Paul Pogba's mentality...

He underperformed in all top games, he bottles chances again and again. He is a clear liability at the back, we concede goals in part because of him like every second game. He simply does not close down players or does not tack them back. Yet when he was given reigns by Jose and played as a "free" playmaker behind the holding duo he simply could create anything. As an attacking midfielder he is simply unproductive enough. He has bags of flair, but it's a show-off with little end result.
And for me the main reason is his mentality. He is just not dedicated, mature, serious enough. It looks for that he actually prioritize playing flashy youtube-style to playing productively. I agree with articles that he is more of "brand" rather than a player who can really lift the team and allow it to win titles. I think he needs to go back to basics and built from them.
 
Is he a bit of a luxury player? One of his best performances for us was the 4-1 vs Leicester when we completely ran over them.

This wouldn't be the worst thing in the world as I think we will strengthen in the summer and he will have better players around him. Maybe he will play better in a better team.
 
Can someone please upload an interview that Mou gave yesterday where he stated that Pogba was a Giant?
 
antohan said:
Agree.

It's a worry though. I remember the few chances he got before he left for Juve and he played very much within himself so I wasn't all that pissed off when he referred to his lack of opportunities: he didn't grab them either. I am yet to see him grab a game by the scruff of the neck, and a player of his stature (not fee, stature) should be able to.

But it's a fair point that it took a while for Cristiano to get there too.
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I agree, simply put can't wait for him to grab a game by the balls and dominate start t finish.
 
Rhyme Animal said:
Aw cmon, that's ridiculous. That's laugh out loud ridiculous.

Very odd thing to say considering the interviewer had no interest in even mentioning Pogba.

It's so far removed from reality that it actually draws more attention to Pogba's poor performance! And would surely do the same with his teammates.
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That's how a player ends up with the nickname "Baby Mou".
 
Letting go of kante will haunt us for years if we dont unearth another gem.
 
His mentality needs to improve but we also need an actual CDM, we need to play with 3 men in midfield. I don't care if it's Fabinho, Danilo Pereira, Carvalho or N'Zonzi just get one in.
 
We need another player alongside but I have faith Pogba will come good for us an be immense.

His game is a bit erratic. He has great quality but just needs to get his timing and decisions right.
 
He has definitely regressed for his last five games. He can only either did the simplest passes like Fellaini or trying too hard to hold against 2 men and once the 3rd man comes, 10/10 he will lose the ball. Nobody can be a central midfielder in epl if they have neither mobility nor positioning. Took too long to find passes, defensively slow in acceleration and reaction.
 
GifLord said:
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Rhyme Animal said:
Aw cmon, that's ridiculous. That's laugh out loud ridiculous.

Very odd thing to say considering the interviewer had no interest in even mentioning Pogba.

It's so far removed from reality that it actually draws more attention to Pogba's poor performance! And would surely do the same with his teammates.
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LOLOL @ at the end there. Mourinho is so obviously trying to protect Pogba there it's kind of endearing :/

To be fair he has been consistent in that respect with almost every player (Bastian, Depay, Schneiderlin, Rooney etc) bar certain comments (Shaw/Miki).

Would be better if he tried to do something about it though. Played Miki earlier, introduce Shaw back, give Pogba/Ibra more rest, rotate more etc sigh.
 
His mentality is fine. He's not a coward who goes into hiding. Probably tries a bit too much but it's better than hiding away.

Yesterday he was having a good game until Herrera got (wrongly sent off). Then not only did we lose Herrera, we replaced Mkhitaryan as well. There was nobody left on the pitch who could bring any semblance of control to the game, and his midfield partners were fecking Jones and Fellaini. He's being criticized for not being able to cover for 2 players all by himself.

Admittedly he should've closed Kante down, but with 10 men you're always going to have some spaces. In fact, out of all Chelsea midfielders he's probably the one you don't mind with the space for a shot from all the way out there.
 
