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

He embodies all that was wrong with Utd Post Fergie and Pre Ten haag. Basically in that window where we were shite. Overpaid, arrogant, lazy - the Anti Roy Keane. Never loved the badge, just loved everything that it could bring him.
Id love to have seen Prime Keane taking on Pogba.
I’m more than sure that the mercenaries we signed over the last 10 years will all be in Saudi Arabia in the next couple of years and they’ll maintain they’re not mercenaries.
 
never heard anyone from the dressing room say he was a bad influence. in fact quite the opposite seemed true...he seemed very popular. its the some fans projecting that scenario...eg he had a new haircut the day before a match so he is creating a bad culture in the team. ignoring the fact beckham used to do that all the time and we managed just fine with haircuts back in the day.
whilst he didnt perform often enough, his haircuts and popularity in the dressing room is not the reason
 
Kind of fair though no? I don’t think anyone is suggesting all forms of dance are an issue

Nah, it's idiotic really. The assertion I quoted and replied to was "his dance buddies have all left. our squad is a mature one now". You then replied "depends if you're doing it for Tik Tok or not"

Not interested in bad faith exchanges - so please proceed.
 
Still think he would have had a much better club career if his agent wasn't Raiola which could mean one of two things:
More influence from Sir Alex which means he never left United
Or he went to Juve anyway but came back a better player without the bad influence
 
never heard anyone from the dressing room say he was a bad influence. in fact quite the opposite seemed true...he seemed very popular. its the some fans projecting that scenario...eg he had a new haircut the day before a match so he is creating a bad culture in the team. ignoring the fact beckham used to do that all the time and we managed just fine with haircuts back in the day.
whilst he didnt perform often enough, his haircuts and popularity in the dressing room is not the reason

Never heard anyone saying he was a good influence either.
 
Never heard anyone saying he was a good influence either.

Pogba liked Solskjaer, and got on with replacement Ralf Rangnick too. The pair had a productive meeting early on; Rangnick was straight with Pogba and they talked football.

The only occasion when a touch of tension came was when Rangnick left Pogba out of the line-up for the 1-0 defeat at Everton in April by reminding him his foot was sore, as if by way of explanation. Pogba had been playing through the issue without complaint, so the detail seemed superfluous to Rangnick’s decision to drop him. Ironically, Pogba had to be sent on in the first half of that game when Fred suffered an injury.

Rangnick valued Pogba’s efforts to mediate aspects of the dressing room. He was also one of the players to command major respect from Cristiano Ronaldo.

On another occasion, when a meeting of some players with Rangnick about form turned unexpectedly into a targeted tactical discussion, Pogba went back later to apologise to United’s interim manager for the way things had gone.

That’s why, whatever the criticisms — which went as far as Mourinho once branding Pogba a “virus” — he always remained a liked figure in the dressing room.


- The Athletic

there are also quotes from all his managers - except Mourinho - from team-mates, as well as peers at other clubs on how good of an influence/leader he is.
 
People keep going on about talent and lack of application.

For me, I don't think that is quite true. I think the issue people have had assessing Pogba is what they define as talent. Talent for me isn't just ability on the ball, but it's also intelligence, movement, work rate, stamina and decision making. Pogba didn't have those things. He was a physically strong player who had a great long pass, good shooting ability and could dribble when space was provided. For a greater comparison, in England, what made Gerrard, Lampard so special? Players with similar attacking technical abilities.

These players were quick decision makers. They had great anticipation and intensity, which meant they could usually win the midfield battles or adapt appropriately. They had great stamina and work rate, which meant that they were consistently active. When you then add their attacking technical skills, then you got truly world class players. In the Premier League, you need those physical and mental factors to perform well. Pogba didn't have the speed of thought or movement to be nearly as effective as we all hoped he would be. He also didn't have the awareness or patience of Yaya Toure to play according to his strengths.
 
He was our best player during his first few years here.
So much that his evil team mates who were jealous of his awesomeness simply refused to recognize him for the player's player of the year award.
Needless to be said, fickle fans, did not recognize him for Sir Matt Busby award too.
 
He was an academy player who came back. So alot of us lapped up the romance. He puts in a decent game followed by 5 stinkers and one world class game and then goes Abu dhabi for 8 months. So happy he left.
 
So much that his evil team mates who were jealous of his awesomeness simply refused to recognize him for the player's player of the year award.
Needless to be said, fickle fans, did not recognize him for Sir Matt Busby award too.
He has never ever won any POTY here.
Only if your wore rose tinted glasses!
Why all the negativity? At times he really was a breath of fresh air in a pretty uninspiring side. He was definitely our best player during the early part of his time here. De Gea was terrific, but as an actual footballer, Pogba was a class above his teammates. The only other notable performer was Zlatan.

