Paul Pogba: Is he really the crux of the problem in Manchester United's midfield?
As another unfruitful campaign for Manchester United comes to an end, the supporters are trying to figure out who all have been responsible for this disaster. Everyone from the owners, management and players are being criticized for the humiliation. On the players' end, Paul Pogba is the one who has been under a lot of fire from the fans and critics alike. As speculations about his future at Old Trafford continues to appear every now and then, let's look at how the Frenchman has performed and how much of the heat he really deserves.
Now people like to draw comparisons of his club form with the Pogba that plays for France and used to play for Juventus. So let's start by comparing his run at Juventus in his last season. He was in the starting eleven 42 times in which he managed 9 goals and 15 assists. He took a total of 150 shots out of which only 44 were on target. So looking broadly, he wasn't responsible for Juventus scoring in even half the games and his shot accuracy was 30%.
During the same period, he made 10 appearances for France with 2 goals and zero assists. This time, he was not responsible for scoring in even a quarter of the matches he played. He took a total of 32 shots out of which 12 made it on target, making a shot accuracy of 38%.
Now let's come to his run this season at United. He has started 45 games, scoring 16 goals and making 11 assists, having taken a total of 123 shots out of which 60 have been on target, taking his shot accuracy to 49%. For France, he made 15 appearances, scoring 2 goals and 2 assists.
Just looking at the stats, we can tell that the current Pogba is better than the previous Pogba to whom they love drawing comparisons to. He is responsible for more than half the goals at United, takes less but more accurate shots and is a presence in the central midfield, much like he has been for France and Juventus in the past. And yet, people want to see his downgraded previous version?
Even if we look at his stats across all competitions, he has been pretty consistent. Now, some might still argue that looking at stats only for the current and last season doesn't tell the whole story. Well, let's look at them for his career at both Juventus and United and we will arrive at a much-overlooked conclusion.
For Juventus, he has started in 145 games in which he scored 32 goals and made 30 assists. He took a total of 388 shots of which 134 were on point, making his accuracy 35%. Interestingly, for United, he has started in 133 games, scoring 31 goals while making 30 assists. He has taken a total of 387 shots at United and 141 of them were on target, taking his accuracy to 37%. Also, he has constantly contributed with one or two key passes per match throughout his career. Numbers do not lie. He is still the exact same world-class player for which United paid a record transfer fee at the time but the question is, why does he then look underwhelming?
Some say he has scored goals from penalty kicks. This is quite unreasonable of them as they have already assumed penalty kick to be a sure goal which is not the case. He takes them because there is no other player who is better suited to taking them on the pitch than him and most of them have been taken when the scores were level rather than having a comfortable lead. Another criticism he receives is for his lack of fitness, with numbers to back them up.
He surely is in the top half when it comes to the distance covered by the EPL midfielders having covered 322 km cumulatively throughout the season. What seems alarming is the fact that he leads in terms of the distance covered by walking around the field. However, if we combine the stats and take a closer look at the picture, we uncover a new story. He is only in high speed when the situation requires so and he is not bad compared to other midfielders in this department.
As to why he has covered most of his time walking and jogging, the answer is pretty simple. It's the role he has been given. He has been equally "overloaded" with carrying out both offensive and defensive duties and can never truly commit himself towards one half of the field because he will not make it in time to the other half if the situation requires him to.
So where exactly is the issue? If the player and performances are the same, it comes to the players around him and the management. The players around Pogba are the ones who are underperforming. Their stats are far worse not only in comparison to Paul but among the EPL midfielders. However, since Pogba is the guy with the name, he takes the brunt of the frustration but that does not affect his performance much.
Critics argue Pogba doesn't deliver in a lot of big games. My question is, is football a team game or an individual game? If the rest of the team isn't showing up, how does everyone still find the one guy who is actually among those few at United who are really doing something on the pitch to blame? Here, when people look at United, they subconsciously expect Pogba to run a one-man show because of his price tag. Football, however, is not an individual sport. If the team is under-performing, everyone needs to be held accountable and not just one player.
It is high time that United and the fans alike realize how integral Paul Pogba is to the United midfield and he needs the support of players who can keep up with him. What certainly is the need of the moment is experienced and decent players who can link up with him rather than younger and average players which make up the bulk around him. A big change in the roster is required if United are to fancy their chances in the next season and making a core around Paul Pogba may just be the right way to go about things.
People need to realize that the Premier League is not an easy league and Pogba didn't take an easy way out. He could have just walked to a team which is already world class and have little to no competition in their division. Remember, he made a move from Juventus and he was a starter there.
The Old Lady of Turin playing in Champions League every season is almost confirmed at the outset and they have a team to make a deep run in that competition as well. But Paul Pogba chose to be at United who had been miles away from the success they were used to having under Sir Alex Ferguson.
It is high time people show more faith in Pogba. If he were to leave, it is quite certain, at the current moment, no player can take up the role or has the skill to nearly do as much as he does.