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2021-22 Performances


View full 2021-22 profile

5.2 Season Average Rating
Appearances
27
Goals
1
Assists
9
Yellow cards
9
Red cards
1
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Disagree. Pogba might be slightly better at through balls but that's it. A huge part of passing ability is the ability to do it in all sorts of conditions - including situations where space is at a premium. The difference is that Scholes' football brain worked faster than most which meant that in the situations where Pogba's holds on to the ball too long or misplaces passes due to panic/poor decision making, Scholes had already worked out exactly what he wanted to do. As much as I enjoy watching Pogba he doesn't have that playmaking ability. Plus, Scholes short passing in terms of pure ability was better. Pogba's is fine but it's the creative plays where he excels. Short passing exchanges is not something he's very good at.
This is just false and not true.
Pogba's passing in tight areas and with no space is one of his biggest strengths. Just because he has the Long range and creative passes on lock people tend to forget his short range which is very good at worst. And even if his short game isnt as good as Scholes (which is debatable) Pogba creates havoc and danger with his passes in ways Scholes never had the ability to which makes him superior to Paul Scholes at passing, with all due respect to Scholes

I think a lot of people underplaying his passing as just "through balls" talk like he is unable of retaining possession or passing under pressure. He isn't Fred. Pogba is Infact very composed and relieves pressure of his teammates with his short passes all the time, sometimes even when he gets sent hospital passes that he has no right to control first time
 
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What have his stats been since he started playing LW regularly?

I feel like he's been involved quite a bit more goal wise - but more importantly it keeps him in an area he can use his skill without worrying about losing the ball when pressed.
According to Transfermarkt it's 19 games, 2 goals, 10 assists.
 
According to Transfermarkt it's 19 games, 2 goals, 10 assists.
Great stats. Is that including the 4 from Leeds?

Assisting a goal every other game, can't ask much more than that really.
 
In the Prem Pogba played mostly in the pivot.

It was more so the EL where he played on the wing.

No other player who plays in a Midfield 2 gets practically any goals or assist at all.
In the pivot against weaker teams, on the left in big games.
Only in the last stage of the season he was used constantly on LW.
 
Pogba played a different role that he normally plays though against Leeds. It was almost like he mirrored the Rashford position.

He received the ball in an advanced position for masons goal.

Problem is, dare I say, it’s easier to do this against Leeds but you just know he’ll go 5 games now losing the ball often and not getting an assist.
Pogba received the ball in an advanced position for Mason’s goal? You sure about that?
 
Pogba received the ball in an advanced position for Mason’s goal? You sure about that?

The point is that there isn't another player who is expected to get goals and assists in a Midfield 2 in the league.

So when Pogba plays there it really shouldn't be a major expectation.
 
The point is that there isn't another player who is expected to get goals and assists in a Midfield 2 in the league.

So when Pogba plays there it really shouldn't be a major expectation.
I agree with that fully, I never understood the obsession with goals and assists for central midfielders (especially 2 man midfield).
If your team is creating chances and not conceding chances then you're doing good job in midfield.
 
Pogba in a nutshell, more assists in one PL game than all of last season.
Bruno in a nutshell, as many non penalty goals in one PL game than the entire second half of last season. Despite playing almost as a forward the entire time.

(See you can do that for many players)
 
This is just false and not true.
Pogba's passing in tight areas and with no space is one of his biggest strengths. Just because he has the Long range and creative passes on lock people tend to forget his short range which is very good at worst. And even if his short game isnt as good as Scholes (which is debatable) Pogba creates havoc and danger with his passes in ways Scholes never had the ability to which makes him superior to Paul Scholes at passing, with all due respect to Scholes

I think a lot of people underplaying his passing as just "through balls" talk like he is unable of retaining possession or passing under pressure. He isn't Fred. Pogba is Infact very composed and relieves pressure of his teammates with his short passes all the time, sometimes even when he gets sent hospital passes that he has no right to control first time
We'll see if Pogba has it in him to transform himself into a DLP who can dictate the tempo like Scholes did towards the end of his career. Scholes simply had a superior football brain, even if Pogba is the better technician. Is Pogba better than early career Scholes? Maybe.
 
Pogba received the ball in an advanced position for Mason’s goal? You sure about that?
not really, it was a counter attack and still has mcfred behind him. if he was in their positions he would be less likely to be able to make that pass
 
We'll see if Pogba has it in him to transform himself into a DLP who can dictate the tempo like Scholes did towards the end of his career. Scholes simply had a superior football brain, even if Pogba is the better technician. Is Pogba better than early career Scholes? Maybe.

The later career thing is important, right? Up until his late 20s Scholes played a different role to Pogba, more like a number 10. So the kinds of passes he was trying to make were different. It was only later that he turned into a player who could sit in the centre circle and control a game. There's nothing to say that Pogba won't get better at that as he gets older.

When people talk about Pogba's much-discussed inconsistency no-one ever talks about how most really world-class midfielders only became really reliable with their passing and decision-making in their late 20s/early 30s. Before he was 29 or so, no-one thought Xavi was head and shoulders the best midfielder of his generation. Pirlo, Iniesta, Carrick, Scholes - the midfielders who were best at controlling a game all only learned how to do that in the later stages when they were older than Pogba is now.

