I already like him for going over to that fan @ 2:34
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I already like him for going over to that fan @ 2:34
absolute class. Strange to say but sometimes you sign a player and he doesn't look right in the shirt, he looks like he's been here forever. Like all quality players, makes hard things look easy.....
I don't think he lost the ball once? Great debut.
Looks like just what we need. He won't be snagging the headlines for our wins, but he'll be crucial in enabling those who do, and in helping out the defence.
Chuffed about this purchase, and am glad that he's looking at ease already, even if it was just a friendly against Sampdoria.
Chuffed about this purchase, and am glad that he's looking at ease already, even if it was just a friendly against Sampdoria.
If we win the title it'll be because of this guy.
Chelsea were fools to sell him, just like real madrid were to sell makelele.
Most of their fanbase know it too. Some are in denial. Bakayoko is overrated and is not the finished article
Even if we take out bakayako equation, it still doesn't make sense to sell your first choice midfielder. Had they even sold fabregas, it would have been understandable. This just doesn't make sense.
They can all say kante was the one running the show and matic was pedestrian blah blah but without matic even kante looks off in the pre seasons. They will miss matic.
Had a really good game. Hope he keeps performing at that level consistently throughout the season and we'll be a real threat.
He's my favorite type of player. Just sits slighty behind the play and is there to mop up any loose balls and play some simple passes to keep the ball rolling and the occasional switch/pass between the lines.
Reads the game so well. Just superb.
Reads the game so well. Just superb.
Same. Felt he was oddly settled and composed for someone who literally just joined us a couple of days ago.
Like I said in the other thread, for the first 15-20 minutes he was 'safe'. Stayed quite deep, played the easy passes, didn't really do much. Got better as the half went on though, and he started getting much more aggressive with his pressing. Thought he was our best player for those final 20 minutes of the half.
For a guy who is playing his first match was instructing his teammates to take up position on field and even without ball he was constantly taking up places to stop the counter/ staying near the attacker. He is a perfect DM in a Jose team, his ability to pass through the lines is very carrick esque.
A Kante-Bakayoko midfield is horrendous in terms of creativity. They will need Fabregas.
Matic will be a class signing. Never got the reason why so many were against him. Maybe its' because we are used to seeing him and his name doesn't end in "inho".
Difference between Carrick (even his prime) & Matic, is Carrick prefers to hold his position & backtracking than taking chance to put pressure to win the ball. Matic can make his presence felt on the pitch, while Carrick walk a thin line of sneaky intercepting passes and being passenger thus invisible without the ball. Passing wise, Matic releases passese faster. Not electrifying exchanging, but faster than what Carrick likes. Carrick seems to prefer to hold on to the ball longer to pick a more beautiful pass while Matic can do simple pass most of the time to match the tempo of the play. The above leading to a vital difference is that Carrick is not that great or comfortable playing too high up the pitch. It's not that he's not fast enough to get back to defend a counter attacking (Matic is not faster), but due to Matic can help stealing possession back higher up the pitch as well keep the ball moving quick enough so his teams have that bit of edge when the oppostion teams marker is half a step behind. Carrick type of DM is not always Mourinho's cup of tea.
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Really great debut. Pass accuracy must have been near 100%. So calm and his positioning was perfect. That being said Sampdoria really didn't put him under much pressure so he did have plenty of time to be composed and ensure each pass was perfect (not that he always used that time, many of his passes very very quick and didn't slow the game). It will be interesting to see how he handles a team which presses him constantly (hopefully we'll get to see this against Madrid). Very promising start though. Pretty much played the same role as Carrick in his prime.
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Good comparisons. I'm more used to the Carrick mold of DM, so I do get a bit worried about what happens when Matic misses one of his tackles up the pitch. It might leave our defense exposed as I don't think he has the legs to recover. When he succeeds on the press though, which he did on every attempt, it gives us good attacking opportunities and keeps the pressure on.
With the ball, like you said, he has a quick release. He won't ever dictate the play from deep nor open up the pitch with long range passing, but we have Pogba for the latter. I would still like our midfield to have a player who can be the 'hub' for possession, like Scholes used to be.
Now I understand why it's always so difficult to beat Chelsea.
Fair point that's what I see why Mourinho switching between Cesc (to dictate play better), Ramirez when needed to added more defensive shift at Chelsea, or both when Oscar not doing his job as no 10. For us I expect Herrera to offer a bit of both quality to partner Matic while Pogba was given more freedom to step up his game.
