Paul Pogba's mentality...

[TakeMeHome]

Kind of suprised his shooting is bad. At Juve he scored some long range crackers. I know he scored one against Swansea but I expected more. Going to go a bit off topic here...Same with Zlatan. At PSG he scored some lovely long range goals and free kicks. There was this one chance in the 1st half when he should have hit it first time instead he took a touch and Boruc came out to close the angle and he had to turn back.

 

[OL29]

I don't mean to nitpick (genuinely), but he's 24 in about a week!

The 'he's only in his mid 20s' narrative seems desperate to me.

He's being paid as a star-performer, he's un-droppable and seemingly un-subbable, and he's in his mid 20s. We can't imagine that we're watching a 'prospect for the future', because that's clearly not the case.

He's being paid to be a top boy in our team right now, and whenever it most matters, the fecker's decision making goes missing!

Rio Ferdinand came to United at pretty much the same age as Pogba for a record fee for a defender, yet it wasn't until he was partnered with Vidic that he consistently showcased his abilities.

Shocking as it may seem, some players take a while to fully mature

 

[mark_a]

Way too casual for me on the field, I'm not a fan of his too-cool-for-school demeanor, it just means he takes too long & gets mugged for the ball sometimes. Clearly the guy can produce magic, but I feel he needs to get serious about his game.

That video of him practising goal celebrations says it all for me. I'd give him the bloody hairdryer treatment for that, tell him he needs to stay out & do more shooting and finishing training.

 

[PedroMendez]

Dunno why do many people are surprised. He was exactly the same for Juve. If anything I am quite impressed, that he adapted fairly well to play in a new role.

 

[devilish]

I don't mean to nitpick (genuinely), but he's 24 in about a week!

The 'he's only in his mid 20s' narrative seems desperate to me.

He's being paid as a star-performer, he's un-droppable and seemingly un-subbable, and he's in his mid 20s. We can't imagine that we're watching a 'prospect for the future', because that's clearly not the case.

He's being paid to be a top boy in our team right now, and whenever it most matters, the fecker's decision making goes missing!

I am afraid that you're expecting from a 23 year old Pogba something not even Scholes (Keane and Carrick), Zidane (Deschamps and Davids) and Pirlo (Gattuso and Vidal) were able to do ie do exceptionally well without a top quality DM at their side

 

[Sepukku]

Way too casual for me on the field, I'm not a fan of his too-cool-for-school demeanor, it just means he takes too long & gets mugged for the ball sometimes. Clearly the guy can produce magic, but I feel he needs to get serious about his game.

That is exactly my impression. He is still playing with it. The things hes capable of, are beyond doubts. He will mature for sure.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

I am afraid that you're expecting from a 23 year old Pogba something not even Scholes (Keane and Carrick), Zidane (Deschamps and Davids) and Pirlo (Gattuso and Vidal) were able to do ie do exceptionally well without a top quality DM at their side

I'm not expecting that, really.

I'm talking about his own ability dropping dramatically when under pressure.

That's all I'm comparing to, himself.

It's not that he's just inconsistent, it's that there's a direct correlation with his poorest performances coming when there's a tangible 'added pressure'.

 

[SteveTheRed]

I can't say Saturday's performance was unexpected. I just knew after winning the final on Sunday, Pogba would think he was the bollocks and act like it on the pitch. So typical, he needs to cut it out! Every game he plays well is followed by a game where he plays like he is doing us a favour.

 

[MadMike]

Kind of suprised his shooting is bad. At Juve he scored some long range crackers. I know he scored one against Swansea but I expected more. Going to go a bit off topic here...Same with Zlatan. At PSG he scored some lovely long range goals and free kicks. There was this one chance in the 1st half when he should have hit it first time instead he took a touch and Boruc came out to close the angle and he had to turn back.

His shooting is actually not bad, he gets a lot of the shots on target from considerable range. The shot outside the box that got saved yesterday was a good shot, as was the one when he was through on goal. Other than the free kick all is shots were on target yesterday.

The problem with watching highlights is you see the wonder shot, but not the 15 shots prior to that, that the keeper saved (easily or not) or ended up wide. That's selective watching that builds wrong impressions, not the fault of the player.

 

[GBBQ]

It's not that he's just inconsistent, it's that there's a direct correlation with his poorest performances coming when there's a tangible 'added pressure'.

