Paul Pogba - Free Agent | ban reduced - able to play competitively from March 2025

Why would he ever at all get a positive reception from us?. He spent 40% of his time on the injury table. On pitch he didn't work hard for the team in any way to move us forwards. He became a media personality and cost Jose his job after he was exposed and was still useless doing his own job. Then he rejected a 350k week offer feeling insulted and has spent all the time since on the injury table :lol:

I see no reason to give him a positive reception, muted at a balance.

Yeah that's what I mean.

I think he'll get a bad reception if we draw Juventus.

@berbatrick good point, I think Pogba's last game for Utd at OT he was booed off.
 
You've always been able to package Pogba into a 10 second clip. That what he's always excelled at through his whole career.
 
You've always been able to package Pogba into a 10 second clip. That what he's always excelled at through his whole career.
Was never coached properly at United to do otherwise. Injuries also killed him.

I know he's an easy target to shit on, but he'd be fecking class under Ten Hag, especially because Ten Hag is a manager who understands the value of a DM.
 
Hope he comes to OT, and gets played off the park.
But he will probably be injured, so not holding my breath.
 
That famous youth picture of Lingard, Morrison and Pogba holding the Youth FA Cup - what a waste of talent right there.
I also had big hopes od Zaha-Lingard-Januzaj but even Zaha who’s having decent career won’t get big move from Palace and other 2 worked out worse. Shame.
 
AdM never got booed while he was still here. So, probably much worse than him.
Di Maria burned his bridges after he left the club by mocking the fans when PSG came to OT. Pogba actually won trophies with us, it would be daft to boo him.
 
Di Maria burned his bridges after he left the club by mocking the fans when PSG came to OT. Pogba actually won trophies with us, it would be daft to boo him.

Disagree.

He took the piss when he was here. Having his agent come out the day of a crucial CL game to announce he wanted to leave is just one example.
 
Di Maria burned his bridges after he left the club by mocking the fans when PSG came to OT. Pogba actually won trophies with us, it would be daft to boo him.
Can you remind me what he did by mocking the fans? I genuinely forgot what it was outside of the bottle incident.
 
Can you remind me what he did by mocking the fans? I genuinely forgot what it was outside of the bottle incident.
The bottles came after he told the fans to feck off when they scored first. He also said he didn't give a feck about the #7 shirt in an interview.
 
The bottles came after he told the fans to feck off when they scored first. He also said he didn't give a feck about the #7 shirt in an interview.
I dont remember him telling the fans to feck off. Curious to know the words in his interview too
 
Hope he comes to OT, and gets played off the park.
But he will probably be injured, so not holding my breath.
Assuming we take europa seriously I'd think we meet them on the way to final at some point, it's basically their only chance for cl qualification as of now.
 
Was never coached properly at United to do otherwise. Injuries also killed him.

I know he's an easy target to shit on, but he'd be fecking class under Ten Hag, especially because Ten Hag is a manager who understands the value of a DM.

I have no doubt ten Hag has the ability to coach him properly.

It's Pogba's injury issues, him and his agents' ego that make me doubt if he'll turn out class here if he stayed.
1. Pogba called our contract offer a "nothing offer". The is not just Raiola inflating his client's ego, and Rafaela Pimenta is just as hard to deal with. I don't want the club to waste time dealing with the constant media circus about the her precious client.
2. He's so injury prone now that I don't know if he'd play enough for us to pay him his "nothing contract".
 
I have no doubt ten Hag has the ability to coach him properly.

It's Pogba's injury issues, him and his agents' ego that make me doubt if he'll turn out class here if he stayed.
1. Pogba called our contract offer a "nothing offer". The is not just Raiola inflating his client's ego, and Rafaela Pimenta is just as hard to deal with. I don't want the club to waste time dealing with the constant media circus about the her precious client.
2. He's so injury prone now that I don't know if he'd play enough for us to pay him his "nothing contract".
Injury issues, for sure.

The agent thing isn't a big deal, the problem was United was shit for the past decade while Pogba was rated as a top player and he wanted to be in a top club. If United was challenging for trophies, him and his agent wouldn't have moaned constantly.

