Nemanja Matic

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

If we could bring a better player in the summer and make him a rotation option, wonderful, problem is that there aren't many who can do his role better.

[Leif 6,006]

Options who'd do Matic's job better -

Allan or Jorginho from Napoli.
Nainggolan obviously.
Saul from Atletico.
Fabinho.
Gonalons.

And that's excluding the little but strong leagues like in Portugal & Belgium.

[Blue-in-me-Veins 4,067]

Yeah, Fabinho is literally everything we thought Matic would be and then some. His first time passing alone would speed up our play by lightyears. 

Atleast we know Conte is dying for a CM, so we can rest easy that Matic won't be the undisputed starter like he has been past two seasons. 

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

On 24/04/2017 at 8:42 AM, Leif said:

Options who'd do Matic's job better -

Allan or Jorginho from Napoli.
Nainggolan obviously.
Saul from Atletico.
Fabinho.
Gonalons.

And that's excluding the little but strong leagues like in Portugal & Belgium.

Funny when you say "And that's excluding the little but strong leagues like in Portugal & Belgium" because Matic was the BEST player in the portuguese league when he played there, not CM, best player of any position.

About the others, playing at Napoli/Lyon is different than playing for a top club, i don't watch a lot of Napoli/Lyon but it's a entirely different level being a starter for Chelsea, Nainggolan is probably a bit better but too expensive for his age. Fabinho is a good option but i like Saul the most of your list. 

We need another option anyway for depth but Matic job's is not an easy task, so picking a player performing well from some mid tier club is not guaranteed sucess, Matic was a monster for Benfica, the standards here are totally different.

[Leif 6,006]

28 minutes ago, Socur Toxanarosa said:

Funny when you say "And that's excluding the little but strong leagues like in Portugal & Belgium" because Matic was the BEST player in the portuguese league when he played there, not CM, best player of any position.

About the others, playing at Napoli/Lyon is different than playing for a top club, i don't watch a lot of Napoli/Lyon but it's a entirely different level being a starter for Chelsea, Nainggolan is probably a bit better but too expensive for his age. Fabinho is a good option but i like Saul the most of your list. 

We need another option anyway for depth but Matic job's is not an easy task, so picking a player performing well from some mid tier club is not guaranteed sucess, Matic was a monster for Benfica, the standards here are totally different.

Matic was the BEST player in Portugal? Better than Jackson Martinez & James Rodriguez? Better than Alex Sandro? Better than Hulk & Moutinho? Better than Witsel? And Cardozo? Better than Rojo?
In what world? He had 1 and a half seasons of being a truly impressive, top player - by the standards they have in Portugal. Like you say, standards here are different, and he's crap here, straight crap for our standards. Whereas as well as them being equally good if not better then, even now in THIS team, I'd have more confidence in Rodriguez, Sandro, Moutinho, Rojo. 

[lucio 5,418]

4 minutes ago, Leif said:

Matic was the BEST player in Portugal? Better than Jackson Martinez & James Rodriguez? Better than Alex Sandro? Better than Hulk & Moutinho? Better than Witsel? And Cardozo? Better than Rojo?
In what world? He had 1 and a half seasons of being a truly impressive, top player - by the standards they have in Portugal. Like you say, standards here are different, and he's crap here, straight crap for our standards. Whereas as well as them being equally good if not better then, even now in THIS team, I'd have more confidence in Rodriguez, Sandro, Moutinho, Rojo. 

he did win player of the year

[Leif 6,006]

13 minutes ago, lucio said:

he did win player of the year

And Jonas, the failure Valencia held onto for too long, has won it twice in a row. This year, it'll probably be Mitroglou. Neither player has been the best player in any league in their lifetime.

Jamie Vardy won it last year. Does that define who he is? Was he the best player in the league? Chelsea material? 

Gilette win plenty of shaving awards, but go through their Amazon reviews and droves of people complain of the product breaking down quickly, followed by listing a healthy amount of better alternatives. If awards were meant to be taken seriously, Ronaldo would be the best player in the world right now However, he wouldn't be the best player in our team, and he isn't the best in Madrid's, nevermind the league, nevermind Europe.

[manpe 10,861]

17 minutes ago, Leif said:

Jamie Vardy won it last year.

Didn't Mahrez?

