The saying is 'your own fans are your harshest critics'.
Imagine if Conte actually went with a lot of fans views. We could be in a whole different position now. I remember in the summer a lot of fans wanted Matic gone and it looked like a huge possibility he could go Juve. He is so unappreciated on here it is unbelievable. Kante understandably gets more rave reviews but even he is prone to losing the ball in possession. Matic can be vulnerable when being pressed but in general he is like Dembele at times. It is really difficult to take the ball off him and opposition players are literally frightened of his presence. I always feel there is a strong secure presence with Matic in the team.

Dembele is a much better player

4 minutes ago, wallosh said:

Dembele is a much better player

I never said he was not. I was comparing their similarity in retaining the ball. IMO, Dembele is the best CM in the league.

21 hours ago, General said:

Matic been back to his best this season imo

Not sure i agree personally. I still don't think he is anywhere near the level he was playing at when he first rejoined and then the season later when we won the title. He's a lot better than last season, but when his weaknesses get exposed he becomes a liability, which is something that has happened a fair few times this season. 

His form this season has been very patchy. A lot of good games, but also a lot of bad ones.

3 hours ago, Scott Harris said:

Not sure i agree personally. I still don't think he is anywhere near the level he was playing at when he first rejoined and then the season later when we won the title. He's a lot better than last season, but when his weaknesses get exposed he becomes a liability, which is something that has happened a fair few times this season. 

His form this season has been very patchy. A lot of good games, but also a lot of bad ones.

 

Agreed - If Matic was at his best, we will not need to be starting Kante alongside him and can start Cesc instead, just like during our title winning season.

On 7.2.2017 at 21:09, robdog said:

 

I think this video and the game today perfectly capture what Matic can do well and what cant. Dont think he was as poor today as many said in the matchday thread, it just wasnt a game that suited his abilities. Arsenal on the other hand is the perfect side for him. He thrives against lesser physical sides that doesnt press high as a unit. His ability to shield a ball, switch the play and generally keep to ball moving is actually pretty good for someone his size. He is also very good at pressing and intercepting when the play is in front of him. 

Much of his critisism comes from the fact that he just doesnt have that creativity in him to unlock a defense packing the box. And thats not really his fault, if he olayed with a more dynamic b2b player today or against any of these teams he would be appreciated a lot more. He just has nothing to offer when Kanté is already on the pitch.

The same is true when we are facing the likes of Spurs and Liverpool who press high as a unit, forcing our deep players to move the ball quickly He doesnt have that ability to know were hes going to pass before receiving it so he ends up giving away a lot of possesion or passing it backwards. Kanté is the same, but since he is overall a superior ball winner we expect Matic to be able to controll game more. Thats not something he can do and again, through not really any fault of his own he becomes a liability. I still think hes a good player and def someone we need to keep, bit we are desperate for more options in central midfield to help take some pressure of him

Edited February 12, 20179 yr by Xfaxtor

Matic has been an instrumental cog in the machine to get us this far ahead. Using Cesc from the bench is a good option to have, using Matic from the bench not so.

Matic was the wrong choice against Burnley. He doesn't retain possession well enough and he doesn't offer anything going forward. That is fine in some games and works well if we do not have the majority of possession. Was disappointed to see his name on the team sheet as we needed Fabregas in that game and Matic then made the error that led to the goal. 

Nemanja Matic's game by numbers vs. Man Utd:

1 foul
0 aerial duels won
0 tackles won
0 clearances
0 blocks

Almost anonymous.

 

I know one position we can easily strengthen in the summer, other then our striker..

Not even good enough to be a squad player. Nowhere near CFC quality. We have 4 really good players in our main starting XI and a bunch of bang average ones. This guy is one of them. 

 

 

Him and Costa need to leave. Only so many poor performances you can put in. It's no longer acceptable. Not at this level. I'm sure someone in China has something to offer him as well.

Everyone talks about the lack of defending In Fabregas game but Matic did nothing today, at least Fabregas offers us something going forward we move the ball about so much better with him in the side.

1 minute ago, dan_cfc said:

Everyone talks about the lack of defending In Fabregas game but Matic did nothing today, at least Fabregas offers us something going forward we move the ball about so much better with him in the side.

Matic has been just as poor as Costa since January and this without a China offer. He's done in this league.

19 minutes ago, Barrettinator said:

Matic has been just as poor as Costa since January and this without a China offer. He's done in this league.

Not just me then, if it wasn't for Costa I think he would get critised a lot more. Your right he has played poorly this new year, I have been saying it for a while now. Fabregas came into the team, played well then gets dropped again for a period. I really don't understand it.

Players of Fabregas quality and ability are hard to find and Chelsea will lose him if their not careful. Would take him over Ozil any day.

25 minutes ago, dan_cfc said:

Everyone talks about the lack of defending In Fabregas game but Matic did nothing today, at least Fabregas offers us something going forward we move the ball about so much better with him in the side.

Spot on plus Kante does the running of two players. People forget Fabregas won the league in a midfield 2.

Worst match ever of Matic - we played with 10 men only. We should sell him as quick as possible.

who else do we have to replace him apart from cesc?

4 minutes ago, enigma said:

who else do we have to replace him apart from cesc?

If he keeps playing like yesterday, literally anyone. But our CM options are rather slim, top of the list this summer for me

1 hour ago, enigma said:

who else do we have to replace him apart from cesc?

Chalobah, RLC or Ake

Be gone foul wretch, i cast thee out. 

Now you can see why we get linked to Kessie, Bakayako (whatever his name is) plus others. Dont think Conte is keen on him either. 

I think what bothered me most about yesterday was his complete lack of effort. Not being on form is one thing, but he looked like he couldnt be arsed. Several times he got beaten and just decided to jog or walk back. Never thought Id say it, but he made me miss Mikel

8 hours ago, bluelion111 said:

Chalobah, RLC or Ake

All 3 dont have enough game time to warrant a start against United. We would be throwing them to the lions with a Mourinho team. Also, the nature of the position puts more pressure on them not to make a mistake as that will put the defenders in a lot of pressure. Had we given these 3 enough time, esp Chalobah in the DM position then it would be a good idea to bring him on. 

delete ffs what's with these double posts

Edited April 17, 20179 yr by MANoWAR

Do we really have to sell him? As was said by numerous people on other threads one of the biggest complaints about our squad is that we don't utilise or have depth. Fine if we get Bakayoko (btw there are probably better alternatives) but if he can't play then somebody like Matic seems like just the kind of player that would be suited to replace him 

Edited April 17, 20179 yr by MANoWAR

Looked out of it very poor play fabregas