Bit part player next season ? Don't forget we came second in the league and the outfield player that played more than anyone else should be a bit part player ?? Going by this post i assume you probably see 9 of the regular starters as bit part players next season and see us buying 9 new player fifa style.
Matic - Debut season review
- Thread starter Green_Red
- Start date
Bit part player next season ? Don't forget we came second in the league and the outfield player that played more than anyone else should be a bit part player ?? Going by this post i assume you probably see 9 of the regular starters as bit part players next season and see us buying 9 new player fifa style.
If we depend on Matic next season as heavily as we did this season then the results will be the same, we won't be competing for any major trophies and will probably be behind City. My opinion
Matic has been our most consistent outfield player this season and has remained relatively injury free. Solid on the ball, constantly breaking up play and his positional sence is spot on.
A little on the immobile side of things and not much of a threat going forward, but overall an undoubted success.
A little on the immobile side of things and not much of a threat going forward, but overall an undoubted success.
8/10 season from him. Probably would have been seen as a 10/10 if he had more productive players around him. Wasn't that pleased when we signed him, but very happy we did now.
Scratches head, then quickly checks post history to confirm poster has serious dislike of Mourinho - confirmed ✓
I think when playing condifently he has shown he can do this. However he's been a bit withdrawn in his comfort on the ball and taking his time. At Bilbao and when he first came to the club he was confident in that area. In fact he had his signature move where he's receiving a pass and seems to let the ball go one way and then chops it in front of him with less predictable movement that often beat the man looking to pressure him as soon as he received the ball. Things like this that hes shown in the past, he doesnt show as often anymore. Meanwhile his aggressive closing down and tackling got a lot better.
So its all in there, but he hasnt been putting it all together.
You have also focused on just 1 aspect of the role. On the ball. Which is the one most people seem to focus on when they're watching it seems. When we didnt have the ball and Ander was playing as the DM, he would win the ball and play passes but occasionally he would be out of position to help the backline when the opponents attacked. Thats something Matic has had happen this season too. Ander wasn't any better at it and again, he only played this DM role a few times. But for example against Chelsea last season when he did, he was very good on the ball and he won the ball a bunch but thats where he came up short. Making sure he was in the best position to help out the defence.
My player of the season.
Went to the first game of the season and remember everyone including myself saying 'feck, thanks Chelsea :-))
We've needed a proper good midfielder like him for years, pogba has been way too inconsistent.
Went to the first game of the season and remember everyone including myself saying 'feck, thanks Chelsea :-))
We've needed a proper good midfielder like him for years, pogba has been way too inconsistent.
Honestly, I don't think we're disagreeing on much. I just think herrera was better than Matic but obviously you see the reverse as true. Cool.
How Mourinho dislike equates Matic dislike is ridiculously dumb logic
In short; excellent signing. Had one bad period so i will rate him 8.5/10
He's been a very good signing, probably one of our bestin recent years, but let's not pretend he is great. He means a lot to us mostly because we have no replacement for him, and he is a good player in general,but he has his fair share of average/poor games. He is also another proof how great Carrick was for us. Neither him or Schweinsteiger reached anywhere near his level in similar years, let alone Scholes'.
Except for one bad period, he's been excellent. Wasn't so sure when we signed him, thought he is on the decline and his last season in Chelsea wasn't convincing. But, imo, turned out to be best Mourinho signing so far. We finally managed to replace Carrick in the midfield and the only regret is that we didn't sign him when he was younger.
Not only that he is a great player, but also a leader which is something this team lacks, especially once Zlatan left.
Not only that he is a great player, but also a leader which is something this team lacks, especially once Zlatan left.
And yet if you check the post history of any of the minority in here trying to play down Matic’s season, every single poster without fail has a huge dislike of Mourinho.
You figure it out.
So? What the hell has saying Matic had an average second half of the season got to do with disliking Mourinho. Does this logic apply to every other player we think had an average season like Pogba or Mata? This is taking Mourinho apology obsession to the next level when you see a critique of a player as an attack on him.
exactly. Matic was huge in the first half of season. But it has been evident that he has worn down as the season has gone on, and desperately needs some rotation throughout the year next year. All of this is completely independent of how people feel about mou, one way or the other.
He has been alright. Good player that deserves his spot basically but wouldn't say he's a game changer for us.
He’s never been brilliant there let’s not make things up.
You are spot on about his first touch and turn he’s an absolute master at that move. But his passing range and choice of passing is nowhere near the level you require for a six. Have a look at his mid to long passing range.
But did Herrera turn up in every game? He was brilliant in the Chelsea victory but rest of the season was average. The simple difference between Herrera and Matic as DMF is that we leaked out much less goals under Matic, but the passing of Matic is not as good as Herrera.
I actually really like Matic, but he has a lot of problems that aren't being masked well at the moment.
On the ball he is infuriatingly slow; often taking a good few seconds to turn and position for a pass.