In those moments the pressure becomes even bigger for him to justify his price tag. In real terms for us not to see off a 10 man Bournemouth (or similar low ranked team) would mean that multiple players did not perform but Pogba is the one likely to get the flak (as has been the case). Seems like he then plays as if only he can win the game, tries Hollywood passes, shots from range but then also falls over himself for easier chances. The sooner the better we get in a top class mobile striker who can take the limelight off Pogba and allow him to develop as a midfielder.

 

[GazTheLegend]

Brilliant player and he's not our problem. Our problem is scoring goals, not creating chances.

Would threads like this exist if Zlatan had scored that penalty?

 

[Skills]

Tries a bit too much at times I feel. Needs to trust his team mates more and make the right play in those situations, rather than the spectacular. Someone of his quality is always going to command a lot of attention from the opposition, should make use of that to set his team mates free in more threatening positions.

 

[devilish]

I'm not expecting that, really.

I'm talking about his own ability dropping dramatically when under pressure.

That's all I'm comparing to, himself.

It's not that he's just inconsistent, it's that there's a direct correlation with his poorest performances coming when there's a tangible 'added pressure'.

Midfield is a team effort. You can't really judge an AM without him having a decent quality DM at his back. Without such a player then the AM will have to drop deep, he's under more pressure then he has to and will make mistakes.

Also his relatively young age is significant. At age 23 Paul Scholes was not yet a regular first teamer with United, Zidane was still in France with Jack Walker saying 'why you need Zidane when you've got Sherwood' porkie and Pirlo was still an average forward. We're talking here about 3 absolute greats here. You might hate it but Pogba is still a baby in midfield.

 

[redflair]

You do wonder with Mourinho's history of 'challenges' he set for creative players ie Ozil, Robben, Ronaldo, De Bruyne etc...what on earth he's saying to Pogba behind the scenes at the moment.

I wonder if it's as strong as the stuff he'd receives on here at the moment. It has to be. He has done it with Shaw, Miki and Martial.

It's inconceivable he's not getting into his head for outright wastefulness (on too many occasions) on the pitch this season.

For a man of some of gut-wrenchingly high standards like Jose, I don't think he'll take too many similar performances next season.

 

[devilish]

when the pressure is off and everything is rosey

That's were most AMC show their worth. Take Scholes or Zidane as an example. They were absolute beasts but neither of them could do much against Gattuso or the famous tika taka. Viera struggled against our own Phil Nev.

TBF Pogba has yet to adapt to the quicker EPL tempo + the lack of a top quality DM is hurting him. However I am confident that once that issue is sorted he'll do better. His development when compared to the likes of Scholes, Zidane and Pirlo is way ahead of schedule too.

 

[Deleted member 101472]

Brilliant player and he's not our problem. Our problem is scoring goals, not creating chances.

Would threads like this exist if Zlatan had scored that penalty?

Absolutely, he was shocking on Saturday.

 

[Stacks]

His shooting is actually not bad, he gets a lot of the shots on target from considerable range. The shot outside the box that got saved yesterday was a good shot, as was the one when he was through on goal. Other than the free kick all is shots were on target yesterday.

The problem with watching highlights is you see the wonder shot, but not the 15 shots prior to that, that the keeper saved (easily or not) or ended up wide. That's selective watching that builds wrong impressions, not the fault of the player.

true. in his defence you could look at 80+ shots and 4 goals, or 50 shots from range and 1 goal. you could make a judgement. 42% of his shots are on target. that's good. But being on target doesn't tell you about the sitters he has missed or not working the keeper so to speak.

overall I would say his finishing isn't as good as I thought it would be. He does have a good strike on him. His long range shooting is unpredictable. some really, really good efforts denied by the woodwork or good goal keeping saves. many skied efforts and speculative ones at best.

 

[noodlehair]

Brilliant player and he's not our problem. Our problem is scoring goals, not creating chances.

Would threads like this exist if Zlatan had scored that penalty?

Yes they would, because he struts around like he thinks he's the greatest player ever to grace a football pitch, then seems to panic or go to pieces over levels of pressure that are no greater than any professional footballer would be expected to deal with.

Those two things don't really fit together that well. It makes him a bit of a laughing stock at times.

If you strut the stuff like he does you should really have the strength of character to back it up. Otherwise you just look like a silly boy.

Don't think he's been our worst player this season by a long way, but his mentality is definitely up for questioning until he proves otherwise.

