He's better suited to the b2b role, i dont think he has the right skill set to play the DM role. His passing and positioning isn't good enough, we also need someone that can read the game and can carry the ball forward.
If we want to challange for the league we'll need a specialist for this role.
He’s a good long passer and can play line breakers. He certainly can carry the ball forward too. Positioning I think is the issue for him but it’s certainly something that he can learn from Carrick.
Koopmeiners is really a good shout- he plays a lot like how Matic does. This article is good read for those who have not really heard of him:
https://footballbh.net/2020/03/21/teun-koopmeiners-2019-20-scout-report-tactical-analysis-tactics/
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If i'm not mistaken Ole's coaching style is similar to how Klopp sets up his team but Ole doesn't have the necessary tools at his disposal to attempt to play in a similar fashion yet. Kieran McKenna is also a coach with a similar mindset and is probably the brains in our defensive/offensive transitions. So we need a Matic replacement that will suit our approach and Klopp's Liverpool is the bench mark/template.
So if we look at Liverpool's midfielders they have a high pass percentage but also have ability to eat up ground quickly and are very mobile. Matic fails on the mobility part and doesn't cover ground quickly either in comparison which is a hinderance against top quality teams. McTominay who some have suggested in the role could cover ground quickly but has thus far failed in the pass percentage stakes. We need to improve significantly on both fronts if we're to close the gap. Our current options are good enough to see the season out due to the quality of opposition not being of the highest calibre but we really could do with a upgrade in the role in question.
Ideally someone like Camavinga would be the one due to his enormous potential. But if not Camavinga i'd opt for Zakaria or Partey who both have the physicality, cover ground quickly and can also pass to a good level. Both players have the correct attributes to allow Bruno and Pogba to excell and also have the ability to disribute to a good level.
Personally I prefer Zakaria due to his size and versatility which greatly adds to his existing qualities. He also plays in a system at Gladbach under Marco Rose that requires a great deal from him in both the defensive/offensive phases of play. He's also been deployed as a sweeper by Rose and is well drilled tactically.
Klopp’s Liverpool is not and should not be the template. We don’t have the players for that system.
Against top sides a double pivot has worked brilliantly we’ve got one of the best records against top 6 sides and it doesn’t need fixing.
McTominay is playing a more aggressive role and so his passing stats will be affected. Throughout the season he and Fred have had the creative burden put on them and creating requires risk.
Camavinga would not just walk into the side and would be one in a long line of the next big things that yes could be great but equally could struggle with the pace and quality of better opponents week in week out.
Zakaria is aggressive in his play and I think that against big clubs would be to our detriment. You want someone who will just delay attacks to get into shape. Not someone who’ll dive in and get too close. Equally his passing isn’t as good as other options so he’s a good player but I don’t think he’s the right one.
Partey could do the role, but in the same way McTominay could we’d be asking for an adaptation from an aggressive set up at Atletico to a more team based containment.
I think it depends what you value more, positioning and passing (which are more transferable skills) or physicality.
Done a bit of research and I really like the look of Koopmeiners so far. He's the ideal Matic replacement and is a very good passer of the ball
Told you. Ticks all the boxes of a DLP.
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