[zekinjo 449]

Many top quality players are from Portugal League but still that doesn't mean Matic is a top player. It will be hard for Chelsea to move forward with players like him in starting 11. 

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

42 minutes ago, Leif said:

Matic was the BEST player in Portugal? Better than Jackson Martinez & James Rodriguez? Better than Alex Sandro? Better than Hulk & Moutinho? Better than Witsel? And Cardozo? Better than Rojo?
In what world? He had 1 and a half seasons of being a truly impressive, top player - by the standards they have in Portugal. Like you say, standards here are different, and he's crap here, straight crap for our standards. Whereas as well as them being equally good if not better then, even now in THIS team, I'd have more confidence in Rodriguez, Sandro, Moutinho, Rojo. 

Yes, he was the best when he was there, James peaked later, and i don't know why you listed a bunch of scrubs like Cardozo, Martinez, Hulk and Witsel.

[Leif 6,006]

7 minutes ago, Socur Toxanarosa said:

Yes, he was the best when he was there, James peaked later, and i don't know why you listed a bunch of scrubs like Cardozo, Martinez, Hulk and Witsel.

Well like Matic, they were all great in Portugal, and all became shit once leaving. 

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

1 hour ago, Leif said:

Well like Matic, they were all great in Portugal, and all became shit once leaving. 

Well, i rather Conte judging him then the great Leif, but to each his own.

[Socur Toxanarosa 145]

Another great match, very solid performance.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

Matic had three brilliant seasons IMO, 2012/13 with Benfica, then 2013/14 and most of 2014/15. He decreased alot last season, while this season he is neither awful, neither at his best. When he came from Benfica, he was alot more dynamic and agressive, he also tried to dribble more. During late stages of title season he became very pragmatic, much like the rest of squad, bar Eden and Costa. He played safe, stayed back. And since then he never went back to his previous form, as if he lost grit. Its a shame realy, because he was truly imposing in 2014. That said, he always looked very good in CL.

I think he is nowhere near as bad as people point out. He is valuable player for this team and allows Kante to roam around, while he protects the back and does basics. However recent weeks we have been leaking in defence and Im not sure which fault it is, problably collective.

But I agree, we desperately need a better midfielder, someone who is more dynamic and better with ball. Matic plays in crucial position in midfield, if we had Alaba instead of Alonso, it would be easier, but in this case Matic is the main link on our left midfield and he is awfuly poor in passing and ball control, bar some unbelievable moments. Comparing him with Fellaini in recent united game, Matic makes Fellaini look like Iniesta.

His role is certainly still important, so I would definately keep him next season. But we NEED to buy another quality midfielder.

Thankfuly for us, there are so many options like Nainggolan, Bakayoko, Tollisso, Saul, Weigl, and a plethora of others. No excuse not to sign someone. Its only up to Conte if he wants established player or up and coming one who will be a part of next Chelsea generation, then someone more physical or skilled.

[TheWiz 109]

1 hour ago, BlueLyon said:

But we NEED to buy another quality midfielder.

For what? If the Squad manages to win FA and League this Season in such an easy fashion, why wouldnt it do the same next Season?

And the Chances of winning the Champions League, with our without Matic, are slim anyway. A lot of Things have to go right and in the Teams Favor, to win both the EPL and the CL.

It's not like Chelsea is playing in a Vacation League like La Liga ore Serie A.

[mashimaru161 77]

2 minutes ago, TheWiz said:

For what? If the Squad manages to win FA and League this Season in such an easy fashion, why wouldnt it do the same next Season?

And the Chances of winning the Champions League, with our without Matic, are slim anyway. A lot of Things have to go right and in the Teams Favor, to win both the EPL and the CL.

It's not like Chelsea is playing in a Vacation League like La Liga ore Serie A.

People also said the same thing after 2014/15 season...

[TheWiz 109]

2 hours ago, mashimaru161 said:

People also said the same thing after 2014/15 season...

Thats Football.

We could change the whole Squad and bring in Lionel Messi and Christiano Ronaldo ... and Success of any kind still wouldnt be guaranteed.

[manpe 10,861]

2 hours ago, TheWiz said:

For what? If the Squad manages to win FA and League this Season in such an easy fashion, why wouldnt it do the same next Season?

2014/15 vs. 2015/16. Who doesn't learn from the past is bound to repeat it in the future.