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'Pogba is a great player, but he still has to be consistent for years like Gerrard was' - Benitez

The former Liverpool manager believes the Frenchman needs to be consistent over a prolonged period of time to stand alongside the modern greats.

MANCHESTER UNITED MIDFIELDER Paul Pogba cannot be considered โ€œtop-classโ€ and on the same level as Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, says Rafa Benitez.

The France international made his return to competitive action against Benitezโ€™s Newcastle following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a hamstring complaint.

Pogba slotted seamlessly back into the Old Trafford fold, with a talismanic display helping Jose Mourinhoโ€™s Red Devils to a convincing 4-1 victory .

The 24-year-old has earned plenty of plaudits on the back of his display, but former Liverpool boss Benitez believes he still has some way to go before being placed in a talent bracket alongside modern day icons.

He told reporters when pressed on comparisons between Pogba and ex-England captain Steven Gerrard: โ€œTheyโ€™re different. Stevie was a top-class player for so many years.

โ€œHe was very consistent and could make the difference in every game, with or without the ball.

โ€œHe was a top-class player. Pogba is a great player, but he still has to be consistent for years like Stevie was for 10 or 15 years.

โ€œPogba is not my player, so I donโ€™t need to talk too much about him. Heโ€™s a great player, like the majority of the Manchester United players.

โ€œBut Iโ€™m concentrated on trying to improve my players.โ€

Pogba scored one and created another as he returned with a bang against Newcastle.

Mourinho billed him as โ€œdifferent classโ€ in the wake of an eye-catching performance, while the ยฃ89 million man admitted to feeling โ€œblessedโ€ at being back out on the field.

Having sat out 12 games through injury, Pogba said: โ€œTo come back, to play again, to see Old Trafford, to see the fans again, to score on my comeback, I feel blessed.

โ€œMost of last season I had injuries, but small ones. You just have to recover well because the Premier League is different to Italy.

โ€œItโ€™s more intense and you have to think about recovery, then you have more games.

โ€œIโ€™ve trained very hard to come back fit. The season is really long so we have to be fit โ€“ not only me but all the players.โ€

Victory over Newcastle kept United second in the Premier League table, eight points adrift of arch-rivals Manchester City at the summit.

The42 has just published its first book, Behind The Lines, a collection of some of the yearโ€™s best sports stories. Pick up your copy in Easonโ€™s, or order it here today (โ‚ฌ10):

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    Mute jimmyobrien
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    Aug 5th 2011, 4:17 PM

    Well i think most people can understand that, i would back mickey harte to the hilt in any argument against RTE. I heard the skit and was shocked at the time, the guy that did it is just not funny.

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    Mute willy pearse
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    Aug 5th 2011, 4:17 PM

    Rte are muppets.

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    Mute John Manahan
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    Aug 5th 2011, 4:39 PM

    I agree with the 2 previous comments. John Murray has a smugness about him that reminds me of his predecessor on Radio 1 who has since gone on to โ€˜bigger and better thingsโ€™

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    Mute Ramadan
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    Aug 5th 2011, 6:21 PM

    Murray is a muppet. His attempts at humour are pathetic. I switch off in the morning as soon as the news is over. Sadly there is a dearth of talent at RTE. Perhaps lowering salaries to appropriate levels might remove the smugness?

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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Aug 5th 2011, 8:19 PM

    John Murray (who makes nice bobs on the side when RTE buy shows; like the recent Charlie Bird excursion to the South Pole, which he was involved in producing), is woefully ill suited to what he is doing now. Heโ€™s as funny as a broken leg in a marathon. Like Mooney in the afternoon, his signature tune has me reaching for the next station within nanoseconds.

    He is a current affairs man, and thatโ€™s it. Des Cahill is a colour reporter, not a snorting ill prepared sports correspondent with stilted delivery and a jarring manner. Pat Kenny is a well briefed incisive and thorough interviewer, who happens to be devoid of spontaneous persona, so they gave him a talk show for eleven years, at the bones of three quarters of a million for each of those years. Tubridy is a vacuous, bubble dwelling non entity, who only came to life in recent times when Fianna Fail were mentioned, and now heโ€™s numero uno, and falling fast. Duffy was a vox pop guy, who was anointed by Gaybo, beyond his talents, and now makes the Lahvline his own personal soapbox, treating callers with sheer bad manners, abruptness, and sighing condescension.

