Contrarian just for the sake of being contrarian.
Nobody can argue with Eamon Dunphy’s contribution to football as a pundit. His playing career was steady but not spectacular – in his own words, he was a ‘good player, but not a great player.’ He has, however, been a leading observer from the studio since the 1980s. His ability to sidestep punditry psychobabble and offer an uncompromisingly frank opinion of the game always makes for compelling stuff, whether you agree with him or not.
His latest eyebrow-raising comments surrounded Paul Pogba. As it turns out, Dunphy isn’t all that keen on him.
We’re not really surprised. This is, after all, the man whose assessment of Didier Drogba amounted to calling him ‘a big donkey.’
But now it’s the United star he isn’t overly enamoured with.
Speaking on RTÉ 2fm’s Game On, Dunphy said Pogba is a player who doesn’t influence games enough to warrant the €100 million they spent to re-sign him from Juventus in 2016. Pogba is suspended for this Sunday’s Manchester derby after being sent off against Arsenal, but Dunphy feels they can get by without him.
“It’s not a game-changer. I don’t think Pogba is that good. There are a lot of guys in England hyping him up.
“He’s okay, but he’s always on the edge of the game. He’s not somebody who brings a lot of influence to bear on the game.
“He made a goal at the weekend, but for £90 million, you are expecting a lot more over the 90 minutes, a lot more intensity.”
He’s okay? Nah, he’s not just okay. Jordan Henderson is just okay and Pogba is a good bit better than Henderson.
Hang on, there’s more.
“He’s not a world class player, he’s not a make-the-difference player.
“He looks like he hasn’t a care in the world. I’d say he is a smashing lad to be going out on a night out, or living next door to, but does he win matches?
“I think he’s a guy who is probably best playing out wide, like he was played at Juventus, making the odd intervention. He’s not a world class player, he’s not a make-the-difference player.”
Right, let’s get stuck in then.
We’ll start with the ‘edge of the game’ comment. Anybody who watches United semi-regularly will know that is probably the exact opposite of how you would describe Pogba.
A magnetic and sometimes majestic presence in the centre, most of United’s attacks tend to go through the 24-year-old. When Pogba was injured earlier in the season, his absence was sorely felt, notably in the defeats to Chelsea and Huddersfield, and the scoreless draw at Liverpool.
With Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s form taking an alarming dip, Jose Mourinho was suddenly left with a lack of creativity in the side.
But it was Pogba he missed the most and the Frenchman wasted no time showing United what they had been missing when he returned against Newcastle United a couple of weeks ago. Pogba created the first, dropping his right shoulder to beat Isaac Hayden before laying it on a plate for his compatriot Anthony Martial.
With United 2-1 up, Pogba made sure of the win by scoring his team’s third, making a late dash into the box to convert Marcus Rashford’s knockdown. His decisive contributions against the Magpies don’t bear the hallmark of a player on ‘the edge’ of games. He was very much at the centre of things during his 70 minutes on the pitch.
It was far from exceptional, either, as he was a highly influential against Arsenal, too, setting up two of United’s three goals. That’s making a difference. In a big game, too.
Pogba has three goals and five assists to his name this season. Considering that he missed nine weeks of action after picking up an injury against Basel in September, that’s a pretty impressive return. In fact, his average WhoScored rating of 7.91 is the highest of any United player this season, with a resurgent Ashley Young the next best at 7.58. Additionally, United this season have won 87.5% of the games he’s played compared to just 57.1% when he hasn’t.
Now, Dunphy may or may not put much stock into such statistics, but they certainly paint a different picture – and a more accurate one at that.
As for his apparent ‘odd intervention’ at Juventus, allow me to retort. Pogba was a force of nature in Turin and his performances in midfield helped them to four successive Serie A titles during his time there. He scored 34 goals in 178 appearances while he was the league’s top assist provider in the 2015/16 season. He was also in the Serie A team of the year three times, which recognised his performances at a consistently high level rather than the ‘odd intervention.’
It’s also safe to assume United didn’t fork up a then world-record fee for the midfielder based on scouting reports that highlighted the ‘odd intervention’ either.
Pogba makes as much difference to this United side as anyone. His dynamism, swagger and range of passing give United the flamboyant dimension their midfield has often lacked in recent years. Undoubtedly, his creativity and driving runs from deep will be missed when they take on Manchester City this Sunday.
I do agree with Dunphy on one thing, though – Pogba would be brilliant craic on a night out.