Very odd that people can't appreciate the good times as well as acknowledging that things didn't turn out as successfully as we all hoped.
 
Why all the negativity? At times he really was a breath of fresh air in a pretty uninspiring side. He was definitely our best player during the early part of his time here. De Gea was terrific, but as an actual footballer, Pogba was a class above his teammates. The only other notable performer was Zlatan.

Very odd that people can't appreciate the good times as well as acknowledging that things didn't turn out as successfully as we all hoped.
No he's not. He was probably the biggest name or most expensive but definitely not the best. And it's not negativity but simply the truth.

I don't deny he had great moments here and I appreciate and thank him for those but imo he's never ever been our best player. And our players and fans seemed to have the same opinion.
 
People keep going on about talent and lack of application.

For me, I don't think that is quite true. I think the issue people have had assessing Pogba is what they define as talent. Talent for me isn't just ability on the ball, but it's also intelligence, movement, work rate, stamina and decision making. Pogba didn't have those things. He was a physically strong player who had a great long pass, good shooting ability and could dribble when space was provided. For a greater comparison, in England, what made Gerrard, Lampard so special? Players with similar attacking technical abilities.

These players were quick decision makers. They had great anticipation and intensity, which meant they could usually win the midfield battles or adapt appropriately. They had great stamina and work rate, which meant that they were consistently active. When you then add their attacking technical skills, then you got truly world class players. In the Premier League, you need those physical and mental factors to perform well. Pogba didn't have the speed of thought or movement to be nearly as effective as we all hoped he would be. He also didn't have the awareness or patience of Yaya Toure to play according to his strengths.

Great summary of pogba and his deficiencies. One thing i always noticed with him was that he always invited pressure on himself in the most ridiculous areas. Either due to not understanding how stupid it was or because he wanted to hold them off and do some ball roll skill to look good before he played the big 40 yard pass anyway (which he could have played without the pressure , or a simple pass). He usually done this on the edge of his box with his teammates only able to guess when he would release it to them.
 
No he's not. He was probably the biggest name or most expensive but definitely not the best. And it's not negativity but simply the truth.

I don't deny he had great moments here and I appreciate and thank him for those but imo he's never ever been our best player. And our players and fans seemed to have the same opinion.
Definitely a difference of opinion then. As I said, De Gea was a great performer in goal and Zlatan had a really good first year. However, Pogba was the standout for me. Laying chances on a plate, creative and skilful. He made us worth watching.
 
Definitely a difference of opinion then. As I said, De Gea was a great performer in goal and Zlatan had a really good first year. However, Pogba was the standout for me. Laying chances on a plate, creative and skilful. He made us worth watching.
We could agree to disagree then I think. Some judge players only based on their showboating skills some simply don't I guess.
 
He embodies all that was wrong with Utd Post Fergie and Pre Ten haag. Basically in that window where we were shite. Overpaid, arrogant, lazy - the Anti Roy Keane. Never loved the badge, just loved everything that it could bring him.
Id love to have seen Prime Keane taking on Pogba.
Yes, that's a thought, eh? Prime Keane vs Pogba.
 
At times he really was a breath of fresh air in a pretty uninspiring side
No
He was definitely our best player during the early part of his time here
No
Pogba was a class above his teammates
No
Very odd that people can't appreciate the good times
Convenient shifting of goal posts eh?
acknowledging that things didn't turn out as successfully as we all hoped.
You can say the same thing about almost every player who didn't do well at the club.
 
We could agree to disagree then I think. Some judge players only based on their showboating skills some simply don't I guess.
Yeah agree to disagree. I don't judge Pogba on his showboating. He could do all that of course, but he was genuinely effective in creating chances.
 
No

No

No

Convenient shifting of goal posts eh?

You can say the same thing about almost every player who didn't do well at the club.

Not a big Pogba fan. Especially not during his latter years with us. But in his first years he topped every attacking stat sheet. Never lived up the the potential or hype but he is not a bad player.
 
Immensely talented but everyone expected Robson or Keane.

He couldn't elevate our shite team on his own. But put him with a well oiled and balanced midfield and you get Serie A titles and a World Cup.
 
He was always so disrespectful in interviews the last time. Openly flirting with other clubs and acting like he wanted away from the underperformance when he was one of the biggest culprits.