Not only that but when he does pass it's rarely adventurous, it isn't neccesarily his role to create, but I think he's part of the reason we've struggled to.
If we could get a midfielder who can play the ball and 'keep it ticking' as the cliche goes it will help Matic a lot, but I wouldn't say no to upgrading on him were it on the cards.
On the ball he is infuriatingly slow; often taking a good few seconds to turn and position for a pass.
Not only that but when he does pass it's rarely adventurous, it isn't neccesarily his role to create, but I think he's part of the reason we've struggled to.
If we could get a midfielder who can play the ball and 'keep it ticking' as the cliche goes it will help Matic a lot, but I wouldn't say no to upgrading on him were it on the cards.
Sorry but I disagree with all of this.
You don't win POTY for one good game. Herrera was extremely good last season and the revisionism about this seems like people trying to justify us purchasing Matic when we had far more pressing needs. The same thing has also happened with Martial/Sanchez. Martial was having a very good season and was our best attacker until January. He was so good that when we signed Sanchez everyone insisted he would start on the right. Instead Mourinho starts him on the left and now there are numerous posters trying to pretend Martial wasn't playing well at all and has been erratic all season. It's revisionist nonsense to defend a poor transfer strategy and when this gets pointed out people start accusing you of being 'anti-Mourinho'.
Also we are not any better defensively because of Matic. We conceded 29 goals last season with 5 of them coming in the final 4 games when we were focusing on the EL. This season we have conceded 28 with 2 games left to play. Our improved league position is almost entirely down to the fact that last season we were extremely wasteful in front of goal and this season we have been relatively clinical. Matic has nothing to do with this. He's a decent player, he's been fine this season, but we would have been far better off investing that £40m (and the £30m on Lindelof) in the positions where we are actually weak.
You’re right, we’re no better with Matic. I mean, we’ve 4 places higher up in the league with a shit load more points and we’re miles better in the top 6 mini-league... but none of that has anything to do with our best outfield player this season, none of it.
If you think I'm wrong about our improved league position being down to better finishing by our forwards rather than the signing of Matic then why don't you try addressing that point instead of writing another boring bit of sarcastic drivel
It’s actually embarrassing isn’t it. They project so much rubbish it’s incredible.
Back in the real world, yes he is. Comfortably.
If you think I'm wrong about our improved league position being down to better finishing by our forwards rather than the signing of Matic then why don't you try addressing that point instead of writing another boring bit of sarcastic drivel
I’ll bite.
Is improved finishing also the reason our top 6 mini league results are not only miles better, but our performances in those games much much better also?
What other word would you use to identify a sub section of a fan base?Calls fellow United fans “They” and then uses the word embarrassing
Again, wow, embarrassing
Last edited:
Not as good as I'd hooped - no idea how Jose considered him for Player of the Year (before giving it to Scotty Mc T)
Our performances are not better, our results are, and yes this is largely because of improved finishing.
In games against the rest of the top 6 last season we recorded 102 shots and 6 goals. This is bad, hence bad results.
In games against the rest of the top 6 this season we recorded 82 shoots and 15 goals. This is good, hence good results.
Our problems with chance conversion were well known and well discussed last season. We were 4th for shots but 8th for goals with more big chances missed than any other team in the league. This season we are 6th for shots but 5th for goals and 7th for big chances missed. These are facts and the link between our improved finishing and better results/higher league position should be obvious to anyone who looks at them, or even just paid reasonably close attention to our matches over the last two years. Denying the evidence is pointless, insisting that making Matic our DM in place of Herrera had anything at all to do with our better league position is laughable.
wonder how he will do when we change manager. But under mourinho he is a steal and should have longevity
Where were the 102 shots taken from in comparison to this year?
And bollocks we haven't played better in these games, we've been much more comfortable this season versus the top 6.
Read the first few threads then jumped to the end. With out a doubt he is player of the year. We would be back to 6 and 7 if it wasn't for him.
Average. 6/10
Yeah because using the word “they” is forbiddenA "sub-section"
Deluded beyond belief.
Yeah because using the word “they” is forbidden
Yep, that was hilarious. Bet you're a right laugh on a night out.
Wrong again.
In games against the other top 6 teams this season we recorded 82 shots for us, 168 against, with an average possession of 41%.
In games against the other top 6 teams last season we recorded 102 shots for us, 118 against, with an average possession of 44%.
This season we are seeing less of the ball against the top sides, managing fewer shots, and conceding more opportunities on our own goal. If you want to talk about the impact Matic has had then those stats should tell you something, he's simply not as good as Herrera was last season. Luckily for him though our attackers have significantly improved in front of goal and De Gea's has been brilliant. Which are the clearly and obvious reasons for our better league position.
Again... don't skip out the most important part of my post.
Where we those shots against and for taken from in comparison to last season? Otherwise it's just numbers.
Matic dicks all over Herrera in terms of composure. I'll take that type of midfielder for that role every day of the week.