    The late Gerry Ryan, who drove me cracked with his on air consumption of any passing foodstuffs, his constant plugs for Harry Crosbie and his other buddies (in exchange for freebies of course), and his arrogance, had, despite all those failings, more charm, and more personality than the whole flippinโ€™ lot put together.

    He was probably one of the only on air personalities in that institution, (with the exception of a fair chunk of the news team, Morning Ireland et al.) who wasnโ€™t promoted beyond their station, as it were.

    RTE is a living breathing example of the Peter Principle, with a healthy dash of nepotism.

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    Mute Gis Bayertz
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    Aug 5th 2011, 6:12 PM

    Rte should be shut down

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    Mute Jayniemac
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    Aug 5th 2011, 7:47 PM

    What a choice of songโ€ฆidiots. What planet are they on. John murrays show is scripted and produced, thereโ€™s more than him to blame. And who leaked the contents of the private and confidential letter received by Rte? The postman?! The cleaner?? Professor plum in the library with the candlestick??!

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    Mute Huey
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    Aug 5th 2011, 8:50 PM

    All GAA players should boycott RTE this weekend and send the smug fcukers a clear message.

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    Mute Jayniemac
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    Aug 5th 2011, 9:03 PM

    Ryan, with respect Gerry Ryan most certainly was promoted outside of his own showโ€ฆsecrets, school around the corner, Ryan confidential, operation transformation and on and on. Rte seem to use the same handful of bores to do everything! But leaking a letter and handing a "satirical" script to John Murray of all people to read out??? What planet were they on. Did they think people would turn on the hugely respected Mickey Harte instead of them??? Eejits.

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    Mute Ryan Murphy
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    Aug 5th 2011, 9:28 PM

    Oh, I quite agree, Jaynie. I wouldnโ€™t be looking at him with rose tinted specs or anything :) I remember The School Around The Corner too!

    But my point remains that his bread and butter, the morning slot on 2fm, despite the faults I bored ye all with, had far more individuality attached than John Murrayโ€™s efforts.

    His producer would want to beโ€ฆI wonโ€™t say what, but as you allude to, there is a large and bloated degree of support behind the guy or gal on the mic, especially and almost exclusively wrt RTE, and itโ€™s ridiculous that none of them had the skill or the cop on to say, โ€œHang on a second!โ€

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    Mute Anita McNerney
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    Aug 5th 2011, 10:13 PM

    Very insensitive, Iโ€™m a Dublin gaa supporter and itโ€™s true to say we are like one big family.its very upsetting what the Harte family and John went through.shame on ya RTE.if I wasnโ€™t going to the game tomorrow I wouldnโ€™t bother watching it on tv.

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    Mute John Manahan
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    Aug 5th 2011, 11:09 PM

    โ€˜One big โ€˜familyโ€ โ€“ when the footballers play Croker is always full (or nearly so) , when the hurlers have a game never more than half full. Lots of โ€˜familyโ€™ members donโ€™t do their duty when the caman is involved.

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    Mute Gaillimh Abรบ
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    Aug 5th 2011, 11:49 PM

    Mickey Harte has had a tragic year, and in the face of all that stress he still pushes forward his beloved Tyrone to greater heights. The sketch was insensitive for sure, and would understandably have annoyed Harte at this time. It isnโ€™t fair, however, to paint all of RTร‰ as โ€˜muppetsโ€™ โ€“ this is an organisation made up of many individuals โ€“ doing their best and, more often than not, doing a great job. The problem with comment sites like these, I find, is that the negative voice is quite often the only one that bothers with being heard. John Murray is a fine presenter, so is Mooney etcโ€ฆ Not perfect, but who is?

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    Mute Jayniemac
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    Aug 5th 2011, 10:09 PM

    Totally agree with you there, wouldnโ€™t exactly call him a natural! In such bad taste! Did not one person on the team sayโ€ฆhang on a minuteโ€ฆmaybe not the best choice of songโ€ฆoh and probably best not to skit about the private and confidential letter our boss leaked, sorry, I mean received

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