he won't do it for long because his personality is naturally of a showman.
Yes there is flexibility in modern football roles but if you need one or even two players to always cover your back then you can't be considered the complete world class package by any means. A great but flawed player at most. And that is how he is - Great but flawed.
I am more than happy to give Pogba another go at #10 so that his defensive work isn't so highlighted, but we've already tried that haven't we? What's going to be different this time?
So pretty much like our entire season?
I don’t know what a complete world class package is but most offensive midfielders needed someone to cover for them, simply for team balance. That’s been true for over half a century. Scholes was crap alongside Anderson but great alongside Carrick because he needed support. He was very good alongside Keane but was often replaced by or moved forward by Butt in important games because he created some balance issues in tight games. And Scholes was pretty well rounded as offensive midfielders go. There’s a whole raft of players, past and present, that need someone to cover for them defensively. So unless this complete world class package is limited to a handful of players in his position across the last 50 years of footy, it’s a bit of a false criticism.
Do you think they lost because of Pogba?
In the WC they conceded 3 goals against Argentine in the same round but were more clinical in front of goal. Pogba this time was far from the worst offender defensively, and was easily their best attacker which is a problem when you have the likes of Mbappe and Griezmann underperforming massively. He didn't go for glory every time and tried to put their attack on goal whenever possible.
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