IMO This frees up Pogba and Herrera immensely. Pogba is probably going to have a very good season because of him
There's really no point to have any one play behind him tbh. Absolute wall
Was fantastic last night but his excellence also highlighted a huge shortcoming for us as a team- the left hand side- if we had someone either a left back or left winger (and i mean proper winger) for him him to feed his passes into once he has broken up the play then we would look a lot more dangerous- being naturally left footed it's where he most likely to look as he did last night- but it was nearly always a simple pass either out to left or right because the option was never there for something a little more inviting. He had the odd one out to Tony V but as i don't think 3-5-2 will be our formation that he won't have that option as much and we will still seem as static going forward. I'd take a winger either side but if we want to use his distribution a little more fully i think the left is where we are short.
I of course could be talking utter nonsense but it was the feeling i got as i was watching him. As a dm though that was a masterclass in breaking up play, he has more tools in his box though and it would be a shame not to utilise them. He's a beautiful footballer.
I of course could be talking utter nonsense but it was the feeling i got as i was watching him. As a dm though that was a masterclass in breaking up play, he has more tools in his box though and it would be a shame not to utilise them. He's a beautiful footballer.
I think it is really rare to find someone with the complete attributes of a midfielder like Scholes did - maybe Verratti in this generation could come close. So rather than trying to find everything in a single player, we would be better off seeing two, three players who could mix and match the complete set every team needs.
That is the prime reason I hyped for a combination of Pogba - Matic - Herrera; they have contrasting qualities which would complement the other's deficiencies. Pogba being the flair player, capable of incisive play and becoming the auxiliary attacker by arriving late into the box; while Herrera would easily be the grafter - chasing down lost causes and trying to find the more attack minded players with simple passes while having some defensive contributions when not in possession.
Matic, by default, would be the defensive screen who would simply be tasked by breaking down the opponent's attacks and playing "the pass before the main pass", if that makes sense!
Absolutely, I am in complete agreement with you here. We can't replace the likes of Scholes and Keane. Probably not even any two player pairing can accomplish everything they did.
Yep, I think they complement each other very well, and the combination of a defensive screen + grafter + playmaker is exactly what I wanted in a 3 man midfield. My only concern is that both Carrick and Scholes (especially the latter) had the ability to just set up camp in the opposition half and everything would go through them. Scholes was very adept at quickening the tempo, and he brought a confidence to our play because no one could get the ball off him and he was always available for the pass. At the moment we don't have anyone who can do those things, and even against weaker opposition we don't look assured in possession.That is the prime reason I hyped for a combination of Pogba - Matic - Herrera; they have contrasting qualities which would complement the other's deficiencies. Pogba being the flair player, capable of incisive play and becoming the auxiliary attacker by arriving late into the box; while Herrera would easily be the grafter - chasing down lost causes and trying to find the more attack minded players with simple passes while having some defensive contributions when not in possession.
Matic, by default, would be the defensive screen who would simply be tasked by breaking down the opponent's attacks and playing "the pass before the main pass", if that makes sense!
I think in this trio that will have to come from Matic, Herrera and Pogba working closely together to ensure at least one of them is available for a pass at all times, and that they are able to confidently circulate the ball amongst themselves. Maybe it will develop as they get more playing time as a unit.
Depends on what you mean by that. If you're looking for a guy who completely dictates play from deep, we don't have anyone who can do that other than pogba who'll be wasted that deep now that we have Matic and Herrera both. On the other hand, if you're looking for someone who's always available to receive the pass, is good at keeping the ball under the press and move it on quickly, Herrera is very good at it.
The way you put it seems great for me; but the problem we would then have is the fact that we are gonna have Carrick, Fellaini and Pereira as backups for the midfield roles. While Carrick, when played cautiously, would give us solid defensive screening, Fellaini and Pereira do not offer as much as Pogba and Herrera would.
And that being said, I am hard pressed to believe yesterday's 3-5-2 is the ideal formation to extract the best of these players. What's your take on the formations that Jose should use?
@jojojo and @Saf94 - what are your opinions?
My theory ( for big clubs who are chasing titles) is always that you just can't have/buy only players who are "stars", game changers....
In every line you must have one of that kind of players, but the rest of squad must be class players whos abilities are adapted to style of their manager. Matic is one those players. Is he game changer like modric or pogba in midfield? No. But he is a player who gives his team balance. He will do his job. Tackle, pass, tackle, pass. Every squad needs one of those players in midfield. Look at barca and real with casemiro and busquets.
First time after keane-scholes- veron era, i am delighted with our midfield.
You have super player in pogba, all round player in herrera and now finally that defensive midfielder. Who plays simple and gives protection to his midfield partners.
My only hope that mou will use him in 433 not in 4231.
In every line you must have one of that kind of players, but the rest of squad must be class players whos abilities are adapted to style of their manager. Matic is one those players. Is he game changer like modric or pogba in midfield? No. But he is a player who gives his team balance. He will do his job. Tackle, pass, tackle, pass. Every squad needs one of those players in midfield. Look at barca and real with casemiro and busquets.
First time after keane-scholes- veron era, i am delighted with our midfield.
