Pog out may be change he is calling for!
PAUL Pogba admits United ‘need to change something’ after their dire defeat to Leicester, though the issue for him is he might be part of the reshuffle which is needed.
The 4-2 loss at the King Power Stadium was the culmination of everything which has been wrong with the side so far this season boiled down into one 90-minute display.
Once again Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had to rely on individual moments of magic to mask the lack of cohesion from a side which now resembles a collective of individuals rather than a band of brothers, though this time attacking brilliance from Mason Greenwood wasn’t enough to cover up the chasm in the spine of the squad.
“I think it’s all of us. We need to find something, we need to change something,” Pogba said.
“It’s the mindset of all of us, the players when we start. We really don’t know, it is frustrating because it’s something we don’t understand and we have to find it out very fast.
“Because if we want to compete and, if we want to win the title, then it’s those games you have to win even though they are very hard, even if they are away, we need to find the right mentality, the right tactics to win those games.”
The mere suggestion of a serious title challenge is already a big stretch for a United side that acquired three marquee signings in the summer yet has regressed as a squad. It is clear something needs to change drastically before the season aims are once again demoted to simply qualifying for the Champions League. Solskjaer refused to blame individuals on Saturday despite lamenting the midfield display at Leicester, admitting his side are ‘too easy to play through’ but reiterated that it isn’t on Pogba and Nemanja Matic as players.
The Norwegian has always protected his players since he took over on a caretaker basis, but even if his supportive stance is warranted he must acknowledge a change of personnel is required ahead of a fixture schedule which could decide
Ole must acknowledge a change of personnel is required ahead of a schedule which could decide his future
not only the Reds’ season, but his future at the club.
“We need to be compact, we need to be more aggressive,” insisted the Reds boss after the loss. “We dealt with the runs in behind well enough but maybe dropping off them a bit gave them too much space.”
Ironically it is the often-criticised midfield pairing of Fred and Scott McTominay which makes the most sense for the matches ahead, with United in need of their mobility and work ethic against Europe’s best midfields over the coming weeks.
Despite their seismic summer business, it seems United will need to embrace their underdog status in matches against Liverpool and City, playing to their own strengths on the counter-attack to bypass their feeble midfield muscle and look to hurt their opponents in the one area they can.
It means either one of Pogba or Bruno Fernandes will therefore need to be demoted to the bench with their combined attacking talents a luxury which the current underperforming side can no longer afford to carry in the weeks ahead.
The scoring return of Marcus Rashford only further adds to the belief that Pogba can no longer be entertained as a luxury in his favoured left-wing role, while his unconvincing displays in a central position are too large a risk at this moment in time.
Something needs to change, and it likely involves Pogba.