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2019-20 Performances


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WR10

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As a member of the Matic is crap society have to say until the blunder he was actually playing pretty well and was trying out some adventurous passes and doing some decent defensive covering when Rojo went wondering and Lindelof regressed to what he was in his first season here.

However DeGea deserves some of the blame for that first goal. What he was thinking giving that ball to Matic when Matic is facing his own goal and is flanked by 2 Milan players i’ll Never know. Stupid decision then Matic panics and is out paced by two players.

Mata later plays him in to a terrible position where he has no chance either so he is dispossessed again. There was one that was all his own doing where he just seemed oblivious to the guy behind him and took an age to make a pass. He needs upgrading on soon or for McT or Fred to pull one out the bag this year but if not then next summers shopping list priority should be a DM.
I would have had 5% sympathy had he not done it 4 times. All other times he got caught too far from his walker it had nothing to do with his teammates. He literally couldn’t move any faster and it was brutal to watch. Absolutely brutal.
 

Andersons Dietician

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I would have had 5% sympathy had he not done it 4 times. All other times he got caught too far from his walker it had nothing to do with his teammates. He literally couldn’t move any faster and it was brutal to watch. Absolutely brutal.
I can only think of 3 where he was caught on the ball like that and 2 were from his team mates giving him the ball when he was in no position to take it.

He’s still crap and needs replacing but there was enough blame to be shared around for that.
 

RedStarUnited

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Another season of pundits blaming Pogba for things Matic should be doing is coming up.
 

BluesJr

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Still enrages me we signed him instead of Fabinho.
 

Greck

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Mourinho is the only gobshite who would have signed him after the horrible season he just had for Chelsea.
Willian for 60m would have been the real disaster. Should have sacked him once he submitted that ridiculous transfer list
 

Rozay

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Sorry but, I’m already at the point of looking forward to seeing him. He has a few good months in him every season at this stage I think, but definitely can’t do it for the whole year. That said, it seems too much to ask for us to find midfielders who can control and pass a football consistently in a PL tempo match. He is one who can. His legs are gone, but he’ll have a good 3 months at some stage. I’d rather he has them now then we strengthen in January.

He was fecking outstanding in our good run after Ole took over, and even if he can give us 10/12 good league games back-to-back, that may settle us down. He doesn’t have the energy of Scott, of course, but he’s obviously a much better footballer otherwise. Perhaps he and Scott can play together with Pogba even, as I think Scott is better suited to a B2B role. He can then chase the play around rather than hold a position, and his pressing and blocking is more useful. He’s also more of a runner than a ball player, and a DM is a ball-playing role for me.
 

Adnan

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Sorry but, I’m already at the point of looking forward to seeing him. He has a few good months in him every season at this stage I think, but definitely can’t do it for the whole year. That said, it seems too much to ask for us to find midfielders who can control and pass a football consistently in a PL tempo match. He is one who can. His legs are gone, but he’ll have a good 3 months at some stage. I’d rather he has them now then we strengthen in January.

He was fecking outstanding in our good run after Ole took over, and even if he can give us 10/12 good league games back-to-back, that may settle us down. He doesn’t have the energy of Scott, of course, but he’s obviously a much better footballer otherwise. Perhaps he and Scott can play together with Pogba even, as I think Scott is better suited to a B2B role. He can then chase the play around rather than hold a position, and his pressing and blocking is more useful. He’s also more of a runner than a ball player, and a DM is a ball-playing role for me.
I'd rather chance it with Jimmy Garner tbh.
 

Rozay

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I'd rather chance it with Jimmy Garner tbh.
I’d be open to that too, although that would require us to pick the right game for that I feel. This midfield is as bad as it’s been for a very long time though, we can’t go through the entire season like this. Remove PP and it’s comfortably no higher than a 10th place midfield.
 

ivaldo

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Sorry but, I’m already at the point of looking forward to seeing him. He has a few good months in him every season at this stage I think, but definitely can’t do it for the whole year. That said, it seems too much to ask for us to find midfielders who can control and pass a football consistently in a PL tempo match. He is one who can. His legs are gone, but he’ll have a good 3 months at some stage. I’d rather he has them now then we strengthen in January.