You have super player in pogba, all round player in herrera and now finally that defensive midfielder. Who plays simple and gives protection to his midfield partners.
My only hope that mou will use him in 433 not in 4231.
Yeah, mostly the latter. Someone who can always be given the ball and will make sure we don't lose possession. Of the three, I think Herrera is closest to it. However, he doesn't really roam the pitch making himself available and have the presence that makes the rest of the team happy to surrender the ball to him when they run into trouble. He's just not that dominant a player and I don't think he ever will be.
jesus, our midfield really has been a joke for quite some time. False dawn of the Schmidfield weekend aside I think I'd agree with this.
That also depends on what coach wants, if Jose isn't all that for possession football then it's of no use. It's always good to have players who are very good on the ball and available for passes but we also need midfielders who can break into the box like Lampard did.
Maybe I'm reading too much into this but I felt both Pogba and Pereira were more attacking wing backs played like wing backs should, they pushed higher up even to win the ball back and were always on the attack. We looked lot more solid defensively with Matic sitting in the midfield and winning the ball.
Maybe the players have more freedom now that we have a proper DM. Maybe I should calm down a bit as this is just a preseason game.
Maybe the players have more freedom now that we have a proper DM. Maybe I should calm down a bit as this is just a preseason game.
I agree, but against the weaker teams (which is most of our games) we're generally going to dominate the possession whether we plan for it or not. Even Mourinho's Chelsea teams had plenty of the ball against bottom half teams, it's mostly against better opposition that he sets up more reactively.
A 3 man midfield should be fairly complete, so we should have someone who can break into the box and score goals, and also someone who can give confidence to the team in possession. This is especially important for us right now as the team goes into its shell and looks bereft of confidence and ideas when the 'easy' games go poorly.
Yeah agree with that. Hopefully Matic can do that as I don't want Herrera or Pogba dropping so deep.
Yeah, the backups are definitely an issue. Carrick is looking off the pace at the moment so hopefully he can improve as usual over the course of the season. Pereira is inexperienced but I think he can do a job. Fellaini has his talents but never slots into a midfield role particularly well. We need Matic, Herrera and Pogba to all remain as injury free as possible.
You are obviously describing Carrick 2016 and not prime Carrick. As much as I like Matic he couldn't have laced Carricks boots in his prime. Matic is a shrewd signing by Jose though and I'm delighted he's here.
Good post. I was thinking similar watching last night. Luke Shaw at his best would be a key asset to us, but looks like that probably won't ever happen now.
Nope it's simply down to ageism. Bloke is now 29, so to a lot on the Caf he's well past his prime.
For me he's the perfect signing we need right now. Fits the role Jose has perfectly and doesn't need time to settle into the league. United have to perform next season, a top 3 finish is essential.
Thought he had a good game, even though he wasn't on full match fitness. Managed to snuff out counter-attacks and retain possession, when he gets his extra half a yard he'll have more time to pick a pass. Very happy.
I think it's a very hard balancing act for Mou to fit all his players in the right position but also have a good balance in a system that attacks and defends well.
I think the most important tactical issues are this:
1) Lukaku is at his best when he is in space with the ball at his feet close to goal
2) Our fullbacks provide our width but it's only effective if they can push forward high up
3) When we don't play a no 10 the link up between our attack and midfield/defence is poor
4) Pogba is not, and never will be, a number 10 and can't be our link up player between attack and defence. He's best as a no 8 / roaming playmaker
Based on those things it makes a lot of sense why Mou played the system he did yesterday, that 352 addressed all the above issues but in particular note that he played Mikhitaryan behind Lukaku. Previously he played Lukaku and Rashford up top in the 352 but it didn't work as we missed the link man. I thought the first half yesterday worked really well, I thought Pereira offered a lot with his runs from midfield (he needs to do more of this) and our wingbacks were extremely dangerous. I'm not sure if the 352 (or was it a 3411) will work against every opponent, I think our unbalanced squad means Mou is deliberately training multiple formations because different ones will be needed in different games. There's no standout system where all our best players fit together nicely, an unfortunate after effect of our shotgun style approach to transfers in the post Fergie era.
If we were to sign a proper attacking left wing back I'd say the 3411 for sure would be our best formation but if not I think the 4231 worked well too, the link up between midfield and attack is good but we are still weak out wide with that formation so it can be easy for teams to defend against us if they defend deep and narrow. Will be interesting to see if we get another signing and whether that can solve our remaining tactical issues, until then I think it's still a difficult balancing act for Mourinho
Very similar to Gareth Barry when he literally carried Yaya Toure at City; when he left, people suddenly realised how lazy Toure had seemingly become, when In reality he always had been, but Barry's tactical and positional awareness, and reading of the game neutralised it.
Matic will be the most important signing of the summer IMO.
Matic will be the most important signing of the summer IMO.
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