Pog is now a hero, and not The Ego!
GARY Neville spoke for many matchgoers when he suggested Paul Pogba ‘do one’ in response to his infamous ‘caption this’ tweet.
That was posted within moments of the 9.46am United press release on December 18 announcing the departure of Jose Mourinho and was in keeping with Pogba’s attitude at the time.
It had plummeted as he rubbed up against his former manager like sandpaper and some beery United supporters on the trains to the next game at Cardiff openly discussed booing Pogba. They never got a chance.
Pogba earned the third-minute free-kick, Marcus Rashford deceived Cardiff keeper Neil Etheridge and United have hardly let up under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since.
Pogba was always going to start at Cardiff and he was always going to perform under the new manager.
Few could have predicted Solskjaer would elevate Pogba to new heights.
He is playing the best football of his career and, on current form, is the best in the world in his position.
Mourinho must have known his power play with Pogba was a tussle he could not win, but he left the player disenchanted.
The week before Mourinho was dismissed, Pogba was hesitating over long-term plans as he did not expect to ‘be around for much longer.’
His agent, Mino Raiola, advised Pogba to rejoin United in 2016 on the proviso he spend three years in England before a move to Spain. Things were heading that way, until Solskjaer came in.
Pogba was a sore subject for United in August.
Michael Carrick declined to talk about him during an interview and the club countered a story about a training ground argument between Mourinho and the French World Cup winner.
A presenter’s remark it was so ‘calm and relaxed’ at Carrington was undermined by Mourinho confronting Pogba in front of the cameras over an Instagram Story he uploaded.
Mourinho was understood to be satisfied with the negative press Pogba received early in the season - hence why he took their feud public.
He knew executive vicechairman Ed Woodward disapproved of the marquee manager and player’s bickering. Amid Mourinho’s and Pogba’s differences, there were selfish similarities.
Mourinho told confidants ‘Pogba is not the problem, it’s the people he listens to’ and was genuinely hopeful the second captain responsibility would help Pogba ‘mature’ until he stripped him of it in late September.
A more modest manager would have given Pogba the armband rather than nominated the uninspiring Antonio Valencia. Solskjaer has already identified Pogba as future captain material.
That United touched base with the Frenchman Laurent Blanc over the managerial role further reaffirmed their willingness to indulge Pogba.
Zinedine Zidane was never contacted, but felt emboldened by the speculation, mindful Adidas depicted a young Pogba in a Paris banlieu wearing a ‘Zidane 10’ shirt in a commercial. Solskjaer had his own history with Pogba. He gave him his United reserves debut aged 16 and, at 17 years and 51 days old, the player made his Old Trafford bow under Solskjaer. Pogba was empowered not just by Mourinho’s dismissal but the choice of the amiable Solskjaer. It was not unfair to regard the smiling Norwegian as a substitute teacher. United sources enthused he would ‘put smiles back on people’s faces’ and there was some initial concern in the dressing room Solskjaer would struggle to handle the egos. Or The Ego.
Aron Gunnarsson’s thirdminute foul at the Cardiff City Stadium nipped any mutiny in the bud and Pogba then tallied the first two of his nine assists on Solskjaer’s watch. During a stoppage, Solskjaer was speaking to Pogba as he took a swig from a water bottle and the midfielder nodded approvingly before ending the conversation by high-fiving his manager. The quality of Pogba’s passes - for Rashford at Tottenham and Leicester and Ander Herrera at Chelsea - are trumping the finishes. Only Pogba has supplemented that creativity with a career-best goalscoring campaign. He is on 14 already and breaking the 20-goal barrier is doable.
That Solskjaer has settled on the same midfield trio Mourinho trusted for United’s run-in last season underpins the Reds’ insistence the caretaker manager has made ‘small changes.’
Mourinho tailored United to Pogba’s measurements (left of a midfield three), though you can imagine he was piqued by Pogba performing in an axis with N’Golo Kante at the World Cup.
He excelled in a two with Nemanja Matic at various stages last season but Solskjaer has been more consistent in his selections and United have lined up with a midfield three in all 13 of his games.
More significantly, Solskjaer is beckoning Pogba to drift into the left-hand channel where he occasionally operated during his Juventus days. Solskjaer was pointing towards that far side with the game goalless at Chelsea. Pogba eventually trotted over there and found Herrera. The matchgoers cheered him again.
Mourinho told confidants ‘Pogba is not the problem, it’s the people he listens to’ Samuel Luckhurst