He is on the slow side which could be a problem against teams who press high.
Potential Matic Replacements
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Agreed with this. And do you trust our current system to find these better alternatives? I have my doubts.
If they only sought the help of the Caf! It'd be raining trebles!
Thiago Alcantara has played as a Deep lying playmaker with great success too and if he is available and over his injury concerns we can look at it. Then we will be a proper football team.
I think if the Caf was sought to recruit players we'd be in even bigger problems..
I think we have fantastic scouts but i'm unsure how much say they have over the manager regarding prospective new signings. I'm someone that believes in a DoF type setup which has proven to be the best model when implemented without any interference.
Wildly inappropriate player to replace Matic. You want to play a midfield of Pogba, Bruno and Thiago? Good luck to our back line.
I think it would be excellent, actually.
I don't remember the exact game, and my memory has been destroyed by years of frequent drug use so feel free to dismiss this post, but I remember him in a road Champions League knockout, I think against Madrid, and he was definitely the deepest of their center mids, and he was freaking fantastic.
He is mobile, can cover danger, can tackle cleanly, and he is absolutely press-resistant.
Excuse my ignorance, but does Liverpool have a DoF? I guess I could google it and find out, so also, please excuse my laziness.
They have Michael Edwards who has been quite important for them in recruiting players.
Mctominay is inconsistent with his passes. I honestly don't see his ability being of any use in a team that always has the ball.
Thanks. And he appears to be doing a decent job. But f him, YSB
I agree with your end sentiment whole heartedly..
I understand you mate and if we go that route then we will have to add pace to our backline. It will be fun though, we will basically dominate most teams that we will defend very little. In addition, Thiago is no slouch in the tackle and he is quite capable positionally.
I don't think Ole cares about a DM really. He's played a 4-2-3-1 all through with a double pivot behind the AM and it seems we are sorted in that area.
We started this season with Mctominay and Pogba as Ole's preferred first choices in the double pivot. Then Pogba got injured and we played Mctominay and Fred and did quite well. Then played Matic and Fred pre corona and also did very well. We are currently playing Matic and Pogba and it's working out fine. It just seems like we are sorted in the double pivot with Mctominay Pogba Fred and Matic all favoured by Ole to play there and there's no need for an additional player/DM. Matic and Pogba as the first choice pairings and Mctominay and Fred as the second choice pairings(would probably see this against Norwich too).
We started this season with Mctominay and Pogba as Ole's preferred first choices in the double pivot. Then Pogba got injured and we played Mctominay and Fred and did quite well. Then played Matic and Fred pre corona and also did very well. We are currently playing Matic and Pogba and it's working out fine. It just seems like we are sorted in the double pivot with Mctominay Pogba Fred and Matic all favoured by Ole to play there and there's no need for an additional player/DM. Matic and Pogba as the first choice pairings and Mctominay and Fred as the second choice pairings(would probably see this against Norwich too).
I think he does care, but it seems Ole's perception of a DM is very different to what alot on here are suggesting. It's been reported that Ole wants a DM who can also contribute as a #8 which is the way to go IMO.
Link?
I provided the link many months ago so maybe you could find it by using the search function.
Very strenous
Is Lisandro Martinez any good from Ajax?
A ball winner maybe than a passer.
A ball winner maybe than a passer.
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I’d disagree. I think it’s an underrated aspect of his game to be honest. He’s a good passer.
Teun Koopmeiners can play DM and No8...
Just saying guys.
How is his passing ability compared to Fernandinho, Rodri, Jorginho, Kimmich, Verratti, Busquets, Pjanic? These are the DMs of other top teams and I don't think Mctominay is as good as a passer as any of them. Mctominay's strength is his intensity and energy not his passing. If you're telling him to play similar to Matic or Carrick he wouldn't be quite useful against sides that sit deep because we would have most of the ball and his strengths - intensity and energy would not be needed.
Do you think he would have impacted the Sheffield game like Matic did for example? Matic is obviously the better player but what I mean is do you think Mctominay would have brought that calmness and composure in midfield like Matic did for us?
I think we are better off grooming him to be like a Casemiro or Ndidi rather than a Matic or Carrick
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Any solid links to him or is he just a player you love?
Big fan of Neves at Wolves. Couldn’t believe it when Wolves got him. James Garner should be given a fair crack at it though too.
I agree, he has improved a lot obviously in the last few years but if he isnt just laying the ball off, all his other type of passes are not inconsistent, they are consistently quite poor. He is good break ing up play to win the ball, good shielding it and carrying it, has a decent shot, passing wise, he is pretty poor though
One player who has flopped this season in the premiership and seems to have a big problem with his manager (seems familiar) and may be looking for a move but has so much ability, could be worth considering......NDombele?
He seeoms to have had injury and settling problems and not been given many opportunities but seems to be more to it than that. Every time I have seen him for Spurs you can still see the quality.
