We will never win the league with Paul Pogba in the team

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MuranoLover said:
Well it is high time people start really thinking about what I was writing about him in his performance thread - Pogba is an expensive football dancing act
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Dabbing Mulumbu etc etc. Get a grip.
 
There’s 11 players on a team. It’s absolute nonsense to say that we will never win the league because of one player.

Pogba will be fine under the right system. He might never live up to being at one point the world's most expensive player, but he's a top class, complete midfielder all the same.
 
Raees said:
What are you on about. At Euro 2016 he was not very good at all in the CM role. He looked out of place and was just shoehorned there so they could get Griezmann in which is what would have happened to Pogba if we sign a player like that or Dybala. He looked very hesitant in that role and only got away with it because France were just that good a side and can obviously keep the ball a lot better than a United side. Frankly Scholes was right and he's never going to be an elite level CM imo and we need to quit this experiment and focus on his attacking abilities otherwise he will become an albatross in the big games.
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Absolutely spot on. I can only remember one true excellent performance by Pogba as a CM in midfield 2 for France, it was versus Holland in the qualifiers.
 
Pogba is your best player. :lol:

The berating of certain players is just comical on here. :D
 
In a 2 man midfield I agree. He isn't disciplined enough. In a 3 man midfield closer to the opponent's goal....He is world class
 
K2K said:
He was disciplined enough to play in unfamiliar role. That was the point I was making.

Keep up.
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He wasn't though. He was poor positionally and got away with it due to the quality of his team mates. He was a weak link .. Pogba should not be the weak link of any side which shows how ill a fit he is for that position.
 
midnightmare said:
How about playing a 3 man midfield which, you know, plays him in his best and most preferred position? The one which got him to CL final, Serie A titles etc? Seriously, yesterday was an anomaly in that our plan was derailed in 11 seconds.

For anyone saying we shouldn’t have to tweak for great players, go back to see how Fergie used to swap Rooney to the LW spot and move Ronaldo central for big games to ensure he covered Ronaldo’s weaknesses when defending. It’s bizarre how people just can’t view a player’s performance in the right context!
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Disagree that yest was an anomaly I think a big performance vs a top team would be one
 
Robbie Boy said:
He's not a problem per-se, but he seems to get afforded a-lot more patience than Pogba, who regularly gets absolutely berated. Matic was fecking shocking yesterday and yet there's barely a word said about it. There is a clear agenda against Pogba from some, it's blatantly obvious.
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Yea but ask yourself why is Matic shocking recently? Whose the one who actually has to fill in the role of the midfielder whilst the other goes walkabout. Lack of depth on bench is also killing Matic. He needs to be rested and have a proper midfielder next to him or two.
 
We will never win the league with Pogba in the team and Jose as manager.

Yeah it’s annoying as hell that such an expensive and allegedly world class player isn’t more adaptable. He’s not suddenly going to be great in a midfield 2 by wishing hard enough though; and not just against decent opposition.

Pogba is what he is, and needs to be accommodated accordingly.
 
Raees said:
Yea but ask yourself why is Matic shocking recently? Whose the one who actually has to fill in the role of the midfielder whilst the other goes walkabout. Lack of depth on bench is also killing Matic. He needs to be rested and have a proper midfielder next to him or two.
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There's obviously mitigating factors for Matic's form, but I still don't see why he generally gets a free pass whereas Pogba gets slated. I agree that we need backup / rotation for Matic, that's an absolute must in the summer. We should have gone with a three man midfield last night, we didn't and Matic and Pogba had stinkers. While Pogba was shite, it's not like he made Matic constantly give the ball away in dangerous areas or look like a geriatric.
 
RW2 said:
When you've seen world class like Keane & Scholes you're spoilt.

Then you compare it to what Pogba gives. . . and it's next to nothing as Pogba wouldn't be good enough to lace their boots.

There was a reason why Fergie sold him in the first place.
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Fergie never sold him. Fergie wanted to keep him actually.

Raees said:
Yea but ask yourself why is Matic shocking recently? Whose the one who actually has to fill in the role of the midfielder whilst the other goes walkabout. Lack of depth on bench is also killing Matic. He needs to be rested and have a proper midfielder next to him or two.
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Part of the reason why Matic is doing bad is due to his passing as well. So you can't just blame Pogba for Matic's struggles.
 
