02 Feb 2022 09:49:49
Paul Pogba has been an emotive subject on this forum for a number of years. As his second spell with the Club draws to a end perhaps for the last time we can debate his value to the team.

Despite his inconsistency and the incessant links to other Clubs he probably remains our most talented player and biggest star.

I have no doubt Rangnick will integrate him into the team following his return from injury but he will undoubtedly face the same dilemma as his predecessors; Just how to get the best out of Paul Pogba?!

In Rangnick's 4-3-3 system logic would dictate he slots into a three man midfield probably in his favoured No8 position alongside Bruno and a DM. However with the team looking less than secure defensively and without a specialised DM can this really work?! I think many supporters, myself included have been desperate to see Pogba line up in a three man midfield on a consistent basis. With the acquisition of Bruno the prospect of them operating as two No8's looks a month watering prospect, certainly on paper anyway. Whilst we obviously lack a specialised DM to really wet the appetite we are not pushing for the title. We are not expecting perfection but surely we are capable of playing some decent football and dominating some football matches for a change.

Of course Rangnick may decide Pogba and Bruno are just not defensively compatible. He could conceivably be moved to the LW but perhaps we might just get a glimpse of what could have been in the final few months of the season.

This may seem unsavoury to admit in the light of recent events but I'm
somewhat excited by a more streamlined squad and the prospect of seeing Pogba and Bruno potentially operate in a three man midfield as two No8's.

I also like the prospect of a front 3 of Ronaldo, Rashford and Sancho.

Whether Rangnick is brave enough remains to be seen but despite all the negativity we can still name of lineup including the likes of De Gea, Varane, Pogba, Bruno, Rashford, Sancho and Ronaldo. Not bad, on paper anyway.

1.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 10:14:00
Good post DLIB but i can't even be bothered discussing Paul Pogba anymore. I just want him and his circus out of the club.
Enough is enough!

2.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 10:45:31
Ha ha ha ha ha I can relate to that Sim we have been here many times before mate! I’d just like to see him in a midfield 3 playing as a No8 next to Bruno before he leaves!

3.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 11:59:09
I think having two "free" 8's only works when they are hard working and defensively diligent, or when you are going to dominate the game with 60%+ possession.

I'm not sure even with a top class CDM (which we haven't got) that having Pogba and Bruno as No.8's is viable. Certainly not from a defensive view point.

Both Pogba and Bruno do their best work when they aren't given much of a defensive burden and they can focus on finding pockets of space to receive the ball and play it forward.

I see trying to fit them into a side as a similar issue as England had trying to crowbar both Lampard and Gerrard into the national side. Similar players who want to play in the same area of the pitch doing the same role.

It imbalances the side and stops either from playing to their full potential.

4.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 11:59:43
According to reports today the club are asking pogba, DVB and martial to delay decisions on their futures until the summer. Why are we allowing pogba to decide his own fate? Embarrassing! No wonder the clubs a mess, the players have all the power.

5.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 12:02:56
Pogrubbish is the most overated player we have had ever!

Hes approaching 29 and done absolute nothing to ever be considered a world class player.

Darren gibson did more ?

Be glad when the soap opera of pogba has ended.

6.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 13:08:55
I dunno Bolger.
Pogba can be brilliant 'on his day' - I know it's an overused expression but he's had a very few of those with us. 4 assists in one game not so long ago, pre-injury.
Alexi Sanchez however. absolutely abysmal for us. And I love the guy, thought he was one of the best in the league up until he joined us. I can't remember him doing a single thing except missing a penalty.

7.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 13:11:55
He is injury prone too. I wouldn't count on him.

8.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 13:17:34
Pogba is a Rolls Royce of a player. Glides around, looks amazing and in highlights is awesome. Sadly in reality, completely impractical and expensive.

I quite like Pogba truth be told - he’s just in the wrong team and league.

9.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 13:17:48
Shappy - I don’t think there is any doubt Rangnick is going to use Pogba once he returns from injury. That being the case where does he play and in your opinion what’s our best 11 and formation!

10.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 14:08:16
DLIB, therein lies the problem, the issue every United manager has had since Sir Alex.

The issue of trying to fit all of the "best" players on the pitch at the same time.

With a squad made up of players from 5 different managers, who all had their own style, it's impossible to pick ALL our best players in one formation without there being serious flaws in the side.

Pogba and Bruno both ideally play the same role in the same area of the pitch.

Rashford and Ronaldo both want to drift out left and cut back in on their favoured right foot and shoot.

Do you pick Ronaldo for his individual brilliance, or Cavani who offers more to the team.

DDG is our best keeper, yet he cannot play out from the back, nor can he reliably come off his line to sweep enabling the side to play a high line.

Varane and Jones are our two best CB's, yet both have struggled to stay fit meaning the back line needs constant chopping and changing.

At full back it's difficult to tell who should be playing as there is no clear better player.

AWB better defensively (or at least that's the perception), while Dalot is better on the ball and going forward.

