It will take more than this energetic outing for any of these players to take a place among the greats
Pogba running free at last, but far too soon to herald a bold United revival
OF COURSE he looked more exuberant than of late. Paul Pogba could hardly have looked more disgruntled in recent weeks. It’s hard to beam with enthusiasm when you are an £89 million footballer sitting on the bench. To say he looked better wasn’t setting the bars especially high.
It wasn’t just the fact that he won the free kick for the first goal, or set up the second and played a critical role in the joyful exchange that brought about the third. Or that he set up Jesse Lingard for the fifth, striding through midfield before releasing his friend through on goal. (And, yes, there was a daft celebration dance after that in front of the United fans).
It was more than that. Released into an attacking midfield role, supported by two more tactical players in Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera, he played with real freedom. On 71 minutes, Pogba had the confidence to try a curling shot from 20 yards out and only an excellent save from Neil Etherdige denied him. In short, if the match statisticians have a metric for joie de vivre, Pogba’s ratings would have been off the scale.
In the Instagram age it’s easy to reduce all complex problems into a personality contest. So the decline of Manchester United hasn’t been so much a reflection of the poor overall structure and decisionmaking in the boardroom — far easier to make it about Jose versus Pogba.
Last night there were seasoned ex-professionals in the press box growling in exasperation at the sudden turnaround in Pogba. International players, some of whom have ventured into coaching and so would know the frustrations Jose Mourinho has encountered, could not hide their disapproval that he could be so indifferent for one manger and so engaged for another.
Mourinho would presumably have taken that view if he bothered to tune in from his London home.
Yet the job of the football manager in 2018 is to engage young men who lives their lives on social media. Young men will think nothing of broadcasting a new goal celebration without necessarily overthinking the reaction of their 6.1million followers — some of whom might have expecting something more significant on the pitch with which to engage. Mourinho tried the carrot when he made Pogba captain for the first game of the season. He soon reverted to the stick, taking the honour away from him a few weeks later. And we can safely say that describing said player as a ‘virus’ in front of his team- mate — as it was claimed Mourinho did—was always unlikely to release the Frenchman’s inner Paul Scholes.
And it wasn’t as if he was alone. If Pogba played like a man freed from parole, he wasn’t the only one. Here it looked as though all that repressed, youthful energy had been uncorked.
It was epitomised by a wonderful third goal — Anthony Martial exchanging crisp passes with Pogba and Jesse Lingard before a delightful finish.
Quite what anyone can make of 90 minutes is a moot point. Honest and hard-working though Cardiff were, this was not the testing of the new United. With Huddersfield, Newcastle and Reading to come over the holiday period, we may not find out much for a while. Only Bournemouth are likely to trouble them over Christmas—then Tottenham in the New Year.
United’s issues run deep and Pogba’ s deeper still. Does he genuinely want to stick around and make a name for himself in Manchester or would he rather try one of the Spanish super clubs?
Will there always be a next move in the offing wherever he goes?
Was Sir Alex Ferguson right first time around, when he ruled that any 18-year-old who tried to face him down in negotiations would be too much trouble for the club?
Yet for all of that, it’s hard to shake off thoughts of the YouTube clip of Pogba before the World Cup final. He is standing in the dressing room and all eyes are on him. Older more experienced players hang on his every word as he urges them to seize this once-in-a-lifetime moment. That charisma, that drive properly harnessed could be something extraordinary at United. But it will take more than an energetic outing at the Cardiff City Stadium for any of these players to take a place among the greats.
One point was telling. The songs from the rejuvenated United away
end last night were all directed at the Norwegian hero sitting on the bench. There were a few rounds of the Eric Cantona Christmas song.
And although it didn’t come out yesterday, the assistant manager could always prompt a song about Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes.
It’s the past they sing about at United, like a fading imperial power. The present? Not so much.
They’ve yet to immortalise their most expensive signing in song. When they sing his name with real love, then Paul Pogba will truly have been born again at this club.