Tinfoil hat time:

Rightly or wrongly, the Caf seems to think itself and its views to be superior to those of match going fans. I’d hazard a guess that the latter would take a lot less issue with the OP than people on here have.
 
Robbie Boy said:
There's obviously mitigating factors for Matic's form, but I still don't see why he generally gets a free pass whereas Pogba gets slated. I agree that we need backup / rotation for Matic, that's an absolute must in the summer. We should have gone with a three man midfield last night, we didn't and Matic and Pogba had stinkers. While Pogba was shite, it's not like he made Matic constantly give the ball away in dangerous areas or look like a geriatric.
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Thing is Matic is geriatric and by having such a clueless midfielder like Pogba alongside him it completely tires him out and affects his ability to keep the ball as well. Pogba doesn't make himself available for a pass constantly which also affects his ability to keep the ball as well.. it's like Busquets passing isn't as good since Xavi retired because the easy pass out isn't there for him. So yes Pogba does actually affect Matic negatively whereas Matic does not negatively affect Pogba.

Matic needed resting months ago. We're going to overuse him like we did Carrick. He needs to be protected.
 
Can't agree @noodlehair. He makes a lot of mistakes and has errors in his game, mostly consisting of decision making in the final third. His problem last night was that he was overrun in the centre. Matic didn't have a great game either, and if you're going to spend the first 45mins with Pogba floating on the right, you need someone else compensating for it.

Pogba is world class. He isn't the problem.


Last night was one of those games. When you concede that early, sometimes you know the game is fecked. Then a Phil Jones OG. Massive momentum shifts based off of stupid mistakes, not Pogba's fault.
 
Robbie Boy said:
There's obviously mitigating factors for Matic's form, but I still don't see why he generally gets a free pass whereas Pogba gets slated. I agree that we need backup / rotation for Matic, that's an absolute must in the summer. We should have gone with a three man midfield last night, we didn't and Matic and Pogba had stinkers. While Pogba was shite, it's not like he made Matic constantly give the ball away in dangerous areas or look like a geriatric.
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Matic was attrocious considering he's more of a specialist in a deeper position. His passing was shocking no question but what was even worse was that he was getting dribbled past by players like he wasn't even there. Alli jogged past him in the second half from the Spurs inside right position which could've resulted in a goal quite easily. In midfield he was completely invisible.
 
I thought Pogba's attitude was poor last night to be honest. Even when he's played out of position and asked to do legwork that isn't in his or the team's best interest I expect more running and less strolling.

Having said that how the OP can claim playing him further forward with less defensive duties and two deeper midfielders behind him wouldn't improve his output is strange, given we've seen it improve him in matches this season.
 
Sorry can’t agree with this OP.

You have to build teams around your best attacking players, not hobble them. Pogba needs to play further forward. He needs protection behind and quality attacking options ahead of him. Swap Lukaku for a more destructive midfielder and we have a good side with good options up front. Martial Rashford Lingard and Sanchez can all finish.
 
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noodlehair said:
No one wants to say it because he has ability and cost a shite load of money, but it's more true than the thread saying the same about Lukaku.

Pogba is a playground footballer. Turns up to show off in games where the opposition are poor enough to allow us the luxury of him doing so. As soon as the team need him however, you can forget it.

He is more interested in inventing silly handshake routines, showing off, and wanting people to look at his hair, than he ever will be in working hard to help his team win a game.

He has the selfishness of a Gerrard or a Ronaldo but without any of the desire, determination, or basic maturity to go with it, and he's 24 years old. It is unlikely at this point he will ever grow up, and that means he will never be more than a liability in any game where it is important for him to put in work for the benefit of the team.

The idea some people have of playing him further forward because he doesn't work hard enough to play in central midfield is a nonsense...as if playing him in another position somehow makes it less important that he works hard. In a succesful team, every player works harder than Paul Pogba ever does.

The fact is that he is on a pedestal as United's best player, but when you look at City (i.e. the team top of the league), if Paul Pogba played for them in the same way he does for United, he would be told to either grow up or feck off. He wouldn't get close to getting a game for them unless he had a serious change of attitude. At United he seems to go completely unchecked for it because he can showboat around onceor twice every ten games, against the likes of Stoke.
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You are ridiculous.
 
