Feted as the final piece in an expensively assembled jigsaw in the summer and pilloried as a lavish disappointment barely two months later, Paul Pogba makes a convenient scapegoat now that it transpires he did not arrive in England holding a wand that could magic away all of Manchester United’s problems with one extravagant flourish. The temptation to give him a good kicking is strong, not least because he makes it easy for his critics. Pogba loves a flashy new haircut. He looks offensively pleased with himself when he scores. There was that whole Stormzy business. He must be taken down.
But before we all jump on the bandwagon in the wake of United’s humiliation at the hands of Chelsea, it is worth considering why such an extraordinary talent is yet to replicate his Juventus form since putting on a red shirt again. Not because he is a foreign player who needs time to settle (resist the urge to shout that anyone signed for £93.2m should be hitting the ground running at a pace that would shame Usain Bolt). But because of the feeling that something deeper is at play here, that while trading on the romance and grandeur of United’s name remains an easy enough sell to glitzy new signings and sponsors, deep pockets on their own are not enough to restore a club’s shattered sense of identity on the pitch.
It would be pushing it to make excuses for the way Pogba was strolling in midfield as N’Golo Kanté scored Chelsea’s fourth, other than to point out it was his third start in six days. Yet it is harder to understand why a player who excelled for Juventus has been so limp for United.
There have been flashes, such as a starring performance in the thrashing of Leicester City and his lovely second goal in last week’s victory over Fenerbahce, but one of the dilemmas for José Mourinho is that he appeared to have solved the Pogba conundrum by moving him from a deeper position to a role behind Zlatan Ibrahimovic against Leicester. There was a moment in that game when he linked up beautifully with Ibrahimovic, scooping a gorgeous pass over the top for the striker to swivel and almost score a superb volley. But his impact in the defeat at Chelsea and the goalless draw at Liverpool was minimal, his relationship with Ibrahimovic nonexistent. Surely there is more to come from the 23-year-old.
But wait. If it is not quite fair to liken United’s transfer policy since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement to Real Madrid’s gorge on galácticos, given that efforts have been made to improve their defence, it is nonetheless the case that Pogba and Ibrahimovic are merely the latest glamour signings who are unable to mask wider flaws. Perhaps the same can be said of Mourinho in the dugout, and Louis van Gaal before him.
Surely there was more to come from Juan Mata, Ángel Di María and Radamel Falcao. Just wait until the mysterious Henrikh Mkhitaryan settles. Surely Mourinho will sort it out.
United’s signings make sense on their own. David Moyes tried to save himself by adding the creativity of Mata, the link man United craved. Van Gaal was given Di María, a winger to provide dash and invention, until it turned out that Memphis Depay was the future. Falcao was an upgrade on Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernández. Ander Herrera was the midfielder who could make United pass like a Spanish side. Morgan Schneiderlin would screen the defence. Pogba was the global midfield sensation they needed, Mkhitaryan the subtle No10, Ibrahimovic the trophy-winning goal machine.
Spending hundreds of millions, the latest shiny toy is hailed as The Answer, while little of any significance changes. Mourinho seemed to have cracked it when he rightly dropped Wayne Rooney against Leicester. But just as England discovered in the draw with Slovenia, Rooney’s decline is not the only issue.
United have had three managers in the space of three and a bit seasons, each of them introducing a new way of playing to a mish-mash of a squad. Moyes floundered, Van Gaal placed too high a value on control and now Mourinho wants to implement a solid 4-2-3-1 that is beginning to look a little tired and dated with its reliance on physical strength. No wonder the players are confused. Chelsea are far from the finished article but they are developing into a team with a clear way of playing under Antonio Conte. The Italian has even found a use for Victor Moses other than sending him out on loan. He is managing his resources and working with the tools at his disposal, just as Jürgen Klopp has responded to Liverpool’s weakness at left-back by moving James Milner there.
A simple test is to compare the football played by the league’s top sides with United’s. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City want to be expansive, Arsenal are playing Wengerball with more of a swagger with Alexis Sánchez up front, Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur press like demons and have plenty of ingenuity in attack, and Klopp’s Liverpool attack from all angles. United proved themselves capable of stifling Liverpool but they played a destructive rather than a creative game.
Every now and then, United click thanks to their individual quality. Di María was a delight in the sunny early days but left for Paris Saint-Germain. Mata has chipped in with important goals but none of his managers have entirely trusted him. Ibrahimovic has faded since the Manchester derby. United are six points off the leaders, but they have been inconsistent for too long, erring by valuing individuals over the collective.
Mourinho has made mistakes, from benching Anthony Martial to the treatment of Luke Shaw after the Watford defeat, to his struggle to let go of his inherent caution in big games. Perhaps he has lost the spark that made him special, a super manager whose aura has faded, a luxury hire by United when they needed someone fresher.
Whatever happens next, however, it is becoming clearer that United need to think in the long term again, whoever is sitting in the dugout. Throwing wild sums of money at the problem is not the answer. Whatever you think of Guardiola’s philosophy, the presence of Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano in City’s boardroom shows what kind of team City want to build. They stand for something now, whereas Pogba has joined a team without any discernible personality. Bringing in the next famous face, another big name, will not cure United’s ills.
(Guardian service)