I personally think he's an overated player, paying that amount of money obviously put pressure on him to perform well, that I can understand, what I don't understand is why Mou keep starting him when he's underperforming and his lack of sacrifice, even Fellaini who has been battered by us fabs have a better attitude than Pogba. He needs some benching, right now Schweinsteinger should be an option for us before Pogba. Sorry for bad english.
 
People are trying extremely hard to make excuses for him. I too tended to do this at the start out of sheer will to see him succeed but there's point after which we have to stop mollycoddling him. Pogba definitely has serious issues in his game that he needs to sort. Him. Not everyone else around him. Pogba.

For one, he's very poor when he isn't given loads of time on the ball. As soon as we come up against a team that has a fair bit about them, he can look like a right mess, not knowing when to try things and when not. Big sides have gobbled him up for fun this season and he's looked listless agianst them.

Then there's mental side of it. He is no doubt a bit too laid back and self indulgent at times, not to mention nervous/erratic infront of goal.

Problem with Pogba is that although the possibility of the player he could be is so enticing he has cost a fortune. But he doesn't have the substance to back it up. I've always thought he's he's too rough around the edges and inconsistent to be a top player right now. He has to prove he can make that step up. He's got all the ability in the world.

Also, can we stop blaming everyone else? Only a little while back people were raving about our midfield being so strong and as good as any in the league. Now we've got noone to build up play apparently and poor little Pogba suffers as a result.
 
I don't understand what people expected from him. Just because the club paid a world record fee for him did not mean he was going to be the best player in the world. There was always huge holes in his game.
 
Reading this thread does suggest Pogba has it all to do to convince the caf. Too much is made of his personality and lifestyle; and too much is expected because of how much he cost.

I will probably become a 'Pogapologist' for this, but I don't think he is being judged fairly. I don't remember a 'Martial's mentality' thread when he was off form and yet you could argue he has contributed much less than Pogba this season.

Hand on heart guys:

How much of your view of Pogba 's mentality is coloured by his hair colour? His laid back demeanour?

Given his price tag, did you expect him to be winning matches singlehandedly?

I guess baseline expectations do matter. Before he joined, I used think Pogba was overrated. Now he is here, I see that there is more to him than what I thought. Rather than disappointment, I'm excited about what he could become, provided we don't overburden him with unrealistic expectations.
 
He could be well into double figures by now if it weren't for the post. He's been a bit unlucky. I don't think he's ready for the main focus to be all on him and Ibra. It's just the state of the squad at the minute. I think a few quality purchases in the summer and the break will do him and United the world of good. If he keeps working hard, we've our scholes replacement finally. We need to tweak a few things but people are very reactionary. Overall, I think most people know he's got great ability. We'll benefit from him in the years to come.
 
All the signs are there that he is going to be amazing. We need 1 more energetic dynamic midfielder in there like an Idrissa Gueye or a Naby Keita or a Tiiemoue Bajayoko to give Pogba more freedom to express himself on the pitch. No disrespect to Carrick but he doesn't have the legs anymore against fast dynamic midfields and it affects Pogba. Pogba was very poor against Bournemouth as Herrera was not playing meaning Pogba had to play deeper and do more dirty work and it didn't suit him at all.
 
prtk0811 said:
Letting go of kante will haunt us for years if we dont unearth another gem.
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We didn't unearth him nor did we let him go. We never had him and, if contested, I think Chelsea would have got him. Looked a shoe in for Conte.
 
Rhyme Animal said:
There's a thread calling to avoid the term 'bottler', so I'll try to explain my concerns rather than simply pointing the finger at Pogba.

But a number of times this season now we've seen him literally capitulate when the pressure is really on in a game. To the point where he literally starts playing like a Championship player.

One aspect is obviously positional, but another quite clearly is his mindset.

My question is this - if Shaw is being called out (rightly) for needing to adjust his mentality, surely Pogba needs the same at this point?

Is he a player that can be relied on when we need to dig in and when the pressure's on? If not, where should he be playing?

