This is him at his worst, yet arguably more impressive display of his qualities in that terrible season than 8 or 9 seasons put together of certain other defensive midfielders - not mentioning names. :]

 

If somebody recorded me playing for my amateur team all season and then put all the best bits together, even I'd look a player.

 

using a YouTube video to defend Matic is baffling, he's awful. I actually lost count of how many passes he misplaced today.

 

if we play him as a DM he still has a role to play but isn't an instant starter, but if we seem intent on playing him further forward we may as well get shot now because his distribution is terrible.

17 minutes ago, EdinburghBlue said:

If somebody recorded me playing for my amateur team all season and then put all the best bits together, even I'd look a player.

 

using a YouTube video to defend Matic is baffling, he's awful. I actually lost count of how many passes he misplaced today.

 

if we play him as a DM he still has a role to play but isn't an instant starter, but if we seem intent on playing him further forward we may as well get shot now because his distribution is terrible.

 

 

The point is even at his worst he's able to win tackles, play sharp forward passes, long high passes, etc in a way that his competition rarely does.

This was a point for those who dismiss him as apparently never being very good, and inferior to aforementioned competition.

And the key word in your point is amateur so it doesn't really mean much. We're talking here essentially of a comparison of two players who play in the same position and how the video shows what he is capable of doing, again, in comparison to said competition.

For the position he plays and situations he will be in playing there is always going to be difficult when he wont use his right foot even for the basic of passes. If you're having a good game everything goes ok. If it's a difficult game his options are limited because he can't go left and right. He has to turn his body to play the ball, so either he gets tackled or passes the ball quickly and loses possession.

he just looks like he doesn't have any energy, he moves so slow and laboured, keeps hold of the ball for too long and seems like he no longer looks to pass forward nowhere near as much as his breakout season here. 

needs to be dropped! simply not good enough!

I don't understand what's his role in the team, Box to Box, Ball winner, DM? He just doesn't have the skills to pass, dribble past people, or even hold on to the ball. He looked decent against Burnley who's too scared to play football on the day, but completely out of depth against better teams. Even we are a poor team right now, still don't see the point to handicap ourselves by playing 2 ball winners ( or DMs) in Kante and Matic. 

Seriously weird comment coming out from Matic after the Arsenal game...

 

"We have to know we play for a big club and we have to recover as soon as possible and be focused on the next game. I'm sure the coach will see where the problem is."

15 minutes ago, Luca Vialli said:

Seriously weird comment coming out from Matic after the Arsenal game...

 

"We have to know we play for a big club and we have to recover as soon as possible and be focused on the next game. I'm sure the coach will see where the problem is."

What's weird about that comment?

he just looks like he doesn't have any energy, he moves so slow and laboured, keeps hold of the ball for too long and seems like he no longer looks to pass forward nowhere near as much as his breakout season here. 

Maybe he likes being at the club a lot, and he's doing his best Mikel impression to stay here as long as Mikel has.

On 9/27/2016 at 11:57, CFCholland said:

 

Maybe he likes being at the club a lot, and he's doing his best Mikel impression to stay here as long as Mikel has.

 

 

At least Mikel can actually play...

He was excellent against Hull City, we will see the best of him soon, I believe in him same as Conte. 

Thought he looked more mobile yesterday.

Matic and Kante have so few complimentary skills, problem is we dont seem to have any better options. Getting a good box to box CM is one of the higher priorities next season. Or even january if possible

Hull city just made it easy for him, so I wouldn't get so excited about Matic's form. We need good passer in the midfield, almost tempting to give RLC a run if Cesc can't defend and Oscar is just .. Oscar

Does Matic not get a call up to the national team these days?  Was at Chelsea training today

1 hour ago, Van Butsen said:

Does Matic not get a call up to the national team these days?  Was at Chelsea training today

Serving a suspension maybe?

I have a vague memory of him getting sent off recently.

Di Marzio linking him with Milan
he has been inconsistent this season, still nowhere near his best. should we consider this (alleged) approach by Milan? i would

On 10/6/2016 at 16:27, ForeverCarefree said:

Serving a suspension maybe?

I have a vague memory of him getting sent off recently.

Apparently he told all his Serbian team mates to pull their fingers out and now gets left out of the squad because of bad blood. 

On 10/6/2016 at 16:21, Van Butsen said:

Does Matic not get a call up to the national team these days?  Was at Chelsea training today

He is serving a suspension because of a red card in previous qualifications. He is available in next match I think.

20 hours ago, magichat said:

Di Marzio linking him with Milan
he has been inconsistent this season, still nowhere near his best. should we consider this (alleged) approach by Milan? i would

Yes, absolutely - even if he is one of my favourite players.

The Premier League is drastically changing because of TV money and the quality and style of players being signed by smaller clubs has improved similarly. Matic is an awesome player to have when you're up against a midfield of cloggers because of his physical presence and decent technique. In a few short years we are seeing the average EPL midfield transit from the above to featuring faster, more skilful, more energetic players who are technically gifted and press and harry defensively. Matic will increasingly become an anachronism. 

Some credit please for Spider beast, putting in some dominant performances.

Feels like a new signing with him finally back to his best! And that's now 4 assists this season the joint most in the PL.

Has improved since we shifted the formation and I don't think he was as bad before as some have made out. But I think we can find a better alternative, either from Chalobah or RCL, or from the transfer market. I think we might go in for Nainggolan again, and he could form a very good pairing alongside Kanté. I think Fabregas' time might be up here though because he simply cannot cope in a two man midfield.

Matic has looked good, very few complaints so far this season.

We're a strange fanbase at Chelsea, certain players put in some poor performances and suddenly they're 'finished' and no longer good enough for us. The treatment of Cahill has been the same. Yes both of them have played poorly a number of times in the last year, and they're by no means back at their best, but let's give them the praise they deserve after 3 games of playing consistently well.