Basically, if you're going to have stupid haircuts, dance around in merchandising adds, and basically be a massive spotlight whore, fine, but then when Manchester United play Liverpool, DON'T cost your team the game by performing like a scared child.

 

[Stacks]

That's were most AMC show their worth. Take Scholes or Zidane as an example. They were absolute beasts but neither of them could do much against Gattuso or the famous tika taka. Viera struggled against our own Phil Nev.

TBF Pogba has yet to adapt to the quicker EPL tempo + the lack of a top quality DM is hurting him. However I am confident that once that issue is sorted he'll do better. His development when compared to the likes of Scholes, Zidane and Pirlo is way ahead of schedule too.

I meant pressure from ordinary or average players in the premier league, not Gattuso. But I get what you mean. the difference in pace and therefore speed of action required in the premier league is far away from Serie A so he has to adjust to it. Many players from Serie A collapse in England. off the top of my head, I can't recall too many big successes but I am sure there have been.
When you talk about development curve and making comparisons, its a bit of a false comparison. Do you remember what Pirlo, Zidane or Scholes played like at 24? what the strengths and weaknesses in their game were like? Many accept that Pogba's reputation outstrips his actual ability and development of a player isn't solely on their hype.
Just for your information, Pirlo at the same age was a key player in winning the Champions League with Ac Milan. He also lead Serie A in passing.

 

[devilish]

I meant pressure from ordinary or average players in the premier league, not Gattuso. But I get what you mean. the difference in pace and therefore speed of action required in the premier league is far away from Serie A so he has to adjust to it. Many players from Serie A collapse in England. off the top of my head, I can't recall too many big successes but I am sure there have been.
When you talk about development curve and making comparisons, its a bit of a false comparison. Do you remember what Pirlo, Zidane or Scholes played like at 24? what the strengths and weaknesses in their game were like? Many accept that Pogba's reputation outstrips his actual ability and development of a player isn't solely on their hype.
Just for your information, Pirlo at the same age was a key player in winning the Champions League with Ac Milan. He also lead Serie A in passing.

At age 23, Pirlo's career was going nowhere (until Ancelotti decided to move him in CM and alongside Gattuso), Zidane was still in France and Paul Scholes was still flirting between the reserves and the first team. However that's not the point. All of them had one thing in common ie an absolute beast in DM whose workrate and presence were to a ridiculously high level. Scholes had Keane, Zidane had Deschamps, Pirlo had Gattuso. These sort of players were there throughout their stellar career. Carrick, Davids, Vidal etc.

Pogba needs that sort of player more then any of these gentlemen. He's still 23 but unlike young Scholes/Pirlo/Zidane the spotlights are all over him. He also moved from one league to a totally different league were the tempo is much higher and its far more physical then the EPL. Even JSV struggled at that and he was older, wiser and he had a certain Roy Keane at his back. As a Juventus fan back home told me, if we keep playing Pogba alongside makeshift defensive midfielders (Herrera, Beanpole) or ancient players then we're really risking of ruining the boy.

 

[Dobbs]

Kind of suprised his shooting is bad. At Juve he scored some long range crackers. I know he scored one against Swansea but I expected more. Going to go a bit off topic here...Same with Zlatan. At PSG he scored some lovely long range goals and free kicks. There was this one chance in the 1st half when he should have hit it first time instead he took a touch and Boruc came out to close the angle and he had to turn back.

His shooting from distance has been decent but that's a different mindset to one on one's and chances he should be finishing. There's a different levels of pressure on those and right now his temperament is letting him down. He's panicking a bit. The ability is there, just needs some composure.

 

[Stacks]

At age 23, Pirlo's career was going nowhere (until Ancelotti decided to move him in CM and alongside Gattuso), Zidane was still in France and Paul Scholes was still flirting between the reserves and the first team. However that's not the point. All of them had one thing in common ie an absolute beast in DM whose workrate and presence were to a ridiculously high level. Scholes had Keane, Zidane had Deschamps, Pirlo had Gattuso. These sort of players were there throughout their stellar career. Carrick, Davids, Vidal etc.

Pogba needs that sort of player more then any of these gentlemen. He's still 23 but unlike young Scholes/Pirlo/Zidane the spotlights are all over him. He also moved from one league to a totally different league were the tempo is much higher and its far more physical then the EPL. Even JSV struggled at that and he was older, wiser and he had a certain Roy Keane at his back. As a Juventus fan back home told me, if we keep playing Pogba alongside makeshift defensive midfielders (Herrera, Beanpole) or ancient players then we're really risking of ruining the boy.