You simply can't have a player that's prone to completely capitulating running the midfield, it's so un-Mourinho-like that it's almost a bit surreal at times.
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Pogba has not played up to expectations this season in my opinion but I also remember that Drogba, Modric and Bale were severely criticized in their first seasons with Chelsea and Madrid. Well, we all know how they turned out. Even Miki had it rough in his first season at Borrussia Dortmund. David de Gea almost quit in his first season at United because he made so many errors. Pogba can still come good. Give him another season. It is no joke carrying almost a 100 million pounds tag on your chest. I am also not sure any other player in the premier league has played as many games as he has played one since last summer. Despite all these, our conversation would be different if the ball had gone in half of the times he hit the bar and if his team mates had converted half of the chances he has provided this season. I suspect he will be worth the money in a few seasons from now.
 
antohan said:
We didn't unearth him nor did we let him go. We never had him and, if contested, I think Chelsea would have got him. Looked a shoe in for Conte.
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If we dint contest for him we simply let him go and better to loose out fighting for a very very important and quality player that is cheap than to never contest.

That's the part where board is lethargic and we are where we are. In a period of instability you cant leave all the transfer buisness down to the manager incharge until the right stability is achived. The transfers are mismanaged due to lack of clear plan awareness and competitveness on the ground in the transfer market. This mismanagement is why we are where we are since 2013. The same goes with sadio mane.
 
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prtk0811 said:
If we dint contest for him we simply let him go and better to loose out fighting for a very very important and quality player that is cheap than to never contest.

That's the part where board is lethargic and we are where we are. In a period of instability you cant leave all the transfer buisness down to the manager incharge until the right stability is achived. The transfers are mismanaged due to lack of clear plan awareness and competitveness on the ground in the transfer market. This mismanagement is why we are where we are since 2013. The same goes with sadio mane.
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Or maybe we don't have a clue how transfers work at our club.

Unless you aren't just having cheap shots but pointing at how we maybe should have put a DoF in place in preparation for SAFs exit. Great idea with Monday's paper.
 
Striker10 said:
He could be well into double figures by now if it weren't for the post. He's been a bit unlucky. I don't think he's ready for the main focus to be all on him and Ibra. It's just the state of the squad at the minute. I think a few quality purchases in the summer and the break will do him and United the world of good. If he keeps working hard, we've our scholes replacement finally. We need to tweak a few things but people are very reactionary. Overall, I think most people know he's got great ability. We'll benefit from him in the years to come.
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I think this is what people are questioning, is he working hard?
 
I think it's not just the mentality of Pogba that's under the microscope but our own fans, particularly in the summer when anyone questioning the prodigal son's return was shouted down or criticised.

Our expectations were simply too high of a player who. right from the beginning, has never really grasped the details of being a midfield player, preferring to see everything in cinematic widescreen, the glory, the praise and the adulation. The grit and guts have been missing.

This could magically reassert itself in the summer with a few blasts from Mourinho's mouth and a huge dedication from the midfielder himself.

But United fans, have to take some of the blame for this mini-backlash. The hysteria and mass hypnosis over his arrival in the summer masked their own deep-seated anxieties about the way he left and the 'monstrous mistake' the club made.

That mentality is still creating wild and unrealistic expectations. Why can't we just say we have a good player that we can build on? Dominating games is irrelevant if you don't grasp the details.

And he doesn't. For now.
 
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redflair said:
I think it's not just the mentality of Pogba that's under the microscope but our own fans, particularly in the summer when anyone questioning the prodigal son's return was shouted down or criticised.

Our expectations were simply too high of a player who. right from the beginning, has never really grasped the details of being a midfield player, preferring to see everything in cinematic widescreen, the glory, the praise and the adulation. The grit and guts have been missing.

This could magically reassert itself in the summer with a few blasts from Mourinho's mouth and a huge dedication from the midfielder himself.

But United fans, have to take some of the blame for this mini-backlash. The hysteria and mass hyponsis over his arrival the summer masked their own deep-seated anxieties about the way he left and the 'monstrous mistake' the club made.

That mentality is still creating wild and unrealistic expectations. Why can't we just say we have a good player that we can build on? Dominating games is irrelevant if you don't grasp the details.

