Nemanja Matic

[manpe 10,861]

48 minutes ago, 11Drogba said:

The team was a headless chicken last year. The clown had 70% support here and players were getting the insults. This year spots the light on the actual headless chickens.

Our manager, who people worshipped and adored for obvious reasons, kept throwing his players under the bus. We see the same happening at United now and their fans falling for it the same way we did, and they don't even worship the man like we do/did. We were misguided by an egocentric manipulator and can now see what really was happening. However, last season, calling him an headless chicken was justified based on the performances and human psychology. He wasn't the only one being called names so the "the whole team were shit last year" point is moot to this discussion as everybody got their fair share of stick in their respective threads. And it still doesn't change the fact that Mourinho or no Mourinho, they still played like crap. Hindsight is a great way to be all smart.

[11Drogba 2,000]

5 minutes ago, manpe said:

Our manager, who people worshipped and adored for obvious reasons, kept throwing his players under the bus. We see the same happening at United now and their fans falling for it the same way we did, and they don't even worship the man like we do/did. We were misguided by an egocentric manipulator and can now see what really was happening. However, last season, calling him an headless chicken was justified based on the performances and human psychology. He wasn't the only one being called names so the "the whole team were shit last year" point is moot to this discussion as everybody got their fair share of stick in their respective threads. Hindsight is a great way to be all smart.

It was not just about performances mate. Maybe not you but a lot of people were talking about the quality and character of our players.

70% support for the actual cause of the problems does not make all smart in my opinion.

[manpe 10,861]

Just now, 11Drogba said:

It was not just about performances mate. Maybe not you but a lot of people were talking about the quality and character of our players.

70% support for the actual cause of the problem does not make all smart in my opinion.

I was also talking about and criticizing our players' qualities and characters, the same way I was questioning Mourinho's. And all of it was justified, we were relegation fodder mere months after being crowned champions. The players weren't blameless even though it all stemmed from Jose as we now know, it was too huge of a drop to attribute it all to one man and after all Jose wasn't the one making dumb mistakes on the pitch. When you see a player making dumb mistakes game after game, then you talk about his quality and character, it's how our minds work. I don't see how you could NOT question our squad last season. Again, let's not glorify the failings of last season, he was bad.

[11Drogba 2,000]

1 minute ago, manpe said:

 it's how our minds work.

Not everyone's obviously.

[manpe 10,861]

Just now, 11Drogba said:

Not everyone's obviously.

There is an exception to every rule. If that makes you feel entitled to call the rest of us headless chickens, then go ahead.

[11Drogba 2,000]

21 minutes ago, manpe said:

There is an exception to every rule. If that makes you feel entitled to call the rest of us headless chickens, then go ahead.

I don't think I feel as entitled as the people who called our players as donkey, overrated, headless chicken, no character and Conte as an average manager tbh.

[manpe 10,861]

5 minutes ago, 11Drogba said:

I don't think I feel as entitled as the self-claimed supporters who called our players as donkey, overrated, headless chicken, no character and Conte as an average manager tbh.

Calling Conte average was premature I agree. Those people have since retracted those statements but sometimes I am amazed how quickly people are able to give damning verdicts. 

All supporters are self-claimed, not assigned (except North Korean) . 

[the wes 7,212]

Bromance 

[Kieran. 6,317]

56 minutes ago, the wes said:

Bromance 

You can tell they love working together, they shut down everything in the middle of the park!

[Dazzy_Vance 454]

14 hours ago, the wes said:

Bromance 

They are starting to form a formidable partnership. They will only get better from here.

[Ryan Fong 2,776]

I must be honest I was one of Matic's biggest critics, but now he is starting proving me wrong game after game. I'm not fully convinced yet but the humble egg is frying. 

[Amblève. 4,995]

Beast mode performance today.

[DYC. 7,542]

He'll take ages to make a play and then produce playmaker passes every now and then. Strange player.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

We've been struggling to control games in midfield and he's a big part of the problem. Maybe it's time he drops to the bench and Fabregas gets a run in the side. His touch, passing an inability to deal with any sort of pressing or pressure have all gone to shit again. He's just not a player you can depend on in the long run it seems. 

[Last Sicarius 610]

Well in last game he wasnt bad but nor even close to good. That head to oponent player on 16 meter was awful. He is good when we need someone to take midfield and fight with strong players.  But in summer we can find better version of him. Or swap to 3 in middle Kante-Verratti-Matic.  

[LondonsFinest 692]

Time to bash this guy up a bit.

Pochettino exposed this slow fragile player and pointed out why we needed a dynamic CM next to Kante.

To blame for both goals. As was to blame for the Henderson goal back in the Liverpool game. It's not about him going forward. He's a fantastic squad player. But that guilable moment in which he overcommits to helping Alonso, who wasn't THAT bad in defence and the space he left out for Eriksen. Twice. To think you'd actually press him the second time, seeing he can whip a killer ball in. Nope. Just stood there. Leaving him with acres of space. Then go on and tell me Henderson will never hit a ball like that. Maybe. But if he didn't have the space to be so easy in the first place. The moment we get someone of the Nainggolan mould, you'll see exactly why Matic is nothing more than a squad player.

[Leif 6,006]

Matic almost rhymes with spastic and it's no coincidence 

(Notice how all these big-money transfers from the Portugal league have failed to impact the top level like the players around them? Matic, Hulk, J. Rodriguez, Falcao to an extent. Moutinho isn't even that good in Ligue Un, and so on. A league of marketing more than it is top football.)

[LAM09 6,744]

I honestly think he's becoming more of a squad player now. Just isn't at the level he was when he returned.