🇷🇸 Nemanja Matic

[Beepu 1,714]

That City game where he dominated the midfield seemed like ages ago.....

[Beigl 1,387]

The thing that makes me cringe about him is his slow backtracking like he doesn´t even care. As midfielder he should have a good stamina to go up and down the pitch in a decent pace, but look at the game yesterday he basically strolled back when Arsenal hit us on the counter, leaving Kante and our horrendous defence sometimes even outnumbered against their pacey players. Even a 34 year old Lampard would look like Ramires next to him when it comes to energy. I don´t know why Conte wants him to be his number 8, because he clearly isn´t athletic enough to fill this role, not to mention his obvious lack of technique going forward. I think he could have done a job in a double pivot next to Kante, but as I said he is clearly useless at attacking and playmaking. I mean even Oscar would have been better yesterday, as the Brazilian has much more energy and atleast knows how to press opponents. 

[CHOULO19 24,332]

The problem is not in him alone neither does replacing him even with the best box-to-box midfielder in the world solve our issues.

That said, I am just SICK of watching Matic take 3 touches and a full 5 seconds in the middle of our transitioning, only to choose the wrong pass and then even misplace that! 

[The Skipper 20,609]

The only position for him is as an anchor man DM imo. 

[Topico 165]

11 hours ago, Beepu said:

That City game where he dominated the midfield seemed like ages ago.....

It was 2,5 year ago...

[communicate 2,703]

6 hours ago, CHOULO19 said:

The problem is not in him alone neither does replacing him even with the best box-to-box midfielder in the world solve our issues.

That said, I am just SICK of watching Matic take 3 touches and a full 5 seconds in the middle of our transitioning, only to choose the wrong pass and then even misplace that! 

I still don't get his role in Conte's tactic. I thought he played there to protect Hazard but not sure that is the case.

He is not a box to box mid but he is playing position where a box to box quality is required, so is it his fault or the managers fault

 

[LDN Blue 7,903]

By far the most retarded player on the pitch yesterday, what the fuck is he still doing in the team.

[The Skipper 20,609]

@CHOULO19 how would you describe the role Marchisio had under Conte in the midfield three? Similar to this?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

2 hours ago, communicate said:

I still don't get his role in Conte's tactic. I thought he played there to protect Hazard but not sure that is the case.

He is not a box to box mid but he is playing position where a box to box quality is required, so is it his fault or the managers fault

I think I get what Conte wants and that is a central midfielder on either side of Kante to cover for either winger and to funnel opposition towards Kante. 

But Matic does not have the pace to press or to cover for Hazard nor does he have the technical ability to aid in attack. 

 

1 hour ago, LDN Blue said:

By far the most retarded player on the pitch yesterday, what the fuck is he still doing in the team.

Who are you? I've never seen you this upset before!

[LDN Blue 7,903]

5 minutes ago, CHOULO19 said:

Who are you? I've never seen you this upset before!

 it's truly become infuriating! They need to at least give a f*ck if they're going to be this shit.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

1 minute ago, The Skipper said:

@CHOULO19 how would you describe the role Marchisio had under Conte in the midfield three? Similar to this?

No, no. Not even remotely. I really hope that that is not what Conte wants from Matic because I have never seen more contrast between two players in the same position that Matic and Marchisio. Marchisio lacks physical strength (and can be very moody) but he has one of the best techniques on the ball I have ever seen. Juve fans say he is unable to score an ugly goal.

In terms of the role I don't see many similarities as the systems and even tactics are completely different here. The defensive objective at Juve was to protect Pirlo in the middle while here it seems more to protect the wings and push play inside. On the attack at Juve the emphasis was on diagonal passes to the wing backs and runners into the box while here it's....frankly I still don't know what Conte wants but we seem to be focusing on runs from Eden and his link up with Diego from the left and Iva overloading on the right.

Does that answer your question? Probably not, but what can you do

 

9 minutes ago, LDN Blue said:

 it's truly become infuriating! They need to at least give a f*ck if they're going to be this shit.

It is, especially when Conte refuses not just to bench but even to just sub him off. Even when he switched to 3-5-2 he still took of Cesc and kept him on. I really can't understand what role Conte sees Matic is contributing... 

[LDN Blue 7,903]

1 minute ago, CHOULO19 said:

It is, especially when Conte refuses not just to bench but even to just sub him off. Even when he switched to 3-5-2 he still took of Cesc and kept him on. I really can't understand what role Conte sees Matic is contributing... 

Like I understand there was desire to keep hold of him through the Juventus rumours and it is apparently true that he did fancy a new challenge. But if that's the reason he's in the starting XI, to keep him happy, then it's ridiculous. I can't see what he's adding, Kante's covering the defensive work. Matic is static, he's inept going forward and his running style leaves a lot of questions. He looks awkward when he goes forward, posture reminds me something more along the lines of Jordan Henderson. And you know if you're compared to Henderson how bad one is  

[CHOULO19 24,332]

9 minutes ago, LDN Blue said:

Like I understand there was desire to keep hold of him through the Juventus rumours and it is apparently true that he did fancy a new challenge. But if that's the reason he's in the starting XI, to keep him happy, then it's ridiculous. I can't see what he's adding, Kante's covering the defensive work. Matic is static, he's inept going forward and his running style leaves a lot of questions. He looks awkward when he goes forward, posture reminds me something more along the lines of Jordan Henderson. And you know if you're compared to Henderson how bad one is  

Honestly, and I'm not just saying this as a Juve fan, but it was probably what was best for all of him, Chelsea and Juve that he moved to Italy this summer. And he even wanted to! I don't get why the club and Conte went out of their way to keep him when it's painfully clear that he does not fit Conte's system. 