And he doesn't. For now.
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This is a really good comment and I think true, but will make uncomfortable reading for some of our fans:) Added to this, the press constantly got to some of our fans with their 'we let go of Pogba rhetoric'. The guy has always been inconsistent - no problem with that, but we should have known better than to think this trait would suddenly disappear now he's back at United.

For what it's worth, I believe he will come good given the right players around him and of course him getting the work done. It has to work out somehow because of the huge fee involved. I also like the guy a lot and very much want him to succeed. We'll see what happens next season.
 
Already a few days old, however, I quite like his mentality in this interview:



So happy we have him here and I think he is often judged unfairly due to crazy expectations - resulting from the price tag. He is a great lad with so much potential and he will be a big deal for us in the years to come!
 
Quizierda said:
Already a few days old, however, I quite like his mentality in this interview:



So happy we have him here and I think he is often judged unfairly due to crazy expectations - resulting from the price tag. He is a great lad with so much potential and he will be a big deal for us in the years to come!
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I thought some of it was a little iffy, but agree that the way he comes across overall is good, he seems determined.
 
redflair said:
I think it's not just the mentality of Pogba that's under the microscope but our own fans, particularly in the summer when anyone questioning the prodigal son's return was shouted down or criticised.

Our expectations were simply too high of a player who. right from the beginning, has never really grasped the details of being a midfield player, preferring to see everything in cinematic widescreen, the glory, the praise and the adulation. The grit and guts have been missing.

This could magically reassert itself in the summer with a few blasts from Mourinho's mouth and a huge dedication from the midfielder himself.

But United fans, have to take some of the blame for this mini-backlash. The hysteria and mass hypnosis over his arrival in the summer masked their own deep-seated anxieties about the way he left and the 'monstrous mistake' the club made.

That mentality is still creating wild and unrealistic expectations. Why can't we just say we have a good player that we can build on? Dominating games is irrelevant if you don't grasp the details.

And he doesn't. For now.
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The problem I have is it's not just our expectations. Pogba himself said that his next goal is to win the Balon'dor. Such was the talk surrounding him and you can't run away from the price tag - fair or not it is an indication of how important we believed him to be.

That's why I can't really accept him being just a good player yet. Him and everyone else (other than the fans) have talked about how special he is.
 
shamans said:
The problem I have is it's not just our expectations. Pogba himself said that his next goal is to win the Balon'dor. Such was the talk surrounding him and you can't run away from the price tag - fair or not it is an indication of how important we believed him to be.

That's why I can't really accept him being just a good player yet. Him and everyone else (other than the fans) have talked about how special he is.
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Pogba?

Balon D'or?

:lol:

Deluded.
 
shamans said:
The problem I have is it's not just our expectations. Pogba himself said that his next goal is to win the Balon'dor. Such was the talk surrounding him and you can't run away from the price tag - fair or not it is an indication of how important we believed him to be.

That's why I can't really accept him being just a good player yet. Him and everyone else (other than the fans) have talked about how special he is.
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Pogba isn't special in a midfield 2. That's why he never played like that with Juventus.
 
Stacks said:
He was tried in a midfield 3. Ask Jose why he stopped it.
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Ask Allegri how to get the best of Pogba. He needs a lot of freedom and he can't have that in a 433 or worst in a midfield 2.
 
prtk0811 said:
If we dint contest for him we simply let him go and better to loose out fighting for a very very important and quality player that is cheap than to never contest.

That's the part where board is lethargic and we are where we are. In a period of instability you cant leave all the transfer buisness down to the manager incharge until the right stability is achived. The transfers are mismanaged due to lack of clear plan awareness and competitveness on the ground in the transfer market. This mismanagement is why we are where we are since 2013. The same goes with sadio mane.
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We did contest for Kante. He said Man Utd wanted him but he wanted to work with Conte.

Back to Pogba though - he's here now and I hope he works out. He needs to show up more in big games. I can't find a justifiable reason for spunking the money we did on someone whose often drifting by, but I think he'll show his true value from next season on. I prefer seeing him in deeper roles funnily enough.
 
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