Nemanja Matic

[Viper22 2,418]

He's become a key player for us so quickly. You can really tell when he's not playing and I don't think it's a coincidence that when he plays badly, we play badly.

[The Skipper 20,593]

1- Thats my whole point, I just think nowadays "pure DMs" means one dimensional DMs, because basically it means a player who can't play in a position other than DM.

So basically what you are trying to say is that players that can only play in one position are one dimensional players? You're ignoring the fact that a position can have multiple roles... In fact, I would tell you that if we could, Matic has the capabilities to play as a B2B midfielder because he's not as bad going forward and is technically and physically very good (apart from his pace perhaps) and has shown at a Benfica and his short time here that he can sometimes find that final pass. He's not bad in tight spaces either - but the point I'm trying to make is that his strengths lie at DM - that's where his abilities will shine the most. He'd be a normal B2B player but he's exceptional at DM.

2- I'm not saying he is overrated because he is not something I wanted him to be, I already told things I read in this post in past weeks: "I dont fancy our chances in UCL because Matic can't play", "We would be favorites to win the UCL if Matic could play", "If we win PL it would because of Matic".

That's just the fickle nature of football fans, you should know that... But you can't deny that we'd have a better chance at the CL if Matic was available for us simply because he's very important to the system we implement. Surely you can't deny that.

Do you think he is that good? Do you think we already rely on him that much after no more than 3 months in the club? You should check other topics where people are saying other players are "shit", "brainless", "idiots", "garbage". These are the ones being unfair, I'm just saying our squad is better than many people believe, we are better than a team that rely on a "pure DM", and I've been in this forum for so long to know in the past people were saying things like:

-Mikel was midfield maestro, who said he was awful were people who "could no understand his position".

-Torres was worth even more than 50m, and who was against him were only trying to get attention.

-Luiz was considered a godlike CB, now he is treated like trash and the worst player to ever play with a Chelsea shirt.

-AVB was considered the perfect man to lead us for many years, and the ones who were asking for his head were idiots, glory hunters and only wanted attention.

-RDM was considered a better manager than Guardiola.

-Mata was considered one of the top 5 players in the world, and months later were discarded as "not good enough" for the same people who were licking his balls months earlier.

-Drogba was considered finished, months later he was voted the greatest Chelsea player of all time after the 2012 UCL heroics.

-Months ago we needed a better player to play alongside Ramires, now Ramires became so poor, brainless, idiot, cunt, and should leave the club as soon as possible.

Like I said... This is just the fickle nature of football fans in general... But you can't use this to prove that Matic is just a normal player.

Even opposition fans rate him very highly, and a lot of Benfica fans when we signed him said that he's one of the best DMs in the world, one even went as far to say that he was the best full stop. As I said, it's unfair to use that to demean Matic as a player instead of just looking at the player and his performances full stop.

Interesting article:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2013/dec/18/question-holding-midfielders-changing-role

What I think is nonsensical is the notion that I can't compare Matic to Essien with Essien because one is "pure DM" and the other one is "box-to-box". Essien played lots of game as DM, and even Ballack played some games in that position in 09/10 season. What is a pure DM? Is there a position called pure DM in football? For your argument, I cant compare Luiz playing as a DM to Matic, because the brazilian is actually a Cb, and not a "pure DM".

To be honest what you said doesn't make sense.

I didn't say you can't compare Matic to Essien, just that your analogy wasn't really good because Essien is first and foremost a B2B midfielder, whilst Matic is first and foremost a pure DM. Just like how Ramires can play as a pure DM but he's a much better B2B midfielder. Similarly with Ballack - yeah he was decent at DM but you're restricting him there because he's not using all of his strengths as a player. It's not like that for Matic.

