Matic - Debut season review

[DWelbz19]

He’s been OK, overall.

He’s had periods where he should’ve been praised but wasn’t, and equally periods where he’s been called out but defended.

I’d look to replace/phase out as a rotiational option by the end of next season.

FWIW I don’t think his season this year was any better than Herrera partnering Pogba last year.

 

[Lawman]

Massive upgrade on what we had. He’s been a fantastic signing.

 

[Marcky411]

Matic has been quite solid over the season but has like all players blown hot and cold. When he just got here his performances were excellent, nobody could believe Chelsea had sold him but after a while those performances also wore off. I would say Matic has been a solid 6-6,5 he hasn't been raking in MOTM performances week in week out and now with age creeping in his slower pace will only decline. Still very happy we got him but should not be played every match and a great e.g for Scott.

 

[Lawman]

He's okay. Herrera last season played the same position better.

Lol my hole Herrera is dreadful as a 6 it’s not even close buddy. Matic is a much better player.

 

[Regulus Arcturus Black]

Massive upgrade on what we had. He’s been a fantastic signing.

Have you noticed though @Lawman, there's a trend in here like every other thread on the caf.

Those that can't stand Mourinho are falling over themselves not to give Matic the credit he deserves. Pretty much without fail.

 

[Canagel]

A solid 7/10 season. He is nowhere near as good as Carrick but he comes in and does his job. I'm not impressed with him because our DM should be the hub and start of our attacking play but he dawdles and labours too much and slows everything down. I miss Carrick's first time quick through balls to the attackers. He isn't Bakayoko levels of terrible of course but at the same time he isn't a WC untouchable player like Mourinho makes him out to be. Next season there must be cover/competition for him. With a view to being replaced at the start of 2019/20. If it was down to me I'd replace him and Fellaini right now and get in two midfielders but that's not going to happen unfortunately.

 

[DanNistelrooy]

Been a very good signing but in recent months he has been very frustrating in how long he holds on to the ball. One of the biggest culprits for taking too many touches which then slows down our attacks (there are other culprits too). Watching some of the highlights from earlier on in the season he seemed to be a bit quicker in the mind and the legs back then, wonder if he could use more rests - I think cover for Matic + another midfielder is needed this summer.

 

[TsuWave]

he's alright. imo nowhere near as brilliant as some posts in this thread would suggest, still, he's done ok. strong start, steep drop off.

 

[charlie9882]

Have you noticed though @Lawman, there's a trend in here like every other thread on the caf.

Those that can't stand Mourinho are falling over themselves not to give Matic the credit he deserves. Pretty much without fail.

You could argue that, equally, those who blindly defend Mourinho and absolve him of all criticism cannot see that Matic has had some shortfalls this season and has blown hot and cold. Some games absolutely excellent, but also some shockers.

Just because some people don't like Mourinho doesn't mean they can't offer some criticism, only blind praise, to a player he bought.

 

[TheRedDevil'sAdvocate]

Considering that he didn't have a proper pre-season with Chelsea last summer, due to his move to United, and that he didn't get any time to settle in the team but he started playing 90 minutes right from the start and with a makeshift defence behind him, he did just fine. I expect of him to do even better next season, now that he's adjusted to his new environment and with a full pre-season which is very important for a big guy like him.

I don't think many realise how important is what he actually brings to the table for us. The lack of a disciplined, cool-headed and positionally aware midfielder was one of the things that really plagued us since Carrick's form started dropping in the post-Ferguson era. I mention Carrick because even when he had the season of his life in 12/13, lots of people still wondered what he did well. I still see some of the same comments regarding Matic: "he slows us down", "he takes too many touches on the ball" etc. What about his role in our defensive transitions and the protection he provides in the central channels? Because that's what he's primarily here to offer. And it's no easy feat when for the most part of the season you play next to players who either don't care much about defending (Pogba) or lack positional awareness (Herrera).

As for getting the ball out of the back, it's one of our failings of the season that we wait from Matic to do that too. Absolutely ridiculous ball-carrying and passing skills from the FBs, all three (presumably) adventurous CBs on the ball out for huge chunks of the season for various reasons (Lindelof, Bailly, Rojo) and since Pogba firstly got injured and then decided that he doesn't want to play deeper, no creative options from deeper positions in the midfield. There are people responsible for this (not to be discussed on this thread though) but none of them is Matic.

