Under Ten Hag could Pogba have been sensational?

TheReligion

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I think it’s clear we were chasing De Jong this summer to be our deep lying playmaker and also a player who can drive forward with the ball to create openings in the middle of the pitch.

Whilst Eriksen has settled in to the DLP role very well we currently don’t have a number 6 that can burst forward with the ball, something which I feel is a pretty good quality to have in terms of playing out of a press.

Now we all know Pogba was a physical presence in the midfield, great range of passing, good vision and the ability to drive forward. Essentially what De Jong is (although weaker defensively). What seemed to let him down was the amount of time he often took on the ball and the reluctance to do things first time, along with tactical awareness of risk taking in specific areas of play.

Could Ten Hag have coached these missing pieces in to Pogba given we have already seen some improvements to much lesser talented players in the squad?

Its all speculative of course but you can’t help but wonder given this is our first real hands on manager who is known for improving not only the team but individuals.

Casemiro-Pogba-Eriksen/Bruno would have had a bit of everything on paper.
 
No, Pogba is tremendously overrated
 
He could have been but he is injury prone player now, so not sure how he would have coped with all the injuries and intensity.
 
Takes too many touches and doesn't care for the ball enough in the deeper areas.
 
Nope. He will be injured and in Dubai after few games. And he and his agent will constantly keep fueling talks about going away, which will irk ETH and result in a falling out.
 
I think he’d be worse.

He’s rarely been a system-player, dwells way too much on the ball for that. Terrible at being press resistant. Profile-wise there’s too much attention on him too (in a bad way) - Ten Hag wouldn’t fancy all the shit Pogba has going on outside the football-field.

in almost every field it would be bad imo. Italy suits him.
 
He could have been sensational under any of our managers. He couldn’t be bothered
 
I don't think so, his body seems to have given out by now, too injury prone.
 
No. The managers weren't Pogba's problem. It was Pogba mostly
 
Pogba from 2016-2019, yes of course but after that his fitness became unreliable and started to be injury prone.
 
How's he been doing at Juve?

Stellar performances on the pitch, whilst staying out of the headlines off the pitch, I presume?
 
adexkola said:
I'd like to think players can be coached to release the ball much quicker and not dwell on it without a specific purpose.
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Exactly. I think it’s fair to say he’d of improved under Ten Hag and given his skill set I don’t think it’s unrealistic to suggest it would have all come together for him.
 
Maybe 3 years ago. Pogba is dealing with a lot of shit in his personal life, some crazy accusations and a bad injury (and has been plagued with injuries in recent years).

I would have been the sort to defend Pogba in the past but last season he was not the same player (even if it was partly attitude), it looked like he lost a bit of athleticism.
 
He might of been but we wouldn’t of found out with him probably only playing 1 game in 5 months. He’s injury prone now and probably done.
 
KeanoMagicHat said:
Maybe 3 years ago. Pogba is dealing with a lot of shit in his personal life, some crazy accusations and a bad injury (and has been plagued with injuries in recent years).

I would have been the sort to defend Pogba in the past but last season he was not the same player (even if it was partly attitude), it looked like he lost a bit of athleticism.
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Mickeza said:
No. Pogba’s injuries alone were reason enough to not resign him. ETH couldn’t have fixed that.
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I get all that but I’m asking in terms of his skill set and flaws. Could Ten Hag have worked the best out of him?

I’m not absolving Pogba of blame but simply feel he would have benefitted with Ten Hag and his coaches.
 
The younger version of Pogba probably would've done well under ten Hag but the current version is too broken down.

Pogba is probably disappointed a coach like ten Hag didn't come around at United 5 years ago but that's football.
 
Don't think so at all. Between his injuries and style of dwelling on the ball, I don't think it would work with ETH
 
TheReligion said:
I get all that but I’m asking in terms of his skill set and flaws. Could Ten Hag have worked the best out of him?

I’m not absolving Pogba of blame but simply feel he would have benefitted with Ten Hag and his coaches.
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Oh then yes definitely. He would have been given a clear structure and game plan to adhere too with principles that if broken would see him dropped. ETH is clearly a top manger and Pogba in the right system would have been a top player.
 
No, he doesn’t run enough and hangs onto the ball for too long. People say Ronaldo doesn’t suit Ten Hag style but Pogba would have been worse
 
ten Hag could turn DDG into sweeper Gk. And Pogba was sensational for France NT, so he actually has it in him.
 
As a player I have always been a pogba fan. When he's on song he's such a joy to watch. But I don't think he would have had the energy, discipline or will to play in either eriksen's role or case/mct role. Some players just aren't optimal for certain styles of play and I think Pogba requires a certain style to flourish. We would very quickly get fed up with him dwindling on the ball too long, switching off on his defensive duties etc.
 
Not for me. If anything I think ETH would have little patience for his work rate and random play, and I don't see how he improves the current lineup. He's not a more effective footballer than Eriksen.
 
TheReligion said:
I literally say this in the post. The question is could Ten Hag have coached him in this area. I think yes.
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Fair.

It feels weird to say whether EtH could've coached him in this regard or not, because he is perfectly capable of it. In patches.

I have doubts whether Pogba would ever be able to be "switched on" for an entire season, and feel like this is a big part of the reason he does well for France. Much easier to focus mentally when you know it's for 4-6 weeks.
 
It’s a good job you’re a copper because the mob are gonna come after you after this thread!
 
ziekenhuisbal-erik-ten-hag.gif
 
No he's a crock and has been for years and thank god he's Juves crock now. Had he stayed i imagine he'd have been dropped after a Brentford mauling and stank the place out until he moved in January.

He truly was a toxic drain and seemingly uncoachable to the demands of modern game - and yes a decent world cup knock out run doesn't change that (after a couple of woeful and forgotten group game showings)

29 years old and nobody has a clue where he's actually best, without pointing to spells where he was surrounded by in form, top quality players
 
Heavens no. Couldn't believe it when we finally got rid
 
TheReligion said:
You’ve not read the OP
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Yes. Agreed.

Having read it, I'd change my post to

It wouldn't work cuz it's hard to change how you play at that age. That's assuming he buys into ETH. I mean do you think he could have played like how Eriksen does for us? That progression and passing?
 
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