Speaking out is fine...but not in the media

If you are a captain or vice-captain, you're more often than not speaking on behalf of the players, and there is nothing wrong with giving the manager your thoughts. But this shouldn't be done in the media - it helps nobody for these arguments to be played out in public. Apart from the media themselves of course!

In modern football, players are very powerful, they are the stars of the show. It's normal for them to have opinions, but they need to be backed up.

I'm really surprised it has got to this stage. This sort of thing really needs to be kept in-house. You're all grown-ups, figure it out in the dressing room.

JUST IN!



Frosty footage just in from @ManUtd's training session between Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho...



What has been said between the pair this morning? pic.twitter.com/nRiTEgDJlH ? Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 26, 2018

For Mourinho to have gone as far as removing the vice captaincy, Pogba must have provoked him - whether it was the comments after the Wolves game or something else. But these arguments affect everybody else and start having an impact on the pitch.

As someone who wants Manchester United to do well, I'm fed up of waking up and seeing these headlines. Football should be about what happens on the pitch, not who has the biggest dick. It's a stupid situation.

Win and lose together

I don't think the solution to all this is for one or other to leave. Mourinho is one of the best managers in world football and Pogba is a great player, a World Cup winner, who is still young and will improve.

If a player is not happy, they have the right to speak to the manager about it, and if they are not doing that, it's strange. Teams need to win and lose together.

United can't rest on one-goal leads

I thought United would go on and win after getting the early goal but it looked like it gave them a false sense of security and Derby grew into the game, and were deserved winners in the end.

I was very impressed with Derby, they played some great football and have some excellent youngsters in the side by the looks of it. Frank Lampard obviously knows what he is doing.

Mourinho has publically criticised some of the players for their effort levels, but sometimes you can only play as well as your opponent allows you to and Derby were very good. It looked like they wanted it more than United.

It was the same against Wolves at the weekend, which was another example of a so-called smaller team coming to Old Trafford and not being afraid to play good football, in a positive style. It's great to see.

Both of those games showed that one goal is rarely enough. United need to keep the pressure on when they are in the lead, keep attacking and suffocate the opponents.

Tough test at the London Stadium

Next up for Man Utd is a trip to West Ham on Saturday. With these situations swirling around, every game becomes vitally important. If you don't win, the issues start to pile up.

It's not going to be easy for United, they need to forget about these distractions and concentrate on the game.

I hope that Pogba will play and prove his importance to the team. There is so much pressure on him to perform, but the best players put more pressure on themselves, and I'd love to see him go out there and score the winner.

For all that, the team is bigger than any one player and I'd be hopeful that they can come back from east London with the three points.

***

Our traders have priced up plenty of Pogba v Mourinho specials ahead of the West Ham clash