I think there are loads of options to consider replacing Matic......Tonali, Camavinga being the perfect ones but then there are the likes of Soumare, Zakaria even Declan Rice and a cheap option I have seen very little of the alst 18months and doesnt seem to be playing after his move and subsequently the manager signing him leaving, but Ascacibar is still very young, has a fantastic heart and superb reading of the game.
There are just so many good young defensive midfielders around, I dont see how we could fail to sign a good one IF and for me its still a big IF....we can offer champions league football next season
He seeoms to have had injury and settling problems and not been given many opportunities but seems to be more to it than that. Every time I have seen him for Spurs you can still see the quality.
I think there are loads of options to consider replacing Matic......Tonali, Camavinga being the perfect ones but then there are the likes of Soumare, Zakaria even Declan Rice and a cheap option I have seen very little of the alst 18months and doesnt seem to be playing after his move and subsequently the manager signing him leaving, but Ascacibar is still very young, has a fantastic heart and superb reading of the game.
There are just so many good young defensive midfielders around, I dont see how we could fail to sign a good one IF and for me its still a big IF....we can offer champions league football next season
Really like him, such a player. Composed, can pass, mobile and can definetly shoot from distance.
I like Neves but he’d cost a fortune I also have a feeling he wouldn’t be the same player without Moutinho in beside him. I could be way off but for that Kind of money we could probably get Camavinga if he’d come here.
I think if there was any plans for us to bring in an understudy to Matic then we would have heard something by now. Looks very much like Garner is going to get a chance to prove himself next season in that role. I fully expect us to prioritise this next summer if it turns out that he isn't capable of making that step up.
The VDB links makes so much sense if this is what Ole thinks. He's an exceptional passer who can play as an 8 or further up
There are tshirts? Haha.. anyway Koopmeiners can play CB too, in case of an emergency. So his play style will be very similar to how Matic performed against Sheffield, dropping as deep as the CBs to build up the play.
Not too worried about pace as most DLP aren't overly reliant on them - Carrick, Pirlo etc were not known for it, neither is Matic.
Well if he cares then that's good. But why is getting a DM that can play as an 8 the way to go? We already have 3 no.8s in the team - Pogba Fred and Mctominay.
Also don't you think we've played much better in midfield anytime an inform Matic was on the pitch?
I don't think it makes much sense tbh. If Matic injures VdB Pogba and Bruno midfield would be too attacking. And plus playing VdB deeper you'd just be taking away his best attributes
Matic isn't a pure DM either and he also isn't mobile enough against top teams who press from the front. But he'll be fine against the weaker opposition due to his ability on the ball.
It's the way to go because most games we play over a season will be against teams where we will have majority of the ball. Having someone in midfield who can defend well and distribute the ball to a good level will be more beneficial IMO than having a purely defensive player in the role.
Against the top teams we can use our #6/#8 to play a more disciplined role. Zakaria or Partey over Rice or Ndidi is the way to go IMO.
He's very aggressive, and surprisingly technical on the ball for a centreback, which is imo his better position than midfielder. but he's nowhere near ready for a step up. definitely a revelation of sorts early on in the season but also a bit shaky at times. also not sure really that his passing range/ability is suited for a midfielder, or at least not adjusted properly to what is needed. whereas for a centreback his dribbling in and passing is great - but obviously it's unlikely any premier league team goes for a 1.75m centreback!
We might well be playing 352 against the big teams anyway, we’ve done well doing that this season.
1. Party: Can play as a ball-winner and somewhat as a distributor. Currently best option potentially available.
2. Tonali: He will likely go to Inter or Juve, but still. Passing range, speed of decision and close control similar to Pirlo and Scholes.
3. Koopmeiners would be a safe and cheap option if other targets fail.
2. Tonali: He will likely go to Inter or Juve, but still. Passing range, speed of decision and close control similar to Pirlo and Scholes.
3. Koopmeiners would be a safe and cheap option if other targets fail.
In all honesty if we're to dread facing teams that play the high pressing game, Maguire and his immobility is equally as detrimental to us as Matic' is.
You make a valid point and it's something that we may have to contend with from time to time.
But with the amount we shelled out for him I can't see him going anywhere anytime soon. I think he'll be a ever present for the foreseeable future and we will have to try and buy another CB and DM who are athletically/physically gifted to cover up his defecencies. Which is dissapointing to say considering we broke the world record for a player in his position.
Thing thats good with having Pogba and Bruno in front of Matic is that their intelligent movement, ball control and ability to make a quick pass coupled with Matic' lack of mobility but his good passing and ball covering can give us a lot of opportunities to go around the press game. That plus hopefully having Sancho alongside Rashford and Martial up front will demand respect from any high pressing team.
Matic on the ball is fantastic and our best player for that specific role due to his technical quality no doubt. But I just feel having someone with Matic's technical quality with added mobility would suit us better in the long-run.
Yeah he is quite the skillful player for a CB, does he remind you of certain player's he may grow up to be as a CDM? Mascherano, Cambiasso?