[LDN Blue 7,903]

50 minutes ago, CHOULO19 said:

Honestly, and I'm not just saying this as a Juve fan, but it was probably what was best for all of him, Chelsea and Juve that he moved to Italy this summer. And he even wanted to! I don't get why the club and Conte went out of their way to keep him when it's painfully clear that he does not fit Conte's system. 

I'll admit I was one of those that thought I'd understand the rationale behind it . With all the attacking flare we have I thought Matic could perhaps be the link between Kante and attack, but once I saw Kante's distribution I quickly realised Matic's inclusion simply doesn't make sense. As I said, his attacking abilities are severely lacking and confusing. He loses the ball in key areas of attack and even hinders the wave by not passing quickly enough or to the right player. 

Again a lack of recruitment for a true CM has cost us. To be honest, I'm not sure how much even Kante-Oscar-Fabregas would make a difference. Until we get things right defensively, our offensive players have nothing to build on.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

12 minutes ago, LDN Blue said:

I'll admit I was one of those that thought I'd understand the rationale behind it . With all the attacking flare we have I thought Matic could perhaps be the link between Kante and attack, but once I saw Kante's distribution I quickly realised Matic's inclusion simply doesn't make sense. As I said, his attacking abilities are severely lacking and confusing. He loses the ball in key areas of attack and even hinders the wave by not passing quickly enough or to the right player. 

Again a lack of recruitment for a true CM has cost us. To be honest, I'm not sure how much even Kante-Oscar-Fabregas would make a difference. Until we get things right defensively, our offensive players have nothing to build on.

Fabregas won't offer anything in defense but his forward runs can be effective and he will provide the killer pass that would make our counters deadly. Even Luiz's passing from defense has been a breathe of fresh air for our mostly predictable attacks.

But even if Conte is convinced that Cesc can't be part of his system, why not try Willian there? His work rate and even defensive abilities when called on are no worse than Oscar and even though his passing can be frustrating it's still many levels ahead of Matic. Moses who's done well when given the chance and who offers a direct approach we lack can play on the right wing. 

I know it's mostly nostalgia and we only remember the good of any player but I can't help but think that this role that Conte wants in this particular system would have been perfect for Ramires. Well maybe not 'perfect' with his passing technique, but I think a Ramires-like player would solve quite a few of our problems in midfield. 

[LDN Blue 7,903]

21 minutes ago, CHOULO19 said:

But even if Conte is convinced that Cesc can't be part of his system, why not try Willian there? His work rate and even defensive abilities when called on are no worse than Oscar and even though his passing can be frustrating it's still many levels ahead of Matic. Moses who's done well when given the chance and who offers a direct approach we lack can play on the right wing. 

That's true, Moses has shown maturity since coming back. 

Again, it's just not addressing our defensive frailties. My vote would be for Chalobah to be honest, having started out as a CB and progressed to DM coupled with his experience in Serie A, he would be a good addition in midfield for Matic and keeping Oscar/Fabregas competing. 

Ahhh, the lack of recruitment is so infuriating at these times when you find these weaknesses. 

[CHOULO19 24,332]

8 minutes ago, LDN Blue said:

That's true, Moses has shown maturity since coming back. 

Again, it's just not addressing our defensive frailties. My vote would be for Chalobah to be honest, having started out as a CB and progressed to DM coupled with his experience in Serie A, he would be a good addition in midfield for Matic and keeping Oscar/Fabregas competing. 

Ahhh, the lack of recruitment is so infuriating at these times when you find these weaknesses. 

Give a youth product a chance? Let's try to keep this realistic!

[communicate 2,703]

On 9/26/2016 at 1:27 AM, CHOULO19 said:

I think I get what Conte wants and that is a central midfielder oazard nor does he have the technical ability to aid in attack. 

 

Who are you? I've never seen you this upset before!

So basically he need to play as some kind of box to box, may as well play oscar much better as box to box. Me are going to be too small in midfiield but hey there is no harm on trying something

[Styles 9,790]

On 25/09/2016 at 6:50 PM, LDN Blue said:

Like I understand there was desire to keep hold of him through the Juventus rumours and it is apparently true that he did fancy a new challenge. But if that's the reason he's in the starting XI, to keep him happy, then it's ridiculous. I can't see what he's adding, Kante's covering the defensive work. Matic is static, he's inept going forward and his running style leaves a lot of questions. He looks awkward when he goes forward, posture reminds me something more along the lines of Jordan Henderson. And you know if you're compared to Henderson how bad one is  

LOL, you're talking like Henderson wouldn't walk into our midfield with ease. He's better than all of them bar one.

[LDN Blue 7,903]

On 9/27/2016 at 8:19 PM, Styles said:

LOL, you're talking like Henderson wouldn't walk into our midfield with ease. He's better than all of them bar one.

Y U Do Dis