even when matic came on, he looked a bit sloppy. mikel is surprising this season. 

Munich legend!

Yip. He was immense that night.

even when matic came on, he looked a bit sloppy. mikel is surprising this season. 

 

I don't know what it is this season but Matic just look's so clumsy on the ball, it's like he has no idea how to play the game anymore. What happened to his strength, clean tackles and decent passes ? Everytime he get's the ball i worry, he just doesn't look right when he has it.

He's going to save our season.

Hiddink:

 

‘He played very well as he also did in the previous games. He’s the ideal player in my option to bring balance to the team.

‘If the team is not willing to defend well or have the right balance then you concede a lot of goals. I thought John Obi can be one of the key figures in getting the balance back. On top of that the talented players can then explore their qualities.

‘He can recover the radar. He knows the game very well. He knows where the strength of the opponent is and he knows exactly how to cope with that. He has a very good eye, a very good nose, and a very good sense of where to recover.

’He doesn’t do it in a very brutal way – he’s very, very elegant. What I like to see very much is not just a quality player but a player who can defend so smoothly. It’s beautiful to see. He doesn’t lose many balls, he’s good in short passing. I don’t expect and I don’t ask him to make the decisive final pass. He can but no, we let the other players do that.’

I think his overall positoning and when to engage or just stay is clever for me. He just knows where to stand when Cesc is going forward and most of the time he denies the attacks of the opponents. Well Guus quote says it all.

Given Oscar is clearly a Guus favorite and Cesc is playing in to a bit of form Matic should hopefully get used to warming the bench a bit. Mikel is superior to him in ever way at the moment. Top performance.

Given Oscar is clearly a Guus favorite and Cesc is playing in to a bit of form Matic should hopefully get used to warming the bench a bit. Mikel is superior to him in ever way at the moment. Top performance.

Oscar was solid today. Maybe Guus wants to give him trust in himself and allow him to play more than one game or just a sub. Maybe he gains that way consistency. Because often he plays one good game then one bad game and he is off.

Edited January 3, 201610 yr by Nevamind

i'm sorry Mikel. i did criticise him, but if he keeps this up he may turn into one of my favourites by the end of the season. 

I don't know what it is this season but Matic just look's so clumsy on the ball, it's like he has no idea how to play the game anymore. What happened to his strength, clean tackles and decent passes ? Everytime he get's the ball i worry, he just doesn't look right when he has it.

 

i have no idea. it is a bit worrying how his form has dipped so much after being talked up as one of the best central midfielders last season. 

Wow. Sweet, sweet words they must be to hear from your manager. Matic has only himself to blame for losing his place. Looks like Mikel is a Guus untouchable by the sound of it.

i have no idea. it is a bit worrying how his form has dipped so much after being talked up as one of the best central midfielders last season.

The truth is he was poor from January onwards last season, and we were all hoping he comes out of his slump. Seems his 'slump' has continued and if you look at it, he's been great for two half-seasons and awful for two half-seasons.

i have no idea. it is a bit worrying how his form has dipped so much after being talked up as one of the best central midfielders last season.

it might be that his confidence has been shattered playing in a losing side after a meteoric rise, pretty much the only down hes had in a long time.

We never know what's going on in players lives. There is always a reason for things. P.S. I have no idea why Matic is off form.

From the darts final:

 

praises for mikel !!! fickle lot us footy fans

it might be that his confidence has been shattered playing in a losing side after a meteoric rise, pretty much the only down hes had in a long time.

 

 

He also had Jose telling the press that he'd have never sold Matic, then there seemed to be that period - albeit brief -  where Matic seemed to be a bit of a Scapegoat for Jose.  His internal conflicts had to be huge, coupled with the loss in form of he and those around him.  I remember when everyone was having a pop at Drogba, it was shorty after Jose's first stint, and there was all that talk of Drogba wanting out to Milan, how he'd never wanted to be at Chelsea etc.  Then he developed into the player that we all know and love.  

 

I'm not suggesting that Matic will ever be as instrumental as Drogba, but I am saying that a sport's psyche can be a strange one at times.

Mikel's heat map. From this, you can see that he got his positioning spot on today.

 

 

His passing was pretty spot on too.

 

praises for mikel !!! fickle lot us footy fans

Not me, I'm just a smug Mikel fan.

Not all heroes wear capes.

obi mikel doesn't misplace a pass, the receiver was just in the wrong position. 

If he was Spanish, we would call of Busquets or Alonso based on that performance yesterday. He just did the simple thing perfectly, shield the ball, short pass, intercept. Matic is probably a more dynamic player, but his problem this season has been losing possession in own half while being pressed on his favourite foot. When all fail, we could always count on Mikel!

Given Oscar is clearly a Guus favorite and Cesc is playing in to a bit of form Matic should hopefully get used to warming the bench a bit. Mikel is superior to him in ever way at the moment. Top performance.

After 1 game lol

After 1 game lol

One more game than matic has managed.

Edited January 4, 201610 yr by axman2526