Pogba: "We Should Attack, Attack, Attack!"

As others have pointed out it's a mix of things. Pogba questions Jose's tactics and I can't disagree with him. Jose questions the players' attitude and application versus that of Wolves and I can't disagree with him. Jose and others question Woodward and the board seemingly involving themselves in footballing matters, being more interested in top four finishes and tractor partners than real success on the pitch and not backing Jose in the market despite having him sign a new deal in January and I can't shake the feeling there's at least something to that.

Jose, the players, Ed and the board. As far as I'm concerned there's blame on all sides for our failings, but the worry for me is while we look to apportion the precise amount of blame due in each instance our season is in danger of going down the toilet, even at this early stage.
 
bosnian_red said:
Remember how we didn't want Mourinho back in the day because of how his clubs turn into a circus with constant negative drama? Yeah... Long past that. Pogba's not wrong tbf, though it doesn't take a genius to figure out that being outplayed (let alone just beat) by the likes of Leicester, Brighton, Tottenham, Wolves (3 of those at home) isn't good enough.
Click to expand...
Can't wait till it's over tbf. Think the club have decided to move on but why wait and prolong the circus? This isn't the kind of decision you wait 8 months to implement
 
I'd usually throw my toys out of the pram with players making these comments, but I think a change is needed soon before the season derails completely - whether that means a manager change or tactical.
 
Snowjoe said:
Hardly a defence force going on here, any issues with what pogba is saying is more to do with how he’s going about it rather than what he’s saying.
Click to expand...

How else would you suggest a player makes their point if it is falling on deaf ears when raised internally? (Assuming the board are just letting it all play out and the manager isn’t really revolutionalising the playing style to a large degree - or abandons any progressive changes as soon as the going gets tough in a game).
 
Our attacking play is never going to improve until we have quality forwards. We don't have a single one at the club.
 
Fracture90 said:
That's because City and Pool's players have attack pattern movements drilled in them by their coaches. If you look at City games, Guardiola goes batshit crazy whenever his team hoofs the ball to relieve pressure.
Click to expand...

It's true our setup is very poor - when we bring someone in that plays a good brand of football then you will see us do these things.
 
Hawks2008 said:
Our attacking play is never going to improve until we have quality forwards. We don't have a single one at the club.
Click to expand...

That's not true - In Joses first season Bournemouth scored more goals than us. Do they have better forwards than us?
 
Hawks2008 said:
Our attacking play is never going to improve until we have quality forwards. We don't have a single one at the club.
Click to expand...

Another fault that lays at Mourinho.

He's the one who wanted Lukaku and Sanchez.

And Martial/Rashford haven't improved under him.
 
FootyGirl88 said:
It's true our setup is very poor - when we bring someone in that plays a good brand of football then you will see us do these things.
Click to expand...

Pretty much. There was a moment when he subbed on Mata and Martial only to have them cut inside and stay in/around the box because our target man was Fellaini and more bodies in and around the box means more chance they can pick up some leftovers, right?

Attacking football is more than just chucking a bunch of flair players on the pitch and yell "ATTACK", now whether Mourinho doesn't know that, is actively ignoring it or he just doesn't have what it takes to coach his players is the right question.
 
Hawks2008 said:
Our attacking play is never going to improve until we have quality forwards. We don't have a single one at the club.
Click to expand...
There's always a new position holding back our attack from looking functional. Full backs, right wing then CBs and now forwards. It says we haven't spent as wise as we should have
 
If this is the most we have got to worry about, we’re in a good position.
 
Cassidy said:
His dominating the ball isnt attacking. He specifically said we didnt put them in trouble and there was a lack of movement in the front line.

Its just truth. We’re not 5-10 years off a title either.
Click to expand...

That doesn't actually contradict my point, in fact had we done what we did last season and gone 10 men behind the ball at 1-0 up we'd likely have ground out the win. Wolves wouldn't have beat a low block with their counters.

We did not drop points because of defensive football. We went forward and we went forward in numbers. We just played cluelessly.
 
Love the sound bites from Pogba but talk is easy as we know listening to punditry from failed ex-managers and players.

To attack the opposition with any consistency we need a solid defensive unit who can also play football to a certain standard. Our only creative sparks at present are Pogba and Shaw, who also has his defensive duties. I don't know the stats but watching the team it seems most of our goals this season will have involved those two players.

I understand Mourinho has always been a pragmatic manager and he has had a number of transfer windows to get the team right. The fact is he hasn't and now has to get results with what he has available. Although from a fans perspective it's not been a great watch but he did get 2nd place in both domestic competitions last season with this/his brand of football. I'm not sure how going all-out attack mode would reflect on results. Could go either way, but I can't personally imagine with this present squad we would be any better off results wise.

