Nemanja Matic

[the wes 7,212]

16 hours ago, nono said:

Who do you guys think we can realistically sign in midfield in the summer to replace Matic ? 

Tielemans, Naby Keïta, Kessie, Nainggolan, Bakayoko I think we have good chance at signing any  4 them players I think Nainggolan will be hard to sign tho cause he loves life in Italy 

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

I think Bakayoko will come, but because we need another midfielder with more games to play next season, Matic isn't going anywhere.

[Blue Armour 4,312]

On 4/7/2017 at 6:45 AM, DYC. said:

How are you 6ft5 and not dominant in the air? He's so painfully average in the air for a guy his size.

Haha, yeah he doesn't seem to have a big enough 'leap' in him. Just about wins headers with his sheer height alone. I've come to accept that watching other 'big' players...another candidate who is average in the air for his size, is Lukaku. 

Also, after watching Drogba and JT for so many years, a lot of players look pretty average when it comes to headers these days

[nono 791]

Another poor game from him.

[itsbeauj 4]

7 hours ago, nono said:

Another poor game from him.

How so? He made maybe 1 or 2 tackles that didn't come good, aside from that he was solid all game. 

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

1 hour ago, itsbeauj said:

How so? He made maybe 1 or 2 tackles that didn't come good, aside from that he was solid all game. 

Doesn't matter, they already decided he was trash before the game even begun.

[itsbeauj 4]

6 hours ago, Socur Toxanarosa said:

Doesn't matter, they already decided he was trash before the game even begun.

That doesn't even make sense.

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

5 hours ago, itsbeauj said:

That doesn't even make sense.

It's not supposed to.

[nono 791]

I thought Wilshere was giving him the run around in the first half. I just don't like him tbh. I've seen enough of him at this point to make this judgement. If we play him against the top teams in the Champions League we're going to get crushed. Which is why I feel he has to be replaced. 

We are supposedly spending 200m pounds this summer. Which positions are we going to spend that money ? When people say we need new wingers there are those on here that say Willian and Pedro are amazing and shouldn't be replaced. When a new midfielder is mentioned then everyone is happy with Matic and Fabregas and don't want him gone. New wingbacks ? Nah, Moses/Alonso are amazing.  

If this were really the case our team would be up there with Barcelona/Bayern right now but it isn't. To me it seems CM and RW are the most obvious positions Conte will upgrade, given that he isn't one to make changes to the starting lineup but lately he's been switching between Willian/Pedro and Matic/Fabregas which tells me he isn't really happy with what we have.

[nono 791]

12 hours ago, Socur Toxanarosa said:

Doesn't matter, they already decided he was trash before the game even begun.

That's  true. I've seen enough of him at this point.

[the wes 7,212]

I have nothing against matic he played a big part wining us the league under Mourinho but I think it's time for an upgrade to partner Kante 

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

I have no problems fielding Matic against anyone, i had with Mikel. I don't think CM is a top priority for upgrade, Matic/Fabregas is a good set of options to complement Kanté depending on the game, of course we can't only have 3 reliables CM's for next season, but they're pretty fine starters in my view.

[manpe 10,861]

2 hours ago, Socur Toxanarosa said:

I have no problems fielding Matic against anyone, i had with Mikel. I don't think CM is a top priority for upgrade, Matic/Fabregas is a good set of options to complement Kanté depending on the game, of course we can't only have 3 reliables CM's for next season, but they're pretty fine starters in my view.

I agree, all 3 can stay, but a 4th quality option is badly needed imo. Bakayoko, Matic, Kante and Fabregas would look really solid.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

On 07/04/2017 at 0:45 PM, DYC. said:

How are you 6ft5 and not dominant in the air? He's so painfully average in the air for a guy his size.

Athletic players usualy have great leap even tho they arent very tall. Matic is very tall, but far cry from athletic midfielder. He isnt dynamic either.  Like someone said, he is getting those few headers only because of his size. Same goes for his strenght. He could be realy powerful for his size, but doesnt have athletic body or balance and you see him getting beaten by the likes of Shaqiri or Aguero.

IMO all in all he did good job this season, much better than last one. But I agree we need new midfielder, someone who is more dynamic and athletic for those same reasons mentioned above (with good technique)

[itsbeauj 4]

10 hours ago, the wes said:

I have nothing against matic he played a big part wining us the league under Mourinho but I think it's time for an upgrade to partner Kante 

If you mean sign somebody, no need. Conte just needs to bloody put Fab in!

PS. On the subject of Nainggolan. If they don't let him smoke at half time, should be an alright signing haha

[Adnane 1,101]

Wow, the amount of hate the guy is getting here is unreal... 

He's been good lately, especially against City and Bournemouth, now if you compare him to Kanté's reactivity or Fabregas's skill/vision you will easily see his flaws, but he has his own style too.

All of our 3 midfielders are unique ( Chalobah seems to be a bit of a combination of the 3 ), and at various points in the season we've needed all of them, Matic brings qualities to the table that Kanté and Fabregas don't possess, he is tailor-made for a possession-based team and showcased it on Saturday again, no wonder he's been at his best in moments where we had lots of the ball ( second half vs City and his overall 2014/2015 season ). 

Still think we need to recruit a world class midfielder, but he's getting way too much hate here.

[Adnane 1,101]

4 hours ago, itsbeauj said:

If you mean sign somebody, no need. Conte just needs to bloody put Fab in!

PS. On the subject of Nainggolan. If they don't let him smoke at half time, should be an alright signing haha

Funny enough but being a smoker and playing football occasionally, I can assure you smoking at half-time won't alter your performance during the game at all.

In the long term however, I think it always impacts your performance and overall fitness levels, your lungs don't function as good as they would without smoking. 

Every metabolism reacts to smoking differently obviously but I'd guess Nainggolan has an even higher potential physically that he isn't reaching because of cigarettes.

[itsbeauj 4]

4 hours ago, Adnane said:

Funny enough but being a smoker and playing football occasionally, I can assure you smoking at half-time won't alter your performance during the game at all.

In the long term however, I think it always impacts your performance and overall fitness levels, your lungs don't function as good as they would without smoking. 

Every metabolism reacts to smoking differently obviously but I'd guess Nainggolan has an even higher potential physically that he isn't reaching because of cigarettes.

Didn't know any of that, but in any case, I was just throwing it out there that he's allowed to. Very weird!