17 Feb 2021 18:24:26
Good debate on pogba below.
Is he talented? Hell yeah.
The fact remains that like the vast majority of players of his undoubted ability they are only truey effective if they are playing a system and with players and in a league that compliments them.
Pogba and martial wool both excel elsewhere i feel. But tyke way we play and played under Jose just doesn't suit them.
Pogba is not bad at football. He is unhappy and is playing a role and with players that doesn't get the best from him.

1.) 17 Feb 2021
17 Feb 2021 19:13:48
Pogba functions best when with players of a similar ability. We bought him as a leader to raise the team up to his level, but that has never been his strength.

Moving on from the Pogba debate, Bruno, still our most influential player but has been out of form since Christmas. To me he looks shattered, I think Ole has become over reliant on him and he needs a break. Would you dare resting him for 2-3 games or just struggle through to the end of the season?

2.) 17 Feb 2021
17 Feb 2021 20:20:47
Not sure grim i'd be tempted to keep playing him. Obviously if there is a dead tie or a game is well won i'd rest. But no I think he should play every week when fit and available. League Cup easy fa Cup ties and as I siad above dead European games aside.
There may be occasions you might rest him if prioritising the match following. But the best players in the world play nearly every game.

3.) 17 Feb 2021
17 Feb 2021 21:00:48
I would be tempted as well to play him as much as wants, I just worry about burn out. The best players in the world play every week, but do they carry the their teams as much as Bruno carries United, that must be a massive strain on him.

4.) 17 Feb 2021
17 Feb 2021 21:45:20
Pogba is a good player, capable of moments of world class play.

What he lacks is the desire to do the dirty work, preferring to play passed for YouTube highlight reels.

He is without a shadow of a doubt one of if not our most talented player.

Of course we miss him when he doesn't play. He either needs to be the third man in midfield in a similar set up to what he had at Juventus with a playmaker sitting deep and an all action ball winner (Pirlo and Vidal) . Meaning he is free to carry the ball forward and pop up in pockets of space to either isolate players and dribble past them of fashion a shooting chance for himself. He need to be free to find that space BOTH vertically and horizontally across a pitch.

The other option is to play him in a double pivot with a world class defensive player like Kante and have some of the best defenders in the world behind him like he has for France.

Unfortunately at United he suffers from having no one who can progress the ball from deep to give him that freedom in midfield, while his lack of defensive work leaves our poor defence wide open at times.

That coupled with fans expectation that he can do everything all at once all of the time mean he will always be judged to a higher level than other players.

From all the reports he works hard in training, and is a good character to have in the squad.

It's a shame the he doesn't want to be at United, while United are unable to provide him with the platform to be as successful as he could be.

It's just one of those situations where a talented player and a top club are just a bad match for eachother.

Let him move on, he will likely be a success wherever he goes and we need to look to reinvest in another player.

5.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 00:16:35
world class players do not need other players to make them look better. they just get on with it. pogba will never be in that class. average at best.

6.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 00:47:51
Spot on Gaz. It's nonsense to say what a great player Pogba is but then qualify it by saying he can only be great in a couple of specialised circumstances.

He was pretty decent for Utd the last games before he was injured and that was because he seemed bothered to put a bit of effort in for a change.

He has shown that he can be a good player when he wants but most of the time he doesn't want to because he is too lazy. Ergo he is mainly crap.

7.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 07:48:15
Nail on head MancMan. He divides opinion because he’s talented yet lazy. People look for different things in players. Some want to see a no look pass, others want to see effort.

8.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 08:22:15
Wazxa, I want to see effectiveness and Pogba is mainly an ineffective player. It doesn't matter why he is ineffective, whether it's lack of talent, lack of effort, wrong mentality, can only play on a Tuesday under a full moon and if its not raining; it's all noise.

All that maters is whether a player can do the business or not and Pogba has demonstrated quite clearly over 5 years that in the main, for whatever reason he isn't up to it.

Shappy can make all the excuses he likes but at the end of the day Pogba has not delivered for Man Utd.

The problem is he looks like he should be a great footballer. The way he looks and the way he is marketed flatter to deceive and so people get seduced by the 'idea' of Paul Pogba as a excellent footballer.

But that's all it is, an idea, a concept, part of a brand. The reality, as we have all seen is quite different.

9.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 10:21:00
He's been ineffective in scoring 33 goals and getting 31 assists mostly from a deeper midfield position in 5 years of which he has spent over a year on the side lines injured.

While you could easily argue that he would have had many more assists had the players he has played with not missed so many chances.

While he might not stick his foot in or bust a gut tracking back, from a creative point of view he has been successful on the whole.

10.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 10:35:57
I don't get this whole Pogba being a great player debate, how can you be a great player when you have been absolutely sh*t for the last 4-5 seasons, it's ridiculous and embarrassing.

11.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 12:12:52
Shappy, let me just get this straight. You are saying Man Utd's "most talented player" (your words) is a midfielder who won't tackle, can't be bothered tracking back and contributes on average 6-7 goals and 6 assists per season?

And on top of that, according to you it's not his fault because "he suffers from having no one who can progress the ball", "he is judged to a higher level than other players" and "United are unable to provide him with the platform to be as successful as he could be".

Shappy, you have outdone yourself with this claptrap.

12.) 18 Feb 2021
18 Feb 2021 13:50:38
Shappy, Pogba hasn't played "mostly from a deeper midfield". Don't let a few games this season fool you.

He played most games off Zlatan before his "injury" and has most recently playing on the left meaning Rashford has moved to the right.

Saying he's have more assists if other players scored from his passes is just making excuses. That works for every player.

How can he be successful from an attacking point of view after 18 months without a goal at OT?

He's scored 29 Premier League goals in over 4.5 seasons. 7 of which were penalties (and he missed 4). Less than 5 goals per season excluding penalties is a paltry return.

13.) 19 Feb 2021
19 Feb 2021 07:06:33
Wazza, Pogba has mostly played as one of the double pivot in a 4231 shape. With the exception of the games when Ole was caretaker manager in which he played on the left of the midfield 3 in a 433 shape.

Mourinho never played him as a no.10, he tried in a few games and it didn't work. While since Ole was made permanent manager he mostly played Pogba in the pivot as well.

Which by the way is no excuse for Pogba, he plays the same role for France to good effect. The difference is for France he has far superior defenders behind.

14.) 19 Feb 2021
19 Feb 2021 09:03:46
Shappy, so in addition to all his other limitations Utd's most talented player cannot play as a 10 either and he is only effective when he plays with a good defence?

Honestly, it does my head in. Pogba can ponce around Utd's midfield for years on mega money contributing little and in many ways be a hinderance. Then rather than recognise what a lazy waste of space he is people continue to defend and make excuses for him.

In fact Shappy, during this thread you have just described what sounds like a really crap and limited player and then tried to argue he is just a misunderstood talent. Amazing!