The board has very limited choices to decide which route to take. To say enough of this brand of football and sack Jose and give up on this season or stick with him because he is probably the best person to get any decent results from this present squad.
 
el3mel said:
I pray for the day our players start doing their job on the pitch rather than on the media.

Since LVG days we here all the right things from them in the media then comes games and it's the same shite.
Click to expand...

This. Its not good enough to just say the right things. They need to deliver as well.
 
This thread. Oh dear...

Shouldn't Pogba be discussing this with Mourinho instead of the media? He might do of course, but going and saying it to the press suggests not. Cowardly tbh (just as it was when Hazard and co pulled this stunt).

Regardless of euetyer he's right, and he is, Jose in in agreement with him, these are discussions to be had in private.

However, with so many attacking players struggling for form, seeing changes may not be as easy as we would like.

Still, I don't understand why people like seeing the club being paraded in the media as a circus all because they hate whichever guy happens to be in charge at the time. Sad really.
 
Shane88 said:
Easier said than done. We got a right back who has a phobia of crossing. No right winger. A left wing that was seemingly bursting with options except they've all gone to fecking shit. And finally, a cow up front.
Click to expand...

That’s because he can’t cross.

I watched a match recently, and paid close attention to Valencia throughout. Now I may have missed some but I didn’t see him touch the hall with his left foot, not even once. He shifted his body position to always use his right foot, even when it put him under pressure, or reduced his options for a pass.
 
Eddy_JukeZ said:
Another fault that lays at Mourinho.

He's the one who wanted Lukaku and Sanchez.

And Martial/Rashford haven't improved under him.
Click to expand...

Yep, he plays a big part in this.

FootyGirl88 said:
That's not true - In Joses first season Bournemouth scored more goals than us. Do they have better forwards than us?
Click to expand...

Hard disagree. Martial and Rashford are too inconsistent and after being in the first team picture for a few years now still raise questions. Sanchez is just a Fraud, Lukaku belongs back at Everton, Lingard should be no more than a squad option, and Mata is past it.

We have no one who can be said to be of the same quality of Hazard, Mane, Salah, Kane, Aguero etc.
 
Hawks2008 said:
Yep, he plays a big part in this.



Hard disagree. Martial and Rashford are too inconsistent and after being in the first team picture for a few years now still raise questions. Sanchez is just a Fraud, Lukaku belongs back at Everton, Lingard should be no more than a squad option, and Mata is past it.

We have no one who can be said to be of the same quality of Hazard, Mane, Salah, Kane, Aguero etc.
Click to expand...

I agree with you but I think the way we play is the bigger issue. We don't create enough chances.
 
Hawks2008 said:
Yep, he plays a big part in this.



Hard disagree. Martial and Rashford are too inconsistent and after being in the first team picture for a few years now still raise questions. Sanchez is just a Fraud, Lukaku belongs back at Everton, Lingard should be no more than a squad option, and Mata is past it.

We have no one who can be said to be of the same quality of Hazard, Mane, Salah, Kane, Aguero etc.
Click to expand...

Hazard and Aguero are the only ones that were world class when they were bought, Mane, Salah and Kane were brought by their clubs as very talented players that were further improved by their managers.

EDIT: Also not 100% sure about this but I think Liverpool have spent less on Salah and Mane combined than we did on Lukaku.
 
Jeppers7 said:
His dwelling is a result of the lack of movement he mentions. When someone moves he gets the pass out immediately.
Click to expand...
Sorry but your opinion is complete rubbish!

He 'dwells' because he still does not have maturity to know what a player should be doing in such situations.

Prime example is when he lost the ball in a position that he should never be dwelling (the loss of possession before we conceded the goal).

Im sure if I were to pull statistics he would come up as one of the player that has the most time on the ball, but still he decides to hold onto the ball for far too long and in positions he should not be doing it.

So infuriating, he is not a 'young boy' anymore, he also played with the best player in recent history for pass/move (Paul Scholes) and still he does not get it.

There is no reason for a player in that position on the field to actively invite tackles.

He is not in the playground but his place of work, his profession and mistakes such as this need to be gone from his game.

Its becoming quite clear what Sir Alex saw in him, he saw a gifted individual, but he also saw the ego of the individual.

And that is the issue, the ego is not maturing with the person and so we will continue to see such elementary errors and then for the player to draw attention away from this by coming out with such rubbish by saying that its not up to him in how we play, as if people dont know this!

United should get as much money as they can for him as its obvious he just doesnt get it!