Yeah that is a possibility. Many would shirk at the idea that Herrera is insufficient when he has some of the best defensive stats in the league but I know what you mean. I wouldn't call him a beast or a World Class DMC. And it is good for you to admit that Paul needs someone like that alongside him even more than those named above as he doesn't have the toughness or tenacity of the likes of Zidane or Scholes. Some sceptics would however note that Kante and Matuidi have partnered him for France. Now if the defensive guys outshine the "sparkle" guy, then it may appear suspect.

 

[MuranoLover]

His attitude is really wrong , too much media balloons in his mind

 

[devilish]

Yeah that is a possibility. Many would shirk at the idea that Herrera is insufficient when he has some of the best defensive stats in the league but I know what you mean. I wouldn't call him a beast or a World Class DMC. And it is good for you to admit that Paul needs someone like that alongside him even more than those named above as he doesn't have the toughness or tenacity of the likes of Zidane or Scholes. Some sceptics would however note that Kante and Matuidi have partnered him for France. Now if the defensive guys outshine the "sparkle" guy, then it may appear suspect.

I don't think Scholes or Zidane could cover both roles (DM+AM) even in their prime (let alone at age 23). Both needed somebody at their back to do the 'dirty work'. Sure at one point we ended up with Carrick whose hardly a Davids or a Gattuso. There again


a - Scholes was way older and more mature at that point then Pogba is

b- SAF used to 'cheat' the system by playing the likes of Park, Valencia and Cleverley alongside Carrick and Scholes. That added much needed steel and workrate in midfield.

Regarding Carrick-Scholes partnership I often wonder if it was planned by SAF from day 1. We signed Carrick after Keane left, which suggest that its the case. However few months later we ended up buying Hargreaves whose more of a Keane then a Carrick. With Fletcher already in the team I can't help thinking that the old fox was seeing Carrick more as a cover/successor to Scholes then a DM. Its also in line to his previous CM (Robson-Ince, Ince-Keane, Keane-Butt)

 

[Zebs]

People need to realise that we didn't pay £90m for a finished product. A good chunk of what we paid is the potential for the player he will become. He will come good He wasn't a complete player at Juve so you can't expect him to suddenly be a superstar at OT.

I will agree that he needs to be more efficient with the ball at his feet, but he's getting there.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Kind of suprised his shooting is bad. At Juve he scored some long range crackers. I know he scored one against Swansea but I expected more. Going to go a bit off topic here...Same with Zlatan. At PSG he scored some lovely long range goals and free kicks. There was this one chance in the 1st half when he should have hit it first time instead he took a touch and Boruc came out to close the angle and he had to turn back.

Something I've been wondering for a while is if the goalkeeping standard in the PL is better? We only ever seem to criticise keepers and I don't watch enough of other leagues to make a comparison but long range worldy shots seem to have to be right in the top corner these days to catch keepers out. Then those that aren't (Zlatan's freekick in the cup final or Kane's first goal yesterday) are supposedly more down to keeper errors than being great goals.

I was watching Pogba's goals for Juve and he always has so much more time to line up his shots in the replays, most PL teams seem to play with at least one 'Kante' type player these days so maybe he is being forced to shoot from further out than usual - hence the awful shot accuracy we have seen so far!

 

[devilish]

Something I've been wondering for a while is if the goalkeeping standard in the PL is better? We only ever seem to criticise keepers and I don't watch enough of other leagues to make a comparison but long range worldy shots seem to have to be right in the top corner these days to catch keepers out. Then those that aren't (Zlatan's freekick in the cup final or Kane's first goal yesterday) are supposedly more down to keeper errors than being great goals.

I was watching Pogba's goals for Juve and he always has so much more time to line up his shots in the replays, most PL teams seem to play with at least one 'Kante' type player these days so maybe he is being forced to shoot from further out than usual - hence the awful shot accuracy we have seen so far!

