Reports are fresh out of Manchester saying Pogba and Zeki Fryers have been given their final contract offers. If these are rejected, then they are done as United players.
I’m distraught. I like both of them. We do have Fabio so losing Zeki wouldn’t be the end of the world. But what we do absolutely need is a strong, dynamic presence in the midfield, something we’ve missed for a very long while since the days of Keano. Darren Fletcher was going to fill that role for years to come, but it seems that irritable bowel syndrome or tapeworm or whatever it is, is far deadlier for a footballer than broken legs. So now we are left with a brilliant, but aging Carrick. Carrick who I adore and rate very highly, but who doesn’t really have an athletic presence in the midfield. Having Paul Pogba grow up with the first team and be that pivotal fulcrum in our future midfield is thus a big, big hope of mine. I’ve doubted the hype, mostly due to my distrust of the English media, but multiple reserves matches on United TV and his most recent cameo have convinced me of his obvious potential and quality. And he has high marks in both categories.
So what to do?
It seems that like much of the Bosman bred youngsters nowadays, under the greasy fingers of scum like Mino Raiola, Paul Pogba has decided that Juventus’s 40,000 pound offer is much more appealing than accepting a 20,000 pound contract. Considering that’s a record offer for a youngster out of Carrington, it is very disappointing to see him adopt the contract rebelliousness of a certain Ravel Morrison.
We love our youngsters at United, and our youngsters have loved us. It is folklore that not one of the class of 92′ rejected their initial professional contracts with the club. They put up zero negotiation. Becks, Butt, Scholesy, Giggsy, Savage, the Nevilles all accepted their 9,000 pound offer on the spot in Fergie’s office. Scholes never used an agent his entire career. They just offered him hefty raises contract after contract, and he signed them with not so much as a raised eyebrow. And look Fergie’s Fledglings now. Long decorated careers, some more decorated than others, but all household names.
So on one hand, I do get very angry and frustrated at reading something like this about Pogba. If a club like United offers you a professional contract, don’t be a greedy little bitch about it. I want to say at him, look around you. Look at the 38 year old Giggs, who has individually won more trophies than multiple clubs put together. Look at Scholes who retired at the unanimous praise of football’s greatest luminaries. Clearly, you are in great hands, and in a club that is known for using the homegrown. Is 20,000 pounds enough for you to hop borders to a team with a completely different playing style, in a league with a completely different (and by that I mean far more boring, less competitive and substandard) game?
On the other hand, I am… scared and hesitant. Scared that this may be another Pique or Rossi. In this anxious side of my brain, I’m thinking…maybe we try not losing this one. Even if it means we soften a little. Maybe we don’t let this one get away. I’ve grown tired and sad of growing great youngsters, teaching them good technique, and english physicality, and then letting them go to foreign clubs free of charge. It might be a better strategy long-term to let the kid have his 30-35K, BUT on a long-term deal where we don’t need to do any raising of wages until 4 or 5 years into it. In that way, if he complains about his wages a couple years from now, we can at least get some transfer money out of it. Financially speaking, its actually the far more lucrative strategy than losing the kid for free now over a measly 10K a week.
Having said that, at the end of the day, I know Fergie’s right. Despite my crafty financial solution proposed, which I’m sure David Gill has mulled over in his brain at some point as well, principle must prevail at United. Fergie is painfully old school, and also unimaginably stubborn. Sometimes frustrating, but that’s why United is United. So no, we can’t go soft over one kid. If we set this precedence, how many United youngsters in years to come will actually accept their standard 15,000 pound (yea, inflation since 92 has been a bitch) contract? I stand firm with Fergie’s position, but it doesn’t stop me from being worried that he’ll be the next Gerard Pique. One heartbreak was painful enough.
The Beautiful Game 