And to those of you who think a change of manager is the solution, I can only agree with you if the context is that Pogba will no longer make such fundamental errors (i.e. knowing when yo hold onto the ball and went to move the ball along).

But this aint going to change whoever the manager is, it will only change when Pogba becomes a more rounded/mature individual instead of the self centered 'brat' he comes across as.
 
Last edited:
LolYo said:
Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah!!!!

I mean he is obviously saying get Mourinho the F out ASAP. He isnt even being shy about it. I mean this is like literally saying get him out like hot garbage that he is...without actually saying it.
Click to expand...
How mature.
 
Marcky411 said:
I agree with you that players should do the job on the pitch instead of in the media but if these bad, lethargic performances were a one off occurrence then I would blame the player/s. This happens week in week out and it doesn't matter who is setup on the field the tactics and slow dire performances are the same, that tells me that it isn't the players but the manager and they are following the manager's instructions and tactics, if they don't do as he asks they don't play.
Click to expand...

The lethargic performance doesn't happen week in week out. We weren't lethargic in the last few games.

It happens every time we go on a small run of good results and performance. Review the last season, it was the same. Winning 2-3 matches in a row or winning a big match is followed immediately by a crap lethargic and slow performance.

The players simply believe in their own hype. They think they're too good and can win without much efforts. They take winning for granted. They only perform under pressure.
 
The day Jose goes, I hope we make the sane decision and sell this clown also. Bin him and go and splash the money on Ruben Neves. Pogba thinks he is bigger than the club, feck him.
 
imamuppet said:
Sorry but your opinion is complete rubbish!

He 'dwells' because he still does not have maturity to know what a player should be doing in such situations.

Prime example is when he lost the ball in a position that he should never be dwelling (the loss of possession before we conceded the goal).

Im sure if I were to pull statistics he would come up as the player that has the most time on the ball, but still he decides to hold onto the ball for far too long and in positions he should not be doing it.

So infuriating, he is not a 'young boy' anymore, he also played with the best player in recent history for pass/move (Paul Scholes) and still he does not get it.

There is no reason for a player in that position on the field to actively invite tackles.

He is not in the playground but his place of work, his profession and mistakes such as this need to be gone from his game.

Its becoming quite clear what Sir Alex saw in him, he saw a gifted individual, but he also saw the ego of the individual.

And that is the issue, the ego is not maturing with the person and so we will continue to see such elementary errors and then for the player to draw attention away from this by coming out with such rubbish by saying that its not up to him in how we play, as if people dont know this!

United should get as much money as they can for him as its obvious he just doesnt get it!

And to those of you who think a change of manager is the solution, I can only agree with you if the context is that Pogba will no longer make such fundamental errors (i.e. knowing when yo hold onto the ball and went to move the ball along).

But this aint going to change whoever the manager is, it will only change when Pogba becomes a more rounded/mature individual instead of the self centered 'brat' he comes across as.
Click to expand...
Your opinion is also a bit rubbish, the truth is you’re both right. Especially since there is lots of evidence of Pogba summer exploits and what he can do if there is movement in front of him.

There are also times where he takes far too big of a risk waiting for movement ahead of him instead of just popping off a safe pass and moving, however he backs himself and takes responsibility for making stuff happen and as long as it’s not on the 18 yarder I’m fine with that but the lack of movement and options for him is disgraceful, the only ones who really offers him an out ball are Shaw and Valencia
 
Kostov said:
The day Jose goes, I hope we make the sane decision and sell this clown also. Bin him and go and splash the money on Ruben Neves. Pogba thinks he is bigger than the club, feck him.
Click to expand...

There's really little to no logic in doing that. Shouldn't we keep him and give him a chance to prove himself under a different (hopefully more attacking) manager first before selling him?

Replacing Pogba may prove a lot more harder than some people think.
 
Andersons Dietician said:
Your opinion is also a bit rubbish, the truth is you’re both right. Especially since there is lots of evidence of Pogba summer exploits and what he can do if there is movement in front of him.

There are also times where he takes far too big of a risk waiting for movement ahead of him instead of just popping off a safe pass and moving, however he backs himself and takes responsibility for making stuff happen and as long as it’s not on the 18 yarder I’m fine with that but the lack of movement and options for him is disgraceful, the only ones who really offers him an out ball are Shaw and Valencia
Click to expand...
Yeah you could say that,

But this part I cannot accept as being rubbish

"but still he decides to hold onto the ball for far too long and in positions he should not be doing it"

Which is my main gripe along with the rubbish he sprouts to the press
 
Fracture90 said:
There's really little to no logic in doing that. Shouldn't we keep him and give him a chance to prove himself under a different (hopefully more attacking) manager first before selling him?