In Italy football is played at a lower tempo which gives midfielders more time to think.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

Why lie?
As for the posts claiming Pogba has yet to show any maturity on the field, how about just a couple weeks ago where he was bought on to win usthe game against Blackburn, which he did by setting Ibra up for the winner? Or when we were losing against Boro around Christmas; Pogba dropped deep to orchestrate the play as we had no midfield at the end, which eventually led to him opening up the defence for the equaliser and scoring the winner a couple minutes later. There was also the game against Palace where he kept a cool head in the final minutes to shrug off Cabaye and slip Ibra in for the winner in the final minutes.
It's amazing how short some peoples memory is; of course he's inconsistent at times and shows flashes of immaturity but the way some people are talking about him, you'd think he's not taken out midfield up several notches and he's a disposable player.

Their memories are not short mate, they are just insidious little fecks who on the most part don't post anything until they get a chance to project their hate on others.

 

[unitedforeveral]

let's not do that and point fingers. The press or the fans will always have complaints but let's think before we make judgements. Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba are not the same players. Although Luke is one of our priced possessions and so is Paul. If you watched Jose's interview before Bournemouth, he clearly says that Luke is our future starter and requires a few small adjustments to express himself in the game. Paul on the other side is getting used to PL after years at Juve. We're going to watch Luke and Pogba installed automatically in the next season and he will compliment well with Martial.

In spite of saying all this, i think Paul needs to be benched and Schweinsteiger should run the show once in a while. Pogba will be more attentive then. But then again if he is benched, there will be a bunch of fans who will say that benching Pogba after paying a wholesome and no play time will not only kill his confidence but curb his growth.

So, to be in Jose's position is difficult. Let's still support our team and sooner i promise we'll see some scintillating football. #ggmu

p.s- i was utterly disappointed with our show against Bournemouth.

 

[ghagua]

The problem isn't one player, its an overall team mentality. When the team doesn't play with a strong, galvanized mindset, the individual players will always look like they are underperforming.

This. We've had a couple of opportunity to get into the top 4, but the entire team bottled it. There was an opportunity around New Year when all the top 5 lost, but we messed up. Our wide players need to get into scoring positions more often. We simply cannot rely on Ibra to score all the time.

 

[JON.B]

People need to realise that we didn't pay £90m for a finished product. A good chunk of what we paid is the potential for the player he will become. He will come good He wasn't a complete player at Juve so you can't expect him to suddenly be a superstar at OT.

I will agree that he needs to be more efficient with the ball at his feet, but he's getting there.

Sorry but if we're paying £90m for potential then I've lost all hope and interest in football. I didn't expect the "finished product" but I expected a bloody lot more than what he's shown so far. He played better at Juve but his main role in our team seems less defined, which is partly the problem. Jose needs to sort it out but I still feel Pogba needs to show more focus and drive to succeed, otherwise he'll just end up being another wasted talent.

 

[Stacks]

I don't think Scholes or Zidane could cover both roles (DM+AM) even in their prime (let alone at age 23). Both needed somebody at their back to do the 'dirty work'. Sure at one point we ended up with Carrick whose hardly a Davids or a Gattuso. There again


a - Scholes was way older and more mature at that point then Pogba is

b- SAF used to 'cheat' the system by playing the likes of Park, Valencia and Cleverley alongside Carrick and Scholes. That added much needed steel and workrate in midfield.

Regarding Carrick-Scholes partnership I often wonder if it was planned by SAF from day 1. We signed Carrick after Keane left, which suggest that its the case. However few months later we ended up buying Hargreaves whose more of a Keane then a Carrick. With Fletcher already in the team I can't help thinking that the old fox was seeing Carrick more as a cover/successor to Scholes then a DM. Its also in line to his previous CM (Robson-Ince, Ince-Keane, Keane-Butt)

To be fair Keane wasn't a DMC. he was a box to box CM as was Scholes when he partnered him. Scholes didn't let Keane do the dirty work. Scholes did plenty of dirty work. When players talk about how tough it was to play against Scholes, they mention both his on the ball ability, his movement and his tenacity off the ball, flying into tackles and making life tough for the opposition. He just wasn't a clean tackler. Keane ensured that Scholes wasn't in for an easy ride.

When we won the league in 2007 I believe it was with a midfield 2 of Scholes and Carrick. Hargreaves and Anderson came a year later. Cleverley I feel offers neither steel nor workrate. When did Valencia play CM?

 

[OL29]

Their memories are not short mate, they are just insidious little fecks who on the most part don't post anything until they get a chance to project their hate on others.