I think Pogba's consistency has improved notably in the last 2 seasons. For all we talk about how often he loses the ball in dangerous areas by dribbling, that has barely happened in the last year or so (Switzerland being a notable exception, though I still think it's ridiculous that an attacking midfielder can lose the ball in the centre circle and be blamed entirely for the goal like that). That's because his awareness and football understanding is improving - like you'd expect.

Midfielders - especially the cerebral sort of midfielders like Pogba - keep developing really late into their careers. Xavi, scholes, Carrick, modric, pirlo all continued putting in brilliant performances and developing their game until they were 35 at least. I often feel like people talk about Pogba as if he's finished developing, and as if any flaws that exist in his game will just stay there forever.
 
This is just false and not true.
Pogba's passing in tight areas and with no space is one of his biggest strengths. Just because he has the Long range and creative passes on lock people tend to forget his short range which is very good at worst.
It absolutely is true. Pogba's creative passing is great but he's not someone who can dictate a game with top class short in the congested heart of midfield. He hasn't got the split second decision making and composure for it like midfielders like Scholes, Xavi and Pirlo. It's fine everybody can't excel at the highest level at everything. In fact this passing in tight areas being weak is why people keep moaning about him, he's a creative attack minded midfielder who people want shoe horned into controlling games.
 
Pogba played a different role that he normally plays though against Leeds. It was almost like he mirrored the Rashford position.

He received the ball in an advanced position for masons goal.

Problem is, dare I say, it’s easier to do this against Leeds but you just know he’ll go 5 games now losing the ball often and not getting an assist.

I disagree. I think potentially he’s a monster on the left. Very Creative. Mobile enough and he’ll track back and disrupt the right back (to an extent) and he’ll tuck in and create. He causes a lot more headaches to the opposition than the Rashford of 2021. I hope Ole keeps him there. It’s slightly unorthodox but it works so keep going. It’s also the best way to get himself and Bruno into the same team.
 
I think Ole will Keep Pogba on the left in fact I expect the midfield and attack to be the below 6 in the main based on averaged position over the season.

———————Rashford———————
Pogba————-Bruno————Sancho
—————Fred—-Mctominay————-

The four should Dovetail nicely.

I do believe however the below is just as good if not better.

———————Greenwood——————
Rashford——-Bruno————Sancho
 
I disagree. I think potentially he’s a monster on the left. Very Creative. Mobile enough and he’ll track back and disrupt the right back (to an extent) and he’ll tuck in and create. He causes a lot more headaches to the opposition than the Rashford of 2021. I hope Ole keeps him there. It’s slightly unorthodox but it works so keep going. It’s also the best way to get himself and Bruno into the same team.

I think that there are definitely games where we will want Marcus' directness over an extra creative force. He can be so explosive when he's at his best.

We've now got a good mix of forward players who are more direct with their movement and others who are more creative. Hopefully that really allows us to be unpredictable in attack, and also to change a game more easily with subs (assuming Ole remembers to use them).
 
We'll see if Pogba has it in him to transform himself into a DLP who can dictate the tempo like Scholes did towards the end of his career. Scholes simply had a superior football brain, even if Pogba is the better technician. Is Pogba better than early career Scholes? Maybe.
What makes you say Scholes had a superior football brain?
 
Pogba can also play RW for us, in a Mata-esque role, the same way he plays for the left. That's how he and Rashford can both play, I think they did that against Liverpool last season.

He will be occupying the same areas of the pitch he does for FRANCE NT. Even for Juventus his actual position on the pitch resembled a LW in a lot of ways. He had a good partnership with Evra.
 
Pogba played a different role that he normally plays though against Leeds. It was almost like he mirrored the Rashford position.

He received the ball in an advanced position for masons goal.

Problem is, dare I say, it’s easier to do this against Leeds but you just know he’ll go 5 games now losing the ball often and not getting an assist.

Alright, bet.
 
This is just false and not true.
Pogba's passing in tight areas and with no space is one of his biggest strengths. Just because he has the Long range and creative passes on lock people tend to forget his short range which is very good at worst. And even if his short game isnt as good as Scholes (which is debatable) Pogba creates havoc and danger with his passes in ways Scholes never had the ability to which makes him superior to Paul Scholes at passing, with all due respect to Scholes

I think a lot of people underplaying his passing as just "through balls" talk like he is unable of retaining possession or passing under pressure. He isn't Fred. Pogba is Infact very composed and relieves pressure of his teammates with his short passes all the time, sometimes even when he gets sent hospital passes that he has no right to control first time


If there was a pass fizzed into midfield, I'd trust Scholes over Pogba every time (also Berbatov, maybe Giggs). Pogba is capable of making the tough touches or dribbles, but simply isn't that consistent with it.
 
What makes you say Scholes had a superior football brain?
Can Pogba, in a semi final champions league, make the pass Scholes made to Rooney for the second goal against Milan? In the same circumstance.

I don't think so, Pogba is good but let's not get carried away. Scholes was a main stay in United midfield for soo long.

Pogba after 5 years we still don't know his best position.
 
