It wouldn't make much sense for him to leave at the moment, we have as good a team as anyone else in Europe.
6
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 27
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 9
- Yellow cards
- 9
- Red cards
- 1
- Status
It ended up being a fantastic match from Paul. Even before the assists he ran the game for us. He even shows that he can run games from deep. With a competent DM (Matic barely lasts 45 mins now) he can run entire games from a CM position. Our standout performer so far this season with Mason.
Souness where are you? I need to hear why Paul is going to destroy this club.
Loving the momentum Paul has. Hope Paul keeps showing his class.
Loving the momentum Paul has. Hope Paul keeps showing his class.
1.13 expected assists? That's some efficiency in front of goal
But that's where xA can be nonsense. He has created a lot of great chances.
Bruno even fecked up a great one yesterday
Well I don't need to do that, McFred was constantly picked ahead of Pogba in midfield last season against any decent opposition (and he didn't play most games in midfield two), because as good as he is offensively, he's not good enough off the ball / defensively like you mentioned.
If my posts are "random stuff" then no point in continuing this discussion, seems like it's a sensitive topic for you so let's leave it.
Watch next game when our midfield is dominated and how people will jump to criticize Pogba's partner for not being good enough to cover for him. It's always the same story, like people expect us to play Newcastle every week and forget about Wolverhampton game the next day.
You do the same with Pogba.
If arguing some points is me being defensive or sensitive then posters like you who are on the other side are agenda driven posters. It's as simple as that. It's either that or 2 posters just arguing their points.
Can you tell me which games after Pogba recovered from Covid that he wasn’t picked? Also are you saying McFred are good enough for United and Pogba isn’t ?
For what it’s worth football is a team game, and balanced teams tend to be most successful. McFred cover for themselves as much as they cover for anyone else. Any good functioning midfield should be a balance of creativity and defensive solidity. Neither Fred or McT provide that defensive solidity on their own because they aren’t good enough off the ball either, they let runners go off them for fun without adding any quality on the ball. In addition Pogba is not a defensive midfielder so we have an issue there. Anyone blaming that on Pogba needs to consider why we have to play McFred together. Why couldn’t we play McT or Fred with say VDB ? Answer is the same. We need a better defensive midfielder. We don’t need a better offensive midfielder. The sooner you stop blaming Pogba for everything the happier you will be. He’s been great for the most part of 8 months.
I thought he was quite good on Saturday. Bit subdued at times but maybe thats needed in that role. Bit more careful and sensible in his own half and kept the more elaborate stuff for the opposition half. There were defensive mistakes but not from lack of focus or effort so i can forgive him. Think Matic probably needs a defensive midfielder next to him even more than Pogba does at this point so was far from perfect and suspect we just dont have the midfield partner for him to make it work in most games.
He played well though and thought it was one of his better performances in a midfield 2
He played well though and thought it was one of his better performances in a midfield 2
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMR9A1qBQ/
Loved this as well. Decent ball by AWB too but no one committed to it
Loved this as well. Decent ball by AWB too but no one committed to it
Well yeah because he deserves a lot of criticism quite often, especially playing in midfield 2. But I'll criticize his partner as well like I did after Wolves game. The are agenda driven posters will always blame the others for Pogba failures. It's not fair, if he plays in midfield he has to be disciplined and pull his weight. I am very interested to see him do that on regular basis for us but I remain sceptical. I'd be delighted if he can do it against any decent opposition, no point in having excellent midfielder who can only play in midfield against the weakest opponents, which is how I (and apparently Ole as well) see Pogba.
Ofcourse you think Pogba deserves criticism (even though he is arguably our best player, or top 3 player since Dec), likewise others think Fred and McTominay deserves criticism for their lack of ability on the ball.
You think Pogba didn't have good games against decent opposition from midfield? It's not his best position but he has played lot better than people give him credit for. He is a defensive liability, so it's on manager to set up team to get best out of his players. Just because it's defensive role, you can't expect Pogba to pick it up just like you can't ask Fred, McTominay to pass like Pogba.
Also I dont get the obsession with fixed starting 11. Pogba can play in midfield 2, he is better suited against some teams compared to others just like McFred are suited against few teams compared to others.