Seems that way mate

 

[RedCurry]

Well maybe his mentality is weak or maybe it's not. But how do you improve a young player's mentality as a manager? Play him next to a more experienced player who will get into his head, a player he can respect and player who can do the business on the pitch. We started with Carrick and we were doing well throughout the game. We have a model midfielder, who's won everything there is to win in football, rusting on the bench. We take all this experience and passing ability of Carrick away to put in Fellaini and now suddenly the pressure on Pogba has doubled.

If I were Pogba even I would be wondering how I went from playing alongside Pirlo to this!

Play him alongside winners and if he's intelligent enough, which I think he is, then he will pick up traits of a winner. The blame falls on Jose as much as Pogba.

 

[Red Indian Chief Torn Rubber]

Ridiculous thread. The entire team save for Rojo bottled the damn match.

 

[Zebs]

Sorry but if we're paying £90m for potential then I've lost all hope and interest in football. I didn't expect the "finished product" but I expected a bloody lot more than what he's shown so far. He played better at Juve but his main role in our team seems less defined, which is partly the problem. Jose needs to sort it out but I still feel Pogba needs to show more focus and drive to succeed, otherwise he'll just end up being another wasted talent.

I didn't say we were paying 90m for potential. I said a chunk of it is for potential. It's clear to anyone that he's a damn good football player and even at his current ability level, he has added to the team since joining. What I'm saying is that we're currently seeing £45m of the £90m we spent. In time he will become the 90m player most people expect him to be immediately.

 

[salford_]

It is the price tag. Everyone knew he was not worth it, nowhere near. He knows it, too.

He is overrated IMO, always thought it. But had he cost say £30-40m he wouldnt be frowned upon so much.

 

[devilish]

To be fair Keane wasn't a DMC. he was a box to box CM as was Scholes when he partnered him. Scholes didn't let Keane do the dirty work. Scholes did plenty of dirty work. When players talk about how tough it wall to play against Scholes, they mention both his on the ball ability, his movement and his tenacity off the ball flying in with tackles and making life tough for the opposition. He just wasn't a clean tackler. Keane ensured that Scholes wasn't in for an easy ride.

Not really, at least not at first. In his first years in CM, Scholes was basically a converted forward. Our game relied heavily on quick tempo football, with Keane winning the ball, only to pass it to either Beckham or Giggs. The latter two would then cross the ball with Scholes infiltrating in defense to either disorient the defenders or score the goal himself. Keane was of course a more complete player then that and there were times when he literally took ownership of the whole thing and lead the show himself. Yet, for most of the time, Keane would stay at the back to allow Scholes and Giggs to work their magic.

In time, things changed. Keane wasn't able to cover every inch of pitch as he used to do and Scholes took more ownership over that area. JSV's signing was a real wake up call for PS. Up till then he ignored the defensive aspect of the game and focused more over the goals. After JSV he developed into the superb player we all love.

The DM phrase is considered a dirty work in the EPL mainly because the players who played in that role were talentless thugs (ex Savage). However its not the case outside of Britain. Top quality players like Rijkaard, Davids and Ancelotti were magnificent players with ample talent although they were DMs. Incey was a superb DM too. Box to box players are somehow different. They can cover both roles, sometimes superbly, however they don't really excel in any of these roles.A top quality box to box midfielder can probably do the job as a DM in a superb 3 men midfield (ex Pirlo, Vidal and Pogba) but he'll probably struggle in a 2 men CM. Under the latter scenario you'll need a DM.

I can see Herrera and Pogba becoming a box to box player (although I do see Pogba developing as a DLP in his later years).

 

[RedChip]

People talk about Pogba dallying on the ball, taking too many touches, dribbling when he should pass. I agree he does all these things. I think he does them because he's nervous though.

Could it be that he also has many more choices than a less technically gifted midfielder would have simply because he is capable of pulling off a wider range of moves?

I think he will improve a lot in this area as he learns from experience what he can and can't pull off.

I also think we are underestimating the impact fatigue could be having on his decision making.

 

[markelphick]

Way too casual for me on the field, I'm not a fan of his too-cool-for-school demeanor, it just means he takes too long & gets mugged for the ball sometimes. Clearly the guy can produce magic, but I feel he needs to get serious about his game.

That video of him practising goal celebrations says it all for me. I'd give him the bloody hairdryer treatment for that, tell him he needs to stay out & do more shooting and finishing training.

Absolutely right! That's exactly how I see it too!