Paul Pogba (207 Viewers)
- Thread starter Lo-Pan
- Start date
Manchester United expect to seal £100m Paul Pogba deal within 48 hours
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jul/27/manchester-united-100m-paul-pogba-juventus-48-hours
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jul/27/manchester-united-100m-paul-pogba-juventus-48-hours
if he leaves we will probably sign 2 more guys. depending on how good those 2 are and depending on how often Marchisio and Khedira are out, our midfield still is arguably among the strongest ones (that CL midfield was the strongest in Europe imo). we will see who and if we get someone good though, will have to wait until the mercato is over
This transfer is a problem because it represents a weakness in our vision, in our player-management. From the day 1 Marotta should have said Pogba won't leave and close doors for all possibilities, for all that fat chicks' pushing and close this deal with a strong statement. We don't see this policy, we don't see essential players leave from RM, Barca & Bayern unless the club wants them sold. Today (if he actually goes) we not only lost a WC player, we lost reputation, we let ourselves get pushed around.
Today you don't see people like Alessandro, Gigi, Pavel who love their club and its tifosi....so we must make these players respect their clubs and their contracts. This is not slavery, they are playing for a top club, winning trophies and getting good $ for it but having that ask to leave and you can go crap is pure retard.
If he went, I would want James as replacement, but some of you said he wants to stay with real to fight for his place....so in the end it all comes down to this: James was a reserve last year and this year they have the same coach so tough luck but he wants to stay whilst Paul who was a starter and had a lot of in game freedom, equal chance of winning CL, he'll leave for a way lesser team who plays in EL...maybe we're not top dogs quite yet...
One thing I give to Paul...maybe it's not all about the $$$...my feeling it's more about slapping them in the face for showing him the back door years ago.
The loss of Pogba is eased by the additions of Higuain and Pjanic.
The attacking onus is no longer on the midfield. Their goal is simply to get the ball up the pitch. This is different than year's past. Without Higuain, the inclusion of a player like Pogba would be more important because he thrives when he is asked to create.
But he's not necessarily a player that can function optimally in a more team dynamic. I suspect this is always why Barca never was as hard for him as Madrid. You can see where Pogba fits more naturally, on a team like Madrid.
I think our ideal midfield should differ from the past couple years. Whereas it used to be more of a physical battering ram with dynamic players who preferred to run, I think nowadays a better midfield would be one very quick and efficient in possession, who can release the ball quickly. I'd favour more of a Spanish style midfield because our attack needs the ball quickly. For example, a player like Koke who is tactically smart, willing to run and quickly transition the attack to Higuain/Dybala is probably good enough for this team.
For me, Pogba is more of a loss in the marketing department and the potential department. Of course, on an individual basis he is one of the top CMs around already, but his loss is not back breaking for the team because, to be honest, he's not exactly a ball mover. And I don't think that tendency was improving, more regressing. There were moments last year you'd want him to just pass 5 metres sideways instead of carrying players. This is not necessarily a knee-jerk criticism of him because he's leaving, because those attributes are necessary, perhaps moreso in the past. But I think your team is always better off when you need to ask less of your CMs.
Of course if I had an option I would choose to keep Paul but football is always about the sum of your parts and I think we can cope quite easily by just transitioning the role of the midfield a little.
The attacking onus is no longer on the midfield. Their goal is simply to get the ball up the pitch. This is different than year's past. Without Higuain, the inclusion of a player like Pogba would be more important because he thrives when he is asked to create.
But he's not necessarily a player that can function optimally in a more team dynamic. I suspect this is always why Barca never was as hard for him as Madrid. You can see where Pogba fits more naturally, on a team like Madrid.
I think our ideal midfield should differ from the past couple years. Whereas it used to be more of a physical battering ram with dynamic players who preferred to run, I think nowadays a better midfield would be one very quick and efficient in possession, who can release the ball quickly. I'd favour more of a Spanish style midfield because our attack needs the ball quickly. For example, a player like Koke who is tactically smart, willing to run and quickly transition the attack to Higuain/Dybala is probably good enough for this team.
For me, Pogba is more of a loss in the marketing department and the potential department. Of course, on an individual basis he is one of the top CMs around already, but his loss is not back breaking for the team because, to be honest, he's not exactly a ball mover. And I don't think that tendency was improving, more regressing. There were moments last year you'd want him to just pass 5 metres sideways instead of carrying players. This is not necessarily a knee-jerk criticism of him because he's leaving, because those attributes are necessary, perhaps moreso in the past. But I think your team is always better off when you need to ask less of your CMs.
Of course if I had an option I would choose to keep Paul but football is always about the sum of your parts and I think we can cope quite easily by just transitioning the role of the midfield a little.