Robbie Boy said:
There's obviously mitigating factors for Matic's form, but I still don't see why he generally gets a free pass whereas Pogba gets slated. I agree that we need backup / rotation for Matic, that's an absolute must in the summer. We should have gone with a three man midfield last night, we didn't and Matic and Pogba had stinkers. While Pogba was shite, it's not like he made Matic constantly give the ball away in dangerous areas or look like a geriatric.
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If you’re desperate to rag on Matic have a look at his performance thread. Relentless criticism. You’ll love it. This thread is about Pogba, though, and if you’re genuinely confused about why fans might expect a lot more from him than they do from Matic well, god help you.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
If you’re desperate to rag on Matic have a look at his performance thread. Relentless criticism. You’ll love it. This thread is about Pogba, though, and if you’re genuinely confused about why fans might expect a lot more from him than they do from Matic well, god help you.
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Nah, if you look at that thread you'll see I gave him plenty of credit where due. He's been poor for a-while now, though. Point is, everyone is ever so vocal about Pogba on a constant basis and compared to the shit Pogba gets, he gets a very easy ride. Then again, I don't hate Pogba like some seem to, so I can't get all emotional and upset after a poor showing last night. The anti-Pogba agenda from some is absolutely hilarious and so, so evident.

I actually like both of them and think both play far better with a third midfielder in there. Unfortunately our options in that department are fairly slim and Mourinho seems to prefer 4 up-top, as opposed to 3 in the middle.
 
noodlehair said:
No one wants to say it because he has ability and cost a shite load of money, but it's more true than the thread saying the same about Lukaku.

Pogba is a playground footballer. Turns up to show off in games where the opposition are poor enough to allow us the luxury of him doing so. As soon as the team need him however, you can forget it.

He is more interested in inventing silly handshake routines, showing off, and wanting people to look at his hair, than he ever will be in working hard to help his team win a game.

He has the selfishness of a Gerrard or a Ronaldo but without any of the desire, determination, or basic maturity to go with it, and he's 24 years old. It is unlikely at this point he will ever grow up, and that means he will never be more than a liability in any game where it is important for him to put in work for the benefit of the team.

The idea some people have of playing him further forward because he doesn't work hard enough to play in central midfield is a nonsense...as if playing him in another position somehow makes it less important that he works hard. In a succesful team, every player works harder than Paul Pogba ever does.

The fact is that he is on a pedestal as United's best player, but when you look at City (i.e. the team top of the league), if Paul Pogba played for them in the same way he does for United, he would be told to either grow up or feck off. He wouldn't get close to getting a game for them unless he had a serious change of attitude. At United he seems to go completely unchecked for it because he can showboat around onceor twice every ten games, against the likes of Stoke.
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Rom post, now this......you smoking the same crack as the other guy?
 
Pogue Mahone said:
If you’re desperate to rag on Matic have a look at his performance thread. Relentless criticism. You’ll love it. This thread is about Pogba, though, and if you’re genuinely confused about why fans might expect a lot more from him than they do from Matic well, god help you.
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Indeed. I believe it’s called Whataboutism. Rooney defenders used it a lot.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
The idea that he’s guaranteed to play well in a 3 is errant nonsense. He’s quite capable of playing badly in that formation as well. And did so on multiple occasions last season.
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At 24 years of age I guess he's at that point where he's still not quite there yet in terms of consistency. I think next season will be the year he takes over with a Seri or a Jorginho next to him controlling tempo.
 
Robbie Boy said:
Nah, if you look at that thread you'll see I gave him plenty of credit where due. He's been poor for a-while now, though. Point is, everyone is ever so vocal about Pogba on a constant basis and compared to the shit Pogba gets, he gets a very easy ride. Then again, I don't hate Pogba like some seem to, so I can't get all emotional and upset after a poor showing last night. The anti-Pogba agenda from some is absolutely hilarious and so, so evident.

I actually like both of them and think both play far better with a third midfielder in there. Unfortunately our options in that department are fairly slim and Mourinho seems to prefer 4 up-top, as opposed to 3 in the middle.
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I’m not accusing you of having an agenda against Matic. I’m just saying that he is getting heavily criticised for last night’s display. Deservedly so IMO. His form has been poor for most of the winter months. Miles below what we saw in August/September/October.

