06 Oct 2020 03:06:32
There seems to be a lot of dis-satisfaction over the signing of VDB as he is probably not needed right now according to many. I do think we need reinforcements in other positions as a priority as well however VDB is a quality player who will provide cover in multiple positions and a great option off the bench. The other thing is his price point which was a steal for a player of his qualities.

The bigger picture however might be that the club is probably planning to sell Pogba in the near future and VDB is part of that change. What do you think?

1.) 06 Oct 2020
06 Oct 2020 06:56:01
Last window we can sell Pogba is in January.
His contract is up next summer and if we use the clause to extend it another year we can‘t „profiteer“ as Ed002 said.
So I guess the ship sailed on selling Pogba.
I have no clue why it was decided to keep Pogba on.
He will cost us close to 100 million pounds for these two years, if you add missed transfer fee and wages up.

2.) 06 Oct 2020
06 Oct 2020 07:01:43
I don't get this 'he will be a great option off the bench', the way pogba is playing surely he deserves to be starting but our coaches seem to think pogba is immune from being dropped, I couldn't believe it when Bruno was subbed off instead of him, that said everything to me.

3.) 06 Oct 2020
06 Oct 2020 07:22:04
You have to look at where Pogba is being played by the manager, it is as a deep lying midfield player. This is utter nonsense, maybe the manager would have put Sancho in defence after all. Pogba needs to be further forward, but only Ole knows why he is playing him totally out of position, meaning teams have a clear run at our defence. How many times have I written on here that playing Pogba deep is a tactical blooper of the highest order.

4.) 06 Oct 2020
06 Oct 2020 09:18:58
Completely agree Red Man. I’ve said it a few times too but it makes zero sense to play Pogba there. It’s okay to play with two attacking midfielders if you’re keeping a lot of possession and have set patterns of play.

Even then it is very risky. Just look at City. If you don’t get it right it can really hurt you. Right now, Pogba is playing far too deep and is hindering us rather than helping us. Does Bruno have the qualities to play deeper and be more box to box? I’m not so sure.

Looking at VdB, his qualities like Bruno and Pogba seem best when he’s in and around the box. Matic doesn’t have the legs but is still our best DM and because of that I think he needs someone with legs around him to win the ball.

I would consider playing a diamond and splitting the two strikers. Greenwood will put a lot of pressure on the front two to perform and hopefully Cavani can too once fit.

5.) 06 Oct 2020
06 Oct 2020 10:00:43
Completely agree Red Man, Pogba just doesn't perform his core function in that role.

Mourinho also favoured a 4-2-3-1 but soon realised Pogba couldn't be relied upon as one of the holding midfielders. People called Jose negative and criticised him for not letting Pogba play with more freedom but the truth is Pogba will not follow instructions and is not disciplined enough to play in that role on a consistent basis. I thought Ole understood this and when he first arrived he played Pogba further forward and used him as our attacking fulcrum and principle creative force. Fernandes now occupies that position so he's pushed Pogba deeper just to get him in the side. When the team is fully fit and playing with confidence you can get away with it against some of the lower placed sides but the better teams will exploit his lack of positional discipline and he takes chances on the ball around his own penalty area. I don't want Pogba on the ball anywhere near our own box. Get him the ball in the final third and keep him away from defensive situations. In my opinion he should be used in a attacking role similar to how Villa use Grealish. He needs to play in that left hand channel and be given the ball in the final third. He's actually a very good dribbler, his size and strength mean he's difficult to push off the ball and he'd reek havoc further forward in my opinion.

I actually think Pogba, Fernandes and VdB could play in those three positions behind the striker where they could all interchange positions as a fluid, dynamic trio with VdB making intelligent runs pulling defenders out of position and ghosting into the box. I think we saw an example of this against Brighton in the League Cup although Mata was on the pitch instead of Fernandes. I think we saw the potential of Pogba playing further forward and linking with VdB. That would allow Ole to use two more destructive, positionally disciplined players behind them giving more protection to the defence!

Our best football in that game was played during a short spell when Rashford and Pogba came on and we had Pogba, VdB and Mata behind Rashford upfront with Fred and Matic as the double pivot. I appreciate it was only a short period but it was the highlight of an otherwise drab and uneventful game and we actually played with some authority and invention during that period. Mata also scored a beautiful goal team goal.

Ole does have a lot of decent options at his disposal he just needs to find a way of getting the most out of his best players.