I'd have thought it more likely he'd elbow out Carrick and / or Schweinsteiger. After all, we won't run a full season of PL, domestic cups and EL with two CMs - I can see Pogba, Schneiderlin and Herrera, possible also with Rooney and Micky, competing for three CM spots or two CM spots and a number ten position. That leaves us with Tony, Rashford, Depay, Mata, Young and Zlatan for the three attacking spots, so six players for three positions, possibly even with Micky playing one of those if Young and / or Mata is moved on, and there is then another space in the midfield squad. So yeah, I agree it would be a waste if Pogba arriving meant Herrera and Schneiderlin going, but I don't see that happening - like you say it is more likely Carrick and Schweinsteiger will be the ones to leave. Same way Veron meant the end of Butt, not Keane or Scholes, and it was Alan Smith who made way for Hargreaves, not Fletcher, Carrick or Scholes. We have a strong potential CM pairing in Herrera and Schneiderlin, and Rooney could contribute as well, but not particularly reliable CM backups, and I think it would be rash to pin our season on that when there is a top quality option available in the market.
I dunno - Mourinho was happy enough with Fabregas in CM for Chelsea. Alongside the more mobile and aggressive Matic, which makes a reasonable case for him considering Pogba alongside Herrera, possibly with Schneiderlin holding in the big games. Three good CMs with three different playing styles gives a lot of tactical options, which is what Mourinho generally seems to want in his midfields. His willingness to keep playing the average Mikel for Chelsea shows that - he didn't get rid of him as he knew he could play a different style to the other CMs he had, and Schneiderlin is twice the player Mikel will ever be. Either way, the future of Herrera will depend more on how Mourinho views him, I don't see Pogba being the end of Herrera, any more than all the people in 2007 claiming Hargreaves was the end of Carrick in a Utd shirt.
I was thinking hard earlier, "I'm sure I've missed someone" . Turns out it was Rooney. Indeed, I do think he's likely to start the season at CM though so that's even less need of Pogba for me.
I don't really consider either Carrick or Schweinstiger to be first team starters now so they won't be elbowed out as such by Pogba.
I was thinking more along the lines of them being elbowed out of consideration in the absence of injuries. I doubt Mourinho will have a fixed first team, particularly in terms of the CM line up and in his first season in charge. Ultimately I would rather have Pogba, Herrera, Schneiderlin, Rooney and Mickey competing for the CM and AM / number ten slots than have Herrera, Schneiderlin, Rooney and Mickey competing for them with only Carrick and maybe Schweinsteiger to fall back on. Particularly if Young, Depay and Mata move on which means Mickey plays more on the wing than as number 10. In the absence of Pogba (or another good CM), our attacking line up could be: ---Herrera---Schneiderlin--- Rashford--Mickey--Tony -----------Zlatan The only replacements we have then will be Rooney, Lingard and Carrick, who are all not as good as the players they would replace. Whilst that is a good strong line up, another CM of equal or better quality to Herrera and Schneiderlin gives us a lot more tactical options and the ability to change it up without bringing in an inferior replacement. It also means we don't have an immediate drop in quality and flexibility with injury. * For the purposes of argument I am assuming Fellaini, Depay, Young, Mata and Schweinsteiger are either gone or not under serious consideration as regular features.
I think Schweinsteiger is toast - some German side will snap him up and he will play brilliantly between knee injuries. I can see Carrick sitting on the bench for most of the season but featuring in cup competitions to help bring on the youngsters. Mata has been very quiet, normally you hear little snippets from him in the summer but he has been ominously quiet - perhaps he is making plans to jump before he is pushed. If Pogba is available we should snap him up - his pace makes him ideal for playing with Lingard, Martial and Rashford, but somehow I don't think he will come The more signings we make, the less we need Rooney and I would hate for us to f*#k it all up by playing him for the sake of it.
We don't really know that do we? It's just an assumption that's been made, I really do think that on the basis that he's talented, pacey and has bags of energy he should be given a chance, it would be a criminal waste if that's not the case. It does seem like Mata will be surplus though as Mickey and, possibly, Rooney will be in his way at No.10. The more I consider the options we have the more i'd really just as soon we don't get Pogba back. I hadn't even factored in the mighty Fellaini.
It would be criminal he's a top player, he could be a massive player for you next season if Jose gives him the confidence to go and play.
This signing of Ibrahimovich is more likely to be a disaster than a success IMO. Would have been a great signing for us many years ago, but at 34 I think he is going to really struggle to make an impact in the Premier League. PSG aside the French league is awful, i wouldn't say it is any better than the Championship. So he's been playing at a low level for years in France, with the odd CL tie here or there. I just don't see him being able to handle the pace and intensity of the PL week in week out. You'd have thought we would have learned our lesson with Falcao, but clearly not.
I disagree, he's brilliant technically and an intelligent player. I don't think he'll get you 20+ goals but what he creates around him for busy players like Martial and Rashford will make a huge difference.
Agreed. Saying he won't perform as he's been in France is the same as people who dismissed RVN as a crock who had only performed in Holland, or who saw Larsson as a panic signing in 2007. He probably won't be as lethal as he was for PSG, but his ability to hold up the ball and cause defences problems will be vital to our success. To put it in context, Drogba came from France with very little pace, only scored more than 20 goals (across all competitions no less) in two of his nine seasons at Chelsea, and was still the main reason for almost all of their success in his time at the club.
What we gain in technical skill we will lose in a lack of energy, desire and work rate. It's ok in a league like France to have a striker with a low work rate, but in a league like the PL I think you need players who are prepared to put in a shift, right throughout the team. There is no room for lazy, over the hill players who aren't prepared to run.
Van Nistlerooy was still young, and in his prime when we signed him. I'm not doubting that Ibrahimovich was once a world class player, but he isn't anymore. Henrik Larsson scored 1 goal for us by the way Drogba again was a young man in his first spell at Chelsea, and when he rejoined as a player well in his 30s after playing at a lower level, he was ****e. I hope I am wrong, but I just don't think a 34 year old who's been playing lower level football for a few years now is the answer to our lack of goals. I think he's just going to add to the problem.
Have a look at some recent video of him and see just how wrong you are. It may be that with his height it looks deceptive, but he is extremely mobile as well as a technically gifted passer of the ball. Falcao was a crock when we took him on, not so Zlatan who has a point to prove - not to us, but to himself. With that ego, if he wasn't at all sure that he could hack it in the PL, he simply would not have come. By the way, the British Government is delighted to announce that Zlatan is at Carrington having his medical. The Queen has already told him he has passed.
I think he'll be good for a season, probably two. Have I said that already? He won't flop, he's comfortable working at the pace he does and is the opposite to Falcao who needed pace but had lost it due to injury. I've mentioned Cantona's lack of real pace before and it is very similar in that he will have fast players either side in Martial and (hopefully) Rashford, as Cantona did with Kanchelskis, Sharpe and Giggs.