Replacing Pogba may prove a lot more harder than some people think.
Click to expand...
Some of the shit performances he has served here, have little to no effect from the manager here. In my opinion, he is a class player but an absolute clown that will always put his own interest before the club's. I don't think he is worth the hussle to be honest. I'd rather we build the team around players who won't stir shit everytime they don't like something.
 
Kostov said:
Some of the shit performances he has served here, have little to no effect from the manager here. In my opinion, he is a class player but an absolute clown that will always put his own interest before the club's. I don't think he is worth the hussle to be honest. I'd rather we build the team around players who won't stir shit everytime they don't like something.
Click to expand...

Mate you're saying that the player who has cut his post WC win vacation short in order to help out a struggling team is somehow putting his own interest before the club?

Regarding that last part about shitt stirring, he never done anything like that in 2 years, and the only thing like that he did was his comments after the Leicester game.
 
It's quite refreshing to hear a United player honestly and correctly identify both his own mistake and a problem with our team. Normally a disappointing United result is followed by the likes of Mata saying something meaningless like 'we are disappointed and know we need to do better'.

It's not good this is happening in the media rather than behind closed doors but given how Mourinho has consistently used the press to attack our players it's not surprising that the players will use the press to criticise him back.
 
I'm seriously getting fed up now of watching this rubbish attacking play. Each week I look forward to watching us and then it's a big let down. No creativity and no movement. We are so easy to play against. If you watch City and Liverpool both play with width and quick movement, it kills teams. Players taken too many touches, but you can understand the likes of pobga taken extra touches cuz he can't see anything moving in front of him. Sanchez and Lingard must be told to just make runs inside all the time. We are crap at it so why can't we just revert to playing 2 upfront. First half against spurs we play Lukaku and Lingard upfront and we caused trouble and we played with so much speed. I'd play Sanchez more centrally. He is useless out on the left for us. I do think Mourinho doesn't want to play open and expansive football cuz we are weak at the back but that's mourinho fault at not buying solid centre backs to play it. Valencia is past it unfortunately. Can't beat a player or put a cross in, Always just plays a pass inside.
 
settembrini said:
It's quite refreshing to hear a United player honestly and correctly identify both his own mistake and a problem with our team. Normally a disappointing United result is followed by the likes of Mata saying something meaningless like 'we are disappointed and know we need to do better'.

It's not good this is happening in the media rather than behind closed doors but given how Mourinho has consistently used the press to attack our players it's not surprising that Paul Pogba will use the press to criticise him back.
Click to expand...
Fixed
 
Another Monday morning another bunch of headlines regarding Pogba and his big mouth .
Fast turning into an untenable situation he should shut the feck up and concentrate on his game .
Him and Sanchez were supposed to be the superstars that would turn us into title winners both have been truly awful
 
Fracture90 said:
Mate you're saying that the player who has cut his post WC win vacation short in order to help out a struggling team is somehow putting his own interest before the club?

Regarding that last part about shitt stirring, he never done anything like that in 2 years, and the only thing like that he did was his comments after the Leicester game.
Click to expand...
He cut his vacations short? I though he came back on Monday as he should have, other were back one week earlier, he was rushed back yes and completed the match which was impressive to be fair. And even if he did, as a winner who you might expect wants to play and win, I wouldn't expect anything less.

How were we a struggling team, because we played without half the squad in pre season? Nah mate, others were back a week earlier and you are putting too much stock into that in my opinion. Yes he caused unneeded bad attention after Leicester, as he did on international duty soon after. Let's not forget the Raiola episode with Scholes and him offering him to our neighbors. Unless you think that was with Pogba not knowing anything. It won't end with Mourinho leaving, you can bet on it.
 
#07 said:
That doesn't actually contradict my point, in fact had we done what we did last season and gone 10 men behind the ball at 1-0 up we'd likely have ground out the win. Wolves wouldn't have beat a low block with their counters.

We did not drop points because of defensive football. We went forward and we went forward in numbers. We just played cluelessly.
Click to expand...

The point I was making is that if you read the content and not the headline of attack attack attack, thats what Pogba was saying. So its not a convenient excuse which is what you said.

Pogba is saying that we don't know how to attack teams and that its down to both tactics attitude, and some players.

Everything he said is spot on, the only real question is whether or not he should be saying it publicly. I personally don't have an issue with it only because this is now into the 3rd season and frankly something needs to be said by someone, maybe it would have been received better if it wasn't coming from Pogba, given all the fuss around him lately.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.