Good signing overall, solid performer but not a game changer when we have the ball at our feet. Once (or if) we sort out our midfield, his contribution will be rated even higher from our fans.

 

[Ish]

Been immense. Went through a dip mid season iirc, otherwise one of our top 3 performers I'd say. Probably top 2, after DDG.

Sometimes played in the midfield on his own too

 

[settembrini]

Lol my hole Herrera is dreadful as a 6 it’s not even close buddy. Matic is a much better player.

How can someone be dreadful in a position where they played extremely well for an entire season?

He was literally our player of the season. Don't understand all the attempts to re-write the past and pretend we didn't already have a good midfield. Especially as Pogba clearly played better alongside Herrera than he does with Matic.

 

[Morpheus 7]

Great signing, glad he's there as Carrick is gone. He looks wrecked for ages now, definitely needs to be properly rested next year. We need some midfielders this Summer. The only criticism is that he slows us down a bit, keeps our shape though amazingly well. Overall an excellent season as a DM, one of the few leader's we have.

 

[AltiUn]

Showed a lot of composure and gave us some much needed maturity in the middle, he's been a real asset in the big games too (the Chelsea at home springs to mind as his best) he's been our best outfield player this season alongside Lukaku. I just can't believe how he stayed fit for so much of the season, I thank Chelsea for letting him go.

 

[2cents]

Just imagine how fecked we'd be if we hadn't signed him.

 

[Paxi]

He's my highest rated player on this. Had real great start to the season and looked a steal. Think Jose overused him but not entirely his fault as Carrick had that heart thingie.

Yeah, cracking first season but he needs a back up.

 

[Murray3007]

Would be my outfield player of the season, although did drop off a few times but never got a rest anytime during the season. overall very pleased with his debut season hopefully even more to come next season.

 

[AR87]

Been by far the most consistent outfield player this season. He's weirdly awful at challenging for aerial duels and often gets exposed on set pieces, especially corners, but overall he's been really good. Herrera coming good provides the necessary energy and steel we need in a 3 man CM alongside Matic and Pogba, but it's an area we could still with reinforcement as well as a long term replacement for Matic's DM role.

My biggest quibble with him is when we're chasing games or looking to break through deep lying defenses Matic seems to try and do too much by himself and often slows down some of the build up play. Also there are times when we have the opportunity to transition forward where I think he slows things down too much, but overall he's been excellent and the issues he does have would be alleviated if the players further forward (and at FB) would step up their performances.

 

[James Peril]

Matic has performed to the level expected, not very spectacular - "never" poor. His biggest strength is being very consistent, although he was overplayed and dropped a few levels before returning to his usual self. That goal against Crystal Palace was the highlight of the season for sure. Nice and tidy passing, brings stability - all what's expected from him. I will give him an 8 out of 10, closer to 7 than 9 due to lack of goals and assists. His role is not to create our goals of course, but last year he had a wicked 8 assists in only 2500 minutes.

 

[Norris]

I think he's been excellent. He offered us so much stability. His forward passing is a little wayward. In moments like that I do miss Carrick. But overall, I am very happy with what he's given us this season.

 

[ROFLUTION]

8/10 season for me. Nice and important to have a cleaner again

 

[Bulldogg]

Very good signing hopefully we can continue to sign players of the same calibre next season.

Also about the "he holds on to the ball for too long" comments, he does at times i agree because he's confident with the ball he likes to invite the press and go past a player if the opportunity is there when sometimes a quick forward pass is ideal but we have to remember that we've had a real issue maintaining the ball in the attacking 3rd all season. We basically got rid of Miki cause he was non existent when we moved the ball from middle to attack and Pogba a lot of the time isn't close enough to Matic for a quick pass once we get the ball back, so you can understand why Matic is reluctant to play the quick forward pass as we tend loose the ball very quickly in the attacking 3rd.

 

[bosnian_red]

Given that he directly replaced Herrera in the starting 11, I'd say he had a worse individual season than Ander had last year, but makes us more solid defensively overall. Too slow paced a lot of times and had a bad spell between November-January (or around that), but other than that been one of our most consistent players all the same. Mourinho should rotate him and Ander more though, to keep the latter happy but also to keep the former fit.

 

[El Jefe]

I think he's been excellent and IMO our best performing signing since Fergie left.

 

[Tom Van Persie]

Have you noticed though @Lawman, there's a trend in here like every other thread on the caf.

Those that can't stand Mourinho are falling over themselves not to give Matic the credit he deserves. Pretty much without fail.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed this.

