POGBA
Jose Mourinho made a startling admission following
Manchester United's draw at Liverpool on Monday night - the forward line lacked
'penetration' and he had wanted to move Marcus Rashford to No 10 before he went
down with cramp.
Those are worrying comments indeed for Paul Pogba.
Hours after adidas released a promotional video portraying the £89million man
as a cross between Lionel Messi and Kanye West, he had again failed to deliver
on the pitch.
Anfield under floodlights was meant to be his big moment,
particularly against a Liverpool team without Georginio Wijnaldum and Adam
Lallana.
Instead, he disappointed. Mourinho has tried the Frenchman
in different positions and even dropped Wayne Rooney to try to accommodate his
talents. But so far nothing has worked and Mourinho will be asking himself a
big question this week: Does he dare drop the world's most expensive player for
the equally demanding trip to Chelsea on Sunday?
As there have been all season, there were flashes of 'Good
Pogba' on Monday night. His first-time cross for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the
second half was top quality and should have been buried by the Swede.
But overall the 23-year-old's performances have not lived up
to the unprecedented 'Pogback' hype that accompanied his summer move from
Juventus, four years after he had left Old Trafford for Serie A.
Most worryingly for United and their executive vice-chairman
Ed Woodward, when the action speeds up, Pogba's awareness and anticipation seem
sub-standard. When he arrives in position, play has moved on.
Over the opening two months of the season, Pogba has had
less impact than other midfield summer signings Wijnaldum, Joe Allen and
Idrissa Gueye whose combined transfer value is half what United paid.
Mourinho started conservatively with him, playing him as one
of two midfield holders in a 4-2-3-1. Apart from one outstanding half against
Leicester City where he utilised the space vacated by the dropped Rooney, he
hasn't affected games. His header against the Foxes remains his only goal and
he hasn't made an assist.
Moving him further up the field at No 10
only served to show up his tactical weaknesses. It is hard to see how he can
stick in that position for Chelsea ahead of Juan Mata, Henrik Mkhitaryan,
Rashford or Rooney, following Thursday's Europa League tie against Fenerbahce.
The easy option would be to revert Pogba back to being a
deep-lying midfielder in place of Marouane Fellaini at Stamford Bridge, but if
Pogba only cost £10m, would he really deserve to be picked ahead of the Belgian
who was good at Anfield.
Perhaps it is time for Mourinho to utilise the 4-3-3 system
which served Pogba best at Juventus when he powered in from the left-hand side.
Chelsea, with Antonio Conte's men playing a 3-4-3, might be a place to start.
Mourinho signed Pogba to perform the role that Michael
Essien had in the manager's first successful spell at Chelsea. Use his power,
strength and athleticism; and Pogba has better feet and aerial threat than the
Ghanaian.
Nobody demanded he score the amount of goals delivered by
Cristiano Ronaldo. Mourinho himself said when Pogba arrived: 'I'm not expecting
the first time he touches the ball to dribble past five guys and score a wonder
goal. I expect him to make the correct pass, a good simple execution and to
keep the game fluid.'
Unfortunately, he's doing neither at the moment. His only
goal was a header against Leicester and while he pops the ball around from
deep, he's not making killer passes in the opposition third or providing great
service to the Rashfords and Ibrahimovics. Defensively, he's not the most
reliable either – shades of Yaya Toure at Manchester City in latter seasons.
Bar the Leicester game, United's best performance this
season came at Bournemouth, when Pogba didn't play. He has to up his game
quickly because he's keeping good players out of the team.
WHERE POGBA IS
FAILING FOLLOWING HIS £89M MOVE...
GOALS
Pogba has scored just once in nine matches for United, a
glancing header from Daley Blind's corner in a 4-1 win against Leicester at Old
Trafford. Did score from long-range for France vs Holland but goals have never
been his forte, just 34 in 178 games before he joined United.
ASSISTS
Worryingly,
Pogba has failed to directly set up a goal this season, though Ibrahimovic
should have scored from his cross against Liverpool on Monday. Started the move
which led to Mata's first goal v Leicester. Again, his past record doesn't
indicate a player who thrives on setting up chances; 32 assists in 178 games
before this season.
DISCIPLINE
Only
one yellow card so far is a good return for someone in midfield who competes in
a lot of challenges. He's won 15 free-kicks for his team and conceded 15. If
anything, perhaps he needs to impose himself more and find his inner Roy Keane.
TACKLING
For someone so strong, you'd want him to win nearly every
50-50. Yet he's only been successful in 66 of 120 duels. Sometimes his
anticipation and awareness seem a notch below top quality and he arrives at the
ball late. His challenge on James Milner on the edge of the Liverpool box on
Monday night was borderline but ultimately successful.
PASSES
He's
been reasonably good at keeping possession with a successful distribution rate
of 82.5 per cent over 465 passes. But that's Pogba playing within himself. He's
made only 12 key passes that have led to chances. It's not awful, but you'd
want more for £89m.
Attempted
30 dribbles and been successful in 18. This is something Mourinho will be keen
to build on. Pogba in full flight is potentially as thrilling and damaging as
Patrick Vieira or Yaya Toure. It's finding the best position for him on the
pitch to make that happen. So far, it hasn't.
CROSSING AND SHOOTING
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