Official: Pogba returns to Manchester United

Been saying for a while now every time I watched pobga, he just doesn't do any actual midfielding, every time he gets praised its for everything except being a good midfielder, dribbles, screamers, ball control,etc...

That why players like kroos should be treated with more respect, instead focusing on lack of athleticism and flare, the amount of posters who wanted pogba over kroos, are now acting like they always knew his short comings is funny, this forum is in prime form .

sportsczy wrote:Banega played in a 433  with Valencia with Dani Parejo, Feghouli, Tino Costa, Jonas, Soldado, Andres Guardado, etc. around him.  All of those guys were good technically or had a lot of movement or both... and they played very close to each other.  It was a spanish style system where everyone triangulated in small areas to open passing options.

You can't possibly compare that team's set up with Mourinho's.  Come on.  Pogba had Fellaini, Lingard, Rooney and M--yan.  Lingard and M---yan were completely overmatched and Rooney was Rooney.  Fellaini tried...  but he's limited.

I agree with this. I understand the usual GL train that jumps up to hype up or call players over rated after every single match, but like Sport just pointed out there are allot of variables here. One big thing, is those players that had huge games vs Peps team (even Wilshire on the best night of his life) had managers that did homework and came in tight and allowed for said player to exploit and succeed against Peps tactical set up. It's not like Banega was running circles around Barca and the rest of Valencia wasn't helping him to be able to do that. Mourinho put players on the wings that got completely wrekt and for all the cash United spent this summer they still have a shit midfield set up, that with ought the wingers staying in tight just completely couldn't hold a proper formation. Also, I said this many times when Pogba rumors to United heated up, Pogba will work best as a CAM and a strong midfield to help him out around him. He doesn't have a strong midfield (Herrera would actually do well ahead of Fellaini imo) and he is being played in a double pivot and forced to defend more while his best attributes are going forward. That's one part Mourinho's fault and one part Utd just not having allot of great midfield options to pair around Pogba to get the best out of him. Had Pogba signed for City, I bet Pep would have Pogba looking like a demi god at the moment. For all the hating GL does around here towards Pep, Pep is a fantastic coach that can get the absolute best out of his squad.  

Really baffles me Banega was a free agent and no one really seemed to jump up to get on that. He would of been awesome in most big teams line ups (or a insanely beast bench player)

chad4401 wrote:Been saying for a while now every time I watched pobga, he just doesn't do any actual midfielding, every time he gets praised its for everything except being a good midfielder, dribbles, screamers, ball control,etc...

That why players like kroos should be treated with more respect, instead focusing on lack of athleticism and flare, the amount of posters who wanted pogba over kroos, are now acting like they always knew his short comings is funny, this forum is in prime form .

One of the best midfield trio's of all time is short, non athletic, and non flashy (Busq's is tall but slow as hell). Xavi, Iniesta, and Busq already proved you don't have to be born with Pogba's atheletisim or height to prevail, no need to bring Kroos into this. Also, it's not like Kroos is some stiff like Khedira who is slow and clumsy looking. So what gives. Pogba imo is still awesome, just in a crappy midfield with a manager that saw his mistakes after the game was already over. Pogba in the right set up and he's going to look amazing, which he is. Dude's tool set is pretty damn impressive he just can't utilize it with Fellaini and Rooney as his squad.

I mean, kneejerking after a couple games is typical GL which is why I haven't said anything.

I'll judge Pogba in the second half of the season when the United squad as a whole has settled down and the season has gotten on a bit.

Though I have to say I agree completely with Windkick here

One's a CF the other a CM in a double pivot... but yeah, let's compare goals scored.

sportsczy wrote:One's a CF the other a CM in a double pivot...  but yeah, let's compare goals scored.

According to your own stats in this thread Pogbito had 10 goals and 15 assists last year. He currently has zero of anything. Of course Higuain will outscore him but you would think a player who broke the world transfer record would at least be contributing in the assist department. Are you suggesting ManU paid €105M for Pogbito to be a "Stopper"?

juve_gigi wrote:

Gigi, take a hard, good look at yourself and this post of yours.

And then, please, never post something like this again. It's stupid, embarrassing, makes you look like a complete clown and gets on everybody's nerves.
Not to mention the waste of @lucifer 's bandwidth

chad4401 wrote:Been saying for a while now every time I watched pobga, he just doesn't do any actual midfielding, every time he gets praised its for everything except being a good midfielder, dribbles, screamers, ball control,etc...

That why players like kroos should be treated with more respect, instead focusing on lack of athleticism and flare, the amount of posters who wanted pogba over kroos, are now acting like they always knew his short comings is funny, this forum is in prime form .  

To be fair he was shite against City, and this is a major flaw in his game: on important days he switches off. However, at Juve, he was a very complete player and i believe it's only a matter of time before he starts performing with United. Red Devils fans will love him.

Passing: he is a double menace. Obviously a defender has to worry for a long shot, but Pogba is also a threat with his incisive passing and great vision of play.

Defending: not the hardest tackler, but he excels at recovering free balls

Positionning: more often than not at the right place in the right time


I always saw Pogba as a CM who has the physique of a DM and the playing style of an AM. He is famous for his typical long runs from the midfield, but at Juve he did much more than that. Was our spark of fantasy and very good counterpart for quality midfielders like Marchisio, Pirlo and Vidal (from whom you always know what to expect)

That's the opposite of how I saw him...  he was great against Napoli and Roma.  Was also one of the best players against the likes of Barcelona and Bayern.

