Only natural defensive midfielder we have. The others are all ball winners or ball players. The likes of Fred and McSauce can run and press but their positioning in the defensive play isn't as consistent as Matic's. I just wish he was faster on the ball and off it. Very strong tonight though.
31
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 34
- Goals
- 1
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Red cards
- 1
- Status
Only natural defensive midfielder we have. The others are all ball winners or ball players. The likes of Fred and McSauce can run and press but their positioning in the defensive play isn't as consistent as Matic's. I just wish he was faster on the ball and off it. Very strong tonight though.
That’s because most of time fans are clueless. Ooh! McTominay isn’t man utd standard oh! Matic legs are gone oh mata is useless. Players are always either shit and useless or unbelievable.... when the truth is a-lot more nuanced and half the time fans don’t have a clue what the coaching staff instructions are.
He was my MotM tonight tbh. Very good performance.
Very good performance again.
Really hit some form of late. My MOTM as well.
Really hit some form of late. My MOTM as well.
Had a couple of moments where he got done or was sleeping but have to say last few games he’s whipped out some pretty adventurous passes.
Matic went shite because we ran him into the ground, a good few months on the sidelines has done him good, recharged the batteries a bit. If we use him more sparingly, he could be a really important squad player
Don't mind him staying for another year or two.
Could be a valuable backup.
Could be a valuable backup.
He's turned it around but I don't want to see him get a long-term contract.
He was pretty awful last night but even when he is playing well individually, he slows our whole game down so much. At his peak he was never a high pressing, quick passing kind of player, but now he's just glacially slow in everything he does. His positioning remains good but our game never flows well with him in midfield.
Matic has done really well since coming back into the team. We haven't really missed McTominay IMO. Would be nice if we can get Matic to stay as a squad player next season, but I doubt he will want that at this stage of his career.
Trust me, this place doesn’t ‘love Fred’. Fred is just a case of objectively judging performance. He has been crapped on so much since joining. If anything, the caf loves McTominay, and his misgivings are overlooked, Fred’s have not been, at all.
Definitely not Motm like some would say but he had a good performance. Its no coincidence that we are now knocking on the door to play champions league. Another clean sheet against top side proving all haters wrong yet again.
That injury was a blessing in disguise. Looks like a new player since coming back. Got caught on the ball a few times. Lack of movement didn't help, mind. Defensively, I felt he looked good.
Going into next season, I would have him as a squad player, especially if he continues this form. His experience since coming back has been vital. In Fred, he has someone who will provide that dynamism too, so its a nice balance.
Going into next season, I would have him as a squad player, especially if he continues this form. His experience since coming back has been vital. In Fred, he has someone who will provide that dynamism too, so its a nice balance.
He always looks like a new player when coming back from any period out of the team then reverts to his complacent self after a run of starts. Should Def be a squad player
I thought he was poor last night, sloppy passes and got hustled off the ball in midfield more than once, this happens whenever he plays a number of games back to back, he hasn't got the stamina for it anymore, personally I'd get rid in the summer but given how much we need to do I imagine he'll be kept and hopefully just used for cup games and such.
A great player to have in your squad and we should keep him as long has he can perform like he's doing of late. Deserves a lot more credit than he gets!
Is he the most underrated player in this squad now? I wanted him gone and thought his performance was average but after the surgery looks like he is back to full fitness and he is also playing well. Our defensive record with and without him in the 11 sort of sums up his importance.
Clean sheets in 66% of the games he played, 19% in the games he missed.
Still i don't like when he takes too much time on the ball and loses in defensive third but the defensive record with him is very good.
| With Matic | Games | Clean sheets |
| PL | 9 | 4 |
| Europa League | 3 | 3 |
| FA cup | 3 | 3 |
| League Cup | 3 | 2 |
| Total | 18 | 12 |
| Without Matic | Games | Clean sheets |
| PL | 16 | 2 |
| Europa League | 3 | 2 |
| League Cup | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 21 | 4 |
Clean sheets in 66% of the games he played, 19% in the games he missed.
Still i don't like when he takes too much time on the ball and loses in defensive third but the defensive record with him is very good.
Like these kind of posts with stats rather just saying things out of their minds. Good job.
I am happy if Matic really turned the corner but I will be disappointed if he raise the game just to get a new contract.
This is a concern too. He usually starts well and then fades away by mid season. Considering he didn't start the season so maybe that's the reason he is playing well now. Should be at least squad player, contributes to the team.
I like what he brings to the team but I feel a lot of players out there (meaning in the market) could offer it, while also offering more athleticism and speed. However he is the only player in our current squad who is good at maintaining shape in midfield and shielding the defence, so unless we upgrade on him, his contribution can't be overstated. I'd always like to have him in the line-up in games where we set out to defend a lot and break out.
Magic gets a lot of flack for being slow in possession but I don't think he's half as slow as many make out. It's more a case of him being 100% sure he can make the pass. He shields the ball and creates the appropriate space for himself to pass excellently, and when a quick one touch pass is required he usually does it.
As with much of our play over the last 5 or so years, everything would be quicker and easier if our players just moved off the ball a lot more and with more intensity, even Matic would release the ball quicker if teammates found the space in time.
As with much of our play over the last 5 or so years, everything would be quicker and easier if our players just moved off the ball a lot more and with more intensity, even Matic would release the ball quicker if teammates found the space in time.
