Fredy Guarin

[Jype 6,398]

Guarin or Matic??

Matic is no doubt the better player, not to mention much better suited to our needs, but he would cost roughly double Guarin's price and is cup tied for the Champions League too so I'm not sure.

From what I've seen Matic is a great talent and probably the best realistically available midfielder in the January window but it depends on what Mourinho and the board are looking for. If the club have Matic as the number one choice and consider him affordable and don't mind the fact he's cup-tied in the Champions League, then it's a no-brainer really but if the idea is to get a reasonably priced squad player who's eligible to play in all competitions and then take a pick of the much wider selection of central midfielders in the summer, it's better to buy a player like Guarin and wait till the next transfer window to really take a look at who we need and who's available.

[ZOS 580]

Guarin or Matic??

Matic, hands down

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Guarin or Matic??

15m or 30m?

[Mouri_Matic 560]

Witsel>both

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

It's not that I think he'd be a starter but I read some posts talking about that midfield-three being a possibility.

I personally don't see the similarity between him and Ramires tbh. Energetic yes but he's more like the Gerrard of old imo, only not nearly as good.

He's not a world beater but he can press, he covers some ground and we currently lack dynamic/mobile midfielders

No we don't. We lack a ball playing mid, not another runner. Sure another runner won't hurt, and will be able to spell Ramires but our weakness is that our mids have zero ounce of creativity within them. None of them have the confidence to be able to put in early balls to our attackers. Luiz is the only one who even attempts this and he's not a mid. We need someone who has the ability to pick out an attacker positioned between the lines, not when they drop deep and receive an easy pass and then turn around to face two banks of four.

[The only place to be 11,313]

No we don't. We lack a ball playing mid, not another runner. Sure another runner won't hurt, and will be able to spell Ramires but our weakness is that our mids have zero ounce of creativity within them. None of them have the confidence to be able to put in early balls to our attackers. Luiz is the only one who even attempts this and he's not a mid. We need someone who has the ability to pick out an attacker positioned between the lines, not when they drop deep and receive an easy pass and then turn around to face two banks of four.

Yes we do. This guy has the tools to be exactly what we need. He's capable of putting a good pass in, he can run well with the ball and he can shoot from distance. Those last two are what we've missed in that midfield. Teams don't have to worry about our midfield doing much more than passing sideways and it's got to the point where even Lamps looks reluctant to shoot from distance.

This guy's biggest problem is his consistency. If he can find some under Jose then he could be an important player for us. If not then he fills a role for a few years as the new Mikel.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

No we don't. We lack a ball playing mid, not another runner. Sure another runner won't hurt, and will be able to spell Ramires but our weakness is that our mids have zero ounce of creativity within them. None of them have the confidence to be able to put in early balls to our attackers. Luiz is the only one who even attempts this and he's not a mid. We need someone who has the ability to pick out an attacker positioned between the lines, not when they drop deep and receive an easy pass and then turn around to face two banks of four.

Yes we do. This guy has the tools to be exactly what we need. He's capable of putting a good pass in, he can run well with the ball and he can shoot from distance. Those last two are what we've missed in that midfield. Teams don't have to worry about our midfield doing much more than passing sideways and it's got to the point where even Lamps looks reluctant to shoot from distance.

This guy's biggest problem is his consistency. If he can find some under Jose then he could be an important player for us. If not then he fills a role for a few years as the new Mikel.

If he was a good passer then I'd agree with you. But I don't think he is a good passer. Every time I've watched him he's looked sloppier than Ramires on his worst days.

[The only place to be 11,313]

If he was a good passer then I'd agree with you. But I don't think he is a good passer. Every time I've watched him he's looked sloppier than Ramires on his worst days.

We have Mikel who completes 92% of his passes but does nothing with them. This guy might not be as consistent a passer but there's a lot more adventure in his play and that's what we're lacking in that midfield, especially against teams who sit deep and defend for 90 minutes. If this guy has a shot in the 5th minute then in the 24th he might draw a defender out of position who thinks he'll have another pop - that creates space.

He can also take the ball through the first line rather than waiting for Oscar to drop deep and take the ball off him, and he's got a decent physical presence.

This could go either way but I'm hopeful that Jose sees something in him to remedy our woes.

[Bir_CFC 3,455]

If he was a good passer then I'd agree with you. But I don't think he is a good passer. Every time I've watched him he's looked sloppier than Ramires on his worst days.

We have Mikel who completes 92% of his passes but does nothing with them. This guy might not be as consistent a passer but there's a lot more adventure in his play and that's what we're lacking in that midfield, especially against teams who sit deep and defend for 90 minutes. If this guy has a shot in the 5th minute then in the 24th he might draw a defender out of position who thinks he'll have another pop - that creates space.

He can also take the ball through the first line rather than waiting for Oscar to drop deep and take the ball off him, and he's got a decent physical presence.

This could go either way but I'm hopeful that Jose sees something in him to remedy our woes.

I think he'll def help, but I don't share your optimism, hopefully I'm wrong though. He's an upgrade to Essien for sure. Another option to spell the others and really he won't be worse than the others.

To me he's being brought in so we don't sabotage our season if another mid goes down with injury.

I also think he's dynamic in his play compared to everyone else other than Rami but I still rather have a clever passer in there who is able to find the immensely talented Hazard in good positions rather than run through the first line themselves to create a goal.

I just want to put our attacking mids in positions where they can do what they do best rather than a player who creates a chance himself. I want the guy who will make the pass before the assist cause that means he's making others around him better.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

15m or 30m?

tough since 30mil player is better

[mayendo 2]

greetings to all

[Sheva. 5,373]

Guarin or Matic??

I posted a while ago that whoever we sign will indicate what type of midfield Mourinho wants. And with the rumours of Matic and Guarin over someone like Cabaye, it looks like we will be end up with a defensive + energetic pivot, like Man city.

This also means creativity problems will still persist, especially with Matic.

[mayendo 2]

are inter fan

[mayendo 2]

sorry for my bad english

[Tomo 21,681]

Matic is no doubt the better player, not to mention much better suited to our needs, but he would cost roughly double Guarin's price and is cup tied for the Champions League too so I'm not sure.

The League's the most important thing in my eyes.

Cup tied is a tiny nuisance in the grande scheme of things, at worst.

[Jype 6,398]

The League's the most important thing in my eyes.

Cup tied is a tiny nuisance in the grande scheme of things, at worst.

I agree, the league has to be priority number one but not being eligible to play in a major competition is still a point worth noting. Like I said, it really comes down to what the club is looking for in January: buying a versatile squad player to help us get through the season, or trying to address the midfield problem once and for all by signing a key player for years to come. Both options have their pros and cons but at the moment us fans really have no idea which of the two options the club is going to choose.

[kellzfresh 7,226]

I posted a while ago that whoever we sign will indicate what type of midfield Mourinho wants. And with the rumours of Matic and Guarin over someone like Cabaye, it looks like we will be end up with a defensive + energetic pivot, like Man city.

This also means creativity problems will still persist, especially with Matic.

Maybe he wants a dynamic pivot. Like brazil, they create a lot of chances but their pivot is gustavo-paulinho and our own oscar ahead of them. if we have matic-ramires it becomes as mobile as that and gives us room to be more dynamic in our play

[kellzfresh 7,226]

greetings to all

Welcome