What makes you say Scholes had a superior football brain?
Nah sorry you’re having a mare here. Scholes is in the argument for being in the greatest all time United 11. Pogba isn’t close. It’s absolutely true that Scholes had a far greater footballing brain. He just saw the picture in advance.

I’m a massive Pogba fan, he’s been massively underrated in terms of his performances for us and his ability is outstanding….but Scholes is just a superior footballer and it’s his brain that makes him so.
 
You dont need a DM to "unlock" him. Just play him in his proper position, ahead of two midfielders. This free #8 role from the LW area really suits him well. He plays better in an attacking role than in CM.
Fair enough for now. But once Rashford is back and fit, it would require leaving Rashford on the bench (or Sancho, should Greenwood be selected ahead of him on the right).

It is entirely possible, though, that Pogba wins competition between him and a fully fit Rashford
 
We'll see if Pogba has it in him to transform himself into a DLP who can dictate the tempo like Scholes did towards the end of his career. Scholes simply had a superior football brain, even if Pogba is the better technician. Is Pogba better than early career Scholes? Maybe.
People are too biased… Pogba is simply better than scholars ever was. He’s a World Cup winning midfielder in one of the most talented French teams ever … and scholars never attained those heights with England.
 
Anyone else think that Pogba has improved quite a bit in the last 2 years? I think his decision making has improved a lot and he's much better at picking his moments to surge forward now than he ever used to be. I mean, I know people often accuse him of losing the ball loads because he tries to take too many players on in dangerous positions, but I don't really remember him doing that all recently. It's worth remembering that cms are often the players who develop latest and that Xavi, Iniesta, Scholes, Pirlo, Modric weren't recognised as the best in the world until they were in their late 20s/30s. That's because it's really uncommon for players to have great awareness when they are young.

I think Pogba is always judged unfairly on this because other parts of his game are so highly developed - his dribbling, long passing and shooting particularly. He has all the attributes to continue performing at a really high level until his mid 30s. And his awareness is just getting better and better.
 
People are too biased… Pogba is simply better than scholars ever was. He’s a World Cup winning midfielder in one of the most talented French teams ever … and scholars never attained those heights with England.
Scholes won how many titles here? And two champions leagues. Pogba has won the Europa League with us, that's it. You're talking shite.
 
I think Ole will Keep Pogba on the left in fact I expect the midfield and attack to be the below 6 in the main based on averaged position over the season.

———————Rashford———————
Pogba————-Bruno————Sancho
—————Fred—-Mctominay————-

The four should Dovetail nicely.

I do believe however the below is just as good if not better.

———————Greenwood——————
Rashford——-Bruno————Sancho


If we had a great DMC, this would be fantastic vs weaker teams:

———————Greenwood——————
Rashford——-Bruno————Sancho
-- -- - ------ Pogba --- -- DMC --- -- -

Perhaps we can try it later this year using Fred as DMC?
 
Pogba is the best passer in world football, one of the best of all time. He overrates his dribbling/ball manipulation at times which can have its own consequences but purely in terms of passing, very few are on his level.
 
If he doesn't have 2/3 assists next game then you can bet your ass he will be criticized. Despite the 4 assists (great great achievement don't get me wrong), he still played better than that for me.
 
Pogba is the best passer in world football, one of the best of all time. He overrates his dribbling/ball manipulation at times which can have its own consequences but purely in terms of passing, very few are on his level.

There's this debate going on atm about de Bruyne vs Bruno. Some people have been saying that de Bruyne wins cos he can play passes that Bruno can't. Well if we're basing it purely on passing ability Pogba is better than both (I'd say Bruno is actually the best of the 3 due to his absolutely ridiculous mentality, his football brain and movement - don't jump on me Bruno fans). For that pass to Greenwood he basically had to choose the blade of grass it would land on from 50 yards away, and he did it no look. De Bruyne couldn't do that.
 
If he doesn't have 2/3 assists next game then you can bet your ass he will be criticized. Despite the 4 assists (great great achievement don't get me wrong), he still played better than that for me.
I think its impossible to see a bad performance from him now that he is closer to goal. Anytime Pogba has a bad performance you can bet its defense related like losing the ball consistently which starts an opposition counter.
 
I think Ole will Keep Pogba on the left in fact I expect the midfield and attack to be the below 6 in the main based on averaged position over the season.

———————Rashford———————
Pogba————-Bruno————Sancho
—————Fred—-Mctominay————-

The four should Dovetail nicely.

I do believe however the below is just as good if not better.

———————Greenwood——————
Rashford——-Bruno————Sancho
I dont think Ole would ever play Rashford over Martial as striker unless Martial is injured. Ole likes his striker comfortable on the ball in close proximity with bulky defenders.
 
I dont think Ole would ever play Rashford over Martial as striker unless Martial is injured. Ole likes his striker comfortable on the ball in close proximity with bulky defenders.

Defo when we're playing against a low block - that's why we kept Martial. But the Leeds game showed me that he's happy to play a less fixed front 3 against teams that push up against us.
 
the only one who showed up today
 
Brilliant for 75 minutes, then faded away a bit. Overall our best player.
 
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