Nemanja Matic

[Jase 43,479]

1 minute ago, kellzfresh said:

He's so clumsy on the ball, no right leg, no ball control, so slow, awful when asked to attack. You could see the difference between him and kante when kante was allowed to get forward. Matic should be the one sitting back, he has no ball control in tight spaces.  

Watching him, Ivanovic and Cahill trying to play with the ball is a tragic sight. All 3 extremely awkward with the ball and have absolutely ZERO clue what to do with them.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

I can't believe I'm saying this: he is our Fellaini, the worse version :sigh:

[kellzfresh 7,229]

1 minute ago, Ryan Fong said:

I can't believe I'm saying this: he is our Fellaini, the worse version :sigh:

Exactly, he reminds me of Fellaini in attack. Maybe that's why Mourinho is playing him as well 

[Hybrid Angel 2,130]

Absolute nothing player. Offers nothing going forward and nothing defensively. Often is caught chasing and hustling rather than snuffing out danger.

We badly need someone in the mold of Nainggolan. Even Thiago Maia would be a clear upgrade in that position.

[nono 791]

2 hours ago, Ryan Fong said:

I can't believe I'm saying this: he is our Fellaini, the worse version :sigh:

Fellaini will at least win you headers. Matic can't do anything offensively. 

[Pizy 18,368]

He plays like a zombie. There physically but his mind is off who knows where. Looks like he's just going through the motions.

He isn't terrible by any means, but is just so extremely limited that you have to question whether he should be starting. Against big teams, sure, but against sides like Watford I'm not sure he's needed.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

The criticism for Matic is way too harsh, imo. He just does not have any role in our current formation.

It's not his fault that he simply does not have the abilities to offer the team anything in the position he is being played in. He lacks the mobility to press high up the pitch like Oscar does, he doesn't have the technique to pick passes from deep or even to simply move the along quickly. The place where he would be able to defend well without having to cover great distances and be able to receive the ball and pass it forward with little pressure is already being the superior player in Kante. 

My opinion of him has not changed since the title winning season: Matic is a good player who can be excellent in a certain role that mask his limitations. 

[BlueLyon 9,359]

On 19. 8. 2016 at 6:58 PM, MrExcalibur100 said:

I hope he'll shut a lot of mouths this season. I can't believe the amount of criticism he's gotten from Chelsea fans in a season were most of our players underperformed. You'll think a player like Matic will at least get the benefit of the doubt from some of his past performances. It wasn't that long ago he was arguably our 2nd best player behind Hazard. 

I realy hope he gets back, but he looks so slow these days and even less mobile than Cesc. Whatever happened to him, he lost his physical and defending atributes.

I would give him another season and see what happens.

[DYC. 7,542]

Think it's time to be honest.

2014 Matic - form of his life

2015 Matic - probably the true Matic (good player, not world-class or elite)

2016 Matic - out of form

[The Skipper 20,593]

5 hours ago, DYC. said:

Think it's time to be honest.

2014 Matic - form of his life

2015 Matic - probably the true Matic (good player, not world-class or elite)

2016 Matic - out of form

Yeah. My fears are becoming true. Don't think we should rely on him much anymore. He still has this season to prove everyone wrong but he isn't showing anything promising just yet. 

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

Yeah. My fears are becoming true. Don't think we should rely on him much anymore. He still has this season to prove everyone wrong but he isn't showing anything promising just yet. 

Like you said I'm desperate to be proven wrong but unfortunately the chance is pretty slim because he has been doing the very basics in a ridiculously poor fashion. He looked like someone just started to learn how to play footy no kidding.

[Blue Colored Sky 1,807]

He looks so useless and dwells on the ball so much that Mikel would be proud (Nemanja chose bad tuitor for that when he has Cesc nearby).

I really want to believe in ressurection but so far so bad. He takes baby steps. The time when he tackled successively most balls that he went for and released the ball forward within a second are long gone. Seems like would never exist.

Just half joking in saying that he should be loaned to Sporting to his mentor Jorge Jesus to learn how to play football again.

[Magic Lamps 11,653]

I really think we should cut him some slack. I think he has improved distinctively from his form of last season and year. Yes he has been outshone by the far more talented Kante  but he has made more tackles than his pivot partner, created more chances and looked a bit more like his imperious vintage form esp vs WHam. I particularly like those dynamic tackles when he just somehow steals the ball with his long legs and thereby co times his attacking runs. Yes he is offensively shit which is why I do not think he should be employed in that box to box role but defensively has been solid enough to vindicate his selection. Esp vs WHam he and Knte completely shut em out giving us an almighty dominance in midfield.

[Blue Armour 4,278]

2 hours ago, Magic Lamps said:

I really think we should cut him some slack. I think he has improved distinctively from his form of last season and year. Yes he has been outshone by the far more talented Kante  but he has made more tackles than his pivot partner, created more chances and looked a bit more like his imperious vintage form esp vs WHam. I particularly like those dynamic tackles when he just somehow steals the ball with his long legs and thereby co times his attacking runs. Yes he is offensively shit which is why I do not think he should be employed in that box to box role but defensively has been solid enough to vindicate his selection. Esp vs WHam he and Knte completely shut em out giving us an almighty dominance in midfield.

Yeah, I'm also leaning towards the same..

The days when he could perform the holding midfield role single-handed, and shut out opposition like Yaya Toure seem to have gone for now, but I still think he can do a job alongside Kante. 

Together, they can provide a decent platform for someone like Cesc (and to some extent Hazard) who can then focus all their attention on attack.

[Hybrid Angel 2,130]

We started the season under the assumption that Matic can go back to his late 2014 form but no one realizes he has been continuously declining since that Burnley game and was the only player last year who didn't show any signs of improvement towards the end of the season. Even Ivanovic got better towards the end. 

Just keep him as back up for Kante. Playing him in a box to box role is just wrong. Absolute liability on the ball and very slow. What I would do to have Nainggolan or someone like him playing in that position. 

[Gilvorak 3,734]

I gave up on him after his gutless performance against 10 man PSG, the worst CM performance I've ever seen from a Chelsea midfielder.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Hope people aren't still blaming Cesc for Nemanja's awful form...

[Chelsea Legend 11 4,062]

Hope people aren't still blaming Cesc for Nemanja's awful form...

I think they share the blame for a poor midfield.