Just watching one of the Chelsea fan channels and there was a guy there saying that there's rumours that Matic could leave in the summer. People in his camp are saying he's unsettled and issues with Jose really affected his confidence.

Surely we wouldn't sell him after a bad 6 months. He's confidence has been knocked but hopefully Conte just needs to have a word with him.

Well if he does go then the new manager will be able to completely resculpt the midfield going into the new season.

Might not be a bad thing, especially if they're looking to implement a formation change.

Well if he does go then the new manager will be able to completely resculpt the midfield going into the new season.

Might not be a bad thing, especially if they're looking to implement a formation change.

 

I agree and I've been thinking he could leave for a while. Same goes for Mikel, because I just don't see where they fit in under Conte's system. If he builds around Fabregas then he needs high energy, dynamic players and Matic and Mikel just look too stiff in my opinion. The links to players like Nainngolen (must learn how to spell his name) and Vidal just strengthen that case.

The only way I would consider selling him by getting a profit £25m+. Otherwise I wouldn't sell him. He's a poor season but it looks like his confidence is shot. Surely it just needs a new manger to come in and out an arm round the shoulder.

I wouldn't sell him. A new manager, new season, and hopefully his confidence will improve and he will perform how he did in 2014.

I look at it as who is most important in the midfield just now and Cesc looks by far the better choice and offers much more than Matic can offer.

If it is Conte then we can pretty much expect him to build around Cesc in the middle like he did with Pirlo. You just can’t have Matic in there because he lacks the engine, drive and skill to be a energetic midfielder. It’s no coincidence Cescs form improved drastically when Matic was dropped, he is holding us back in some respects.

Yes he is a DM but just now and for the best part of a year he’s been a pretty poor one if we are being honest. He’s never recaptured the form he had in Jose’s first season and because he is so one footed he is a man down when his confidence is damaged, he constantly loses the ball and gets chased out the game far too often.

If Conte comes in he will need 2 new midfielders of a pretty high standard to play in his system (if as believed he goes down that route like Juve).

That being said I don’t see any team throwing big money at Matic.

He's had a new manager come in though and Hiddink has favoured Mikel over him. Now that in itself is an issue because I think Matic is a far better player, but now that he's made that choice I'm not sure where Matic goes from here. I don't think he's going to get a chance to re-establish himself in the midfield and I'm not sure how he'd fit into a Conte team.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if he was just a bit-part player for the rest of the season but if that's the case then I'd like to see Loftus-Cheek get the minutes he is.

 

Come the summer it may just be a case of recouping the £20 million he cost, maybe to an Italian side. 

I don't believe we should chuck players away because they had one bad season, especially when it's during this sorry season, which we don't know for sure whose fault it really is.

 

Matic and Hazard are world class when playing at their potential and they've been consistent with their performances in the past, everyone deserves a second chance next season in my opinion.

As it stands i just don't see Matic getting back to what he was. He's been found out badly, his biggest weakness is that he is so one footed, one of the most one footed players i have seen to be honest and the opposition have caught on to this. Then there is all of the other problems like controlling the ball when going forward, his decision making and how long it's taking him to release the ball. 

 

I just don't think he will get back to how he was in his first season and a half with us.

I'd keep him for at least another year, think people have a very short memory regarding just how good he was until last January. He's an absolute beast of a DM when on song and not trying to dribble forward. He may not be as consistent as Mikel but his ceiling is far higher.

I'd keep him for at least another year, think people have a very short memory regarding just how good he was until last January. He's an absolute beast of a DM when on song and not trying to dribble forward. He may not be as consistent as Mikel but his ceiling is far higher.

 

The issue is whether that type of DM is what Conte wants or what Chelsea needs. Neither he nor Mikel would appear so.

Regarding midfield, Conte may try to sign Pjanic.

http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/29/rumour-chelsea-interested-in-transfer-of-miralem-pjanic-5725336/

Let's hope he started working on that weak foot during pre-season. I would keep him for another year. Physically he's still at the peak of his career, he just got found out by his limited technique. I don't see him having the discipline to be a DM, maybe more as a Box to Box man, if he has the stamina. 

