Why Jose doesn’t have a Planp

PAUL POGBA confirmed the worst-kept secret in football this week – his relationship with Jose Mourinho is strained.

The France international fanned the flames by coming clean, leaving observers and Manchester United supporters scratching their heads.

Why is it that Pogba refuses to do for Mourinho what he did for France boss Didier Deschamps during the World Cup?

Is there a major difference in the roles he’s being asked to play? Is there a clash of personalities? Or does the player himself know that it is one thing to be below par for his club, quite another to fail to deliver for his country?

I’ve got to be honest, I’m with Mourinho on this.

What is it that Pogba does that is particularly outstanding?

Yes, he gets about the pitch well and he’s an outstanding athlete.

But he doesn’t run games, he doesn’t have great passing ability, he’s not a leader.

Until France won the World Cup, Roy Keane – who by the way does know a thing or two about playing for Manchester United – was of the same opinion.

But never mind the fact that he seems to have a mental block whenever he pulls on that red jersey, Pogba certainly appears to care more about country than club.

Which is a strange one. He knows standards required at Old Trafford – he grew up with them under Sir Alex Ferguson – so the pressure of playing for the club should be ingrained.

Every now and again, such as in the FA Cup semi-final last season against Tottenham, there are glimpses of that brilliance, and those moments for which the club shelled out almost 90 million quid. But they are all too fleeting. And, unless something changes, this soap opera is going to have costly consequences, not just for the individuals concerned but for the whole club.

A contact in football this week forwarded the theory that Pogba wasn’t a signing specifically requested by Mourinho.

That makes a kind of sense – the sought-after star was signed by the United board as a statement.

Doubtless the transfer would have been given the nod by Mourinho – I mean, who wouldn’t want a £90m player?

But the picture does suddenly look a lot clearer as to why Mourinho can’t seem to find his best position or drag a level of consistency out of him – he wasn’t his player in the first place.

That still doesn’t explain the

wildly fluctuating performance levels but at least it goes some way towards explaining why the Grumpy One doesn’t have a plan for Pogba.

It’s not the first time that Mourinho has fallen out with a star man.

He managed that in spectacular fashion at Real Madrid and there were clear signs during his second spell at Chelsea that he had upset the dressing room there too.

But this Pogba impasse isn’t harming just Manchester United and Mourinho.

The unspoken assumption appears to be that Pogba only has to walk through an open door to find himself at Barcelona, or Paris Saintthe

Germain or Real Madrid. Nine-figure transfer fees are being talked about as if it’s a slam-dunk that the enigmatic marauder will receive the superstar treatment at the Nou Camp or wherever.

But those sums of money are paid only for players who can guarantee success, who can guarantee goals, who can guarantee outstanding performances.

And who, most importantly, guarantee game-changing qualities.

With Pogba there are no such guarantees.

And unless he starts to deliver on a regular basis, you suspect a relationship that looks increasingly fractured will become irreparable.