Him and Lamps looked da bomb...!!

 

What?

89% passing percentage

 

no fouls

 

5 tackles

 

50% aerial duels won (surprisingly low but its crouch i guess)

89% passing percentage

 

no fouls

 

5 tackles

 

50% aerial duels won (surprisingly low but its crouch i guess)

Yes it was against Crouch but should also be pointed out Stoke were very poor. Would be a far greater test if he plays against City.

I thought he had a very solid debut without being at his best.

Didn't catch the game. What advantages did he show over Mikel?

As others have said, positional awareness, he just seemed to be in the right place at the right time. Also has the ability to hit a decent forward ball.

Compared to mikel based on 1 game he is a lot quicker. He isn't fast but he is faster than mikel or at least he seems to be. He also covered a lot of the pitch. Not all his passes were coming off but I expect that will change with more game time. <br /><br />Still hat is not to disrespect mikel who is also good in his woman way.

Compared to mikel based on 1 game he is a lot quicker. He isn't fast but he is faster than mikel or at least he seems to be. He also covered a lot of the pitch. Not all his passes were coming off but I expect that will change with more game time. <br /><br />Still hat is not to disrespect mikel who is also good in his woman way.

 

Is there something we should know?

http://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/chelsea/transfer-talk/news/salah-to-arrive-before-stoke-game_132909.html

Compared to mikel based on 1 game he is a lot quicker. He isn't fast but he is faster than mikel or at least he seems to be. He also covered a lot of the pitch. Not all his passes were coming off but I expect that will change with more game time. <br /><br />Still hat is not to disrespect mikel who is also good in his woman way.

 

You're pretty much saying the same thing but I don't think it was so much speed as industry.  He's a bit like Ramires in that he gets everywhere, and as mentioned his positional awareness was great.  He was always where he needed to be while Mikel is often having to chase.  Stoke was dire though, we completely dominated them in midfield so lets see how he does against Toure.

Very assured debut, it was interesting how many times he won back possession quite high up the pitch.

 

Not sure if that's going to be a regular feature of his game or if Stoke being pretty woeful contributed a lot to it yesterday. 

 

He looked confident in possession without trying anything too difficult in terms of passes but he was quick with his distribution which I liked. 

Is there something we should know?

you have to luv the ipad. I his own way

so lets see how he does against Toure.

<br /><br />Yes that will be the best test

<br /><br />Yes that will be the best test

Looking forward to that duel!

Agree with this 100%

http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=540336

Nemanja Matic - The Spider's Web

Nemanja Matic made his full debut for Chelsea yesterday in our 1-0 win at home to Stoke City in the FA Cup. Deployed in the holding midfield role by Mourinho, he acted as a sweeper in the midfield and added another dimension to our game. His defensive discipline allows players like Lampard and Ramires to roam further forward without fear of being caught out. Matic is good in the tackle and has a great eye for the game, putting a halt to several dangerous looking Stoke attacks.

Having said that, his distribution was a tale of two halves. He obviously understands the importance of the short pass and will play it with accuracy [89% pass completion] but the few times he attempted something slightly more long range, he appeared to over-do it. Obviously, there would have been nerves to compensate for yesterday but we need a player in the middle of the park who can pick a pass from all areas of the pitch.

I liken his domination of the middle of the park to a spider`s web. On the basis of his nickname, 'The Spider`, he controlled the tempo in and around the middle of the pitch and was a welcome sight pitted against the huge Stoke midfielders. He`s a superb tackler, aided by his mile long legs, and he`s strong on the ball. He was caught out a few times by the sudden change in pace and lost his footing on a number of occasions but that is a factor that he`ll adapt to. The Portuguese league is a very different animal to the Premier League!

I liked Matic yesterday. He brought another dimension to the team with his power and resilience in the middle and he is certainly an upgrade on Mikel. He provides more security for our back line and allows the more attacking minded players [Oscar, Lampard etc.] to go forward. I think his purchase will result in the departure of either Lampard, Luiz or Mikel though. Personally, I think Lampard has another season in him and Mikel is a good replacement for Matic so you`d have to look to Luiz. The Brazilian actually played quite well yesterday in the centre of defence but I still can`t stop myself cringing whenever he has the ball.

What do you think? Did you rate Matic`s performance yesterday? Can you envisage him becoming essential to Jose`s game plan?

Matic is not yet the finished article, be under no illusion. He has to adapt to the speed of the English game and his marauding runs from deep didn`t really come to fruition yesterday. Nonetheless, he has all the attributes to succeed in our team and I can see the Spider`s web becoming the dominant force in many games to come.

Up the Blues!

Usually when we're only 1-0 up at the 85 minute mark, I start to panic. 

 

Not yesterday. Probably the most one sided 1-0 I've seen this season.

 

An Oscar, Ramires, Matic is an awesome midfield.

Usually when we're only 1-0 up at the 85 minute mark, I start to panic. 

 

Not yesterday. Probably the most one sided 1-0 I've seen this season.

 

An Oscar, Ramires, Matic is an awesome midfield.

 

I've noticed that too.  We never look in danger any more, it's a wonderful feeling.

Would love a contest between him and Toure think it could be something special.

If City signed Matic, they would literally have the complete squad. Toure and him would cause havoc, so glad we have him.

Would prefer it if he played more of an attacking role as he looked really good when he went forwards. Probably would be good with Mikel next to him but i still feel he is very good sitting whilst our more attacking midfielder go up and attack. At times he struggled a bit with the pace but with games he will adapt to that quickly.

Probably would be good with Mikel next to him

 

I was hoping that Matic coming in would mean i wont have to watch Mikel anymore.

 

Ramires and Matic are the right combination. Matic and Mikel are the same type of players, except one is good and the other one is average, at best.

Time for Mikel to finally get his coat...

Head to PSG. .would love £20 million

Head to PSG. .would love £20 million

 

If we did sell Mikel we wouldn't get £20 million for him, it would be well below that.

And despite being involved in more with this club than Mata ever will he probably will receive no more than a good riddance from most.

 

*prepares self for sh*t* 

I wouldn't be hard on Mikel, he has a hard act to follow in maka.

He's done well his medal collection proves it but we really need more that what he offers, some games are suited to him but 9 out of 10 times we play as the attacking team and his style just doesn't suit.

He's still played a big part in what we have won since he arrived.