“I put myself first. My attitude wasn’t right.”
Paul Pogba talked a good game on Sunday after Manchester United‘s shock 3-2 loss to Brighton – certainly, a better game than the one he’d just had on the pitch.
There, he’d delivered a disjointed, below-par display emblematic of his team’s. He had one bright moment – a long-range shot in the second half which would have been a stunning goal but for the fingertips of Brighton goalkeeper Matt Ryan – and he did end up scoring, albeit only a last-ditch penalty to halve the two-goal deficit purely for the purposes of making the final scoreline look slightly more respectable.
And that was the sum of his contribution to the game, in a situation which was tailor-made for a captain to lead the charge. Instead, he looked frustrated, rarely got the best aspects of his game going – the skill, power, and vision he showcases on his best days. He was dispossessed five times and only completed one of his five attempted dribbles.
Paul Pogba: "Our attitude was wrong. I put myself first, my attitude was wrong." pic.twitter.com/cAkFcAHWbF
— Man Utd Channel (@ManUtdChannel) August 23, 2018
Yet his post-match performance will have done him a few favours. United didn’t lose because of Pogba. It was Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof’s defending which took care of that, allowing Brighton to score three soft goals. Pogba’s fault lay in not being able to do anything to bring United back from the brink.
Just before his admission of guilt, he subtly called out his colleagues, saying the entire team’s attitude wasn’t right. But by putting his own display under the harsh glare of the spotlight soon after, he accepted he would take the brunt of the public criticism.
His comments were almost that of a manager, deflecting attention from his team-mates’ mistakes by taking responsibility for his own. Somewhere in the vicinity, Jose Mourinho may have felt a sense of pride. Sir Alex Ferguson would certainly have appreciated the move.
Pogba knows who he is now – a World Cup winner and Man United captain. On the pitch, the buck stops with him. That he has the self-awareness to accept the weight of it, and call himself out when he felt he deserved it, shows why United have entrusted him with the armband.
It’s ironic that two games into the role, the Frenchman has questioned his own attitude.
Part of the turmoil surrounding United this summer has stemmed from Mourinho doing the exact same thing, challenging the 25-year-old to translate his World Cup success into something more consistent, more lasting at club level.
When the manager said Pogba needs to remember why he was able to star for France, and then apply it to United, he was basically making the same statement which came to Pogba in the aftermath of the demoralising loss on Sunday.
But post-match interviews in defeats are not where the referendums on Pogba’s captaincy will be conducted. If he’s publicly declared his attitude wasn’t the right one for a particular match, the next time he steps out onto the pitch, he has to show that he’s fixed that problem. Leadership and responsibility need to be shown during the game, not after it.
Since Pogba signed for #MUFC he has started 57 games in the Premier League: Won 33, Drawn 16 and Lost 8. 115 points at 2.01 points per game. Without Pogba in the side: Played 21, Won 11, Drawn 5, Lost 5. 38 points at 1.8 points per game. He's worth 7 to 8 points a season to side.
— Joe Sillett (@JoeSillett) August 22, 2018
So all eyes will be on him on Monday, when United take on Tottenham in the team’s first big game of the season.
Spurs have won both of their opening games and will come to Old Trafford full of confidence, especially if they sense, like many others do, that their hosts are a team in crisis.
It’s up to Pogba to show his post-match comments weren’t mere words. He needs to be a leader on the pitch, rallying his teammates, giving them an example to follow, and sending out a message to his own team and everyone else that while he’s on the pitch, his attitude can carry United to victory just as much as his match-winning ability.
He’s shown he can talk the talk when it comes to being captain. But now it’s time for him to walk the walk.