Currently, yes Pogba is done as a serious player. But between 2016 when we signed him and for the next 4 years before he became a perma crock, he was wasted because of shit coaching, as he was a terrific player during that time but in a shit system/shit team/uncompetitive club. Currently though, yeah by a lot of accounts, our contract offer to him wasn't a serious one, as we didn't really want to keep him and he didn't want to stay. If we did even offer him a contract, which I am skeptical of.
 
Was never coached properly at United to do otherwise. Injuries also killed him.

I know he's an easy target to shit on, but he'd be fecking class under Ten Hag, especially because Ten Hag is a manager who understands the value of a DM.

I do agree to be honest. I think he is coachable and would do great under a team where there are defined roles and he knew what he was meant to do

We had Mourinho but they just didn't get on, but even then he wasn't tragic. Once Ole came in he had too much freedom and eventually that led to chaos as even if he knew what he wanted to do, he couldn't rely on others. Once none of them knew what they were doing let alone others, may as well not bother
 
I have no doubt ten Hag has the ability to coach him properly.

It's Pogba's injury issues, him and his agents' ego that make me doubt if he'll turn out class here if he stayed.
1. Pogba called our contract offer a "nothing offer". The is not just Raiola inflating his client's ego, and Rafaela Pimenta is just as hard to deal with. I don't want the club to waste time dealing with the constant media circus about the her precious client.
2. He's so injury prone now that I don't know if he'd play enough for us to pay him his "nothing contract".
As far as I'm aware he scoffed at our offer because he had been in contact with PSG... That evaporated for him when Mbappe decided to stay on a small country's GDP contract.
He then had to take the Juve offer which was much less than our offer... All rather heartwarming for me in the end.
 
Injury issues, for sure.

The agent thing isn't a big deal, the problem was United was shit for the past decade while Pogba was rated as a top player and he wanted to be in a top club. If United was challenging for trophies, him and his agent wouldn't have moaned constantly.

Currently, yes Pogba is done as a serious player. But between 2016 when we signed him and for the next 4 years before he became a perma crock, he was wasted because of shit coaching, as he was a terrific player during that time but in a shit system/shit team/uncompetitive club. Currently though, yeah by a lot of accounts, our contract offer to him wasn't a serious one, as we didn't really want to keep him and he didn't want to stay. If we did even offer him a contract, which I am skeptical of.

I apologize if I may have taken your comment quite literally in the sense that I don't see a way of him play for ten Hag without him extending his contract with us, which meant that we would have to deal with his current injury problems. Which is why I doubt he'd come good under ten Hag.

The contract comments were taken out of his own Pogmentary, where Raiola told him that we made a second offer? Rumors were that it was in the £300k/week region, but I have no way of confirming that.
 
I apologize if I may have taken your comment quite literally in the sense that I don't see a way of him play for ten Hag without him extending his contract with us, which meant that we would have to deal with his current injury problems. Which is why I doubt he'd come good under ten Hag.

The contract comments were taken out of his own Pogmentary, where Raiola told him that we made a second offer? Rumors were that it was in the £300k/week region, but I have no way of confirming that.
Yeah Pogba's side leaked the contract stuff but the United side was leaking that the previous contract offer was much lower and long before his contract expired, after which United just wasn't all that keen on resigning him anyway.

But I meant that if Pogba had a proper manager when we signed him in 2016, he would have had a very different career here. Ten Hag would love a 2016-2020 Pogba IMO. A younger Pogba next to Casemiro in our current team would be an incredible midfield tbh. But it would need the right manager (which Ten Hag is). Basically my point is that we failed Pogba far more than he failed us, and at this point his time as a serious player is done anyway due to injuries and decline.
 
Was never coached properly at United to do otherwise. Injuries also killed him.

I know he's an easy target to shit on, but he'd be fecking class under Ten Hag, especially because Ten Hag is a manager who understands the value of a DM.

He wasn’t coached properly that’s for sure. No one was. But that was never the extent of his issues. He showed no heart as a player. The lack of coaching is only part of the problem. He arrived as a much heralded superstar but he was miles from the complete package. He needed some serious development to his game and while this rarely came from the coaching staff, it also rarely came from the player himself. He was always technically gifted but he needed so much work to do the simple side of the game well. You can’t lay it all on the coaches, part of it falls on the player himself.
 