I think this place loves Fred as much as it loves McTominay, both just a case of objectively judging performance with a quite a few exceptions on both sides as always on this forum. You have no evidence of otherwise just because your opinion differs. I get that it may seem like that because you don't seem to give McTominay any credit, so it feels unjustified for you but for others not so much. Personally I don't see any form of bias on those two and I think both in fact share something in that they both have won over the fans after a tough start to their career at United. Everyone has had their doubts about both of them at some point, and all have been proven wrong at some point. Lack of willingness to admit that might often be the trigger for unbalanced opinions but as both these guys share the underdog premiss I don't see much of that with these guys.
Matic is suited to being a squad player at this moment, and can be appreciated as such and at the same time be at the end of ridicule because he isn't something else. Similar to Pogba critique. I think Matic has value to the squad, and hopefully he is happy with a limited role as I like him and I'd like him to retire at the club. He is a lot better as a squad player than Mata, Lingard etc. He has some inherent qualities and still a couple of years left as a back up player until he is surplus to requirements. If we get replacements in and he moves I wont complain as he probably is payed too much for that role at the moment.
I see we have to do this again. I’ve given Scott plenty of credit. I just provide a balanced assessment, which includes not ignoring certain things which upsets others because they want the praise to be unadulterated. As for ‘lack of willingness to admit’, please get lost, we’ve done this too many times. Given we have opposing views, why don’t you say that you have a ‘lack of willingness to admit’ that mine is correct?
This is pretty much how I feel. We need a player like him which is why when he does play we tend to look better overall, he definitely adds stability to the side. Unfortunately he's just far too slow on the ball and just in general so he gets caught out at times. It got ruled out obviously but I believe he was the one who lost Kovacic in the Giroud header - he does something like that most games we just were lucky in this instance.
He is a very good squad option though, we'd certainly be in a lot more trouble currently if we didn't have him.
You don't have to be weird about it. Sorry if you find me annoying, not my intention. I just don't see the imbalance you claimed to see.
Evidently you don’t. And that’s okay. I can hardly go into further detail than I already have, and if I did, it will just look like more and more paragraphs from me which will be used as evidence of my ‘agenda’ against Scott. If you don’t think that Redcafe ‘likes’ McTominay more than Fred, fair enough.
Yeah, I get that. No need to go into that again. Also agree it is a fair thing to point out that I don't think Redcafe favours one or the other. They both have that underdog thing going and it probably speaks a little extra for them when they do well.
There is no doubt he has played well recently but I do not buy into the hype that he is undroppable no more than I bought into the same hype re McTominay whom I prefer. Lets be honest, he has grabbed his chance. You need a squad to compete, I think McTominay will go on to be the better player no doubt about so why not have them help each other and the club progress? I would rather see Matic in the team, slow as he is, over the likes of Pereira who just is never going to be good enough no matter how much the club try to force it.
Thanks for the stats but my question is: Hasn't Matic just been in easier games the last year? This would make the stats somewhat irrelevant.
He's been fantastic and should be kept on.
We need his experience.
Manage his minutes when we have our full squad and he'll be an asset.
We need his experience.
Manage his minutes when we have our full squad and he'll be an asset.
I have to admit I was writing him off because of his age, but he looks so much better after a rest. We still definitely need a new DM in the summer, but we should keep him around for at least another season if we can. He's clearly still quality as long as we give him plenty of rest and recovery, so sharing the position with another player would be ideal.
I've grown to like him more over the weeks. The improved defensive record is down to a lot of factors but hes definitely been one of them. He helps a lot on set pieces too. He still annoys me a bit by not being the most urgent player but we needed to find different ways to hurt teams than having a really, really fast front 3 (which we dont really have atm). Being more patient and careful suits the team more atm, Bruno hopefully can help on that front too.
Its an odd one because he kind of highlights the benefit of a good defensive midfielder but you wouldn't want to use him every week, he just looks much better playing more sporadically. I think extending for another season is a no brainer, i could be tempted for 2. He's worth it for experience if nothing else.
Its an odd one because he kind of highlights the benefit of a good defensive midfielder but you wouldn't want to use him every week, he just looks much better playing more sporadically. I think extending for another season is a no brainer, i could be tempted for 2. He's worth it for experience if nothing else.
No.
I'd say hes benefitted somewhat from 3 at the back and De Gea not fecking up recently. Maguire settling a bit and Lindelof being in good form helps too. He deserves credit himself obviously but its not solely him.
Apparently Matic will play today. I expect another clean sheet.
Edit: Never mind, Lingard enters chat.
Edit: Never mind, Lingard enters chat.
Brugge 1:1 Man Utd
Decent today as well, but playing in a midfield three with Lingard and Pereira must feel like purgatory.
Yeah. I think Matic been playing well for the last couple of months... very stable at least.
Man Utd 3:0 Watford
Excellent performance today.
He's seemed unhappy for a while here so it's good to see him being a consummate professional and putting in decent performances.
Weird start involving Maguire, not sure who to blame there, but overall pretty solid performance. Some incredible throughballs, one to Chong and other 2 involving Martial. McSauce will have a difficult time pushing Matic aside. Matic is inform and doesnt seem to fade away, hes here to stay.
21 shots, 9 on target and alot of balls just going wide. I was very happy with teams overall performance.
Can someone explain to me why Matic didnt get subbed off 80' min? Matic is 31 and shouldnt play 3 whole games this last week. Hopefully we dont overplay Matic and rotate to prevent injuries.
21 shots, 9 on target and alot of balls just going wide. I was very happy with teams overall performance.
Can someone explain to me why Matic didnt get subbed off 80' min? Matic is 31 and shouldnt play 3 whole games this last week. Hopefully we dont overplay Matic and rotate to prevent injuries.
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