Why do I call Matic a pure DM? In basic terms... Matic is the holder of our midfield, and I think holding midfield players are the pure DMs because they're the deepest midfielder in any system - I hope that answers your question. We're still in search of a pure creator next to him, but because we don't have one he's essentially playing as a hybrid of the two - he's been forced to step up creatively and in that regards he's done very well as his 4 assists allude to - and in that way I think you calling him one dimensional is off key.

That's why I said before, when we get a proper creator next to Matic, we'll have one of the most creative pivots out there because he can provide that spark from deep, he's a very good passer and can see the necessary passes when they need to be executed.

That article is very interesting though btw.

[zolayes 14,489]

so what if he does only play one position ....so does Cech and Terry and Cahill ... I would be happy if Torres was playing in ANY position ,,,,,,for SOMEONE ELSE

[kellzfresh 7,229]

You came to that conclusion after watching how many games? It seems you are a Matic specialist. Do you track him since his Benfica days?

If u saw him at benfica, he was even far better than he is here.

They rated him better than witsel (who many want here) by miles.

4 assists in 10starts from DM, Player of the year in portuguese league. A DM doesn't win that by being one dimensional

[duo11bluecl 207]

Surely one of the best CDM/CM in the world atm?

Up there with Gundogan(when fit), Bastian, Kroos, Witsel, Alonso, Modric, Biscuit(yes he is good)...etc

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Dp again

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Surely one of the best CDM/CM in the world atm?

Up there with Gundogan(when fit), Bastian, Kroos, Witsel, Alonso, Modric, Biscuit(yes he is good)...etc

Woah, not up to alonso and bastian level yet, but getting there with those assists from deep.

The rest there are CM/box2box mids

[Esam 60]

Loved to read those opinions about DM or B2B .. pure or not ..

and it's fair to say that yes there is something called a PURE DM .. at least here in Egypt ! here we have either AMs or DMs .. CMs are very rare !

you can trust me when I say I saw alot of DMs .. not WC or anything close but I know their roles pretty well and some of them are :

Covering for attacking backs - disrupting counters early - protecting the team from out-of-box shooting - Marking AMs tightly ((see Lahm with bayern in midfield)) ..

things a DM does rarely :

Shooting - Assisting - Wing duties ((includes dribbling and moving at sides to cross)) ....... Matic is doing Exactly that at Chelsea with a much better added quality .. Assisting! .. his long balls are just awesome and incredibly accurate! he does a great coverage for his teammates and provides a station for starting attacks ((counters or else)) oh and his body balance and size! he could block sight!

I guess he's perfect for the system ..

[Ze Mario 638]

Woah, not up to alonso and bastian level yet, but getting there with those assists from deep.

The rest there are CM/box2box mids

alonso no. but i think he's already on bastian level. too bad he plays for chelsea, which is why he doesnt get much attention from media. if he play for madrid, barcelona, or bayern, he definitely will be rated highly now.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Woah, not up to alonso and bastian level yet, but getting there with those assists from deep.

The rest there are CM/box2box mids

Alonso has been gash this season Kellz. Matic > Alonso this season.He has had many poor performances especially against the good sides and is a weakness for Madrid if we face them in the CL. Besides, Matic's defensive game is naturally much better than Alonso's ever was. Though Alonso's long passing range is still something to behold, Matic is no amateur in that regard as well as we've seen already. In 2014, I will take Matic in my team ahead of Xabi. Also ahead of Schweini (he is more CM, though he is obviously functional at DM) who has struggled to get into Guardiola's side. At least until Alcantara got injured.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Surely one of the best CDM/CM in the world atm?