Was never coached properly at United to do otherwise. Injuries also killed him.

I know he's an easy target to shit on, but he'd be fecking class under Ten Hag, especially because Ten Hag is a manager who understands the value of a DM.
I don't share your optimism. I think his head gets easily turned and disturbed. Depending on that, he may or may not have showed heart and effort.
So there was a good chance that ETH kicked him out of the team.

Anyways, we will never know for sure either ways. Glad he left though.
 
Na we are fine without the monthly "I want to go to Real" drama.
 
When he started at Juve and made his name, the coach was Conte, not somebody who would excuse a lack of effort or not following instructions. I don't think Allegri would tolerate much goofing off either. Did very well under both. And Deschamps, another of the same type.

Generally speaking, outside the last 6 months where he absolutely downed tools, I think he was a professional on the pitch at United. He had obvious weaknesses, and so did the team, and it was mostly not a good fit. Not least because there was never a thought, over 4 whole years, to do the obvious and get a DM behind him and CM alongside him, instead playing him behind inferior players like Mkhi/Mata/Lingard/Pereira and finally getting Bruno, an incompatible star signing. From the way his team-mates spoke about him (including demanding ones like Bruno or Ibra) and from what I saw on the pitch, I don't think he matches the caricature: virus, lazy, etc.

I don't follow off-pitch stuff much, so a lot of the things that made people angry (the documentary, agent saying things), I found out later. It's funny that the two times his agent opened his mouth before a big match, he delivered a big performance (3-2 vs City, goal and fighting performance off the bench at Leipzig).

From what he showed today, he's done physically. He just gave up on some of the clearances aimed at his head, he'd usually at least fight for that type of ball. Probably scared of another injury.
 
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He wasn’t coached properly that’s for sure. No one was. But that was never the extent of his issues. He showed no heart as a player. The lack of coaching is only part of the problem. He arrived as a much heralded superstar but he was miles from the complete package. He needed some serious development to his game and while this rarely came from the coaching staff, it also rarely came from the player himself. He was always technically gifted but he needed so much work to do the simple side of the game well. You can’t lay it all on the coaches, part of it falls on the player himself.
Of course Pogba takes blame but I think there's close to 0 chance that it would have panned out the same way if we simply had a manager like Ten Hag in 2016. Basically... yes Pogba should have done better. But "showing heart" is usually pretty easy when you are part of a system that fits you well in a team that has a clear plan. It is much harder to show that development, to show the desire and all that if the coaching and system is just lacking. Nobody can look good in a disaster team. United was a disaster team most of the time post Sir Alex. If Pogba was part of a top team with a top coach who knew how to balance a team, I am 99% sure that he wouldn't have been a problem in the slightest and would have been seen as a world class player without a doubt. No he wasn't the complete package when he joined, but again, that was a misconception of the type of player he was. The type of player he was would have been more suited to a 5'10 and 175 pound player. But because he was big and strong, so many managers wanted to turn him into a box to box or thought he was capable of being a defensive mid or something. Never gonna happen. Shit managers handling him. Shit managers wasting him.

For me, it is mostly the job of the manager to get the best of a talented player. If they show good form elsewhere but struggle at one club, it's probably on the club. If he's shit under top managers and in good systems, then he either just doesn't fit the system or just isn't that good.
 
I don't share your optimism. I think his head gets easily turned and disturbed. Depending on that, he may or may not have showed heart and effort.
So there was a good chance that ETH kicked him out of the team.

Anyways, we will never know for sure either ways. Glad he left though.
Again, his head got turned because United was shit, and he had interest from Real Madrid who were winning Champions Leagues every year. It's not hard to imagine why his head was turned, why his agent wanted him to leave. Raiola wanted to sell him because he looks out for what is best for his players. Was staying at a failing United under disaster management right for Pogba? No, it was a disastrous decision for him. If he could go back in time I'm sure he wishes he outright refused to train and forced a move. Could have saved some of his prime and joined a top team rather than wasting his time at United.

