PAUL POGBA MUST “wreck” Jose Mourinho’s head with his flashy tricks and sub-par performances, according to former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard.
Pogba has struggled to live up to his £89 million transfer fee at United, and has sparkled only intermittently this season.
While the France international, who will represent his country at the World Cup this summer, has scored six goals and provided 10 assists thus far this season ahead of the FA Cup final against Chelsea, he has also frustrated with a perceived lack of end product at times.
And Lampard believes Pogba, whom he believes is a better player than he was, needs to start asserting his authority on games more often, as he has all the attributes required to be the complete midfielder.
“I don’t know what Pogba is. He makes bad decisions but then does fantastic things which must wreck Jose’s head,” he said at the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) event.
“Mourinho tried to embarrass him out of it and I worry Pogba did not get it. Pogba is naturally more talented than I was, he would run all over me and has better feet, but there’s no point dribbling in your own half.
“All that ‘flick and roll of the studs’, I’m not an advocate of that. A lot of young players see it on YouTube and think it’s amazing but I don’t like it. He has delved to that side too much.
“His numbers are not good enough, he progressed at Juve but there’s another progression he has to do. He should be getting 15 goals a season and dominating games, because he has everything.”
United beat Tottenham 2-1 in a topsy-turvy semi-final to reach the FA Cup final, while Chelsea defeated Southampton.
Neither side truly impressed in the Premier League, with United finishing second, 19 points behind Manchester City, while the Blues failed to qualify for the Champions League, finishing fifth, five points behind Liverpool.
Chelsea lost 3-0 to Newcastle on the final day of the season, and such results have led to intense speculation over the future of Antonio Conte, who is expected to leave the club this summer.
Nevertheless, Lampard believes the Blues must win the trophy and set aside any kind of ill-will regarding the Italian’s situation.
“We know the requirements at Chelsea, and (winning) it would put a gloss on a season that still has questions over it,” he added.
“Neither side (Chelsea or Conte) comes out of it with a load of glory. The players should want to win it for him and the club, no matter what.
“I played for managers I didn’t particularly like but you put it to the side.”
Lampard was speaking at FWA Live, organised by the FWA and William Hill at the Landmark Hotel London on Thursday May 17.
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The delusion continues
You stay as long as you want Brendan. Another 26 years would be great.
“I will do my best with what I am working”. because what youre working with had nothing to do with you? jog on.
I cringe every time I hear or read anything out of Rodgers’ mouth now. He has lost his way as a coach. The fans that he didn’t lose after Stoke are now beginning to turn on him.The media smells blood, and will keep putting the boot in.
Even if he wins the Derby, and the games after that, he is now only ever one or two defeats from “crisis”.
Sooner or later, Rodgers’ had to go – and it is probably sooner.
The big question in the media is “who replaces Rodgers?”. A bigger, more relevant question is: who in the LFC hierarchy is qualified to make the decision on who replaces Rodgers? The answer, fatally for Liverpool fans’ ambitions, is no-one. That’s a much bigger problem, and a harder one to resolve.
big sam is the man or Tony Mowbray
so much money spent and they are rebuilding again? id be pretty pissed and start with sacking this bluffer.
Only reason he is still in a job is because the Board haven’t agreed a deal yet with anyone else to manage the club. Dead man walking is Rodgers.
Totally agree that he is a dead man walking – everyone knows it.
Here’s the thing, though: who on the board knows anything about football? Henry and Werner don’t. Ayre is a commercial guy, really, with limited clout. Mike Gordon seems to be FSG’s “LFC guy” – he is a hedge fund manager. That leaves Dalgleish, if he is even involved.
I’m sure they have a few former players on the other end of a phone if they need advice, there intelligent people the yanks, the thing about them is, if they don’t understand something they will always seek out information off people to find out. It’s a business for them. I’d let Rodgers go and bring in Kenny and Carra for the interim and write off this season, if it’s not possible to get a Klopp or Ancelotti now.
Look at recent history of managers. Rodgers Hodgson Kenny. Ancelotti is to expensive maybe 6 or 7 mill a year. I just don’t see fsg spending the dough on a manager.
The big problem is a lack of vision. FSG bought LFC because it was going cheap, but they never had – and still don’t seem to have – a strategy for the club, apart from “sell it at a profit”.
Klopp, Ancelotti – even Guardiola! – won’t win anything at LFC until the vision and institutional leadership is sorted out. That, and increasing the wage bill, are necessary if LFC is to compete for anything ever again.
Should of gone last season but offered his backroom instead
Rumour is he’s gone by the end of October.
Have.
I think he should be worried… This Liverpool looks worst the last year and this time he cannot blame Balotelli…
Loads of stories coming out over twitter Yesterday evening, can’t see him being there come the end of the month.
Lose tomorrow, and he’ll be gone Monday
gone next week anyway if the rumours are true