The issue is whether that type of DM is what Conte wants or what Chelsea needs. Neither he nor Mikel would appear so.

Are you Antonio Conte?

If we can bring in naiggolan and vidal (if rumours are true we are looking at them) then i would long off matic if he wants to leave.

Does anyone else think matic' positioning is poor for a dm thoigh? He is not a fast player but that shouldn't matter if you know where to be on the field. The likes of motta, alonso, busquets don't have pace but their positioning is so good it doesn't matter.

Are you Antonio Conte?

 

Is it my good looks and Italian accent that confused you?

 

No, I'm not the Italian coach. What I did was look at the types of players he's used in the past to make an educated (lol) guess at what he might want in that position at this club.

Does anyone else think matic' positioning is poor for a dm thoigh? He is not a fast player but that shouldn't matter if you know where to be on the field. The likes of motta, alonso, busquets don't have pace but their positioning is so good it doesn't matter.

Matic is not a defensive midfielder. And that explains why he is usually reluctant to stay in front of the defence. Just like somebody said here he is more box to box type.

Regarding midfield, Conte may try to sign Pjanic.

http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/29/rumour-chelsea-interested-in-transfer-of-miralem-pjanic-5725336/

 

At least then we'll be able to sing 'Pjanic on the streets of London'. 

Matic is not a defensive midfielder. And that explains why he is usually reluctant to stay in front of the defence. Just like somebody said here he is more box to box type.

Matic is a DM wallosh.

Matic is not a defensive midfielder. And that explains why he is usually reluctant to stay in front of the defence. Just like somebody said here he is more box to box type.

He very much is a defensive mid. Defensive mids do not just have to sit however, just because the greatest one (Maka) played his game like that doesn't mean that's how all DMs play. They screen the defence and win the ball, when our team is in posession then of course there's a license to push forward. Even Mikel does push forward and he's the most defensive DM alive. Busquets does it, he's probably the best in the world at what he does, Khedira does it. It's hard to think of any player who just sits.

You don't go from being the Best DM in the league to a no-hoper within the space of a few months so I would hope the New Manager gives him the opportunity to recapture his old form.

 

This season it appears like he had made a conscious effort to add a attacking dimension to his game, the number of times he has wandered into the attacking third leaving huge gaps behind him is baffling. This has led him to lose confidence which has affected his overall game, he needs to simplify his game like last season and let the attacking players do their thing.

 

However having said that he has looked better in his last couple of appearances.

He very much is a defensive mid. Defensive mids do not just have to sit however, just because the greatest one (Maka) played his game like that doesn't mean that's how all DMs play. They screen the defence and win the ball, when our team is in posession then of course there's a license to push forward. Even Mikel does push forward and he's the most defensive DM alive. Busquets does it, he's probably the best in the world at what he does, Khedira does it. It's hard to think of any player who just sits.

Watch carefully when next he is playing beside Fabregas and tell me from their positioning who look more like the one playing defensive midfield.

Watch carefully when next he is playing beside Fabregas and tell me from their positioning who look more like the one playing defensive midfield.

You're straight up wrong here. It's the position I play for my team (no we're not particularly good, but I understand how the role works)

Fabregas plays deep because he can see the game from there, his long passing is phenomenal, and he's not particularly mobile anyway. If YOU watch carefully next time matic plays alongside him (and also when Mikel plays alongside him) you'll see he is in fact a DM. The responsibility in his position is to press and close down the opposition in between the half way line and our penalty area, which is what he does. He puts pressure on the opposition while they're in possession, and wins the ball in MIDFIELD, which is where a defensive MIDFIELDER is tasked with playing. Just because he doesnt park his arse two inches in front of our centre backs for the whole game does not mean that he is anything other than a DM. 

horrible form. i can't see conte putting up with his nonsense. how much could we get for him? 

horrible form. i can't see conte putting up with his nonsense. how much could we get for him? 

Agree, he looks afraid of putting in a hard tackle, it's such a far cry from what we saw for his first 18 months