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This is the problem with stats, in particular that stat and assists….they aren’t all equal. Some are barely worth mentioning.1.13 expected assists? That's some efficiency in front of goal
From where Pogba picks the ball up vs Leeds and from where Mason started his run, you won’t see a better pass. You also won’t see a better chance created from there all season. But you wouldn’t necessarily expect the forward to go on and score. Pogba’s assist on Saturday for Bruno’s goal goes down on his stats but in reality the goal was all about Bruno.
I think people read too much into stats, you don’t get an assist for winning a penalty for example. But you do for scoring it. You get an assist for a five yard pass that someone hammers into the top corner from 30yards etc etc.
The reality is that the higher up the pitch you play the higher XG stats will be even if the assist itself is of lower quality.
Id much prefer to assess the performance of players with my eyes and accept that the forwards should always be the ones with the most goals and assists. But even the player with the most goals and assists can have played very poorly and the guy with few can have played well.
He doesn't do it on regular basis, he's not suited to CM position at United (neither at France, as there's always 3rd supporting player what has been proven multiple times in this thread). I agree with the rest of your post, it's great we can have options, I just hope people understand his limitations just as they understand limitations of Fred and McTominay, pairing which is by far the most balanced one for us.
The big question is what happens when we face stronger opponents and Pogba is left out of starting XI because we have better suited players in midfield and on the left wing.
God post!
I liked what Ole said. He didn't get assist on his best passes, but he got one for the Lindgard goal were the Martial "jump" should count as the assist.
Like you said, don't get blinded by the stats they don't tell the whole story!
Both got vilified unfairly by Mourinho?
Sounds more like your wet dream than reality.
Young Boys 2:1 Man Utd
He had very poor game, lost almost all duels/50-50s.
He should have been subbed out after the red card or at least instead of Fred.
He should have been subbed out after the red card or at least instead of Fred.
Won't judge him after the red. Before the red, he was dreadful.
Baffling player at times. You expect him to strut his stuff at times and then he performs at a mediocre level.
Baffling player at times. You expect him to strut his stuff at times and then he performs at a mediocre level.
Thought he was good after the red. Only player that could control a football
Should have been off instead of Fred who was doing well in this game
Looked tired from the start.
The manager should have the ability to assess his players' fitness and pick the team based on that.
The manager should have the ability to assess his players' fitness and pick the team based on that.
Horros show today. Couldn't control the ball for two touches whole match.
I understand keeping him until late in 2nd half. But, after that, it was weird to keep him.
He is usually not reliable for defending and at that point, not creating much either to balance out, while subbing the more creative player out in the same game.
Could, should but didn't.
What the feck was the performance from him? He was awful even before the red, kept giving it away. After the red provided nothing. That's why he is so frustrating. So good for a few games then comes with a hilariously bad bottom level.
Just typical of him it’s the same every year
Bad day at the office, he has done enough recently for me to believe that's a one off.
I like the guy tbh but sometimes it's just too easy to know he'll have a shit game. It happens very early with some bad touches, it's actually crazy. It's easy to predict how the rest of his game will go very often
Why wasnt he taken off ahead of the other 3 midfielders?
Bewildering.
Wasnt the game for him at all.
Bewildering.
Wasnt the game for him at all.
YB pressed him brilliantly - could tell it was a deliberate tactic. It's something he still struggles with. He did still have a few nice moments but it was a rough game for him.
He's not a central midfielder, nor is Fernandes, too many daft touches and flicks instead of playing the smart ball and slowing the game down.
Both were so poor in possession when we needed a calm head in the second.
Typically I’d agree with this but Pogba has been a stand out performer for the best part of a year now. I’d say this is probably his most consistent run of good form since he’s rejoined United
This. They definitely did their homework and worked it perfectly. Their work was made even easier once we went a man down.
Pogba's the kind of player who has little awareness of the fact that him wanting to show off how good he is on the ball plays into the opposition's hands.
Keep it simple or something.
Need to step up in games like this, but didn’t.
I don't rate Matic, but we suddenly looked miles better when he came on.
That was one of the worst performances from a Manchester United central midfielder I've ever seen. No concept of game management, daft flicks and extra touches that invited pressure, defensive positioning non existent, and seemed to lose ever 50/50 in the air. He's not a central midfielder.
Should have left fred on and taken Pogba off.
- Status