Pogba’s a player held to completely different standards for a reason, though. He’s supposed to be a world class superstar. With a transfer fee, image and wages to match. Stands to reason he’ll get talked about more often than Matic and criticised more harshly when he plays badly. That’ll just the way it is for a player with his profile. There’s nothing unfair or inconsistent about it.
 
Champagne Football said:
At 24 years of age I guess he's at that point where he's still not quite there yet in terms of consistency. I think next season will be the year he takes over with a Seri or a Jorginho next to him controlling tempo.
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That’s what I’m hoping too. That he’s a weird combination of being a teenage prodigy and a late developer. Which sounds bizarre but you can put almost all of his flaws down to a lack of maturity, despite the fact he’s been one of Europe’s best midfielders since a very young age.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I’m not accusing you of having an agenda against Matic. I’m just saying that he is getting heavily criticised for last night’s display. Deservedly so IMO. His form has been poor for most of the winter months. Miles below what we saw in August/September/October.

Pogba’s a player held to completely different standards for a reason, though. He’s supposed to be a world class superstar. With a transfer fee, image and wages to match. Stands to reason he’ll get talked about more often than Matic and criticised more harshly when he plays badly. That’ll just the way it is for a player with his profile. There’s nothing unfair or inconsistent about it.
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I just had a quick gander at the Matic thread and I had posted nothing from September until December when I praised a performance of his. Then from the back end of December onwards, I have criticised him a-few times. I do feel that up until last night, a-lot of his poor performances were completely ignored. I also feel, there's a core group of anti-Pogba posters on here that pollute the place with drivel.

Both Matic and Pogba were terrible last night. I mean, not just poor, but utterly hopeless and both were mere spectators. I have zero issue with Pogba being criticised and I've actually stayed out of his performance thread after last night. What I don't like is the totally OTT, sensationalised threads about him such as this and the 'elephant in the room' horror-show of a thread.

I can completely accept why everyone expects more from Pogba than they do of Matic, but ffs, some of the drama about Pogba gets completely overdone on here. I actually just realised there's a similar thread for Lukaku after last night, seriously :lol:. There's critique and there's blatant agenda driven bias.
 
NFM said:
Correct. I understand why people want him to succeed. He is an old boy coming home, he plays with great skill when the opposition let him, he is 'cool', he is well known etc etc. He also cost a lot of money to be 'the difference' in big matches. But in big matches he disappears. He was completely outplayed by Dembele and this is a recurring theme. When he is put under pressure by good players, he is just not capable of raising his game, he looks fragile, eventually he disappears from the match. Against Spurs it eventually was like playing with 9 men, both our 'wonderful' French stars did their usual trick of disappearing.
Of course some of United's players are not as talented or as physically endowed as Pogba, but the game on the grass ( as opposed to X-box) is much much more than just who is 'more talented'. As with most sports at the elite end, the major factor lies between the ears. And sadly Pogba has not got it there. When times get tough, he does anything but get going. His has the mental strength of an immature teenager.
If Madrid would be persuaded to match Barca's price for Coutinho, Unied should grab their hands off, and invest in two mature CMs. Same with Martial for enough to buy a decent right winger.
The two FB positions need sorting, but getting the CMs and RW corrected is far more important at this stage.
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Ridiculous post in a ridiculous thread.
 
Bobski said:
Pogba and Sanchez both want a free role with minimal defensive responsibility. The problem for Pogba is that Sanchez will give 25 goals a season with that freedom, and Pogba will not. Can't have both just doing as they wish so Pogba is going to have mature and accept that at times you have to sacrifice for the good of the team.
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I totally disagree because you need to play a midfield with a fluid front 3. That's what France would do this world cup and you'd be see the difference.
 
You got it all wrong, it's Sanchez.

He's never won the EPL and the moment he joins our defense becomes Arsenal like and we lose. He's cursed.
 
This is one of the most absurd thread titles I've ever seen here. Well done OP.

Pogba is one of the best CMs in the world, we just need to play him in a system that highlights his ability. Admittedly he should have tried harder defensively last night, and that's on him, but you don't buy a striker and moan that he's not a good goalkeeper. We knew his strengths and weaknesses before buying him, so why did we buy him to play him in a way he's not that good at?
 
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