Up there with Gundogan(when fit), Bastian, Kroos, Witsel, Alonso, Modric, Biscuit(yes he is good)...etc

The best. No other one has a combination of his defensive skills, interception/blocking skills, physicality, anticipation of danger, passing range and playmaking skills. His long legs also allow him to cover an incredible amount of ground. He's deceptively fast. One moment he's at the center of the pitch, the next he's by the left wing. He generally covers more ground than Ramires and actually makes clever "steals" on the opposition in possession, unlike the Brazilian.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Jorge Jesus: "To me Matic is the best defensive midfielder in the world. Currently, he doesn’t have an equal."

http://afootballreport.com/post/73522592694/zero-to-hero-the-rise-of-nemanja-matic

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Alonso has been gash this season Kellz. Matic > Alonso this season.He has had many poor performances especially against the good sides and is a weakness for Madrid if we face them in the CL. Besides, Matic's defensive game is naturally much better than Alonso's ever was. Though Alonso's long passing range is still something to behold, Matic is no amateur in that regard as well as we've seen already. In 2014, I will take Matic in my team ahead of Xabi. Also ahead of Schweini (he is more CM, though he is obviously functional at DM) who has struggled to get into Guardiola's side. At least until Alcantara got injured.

I haven't watched alonso this season but last seasons alonso is still > matic.

He combined tackling with xavi level passes.

Matic is still no 1 in tackling, he's ridiculously good at that, but even though he's contributed directly to goals with good long passing, he still doesn't control the midfield as well as alonso offensively. But he'll get there.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

I haven't watched alonso this season but last seasons alonso is still > matic.

He combined tackling with xavi level passes.

Matic is still no 1 in tackling, he's ridiculously good at that, but even though he's contributed directly to goals with good long passing, he still doesn't control the midfield as well as alonso offensively. But he'll get there.

You are right when you say Alonso's long-range passing ability is unrivalled. He is the best long-range passer I've ever seen in football and that's what made him such a unique player.

[Ze Mario 638]

Alonso has been gash this season Kellz. Matic > Alonso this season.He has had many poor performances especially against the good sides and is a weakness for Madrid if we face them in the CL. Besides, Matic's defensive game is naturally much better than Alonso's ever was. Though Alonso's long passing range is still something to behold, Matic is no amateur in that regard as well as we've seen already. In 2014, I will take Matic in my team ahead of Xabi. Also ahead of Schweini (he is more CM, though he is obviously functional at DM) who has struggled to get into Guardiola's side. At least until Alcantara got injured.

whatt?? poor against good sides? i dont watch RM frequently, but based on what i saw when they against atm and barca, alonso have the ability, in very tight position (because hard pressing) he kick the ball the way our luiz kick our ball randomly into opponents area. the difference is the ball that alonso kicked get to bale or cr7 or maria's feet. yes matic's def is better than alonso, but alonso's def not bad either. the only thing alonso lacked is concentration, as he often did fouls in late minutes game. imo alonso still (slightly) better than matic in terms of CM.

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

Decent compo on Nemanja for CFC

[MrExcalibur100 7,124]

whatt?? poor against good sides? i dont watch RM frequently, but based on what i saw when they against atm and barca, alonso have the ability, in very tight position (because hard pressing) he kick the ball the way our luiz kick our ball randomly into opponents area. the difference is the ball that alonso kicked get to bale or cr7 or maria's feet. yes matic's def is better than alonso, but alonso's def not bad either. the only thing alonso lacked is concentration, as he often did fouls in late minutes game. imo alonso still (slightly) better than matic in terms of CM.

Let mee just clarify. Xabi Alonso is a brilliant player but his poor form against the good sides this season has been well noted. It's not entirely his fault though. It has a lot to do with Ancelotti's ultra-offensive 4-3-3 that has no natural protection to the back four. A midfield trio of Xabi Alonso, Modric, Isco/Di Maria is very risky. Even Xabi Alonso said that 4-3-3 the way Madrid play it is too open against strong opposition.

http://deportes.elpais.com/deportes/2014/03/21/actualidad/1395433899_528944.html

Xabi Alonso is still a great player but Madrid have badly missed Khedira. Alonso can't do the defensive job on his own. He is not that type of player.

[Styles 9,790]

Am I the only one who thought he was poor yesterday? Just as bad as Ramires in my opinion.