I'm no expert myself but from what I've seen he's pretty mobile and he's can read the game well, can improve though.
Potential Matic Replacements
- Thread starter FootyGirl88
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
I'd love that.
Our fullbacks are all best at attacking (Dalot, Shaw, Young) and are likely to get caught up the pitch quite a lot.
Our midfielders are mostly poor with their positioning (Pogba, Fred, Herrera, Pereira).
Our CBs are mostly poor in the air (save for Smalling who has other weaknesses).
What we need in the DM role is a player who is comfortable as a third CB, who can help us defend long balls/freekicks and who can be a safe outlet for when the other defenders are put under pressure. Mourinho had a point in picking Matic every game. He's the only DM we have who can knit together the rest of the XI. Any replacement would need to be able to offer the same thing plus, hopefully, have a lot more mobility.
Rice would be perfect. Matic still has two or three seasons left in him as long as he's not playing every week. Learning from NM and from Carrick would be great for the kid.
He’s had issues extending his contract which ends in 2019, West Ham have an option to extend it until 2021 though but maybe there’s the possibility of a rift there between him and the club.
Would be all over that. Thing I like about him most is in a game of fewer and fewer characters and leaders he is one already. Loves West Ham though and doesn’t want to leave.
It’s not a rift on his part, more his agent and the club.
I saw an interview where he spoke about his love for the club, if Rice has it his way I’m sure he’d much rather stay than move. Still, it wouldn’t be the first time someones head was turned by their agent though.
Yeah that’s exactly it. An interesting situation. How much sway can an agent have if player really loves club?
He was at Chelsea from the ages of 6 to 14, but now he loves West Ham. And he can't seem to pick between Ireland and England.
Got a feeling he's someone who's passionate about the support and community around him, whereever that may be. If he ever found his way to OT, I doubt he'd have trouble becoming a soldier for the cause.
Got a feeling he's someone who's passionate about the support and community around him, whereever that may be. If he ever found his way to OT, I doubt he'd have trouble becoming a soldier for the cause.
I’m not fully convinced Rice is a CDM, think he’s more a CB. But like Dier IMO, better dribbler though.
Would still have him at United, just not not as a Matic replacement.
Would still have him at United, just not not as a Matic replacement.
A player like Kante would be an upgrade on Herrera or Fred, but not the Matic replacement we need. The player we need requires good positional play defensively but he doesn't need to be tearing around like a blue arse fly hunting the ball, we have those options, he needs to be a playmaker that can control the game from deeper and feed the ball to our front 4.
If Fred is the future I think we need more of a destroyer DM. If Herrera then we need a more deep playmaker type.
Our squad composition is a bit weird right now.
Our squad composition is a bit weird right now.
Agreed, it's a Fernandinho that we will need, somehow.
There’s got to be a wheelie bin lying around the training ground. Maybe Solskjær could try that.
Rodri would be great. Sadly I don't see any chance of Atletico selling him this summer.
Ruben Neves is the answer, will do well in the right set up.
He's the one we should move for if we had a chance. The perfect player for the role.
And to think that they bought him for only 20m € in the summer.
People need to stop suggesting unrealistic targets like N'golo Kante, it just won't happen.
Does anybody please know what is going on with Dendoncker at Wolves? I had a quick look the other day and didn't even know they signed him on loan which shocked me.
What shocked me even more is that he has only played 9 minutes as a substitute. He doesn't seem to be injured and I have heard many people rate him highly. Last year we amongst other teams were supposedly interested and i heard figures of around 40m bandied about.
Maybe worth keeping eye on him. Wolves have agreement to sign him for £12m.
If he plays well and we offer a lot more does anyone think there is a chance of us getting him as Matic replacement? Do people think he will be up to it?
What shocked me even more is that he has only played 9 minutes as a substitute. He doesn't seem to be injured and I have heard many people rate him highly. Last year we amongst other teams were supposedly interested and i heard figures of around 40m bandied about.
Maybe worth keeping eye on him. Wolves have agreement to sign him for £12m.
If he plays well and we offer a lot more does anyone think there is a chance of us getting him as Matic replacement? Do people think he will be up to it?
Think Kante just signed a 5 year contract
Wilfred Ndidi.
No one needed. Matic is playing brilliantly.
Feel a bit for Matic. When he first joined he looked good but we attacked more then too.
It's very difficult playing his role if there's no movement and very few players ahead of him.
So it's no surprise he's looking better now with far more options ahead of him.
It's very difficult playing his role if there's no movement and very few players ahead of him.
So it's no surprise he's looking better now with far more options ahead of him.
Came in here to say exactly this. Thanks @ash_86
I said this in the Matic performance thread, it's sad people don't want to give the same level of support for all players who have suffered under Jose. Matic all around game is looking good as there is more movement around him. He's recycling the ball very well.
Long term we absolutely need someone who is far less sluggish when shielding the ball etc. though. The way some of the top teams press is relentless and I could really see him struggling.
My ideal replacement would be Kroos, but that's a pipe dream. Someone more realistic would maybe be Neves or De Jong.