While at LB Shaw and Telles seems pretty similar, both better going forward than defending. Telles is better at overlapping, Shaw at underlapping or playing as an inverted full back.

Our midfield options are functional at best. But we have no true holding midfielder.

Where do we play Sancho, our 75m signing, to get the best out of him? Logic says with MG missing probably the rest of the season at least, then he should start on the right hand side.

Where does Elanga fit in? In the last couple of games he's been our brightest spark in attack. Should he start ahead of one of Ronaldo, Cavani, Rashford or Sancho? If so who and where?

There are far more questions than answers, and in truth how we should line up will depend on who is available and what form they are in.

We have no way of creating or playing our own style as we have too many holes in the squad to have a distinct style. We will have to be pragmatic and adjust to the opposition on a game by game basis. Or we pick a distinct style and try and play it every week, regardless of the clear flaws we will have in that style and we accept that our results and performances will fluctuate wildly between now and the summer when we can start to mould the squad to that new style and plug the holes.

11.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 14:28:37
We should of just done what Barcelona did to Dembele.
If you don't sign the extension go and find a new club and if you don't find a new club you can sit in the stands for the remainder of the season.
I honesty cannot stand the bloke, he's treated United like a piece of rubbish for 5 seasons whilst earning 300-350 grand a week.

12.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 15:01:46
Pogba is a luxury player in a team that needed anything but. Hopefully he will find a place that can showcase his talent.

13.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 15:19:27
I'd like Pogba used further up the field where is lack of defensive qualities are not going to be exposed. No one should play every game.

I think you could perm decent teams from:

Pogba/ Sancho/ Rashford/ Ronaldo/ Cavani/ Elanga

Bruno/ McTom/ Fred/ Matic/ Younger player

Dalot/ AWB/ Varane/ Jones/ Bailly/ Lindelof/ Shaw/ Telles

You just never know. A pared down squad may make for more certainty and better teamwork.

14.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 15:39:05
The only coach who could get bruno and pogba in a midfield 3 with a lone DM behind them is Pep.

Also this lone DM would probably have to be Superman given the ground and space he'd have to cover.

It just wouldn't work in my opinion but both are really good players no doubt.

Dont get really get the animosity he gets personally on here, very odd behaviour and stinks of a media driven agenda against him.

15.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 15:48:39
Shappy - I’m not sure if I agree with all of that pal. Of course its a plausible argument to suggest our problems stem from several different managers assembling different players but in my opinion that’s a bit of a red herring, especially as we still don’t know how much control or say our manager (s) have in terms of recruitment. Chelsea don’t seem to suffer from having players assembled by different managers. They are not a Club who recruit to a prescribed style nor do they appoint similar managers with similar styles or ideology. Chelsea’s last 5 permanent managers are Jose, Conte, Sarri, Lampard and Touchel. All have differing philosophy’s, styles, used different formations yet they have won two league titles, the fa cup, the league cup, Europa League and Champions League under those managers all since 2015, with the honours spread pretty evenly amongst them.

I think it’s fairer to say our recruitment has been poor with a lot of players simply not good enough bought well above market value and given ridiculously lucrative contracts. Whilst our recruitment is poor we are also terrible at selling players. We have average players, some who rarely play on eye watering salaries and have been at the Club for far too long. We reward mediocrity with ridiculous contracts in order to safeguard value but fail to understand that if players don’t play or perform their value plummets regardless of length of contract. Call me cynical but I think we keep players at the Club so we don’t have to buy replacements which is a massive problem. Jones, Bailly, Matic, Mata, Lingard to name but a few have all been at the Club for years, earning handsome salaries without ever playing regular football. It’s cheaper to reward ageing players with new contracts than to buy replacements. We recruit poorly and are even worse at selling players, that’s how things become stagnant and we end up with an imbalanced squad. Some of our recruitment is definitely brand driven which is also a big problem and has often meant we have retained players when perhaps their value to the brand is more important than their value to the team. The name Paul Pogba springs to mind.

I also don’t prescribe to the theory that elite footballers can’t play different styles of football. We have better players than Brighton for example yet they manage to play a better brand of football. Like I said I’m not taking about winning the title merely playing some decent football for the rest of the season. In my opinion this group of players (whilst far from outstanding) is surely capable of more than pragmatic football and adjusting to the opposition every week like you’ve suggested. A midfield of Pogba and Bruno might not be balanced enough to win a title or the champions league but I’m only taking about playing some decent football, finishing 4th and god forbid winning the fa cup. Hardly lofty aspirations for supposedly one of the biggest Clubs in the world.

16.) 02 Feb 2022
02 Feb 2022 16:36:37
A team with Pogba, Bruno and Ronaldo in it would get torn apart when without the ball. With the ball, there might be the odd flash of brilliance. It would just need to come before going 3-0 down!

17.) 03 Feb 2022
03 Feb 2022 01:02:06
I watched a YouTube video by tifo discussing end Woodwards tenor. They argued pogba was one of the worst signings ever giver his price tag, salary, injury record, consistency and leaving on a free.