La Pioche Saga: A Letter to Paul Pogba

The blights of Paul Pogba saddens me, someone who was my favourite player even before he re-joined Manchester United, it’s horrid to see how the twilight of his career plays out.

During his time at United, Pogba was a decisive figure to say the least, a perspective that I will now argue within a series of articles as being unearned and something that has played a major role in the mechanical and boring pathway football is seemingly taking.

To think it’s been 8 years since his return to the Theatre of Dreams against Southampton.

The camera stuck to his white grin and the blonde persuasion on his head perfectly trimmed for this encore.

“He’s back”

That’s the words that rang around social media to the Stretford End, one of own had come home. During the game, the smile didn’t waver not even in once – the character of Pogba runs synonymous with joy. You could tell how much he enjoyed playing football and he spoke countlessly as its role providing escapism from the conflicts of living in the suburbs of Paris.

Every touch, tackle, pass Pogba made against Southampton shrills of anticipation emitted from the crowd, they had no idea what he was going to do, what he was capable of, the Hollywood passing of a Rooney or Iniesta, a technical sensibility that you could mistake for a Brazilian maestro like Rivaldo.

This was a generational talent that could do everything, and that was the problem.

Two seasons before his £89 million move to Manchester United, Pogba played in arguably one of the greatest and most balanced midfield to grace our screens. Spearheaded by the Frenchman’s creative prominence and surrounded by arguably the greatest Italian of our generation in Andrea Pirlo and the idiosyncratic yet creative madness that is Arturo Vidal.

The technical level of his peers matched his, therefore amplifying his play to greater heights.

For the Biaconeri, Pogba was a virtuoso of ball progression both in his dribbling ability and passing range, and the high floor of the midfield meant the many moments of quality he produced were greatly appreciated.

In his return against Southampton, Pogba’s midfielder partner was Maurone Fellaini. Not to discredit the creditability of the big Belgian, he did offer a unique skill set to Jose Mourinho's side, a direct approach in the final box. Yet, this wasn't optimal at all, without the presence of an actual sitting midfielder or a peer who was an outlet even half the player he was on the ball, it stretched the role Pogba had in the team to something 2-3 players should account for.

He was a Premier League record-breaking signing, this was what was expected. Yet simply squad building should have told the Red Devils and by extension Jose Mourinho that putting your best player in the best positions to succeed is necessary to maximise his presence.

I still remember one of the best passes I’ve ever seen, Pogba seemed fed up with his lack of options in midfield and Fellani’s disposition to wander into the box that he fired a ball right into the Belgian’s chest from 60 yards out.

There was so many variables wrong with the passage of play that delivered that pass, Pogba found himself as the deepest player on the pitch whilst his pivot partner was the furthest forward - even past Swede Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The opponent, Middlesborough had frustrated the hosts with no concrete way to build from the back.

Pogba having to retreat so far into his own half to create an ounce of anything whilst his midfielder partner who was meant to sit runs off as an auxiliary striker, I mean it's just laughable, but funnily enough that wasn't the punchline.

The true joke is that in Pogba's seven year stint at Old Trafford, this problem was never truly solved.

Attempts were made in the following summer with the £40 million of an ageing Nemanja Matic from Chelsea and the 2017/18 season did give us a true glimpse of what Pogba could do in a somewhat balanced midfield.

La Pioche saga will continue....