The issue he had against City is that Mourinho made absolutely no adjustments until Pogba was worn out in the second half.  Remember that he only came back from vacation 5 games ago (that includes 2 NT games).  So physically, he's not at 100%

The gap between the 2 CMs and the defense/offense were so large that, when Pogba broke through, there were no options.  It allowed time for City players to foul him or recover.  He ended up defending 70% of the time.  By the time Mourinho adjusted in the 2nd half, Pogba was almost running on empty.

None of the France NT players are ready at this point tbh.  It's typical of NT players that go through a long tournament in the summer.  Remember how German and Argentinian players were to start to the season after the 2014 WC?  That's how French and Portuguese players are right now.  They won't be ready for a while.

It's always like this.

But his second agent, Sportsczy, kept saying all summer long that Pogba was a B2B midfielder! Doesn't a B2B play along side 1 or 2 CMs?

This guy is notorious for selling the talents of his french counterparts and when things don't work out as he so boldly pronounces, he has a thousand excuses why things haven't gone as advertised, usually being the teammates at fault and not the phenom being less than advertised.

There are a lot of negatives from the City game but lets remember:
-He came off a full season with Juventus and went all the way to the final with France in the Euro, after that he decided to *bleep* off on vacation for weeks and signed for United just days before the season started.
-This game was just after an international break where again, he traveled and played with France.
-He played in a double pivot alongside Fellaini and got completely overran in the midfield. Most big teams play with three in the middle for a reason and with Juventus, we even sometimes played with 4 (against Barcelona, we fielded Pogba, Vidal, Marchisio and Pirlo at once).

I'm not really surprised with Pogba's performance against City, I'm more surprised at the backlash, but the price tag will do that I suppose. He isn't one to disappear in big games but I believe it is more the circumstances, rather than his quality, that showed him as a lesser player on the weekend. I believe United still has to make one more midfield signing to be more of a complete team. And, as previously stated by numerous posters here and beyond, a double pivot involving Pogba doesn't emphasize his abilities.

If anyone is to blame, I would look more at Mourinho, he got bodied at home by an Aguero-less City.

Oh, that's for sure. He is not 100% ready and there is no doubt about this

Man Utd is a brand new team this season, it takes time to acquire the automatic reflexes when you don't know your teammates. Also, he will have more responsabilities from now on. Pogba is United's main man in the midfield and has to carry dead wood like Fellaini. At Juve, the number 1 midfielder is Marchisio and Pogba was part of the entourage.

For all of these reasons i believe Pogba will struggle for the first weeks/months, but will start performing after a while. It's unthinkable that he'll be a flop, this guy is pure talent.

@Bill...  so now you're stalking me?  I guess Chad, Nick and others aren't posting enough.  You had to find a new target. Not enough originality in that aging coconut of yours.

On important days, Pogba seldom was our best player... until last season of course, when we were so deep behind in Serie A that every match was crucial. Then Polpo was EXCELLENT.

juve_gigi wrote:

Posts like these only work on Troll Football, not here.

sportsczy wrote:@Bill...  so now you're stalking me?  I guess Chad, Nick and others aren't posting enough.  You had to find a new target. Not enough originality in that aging coconut of yours.

That's the best comeback you have? I'm just calling you out when your ridiculous stories related to corruption, internal discontent or your french agenda, are seen for what they are (utter BS).

He's been good so far. Understandably he's under the microscope and scrutinized more than a normal player, so any rare misplaced pass, poor touch or a match where he struggles in, people will label him 'flop' 'average', etc- despite it being his 3rd game in the league.

He's a beast. He will be on his way to becoming the best mf in the world. I'm happy he's with us, and I'm happy with his performances so far.

Dab on young king

Love the way on monday Night football that clueless clown Phil Neville was saying Rooney has to play. Utter moron. Carragher called him out at least.

Mou should either play a 433 and bench rooney or just bench Pogba. There's no point buying a super car and driving it in 30 mph speed limit area.

jibers wrote:Love the way on monday Night football that clueless clown Phil Neville was saying Rooney has to play. Utter moron. Carragher called him out at least.

Mou should either play a 433 and bench rooney or just bench Pogba. There's no point buying a super car and driving it in 30 mph speed limit area.

Hapless_Hans wrote:

juve_gigi wrote:

Gigi, take a hard, good look at yourself and this post of yours.

And then, please, never post something like this again. It's stupid, embarrassing, makes you look like a complete clown and gets on everybody's nerves.
Not to mention the waste of @lucifer 's bandwidth

Although the picture seemed quite funny at the time I posted it and I was in a fine mood (was ready to go out on a date with a hottie), I do see your point and I apologize to the entire GL family and my ManU brothers for such a distasteful post.

However, what I feel most badly about is wasting Lucifer's bandwidth on it, so Lucifer I do apologize for that and just send me the bill for your overage costs...

On a side note, once PSG drops out of the CL and I win my bet against you, that avatar you are going to have to display for two weeks will be GL Hall of Fame worthy...

Am good mate. just came to know the old age home in the neighborhood has free Wi-Fi, and those feckers think am a sensitive and caring bloke who loves to spend time with old folks.

Lucifer wrote:Am good mate. just came to know the old age home in the neighborhood has free Wi-Fi, and those feckers think am a sensitive and caring bloke who loves to spend time with old folks.

Stealing Wi-Fi from an old age home...

So I can post as many memes as I want now without worry of my main man Lucifer, cool...

*bleep* hell, another tragic performance by Pogvine. Needs to fix up ASAP.

What kind of midfielder is he anyway. He has size, but no defensive awareness.

Does he want to be a 10?

Needs to be doing a hell of a lot more. Disappointing performance from him, in his "favoured position".