As it is, he stayed, injuries killed him and his motivation went in the trash too as he stayed under mediocre managers who didn't know how to use him and a europa league level team which was constantly in turmoil, and so his legacy as a player is in the trash in club level pretty much and entirely reliant on his international career. Had he joined a team that was actually settled, or had it's shit together, who knows what Pogba would have been. One of the world class midfielders of his generation for sure.
 
OK...?

Happy to see him back playing football.

People are weird. I couldn’t wait for Pogba to get sold and he really annoyed me but when on form he is one of the most incredible midfielders of this generation.

I actually want to see him play well because it’s a joy to watch and at the same time I’m very happy he’s gone
 
People are weird. I couldn’t wait for Pogba to get sold and he really annoyed me but when on form he is one of the most incredible midfielders of this generation.

I actually want to see him play well because it’s a joy to watch and at the same time I’m very happy he’s gone
Modric is incredible.
Pogba had maybe 5 good games for us.
150m down the drain.
 
People are weird. I couldn’t wait for Pogba to get sold and he really annoyed me but when on form he is one of the most incredible midfielders of this generation.

I actually want to see him play well because it’s a joy to watch and at the same time I’m very happy he’s gone

United just won a trophy and these guys are in this thread seething as if they caught Pogba in their Mrs. bedroom with a ping pong paddle in hand. Crazy
 
It must feel pretty bad. The injury, missing WC final and Juve points deduction. On top of that he left at the worst time.
 
When he started at Juve and made his name, the coach was Conte, not somebody who would excuse a lack of effort or not following instructions. I don't think Allegri would tolerate much goofing off either. Did very well under both. And Deschamps, another of the same type.

Generally speaking, outside the last 6 months where he absolutely downed tools, I think he was a professional on the pitch at United. He had obvious weaknesses, and so did the team, and it was mostly not a good fit. Not least because there was never a thought, over 4 whole years, to do the obvious and get a DM behind him and CM alongside him, instead playing him behind inferior players like Mkhi/Mata/Lingard/Pereira and finally getting Bruno, an incompatible star signing. From the way his team-mates spoke about him (including demanding ones like Bruno or Ibra) and from what I saw on the pitch, I don't think he matches the caricature of him: virus, lazy, etc.

I don't follow off-pitch stuff much, so a lot of the things that made people angry (the documentary, agent saying things), I found out later. It's funny that the two times his agent opened his mouth before a big match, he delivered a big performance (3-2 vs City, goal and fighting performance off the bench at Leipzig).

From what he showed today, he's done physically. He just gave up on some of the clearances aimed at his head, he'd usually at least fight for that type of ball. Probably scared of another injury.

His problem here, aside from injuries, was that his skillset and playstyle made him an imperfect fit in every position we could have played him in.

His best attributes (carrying the ball, range of passing) were things that required him to play deeper. He was therefore less effective starting higher up the pitch, particularly poor at playing behind the striker because he wanted more time on the ball than you get allowed in that position. He had some good games coming off the left, but his lack of pace meant it wasn't great for the overall balance of the team and it still somewhat wasted the things he was world class at. Unfortunately, playing deeper in a midfield two exposed the things he's actively bad at (lack of defensive acumen, a propensity to make bad decisions and dawdle on the ball).

To get the best out of him without being too porous you need to play him in a midfield three with two more defensively minded players, but doing so leaves a huge gap between the midfield and the front three because you have no-one naturally filling that more advanced position to link midfield and attack. France got round that by playing him alongside Kante and Matuidi/Rabiot behind a lopsided front three where Griezemann dropped in from the left to occupy that space behind the striker. But, that only worked because they had those exact players available and it played to all their strengths. It was never feasible to try and recreate that at club level by buying a bunch of players to accommodate Pogba when an injury to him would ruin your system and mean it was all for nothing. Also, why go to all that effort when the alternative is buying an attacking midfielder like Bruno who fulfills the same creative role in the team more consistently without needing the same coddling?

I think the criticism of Pogba as a person is over the top and strays into the nasty far too often. But I think it's fair to criticise him for his unwillingness to work on his weaknesses in the 5+ years he was here. Because let's be clear, he could have been one of the greatest centre midfield players of all time if he'd worked on the defensive side of his game and cut out the silly stuff.
 
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love to see it