 

[Theonas]

He is like his coach. One of the best at what he does and at the top of his game. However, the things he is good at are not exactly what you need if you want a mobile dynamic fluid team. They are more suited to a more functional outfit but that's clearly not his fault as that's what his coach wants to build which is why he is an essential part to anything Mourinho wants to do but I would be surprised if the next man in charge uses him as much.

 

[Prodigy24]

He's had a great season and been our best midfielder by far. Started the season brilliantly but his form dipped about halfway through the season. However he's been very good again these past few months and hope he continues this form to the final.

Probably Jose's best buy so far, and still can't really believe why Chelsea sold him. Remember people freaking out, including me, about buying a 29 year old Matic for £40m and thinking that Chelsea had rinsed us but now in handsight it's obvious that we got the better of the deal.

And that goal against Palace

 

[Bwuk]

8/10 for me. Been our only midfielder this year who we've been able to rely upon week in week out.

 

[poleglass red]

I think he's done what we know he does. I think the problem for him has been at times, is he was bought to play in a 2 with a midfielder in Pogba, Jose thought he could turn into rather than what he was. Jose thought Pogba was going to come in and dominate the mid in a 2, go box to box. As we know that didn't work out. But what happened in the meantime is our mid was getting overrun. Matic covers space and does it excellently, but he can't track runners. I recall with horror that Stoke game where Stephen ireland made his comeback in and broke from midfield numerous times, with no-one covering his runs. I think in some of the McTominay games and more recently when Herrera has played, Matic has looked much more effective. Both those mids have the legs to cover him. I'd give him a 7/10

 

[LoneStar]

Would just like to add that he has played almost every game this season. We need players like him who can stay injury free, and hence be relied upon consistently.

I think we'll see the best of him (and Pogba) if we sign a third midfielder who can complement both.

 

[Ekeke]

Lol my hole Herrera is dreadful as a 6 it’s not even close buddy. Matic is a much better player.

He was actually quite similar, got on the ball a lot and made lots of safe passes, made some tackles and interceptions but was out of position to help defend too many times to be ideal. Pretty much the same from Matic this season (and he played in the 6 role far more often than the handful of times Ander did) only I would assume that Matic made more dribbles.

 

[Ace of Spades]

He’s been OK, overall.

He’s had periods where he should’ve been praised but wasn’t, and equally periods where he’s been called out but defended.

I’d look to replace/phase out as a rotiational option by the end of next season.

FWIW I don’t think his season this year was any better than Herrera partnering Pogba last year.

This is my opinion as well. Not awful, not fantastic, just been OK.

He does not have any injury issues, and that is a big positive imo.

 

[Captain Obvious]

Been one of Joses better signings. Defensive mids tend to slip under the radar because they primarily defend.. theres not that many goals or flashy performances, if you dont notice them and we aren't conceding every 10 minutes, then theyre doing a good job

 

[el3mel]

Without him and Lukaku, we would have never finished second.

 

[MikeUpNorth]

Great signing. Our season has been built on De Gea, Matic and Lukaku.

 

[Kapardin]

Been one of Joses better signings. Defensive mids tend to slip under the radar because they primarily defend.. theres not that many goals or flashy performances, if you dont notice them and we aren't conceding every 10 minutes, then theyre doing a good job

He was always going to be a fantastic signing. Was very happy when were linked to him.

I suppose he wasn't glamorous enough for twitter who were fellating over Fabinho. Not that I am knocking Fabinho, decent player, but one guy actually claimed buying or not buying Fabinho would determine us winning the league or not, ffs.

 

[Sunny Jim]

The best, most consistent midfielder since the decline of Carrick.
10/10 transfer.

 

[Van Piorsing]

You look at Chelsea and see what's missing there this season. Slowly entering the final stage of his career but still a much needed steel for any quality midfield.

If next season he'll be able to give some of his qualities and remain fresh then with new summer arrivals this could give title race a proper boost.

He's got wonderful long shot ability, perhaps should do that often. It worked on Real Madrid where Navas was forced to parry the shot straight to Lukaku.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Like many on here (come on, admit it!) I was underwhelmed when we signed him but he's the sort of player you only realise how good he is when he's playing for your team. As well as his defensive abilities he's also surprisingly good on the ball. Fantastic signing

 

[Ikon]

Have to eat my words, I didn't think he would make a good impact here, but I was wrong. Class act..!!