Paul Pogba

[DonAK]

You'd struggle to find someone who don't like Verratti. It really baffles me whenever I think about how little PSG paid for such a gem. Leonardo you clever, sly little bastard.

They'll never sell though.

 

[DonAK]

4am here and I'm dreaming about the prospect of having Pogba and now Verratti(thanks to TornAndFrayed) to the tune of Mourning Ritual's cover of Bad Moon Rising.

 

[TornAndFrayed]

If one treble ain't enough we can do another next year and he'll force himself out. Take a picture of messi in an uncle sam outfit or something.

 

[Jamie Cal]

That is Blanc's train of thought.

I don't know about all that, but seriously, it seems like every big club under the sun has been linked to him, if he stays beyond Summer I'd be pretty surprised if it meant anything other than waiting to see what we offer.

 

[DonAK]

And then comes Summer 2016 and we sign some Brazilian kid named Yagavinho instead of Pogba/Verratti/Gundogan/Kovacic etc

 

[Kohe321]

And then comes Summer 2016 and we sign some Brazilian kid named Yagavinho instead of Pogba/Verratti/Gundogan/Kovacic etc

Nah, I think we'll get Jogabonitinho, I've heard he only does rainbow flicks and nutmegs. He will have to play against Bilbao in full bodyarmor.

 

[Vlom]

Haha, [MENTION=15376]DonAK[/MENTION] you bringing up the haircuts reminded me that BBZ is against Pogba, and since this one can't make a case for himself by scoring goals from open play, I can only imagine how epic (and long hehe) pogba's thread would be

 

[DonAK]

[MENTION=16942]BBZ8800[/MENTION] has a valid concern about Pogba though, about how he'll fit in here.

 

[Vlom]

[MENTION=16942]BBZ8800[/MENTION] has a valid concern about Pogba though, about how he'll fit in here.

Of course he does, I too am against Pogba btw, it's just a premonitory joke about the proportions this thread will take if we get him, and BBZ will definitely be a protagonist ^^

 

[DonAndres]

Yes. But none of them will ever be as good as Pogba. You can try to sign great players for little money, and hope they'll come good. Or you can sign Pogba and be done with it for 10 years. For every Modric, there is a Henderson. If the club knew of any player who is better than Pogba, and cheaper as well, don't you think they'd sign him this instant? But they don't, and neither do I. There has been a funny and weird trend on this forum of people thinking everything that these expensive players do can be done by players who only cost half as much. Before Neymar signed, people thought Deulofeu was better than him. Before Suárez signed, people wanted Mandzukic instead. That's Liverpool mentality, and we don't want to be Liverpool.

I don't see how Pogba is such a sure thing anyway. This is a guy who spends a lot of time showing his swagger jogs up and down the pitch with few touches on the ball averaging about as many passes per game as Tevez. His impact on matches as a whole is barely ever worth speaking about and the most he shows consistently is his physical power (bullying people in duels) or sporadic bits of nice skill. His 'strengths' as a player are showing quality in spurts or abandoning his positioning to be an attacker, not much of a profile for central midfielders IMHO. Yet due to his hype/reputation/whatever people are soooo convinced that because he has talent and raw abilities at a young age, he can adapt to this system and a new role and that's why it's okay to go full Galactico to bring him here.

And I'm not entirely disagreeing with that sentiment. He does have talent and he probably would be able to adapt to a role here. But I strongly believe that success can be had for a hell of a lot less than 100M+. It won't ever be exclusive to Pogba. Midfielders aren't much like attackers in the make/break nature of being successful. If they have visible talent, good intelligence, and a certain level of quality/stature on the ball then it's just a matter of thriving within the system.

Rakitic/Modric/Kroos/Cesc have all been either important or absolutely crucial at their respective clubs for less than 40M. Thiago was very cheap for Bayern yet, injuries aside, he has often been the best midfielder on the pitch for them whenever he's featured. Even Ander Herrera shows the capability of being a key player for United in the coming years. It's not a matter of 'unearthing a hidden gem' like Porto or Sevilla do, just find midfielders that show the right skillset and a history of good performance and it's not really a gamble that they'll succeed. Playing in midfield is a lot more about fit/presence in the system than anything else, which is why it's not the case that every transfer is an almost-blind gamble and that the player with the biggest reputation is the smallest gamble therefore making it okay to shell out absurd amounts of money.

Players like Kovacic or Gundogan show a great passing range, great awareness of space/teammates, good technique, and have deep-playmaking abilities. Is it so hard to believe that they can perform in a system like this that suits their abilities much more than either of their teams do playing with teammates of a much higher caliber? I think it goes along the same lines of 'good talent can adapt anywhere' which is used to justify Pogba, yet in this case it's not even about force-fitting into our team but rather having their innate qualities amplified by the football we play.

 

[FCBarca]

My sentiments are with [MENTION=16293]Alarcón[/MENTION] on Pogba being the most talented option, certainly over a major question mark like Gündoğan...The problem I see however is how to reconcile acquiring a player of his caliber with both a nutter of an agent like pizza boy & his personality perhaps being an issue for team chemistry

Moreover, I despise this galactico approach the club has been using - this is what many of us hate about football...So while I'm sure Pogba is going to have a great future, I question this formula for success if indeed the club will be course correcting and becoming cantera centered again

I'd prefer a lower key Rakitic type of signing in midfield while incorporating Samper & playing Rafinha more

 

[khaled_a_d]

My sentiments are with [MENTION=16293]Alarcón[/MENTION] on Pogba being the most talented option, certainly over a major question mark like Gündoğan...The problem I see however is how to reconcile acquiring a player of his caliber with both a nutter of an agent like pizza boy & his personality perhaps being an issue for team chemistry

Moreover, I despise this galactico approach the club has been using - this is what many of us hate about football...So while I'm sure Pogba is going to have a great future, I question this formula for success if indeed the club will be course correcting and becoming cantera centered again

I'd prefer a lower key Rakitic type of signing in midfield while incorporating Samper & playing Rafinha more

Barcelona has been historically a club with a Galactico approach ,players like Rivaldo,Ronaldo,Romario,Cruyff ,Maradona was same type of signing ,hell even R10 was a sort of Galactico signing .some would argue we had that approach more than RM through the 20 century
And there is nothing wrong in that approach tbh as long as it isn't signing a player for the sake of Galactico but rather a big signing for the team need .

 

[Bran the Greenseer]

Pogba if he comes will probably come after next season since he'll likely be cup tied, which gives players like rafinha a fighting chance to atleast solidify their place in the squad or at the very least show their talent to the world.

 

[KingMessi]

Exactly. Galacticos are fine. What matters is whether or not you have a vision for how the player you are signing will contribute to and improve the team. If a big name player can come and improve the team, then, by all means, sign him. It's when you sign a player on whim just because that it can be bad.

 

[KingMessi]

Pogba if he comes will probably come after next season since he'll likely be cup tied, which gives players like rafinha a fighting chance to atleast solidify their place in the squad or at the very least show their talent to the world.

Indeed. Pogba if/when he comes will only do so after the European Championship in France next year. In addition, due to Deschamps warning his players not to make unnecessary moves in the year prior to the tournament, encouraging stability, Pogba may be adverse to moving clubs this summer/winter.