It is what soured me on him and made me relieved when he finally left.

When you look at how much a true winner like Casemiro respects the club and loves being here, it confirms that the club is moving in the right direction.

Feel the same way. His attitude always seemed to give the impression he was doing United a favour and we were lucky to have him. Glad he's gone and would never want him back.
 
Pogba liked Solskjaer, and got on with replacement Ralf Rangnick too. The pair had a productive meeting early on; Rangnick was straight with Pogba and they talked football.

The only occasion when a touch of tension came was when Rangnick left Pogba out of the line-up for the 1-0 defeat at Everton in April by reminding him his foot was sore, as if by way of explanation. Pogba had been playing through the issue without complaint, so the detail seemed superfluous to Rangnick’s decision to drop him. Ironically, Pogba had to be sent on in the first half of that game when Fred suffered an injury.

Rangnick valued Pogba’s efforts to mediate aspects of the dressing room. He was also one of the players to command major respect from Cristiano Ronaldo.

On another occasion, when a meeting of some players with Rangnick about form turned unexpectedly into a targeted tactical discussion, Pogba went back later to apologise to United’s interim manager for the way things had gone.

That’s why, whatever the criticisms — which went as far as Mourinho once branding Pogba a “virus” — he always remained a liked figure in the dressing room.


- The Athletic

there are also quotes from all his managers - except Mourinho - from team-mates, as well as peers at other clubs on how good of an influence/leader he is.
I wonder how good his influence was on the squad when he directed his agent to talk shite about the club repeatedly in the press.
 
I bet boring Mount is twice the signing over his time here. We didn’t need an extravagant highlights player. We just needed someone who could get up and down the pitch and make things happen. The fact he was always injured and a complete liability in the defensive phase means beyond the EL season he was never really what we needed. He should have been great but he didn’t have the application desire or the legs for it.
 
I wonder how good his influence was on the squad when he directed his agent to talk shite about the club repeatedly in the press.

Don't know, don't care - maybe players don't care about that sort of stuff as much fans like to think they do? I don't know. A quick look at things and it's pretty easy to see Pogba is well liked and respected by peers and managers, who regularly speak highly of him and his influence:

"Ronaldo said he wished he had played with Pogba at Real Madrid, because of the variety and quality of his passing. Pogba lobbied Ronaldo to be more constructive with feedback for younger players, such as when Jadon Sancho failed to square the ball when through against Brighton in February.

At the final whistle of that 2-0 win, in which Ronaldo scored the opening goal, Pogba gave encouragement to centre-back Harry Maguire whose final touch had been to clear the ball into the stands. “We have to believe in ourselves,” Pogba said. “You’re an £80 million player for a reason.”

Others felt Pogba was a good player and person in the wrong environment; he might not be the right foundation for a team, but put into a winning one he could be the icing on the cake.
"

- The Athletic
 
There's really no point in you and the other two even trying to wum about this, he's so bad it's very obvious you're just wumming, at least make your wums plausible.

I'm not WUMming at all. I'd genuinely take him back at that price and a favorable contract. If he knew he was coming off the bench.

Some posters on here have a hatred of players that clouds their judgment. Pogba is a very good player who had a horrible year with injuries.
 
Don't know, don't care - maybe players don't care about that sort of stuff as much fans like to think they do? I don't know. A quick look at things and it's pretty easy to see Pogba is well liked and respected by peers and managers, who regularly speak highly of him and his influence:

"Ronaldo said he wished he had played with Pogba at Real Madrid, because of the variety and quality of his passing. Pogba lobbied Ronaldo to be more constructive with feedback for younger players, such as when Jadon Sancho failed to square the ball when through against Brighton in February.

At the final whistle of that 2-0 win, in which Ronaldo scored the opening goal, Pogba gave encouragement to centre-back Harry Maguire whose final touch had been to clear the ball into the stands. “We have to believe in ourselves,” Pogba said. “You’re an £80 million player for a reason.”

Others felt Pogba was a good player and person in the wrong environment; he might not be the right foundation for a team, but put into a winning one he could be the icing on the cake.
"

- The Athletic
You say "don't know, don't care" after vigorously trying to prove that Pogba had a positive influence on the squad. Which is obviously incorrect. Make your mind up, either you care or you don't. :lol:


He was liked and was a good player, if placed in an already winning team, but he doesn't have a winning mentality. Or the right atittude to be consistent. That mentality permeated through our squad when he was here, precisely because he was well liked.

His agent, enabled by Pogba, becomes a negative influence on the squad and the club.