I dont think Fred is our future, based on today!
Do people still like Danilo Pereira of Porto? I remember this site liking him before we got Matic.
Either way, Ruben Neves would be a good acquisition.
Either way, Ruben Neves would be a good acquisition.
i believe we have our replacement in house. James Garner
Isn't shielding the ball to relieve pressure one of Matic absolute strengths? The problem against those teams that press is that he sometimes forgets to move the ball along fast enough and just keeps hanging on to it for far too long, he doesn't necessarily lose it. Kroos would probably find the pass a bit quicker, but under relentless pressure I don't think he is better than Matic in shielding the ball at all.
I suppose you're right, on second thought he is quite good at shielding the ball. Although, I could have expressed myself better. Your point is true though, when he does shield the ball, his ability to get his feet right and play the ball is quite slow, which can put his teammates in danger. Also, whilst he possesses the ability to, he doesn't play the ball into teammates in dangerous advanced positions often enough. This particularly is crucial as when teams are defending deep against us (which will be the case in most games), he will have large amounts of time on the ball to dictate the game.
I like Matic and he's been good since Jose left, but when compared to some other top playmaking CDM's, I see stuff in his game which could be improved on.
I can agree with that. We really don't have any competitors for him either, so it'll be good to search for a "replacement" ahead of time for once. I guess it would be more of a Fellaini replacement then and if he is better than Matic too, great!
Sadly I don’t think Neves or De Jong are realistic targets either. De Jong is meant to be done deal with Barcelona and Neves is with Jorge Mendes. Don’t we have a bad relationship with him once again?
I watched Neves against Liverpool and he looked average in the game. Anyone watched him regularly for Wolves?
Our relationship with Mendes is good, as far as I know..
Weren't they pursuing Rabiot? I wouldn't mind Rabiot if they were indeed pursuing De Jong.
Watched him a fair bit at the start of the season where he looked good, haven't seen him as much of late though. Has a cracking shot on him and is a good passer.
Are there any Essien, Makelele or even more destroyer types of midfielders around anymore that might reach the top level? The only one who I like that I can think of who isn't used as an 8 is probably Wanyama. But he isn't good enough. Casemiro is probably the only one around doing that at the top level?
I am not sure if we need a guy like Neves or Kroos. Pogba obviously doesn't fancy such a disciplined role even though he has the talent for it, imo. So we do need someone longterm that is better than Matic to dictate our play etc. I'm not sure we do immediately though, and maybe we should think about the future before making any more midfield signings? We do have some exiting talents coming through and some of them might be able to do that Kroos/Scholes type of job very well. Pereira is one. But I'm thinking of Gomes here. He has been showing great tendencies in that position recently. If he was to play that role here, along side Pogba, they would probably both benefit from having an aggressive physical destroyer type behind them. Like a Matic with more pace and less silk
Good thing Pogba is big though because most teams can only really afford one little technical guy in midfield, we might have "two". But I don't see many destroyer types around and certainly not in our set up. For something like that to work a player like that would be needed.
I am not sure if we need a guy like Neves or Kroos. Pogba obviously doesn't fancy such a disciplined role even though he has the talent for it, imo. So we do need someone longterm that is better than Matic to dictate our play etc. I'm not sure we do immediately though, and maybe we should think about the future before making any more midfield signings? We do have some exiting talents coming through and some of them might be able to do that Kroos/Scholes type of job very well. Pereira is one. But I'm thinking of Gomes here. He has been showing great tendencies in that position recently. If he was to play that role here, along side Pogba, they would probably both benefit from having an aggressive physical destroyer type behind them. Like a Matic with more pace and less silk
Good thing Pogba is big though because most teams can only really afford one little technical guy in midfield, we might have "two". But I don't see many destroyer types around and certainly not in our set up. For something like that to work a player like that would be needed.There’s a player named Ascacibar at Stuttgart who’s like a terrier. Not physically massive but seems to win every tackle block everything and make the simple pass when I’ve seen him play. Would taken pavard while we are there as wellAre there any Essien, Makelele or even more destroyer types of midfielders around anymore that might reach the top level? The only one who I like that I can think of who isn't used as an 8 is probably Wanyama. But he isn't good enough. Casemiro is probably the only one around doing that at the top level?
I am not sure if we need a guy like Neves or Kroos. Pogba obviously doesn't fancy such a disciplined role even though he has the talent for it, imo. So we do need someone longterm that is better than Matic to dictate our play etc. I'm not sure we do immediately though, and maybe we should think about the future before making any more midfield signings? We do have some exiting talents coming through and some of them might be able to do that Kroos/Scholes type of job very well. Pereira is one. But I'm thinking of Gomes here. He has been showing great tendencies in that position recently. If he was to play that role here, along side Pogba, they would probably both benefit from having an aggressive physical destroyer type behind them. Like a Matic with more pace and less silk
I agree. It does depend how long Matic can last, but I'm all for giving him a go there. Is it not a bit soon for him though?