In case you were wondering, Juventus WILL not be winning the Scudetto this year. That is no longer a plausible reality. Instead, Juventus must aim for trying to finish in the top three as I doubt they will be winning the Champions League this year which would grant them automatic entry back into the competition next year.
So what now for their new number ten and the dude who previously had the title of the "Truth"?
I will always hold Pogba as a very talented footballer who has the potential to be one of the best players in the world for his generation. But he hasn't reached there yet and he is not of the level to be dragging Juventus through matches. When Zidane did such a feat for France in 2006, he was well into his 30's and that was his final ever time seen in football. Perhaps Pogba can reach such a level, perhaps, but as of right now he's still in his development stage and the situation he finds himself in right now for Juventus is not ideal.
It all made sense in the previous years. He was an understudy to Pirlo, learning from the master and he had an excellent all round midfielder as well in Vidal. Both elements worked together to improve his game. The idea being that once he hit that sweetspot of 27 or 28, he'd finally mature as a player reaching his peak and would not need the guidance of Pirlo and Vidal anymore. Well, a wrench was thrown into that project and Pogba now looks around in midfield and can't find his surrogate fathers. It's now all on him and that's just a bit unfair.
All the critics are swooping down like vultures to denounce him, labelling him a fraud and actually are taking pleasure in his misgivings on the pitch. I don't ever recall Pogba coming out and proclaiming himself to be the best thing since a rubber ice-cube holder. So I would really love to know why there is this intense hate for Pogba and where it's come from?
Putting that to one side, the way I see things right now, Pogba needs to packs his bags and leave. Juventus is a sinking ship, Allegri could be axed soon and there isn't a long term plan to get Juventus back to winning ways. Their very unique core was lost all at the same time rather than in a gradual fashion, and you just don't get dudes like Carlito, Vidal and the Peerless Pirlo very easily. The longer Pogba remains with Juventus, and they keep on losing games, and the fans get on him because they expect him to be Del Piero and single-handedly get them out of trouble, the harder it will be for him to perform and thus a decline will take place.
Whether it be Barcelona, City, Madrid; Pogba just needs to move. Juventus was the perfect place for him with the players he had around him and the way the team played, but that environment just doesn't exist anymore. It's time to jet and be in another team that can allow his talents to flourish and grow rather than be diminished.
HH
