Korea

I already know this... This was a question to the people that claimed Oscar was only there and starting due to the lack of a legit pivot.... To your last point, if Mata cant adapt to the system, what does Mata bring than to the team?

eh, I dont get why we didnt just play an official 4-3-3 and use him there with the arrival of Matic...

Good read about the situation....from BR. What Nemanja Matic Will Bring to Chelsea Following January Transfer According to the BBC, Nemanja Matic is set for a medical with Chelsea football club ahead of a £22 million move from Benfica. He was pictured last night arriving at a London airport and, subsequently, at a hotel near the ground, affirming wild speculation that the Serbian was all set to ink a second deal with the club. Casual fans will be confused by the deal: it's the same player the Blues sent to Benficaas part of the mega David Luiz deal, and his value, back then, was around €3 million. Now, Jose Mourinho is buying him back for 10 times that, so what gives? Rapid, perhaps unforeseeable progression has elevated Matic to near world-class status as a defensive midfielder in just two short years. He's blossomed with regular playing time and makes great strides every game, capable of dominating a match defensively and providing a platform for the forwards to attack. In the summer of 2012, he assumed full control of Benfica's midfield, and with JaviGarcia sold to Manchester City, he immediately began showing Benfiquista why the Spaniard would never be missed. He trumps Garcia in almost every tangible way, boasting great height (6'4"), wonderful range, better agility and more energy to his game. Tighe B/R Those tuning in to Premier League matches weekly won't believe this to be a feat considering how sub-par Garcia has been for City, but in the Liga Sagres, he showed enough to convince Roberto Mancini to spend £15 million on him. Matic has shown to be better. He's a tough, clean tackler and reads the game exceptionally well. He has an appropriate level of base speed and agility to cover the pitch sideline to sideline but spots danger in a fashion Per Mertesacker does, too; He's proactive, not reactive. In possession, he's extremely reliable, ironed out his few faults on the ball quickly and has become an excellent distributor. It's not fancy, but that's not his job. For Chelsea, he walks into the side as the club's No. 1 defensive midfielder. John Obi Mikel doesn't boast the top-end talent Matic does in any area of the game, and this is a big step toward solving the club's second-weakest area (behind forward). A partnership of Matic and Ramires/David Luiz looks to be perfectly balanced, allowing for midfield solidity and central, vertical drive. Matic plus Frank Lampard or Mikel will not work quite as well. He's got the discipline to succeed in Mourinho's system and will enjoy playing at the heart of an elite midfield. If you're looking for a Premier League comparison, look no further than the snappy nature of Southampton's Morgan Schneiderlin. Chelsea fans will be hoping the Serbian emulates the success of fellow January arrivalBranislav Ivanovic in 2008. We can't say whether he will yet, but we can say £22 million is a steal.

Anyone know the updated version to MVG injury status is? Is next season realistic? I wonder if we buy another cm or bring in a youngster to fulfill the role...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTDj0fS2Uck

The point was people stated Oscar was starting over Mata due to our incompetent CDMs. Now that we have a competent one and apparently Mata is better according to a lot of people here, so, it would be logical that he would start according to their reasoning...

Wow, So arsenal really has changed... I guess moving forward, its going to be Chelsea vs arsenal vs city.....

So, logically speaking, with the arrival of Matic, a proper CDM, Juan Mata should be able to get more game time.. However, if Mourinho doesnt play Mata........

Good job buying a CM, rather than an AM! Hopefully, we can buy one more cm or recall romeu next season..

Oscar can.

rooney for mata swap.... It was blasphemy to them.

I got banned on shedend for saying this....

Passing its not even a contest. Rambo is like the worse passer ive seen affiliated with the brazilian NT, worse than Cbs +full backs... However, his 1v1 ability is amazing and his speed is by far the best on Chelsea... Also, now rambo will have legs to help him and the Ams throughout the game so they can concentrate on the other side as well.

When Ramires goes in attack, he draws a lot of defenders... When lampard goes in attack, he doesnt draw that many defenders. Especially, in the counter, Rambo is deadly with his speed and 1v1 ability (best on our team by far).....

according to Mr. Driver, he is Lahm in the making..... I would pay 30m for Alaba right now... and more

I wonder why United are always aimin for guys that wont join them during the Moyes era.... Cesc, Thiago, Pogba, Vidal...

well, if you want to be technical, their whole team has been average this year.... Lloris after Lukaku ran him over, vertoghen getting beat constantly, to their two attacking mids in Lamela/ericksen, soldado, etc.....

This is reference to the pivot, not our Ams....

Europe too far. WE should compare EPL. Prior to Matic, I'd say City, Tottenham and than Arsenal were better. Liverpool is eh. United is Carrick and .... Southampton is pretty good. Swansea good offensively. With the addition of Matic, hopefully its just under City-Spurs.

eh, Luiz, terry and Cahill are close... Also, TC

In regards to Cole, Terry and Lampard... Is it all 3 or none? Or each one on an individual basis?

The last time a Manchester gk didnt win GK of the epl/bpl was david james.....WTH

Last season final, all I remember was Luiz being completely useless vs benfica. Also, benfica being the better team, yet us winning...

Nice... Coentrao was and is really good. Its too bad he went to the team with the best offensive lb in the world (at that time)..... I would totally do a coentrao for mata straight swap.... People on this board drool over Witsel, so if you Portuguese fans say Matic is better, Ill take your word over theirs.. On a side note, how do you think Rambo-Matic combo would do?

I dont know about the others, but if he was better than Coentrao during his time at benfica, sign me up!