He was fecking outstanding in our good run after Ole took over, and even if he can give us 10/12 good league games back-to-back, that may settle us down. He doesn’t have the energy of Scott, of course, but he’s obviously a much better footballer otherwise. Perhaps he and Scott can play together with Pogba even, as I think Scott is better suited to a B2B role. He can then chase the play around rather than hold a position, and his pressing and blocking is more useful. He’s also more of a runner than a ball player, and a DM is a ball-playing role for me.
I find it unfathomable that anyone would still want to see him. He does not have a good few months every season. He had 6 decent months at the start of his time here and that's it. Since then he's been a constant disappointment and I would say the single biggest problem in the side. The reason why he continuously gets caught on the ball is because he can't control and pass the ball consistently anymore. If we take his most recent feck up again Milan for example, DDG passes the ball to him and he takes 3 touches and still hasn't looked up to release the ball. He's a perennial dawdler which is literally the opposite of controlling tempo.

He can't run, tackle, intercept, dictate tempo, create, he can't even move the ball swiftly. As limited as Mctominay is, we are a significantly better side with him in it simply because it keeps Matic out of it.
 

Rozay

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I find it unfathomable that anyone would still want to see him. He does not have a good few months every season. He had 6 decent months at the start of his time here and that's it. Since then he's been a constant disappointment and I would say the single biggest problem in the side. The reason why he continuously gets caught on the ball is because he can't control and pass the ball consistently anymore. If we take his most recent feck up again Milan for example, DDG passes the ball to him and he takes 3 touches and still hasn't looked up to release the ball. He's a perennial dawdler which is literally the opposite of controlling tempo.

He can't run, tackle, intercept, dictate tempo, create, he can't even move the ball swiftly. As limited as Mctominay is, we are a significantly better side with him in it simply because it keeps Matic out of it.
Matic was very good after Ole took over, so that assessment is not true. He’s not the player he was, and the caf has decided he’s a villain, and as a result have gone overboard, judging by your assessment of him. Matic is certainly comfortable receiving the ball, he always has been. He can’t run, and for that reason alone, we may we’ll be a better team with Scott in it than him, but never in a million years is McTominay an actual better footballer than him.

I may we’ll be clutching at straws here, but I’ve seen enough to feel we need a midfielder in January, summer is too late, so perhaps Matic can roll back the years for a couple of months, which if he can, is at least another player I can then trust to handle the ball at the level I feel is required. That would make the grand total of two, sadly.
 

Irwin99

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As our only recognised DM I expect him to be back in the team sooner or later and obviously people will lose their minds over it. Don't think Mctominay and Pogba are going to last as the midfield duo.
 

Adnan

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I’d be open to that too, although that would require us to pick the right game for that I feel. This midfield is as bad as it’s been for a very long time though, we can’t go through the entire season like this. Remove PP and it’s comfortably no higher than a 10th place midfield.
I agree it looks dire and I do understand you wanting the technically competent Matic due to his ball playing skills. McTominay is nothing more than a plodder that is being willed on blindly by a certain section of the fan base to become something he won't IMO. And then you have Lingard also starting games in attack in central areas contributing diddly squat to our goals or assist column.

I think integrating Gomes could be a potentially season defining move for our midfield. I think Garner will be played in the Europa League and a good performance or two in the competition could propel him into the first team squad.

Matic definitely adds that composure in midfield when he's on his game and can pass the ball to a good standard. Maybe the extended time out of the team will recharge his batteries and it'll benefit us later in the season. I'm definitely not giving up on him just yet, especially with our current midfield options.
 

ivaldo

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Matic was very good after Ole took over, so that assessment is not true. He’s not the player he was, and the caf has decided he’s a villain, and as a result have gone overboard, judging by your assessment of him. Matic is certainly comfortable receiving the ball, he always has been. He can’t run, and for that reason alone, we may we’ll be a better team with Scott in it than him, but never in a million years is McTominay an actual better footballer than him.

I may we’ll be clutching at straws here, but I’ve seen enough to feel we need a midfielder in January, summer is too late, so perhaps Matic can roll back the years for a couple of months, which if he can, is at least another player I can then trust to handle the ball at the level I feel is required. That would make the grand total of two, sadly.
He wasn't very good, just not as shit. I'm fairly critical of posters who go to town on players but Matic's performances since arriving here have been indefensible. He used to be comfortable receiving the ball, he isn't anymore. No player who is comfortable receiving the ball needs to take half a dozen touches before releasing it, nor do they get robbed of it quite as much, or repeatedly misplace simple passes. He might pull off the odd silky drag back but the only reason why he needs to do that is because his inability to move the ball quickly forces him into it in the first place.

We absolutely do need a midfielder in January, but that player certainly isn't Matic, and no amount of wishful thinking is going to get us the Matic from 4 years ago.
 

Rozay

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He wasn't very good, just not as shit. I'm fairly critical of posters who go to town on players but Matic's performances since arriving here have been indefensible. He used to be comfortable receiving the ball, he isn't anymore. No player who is comfortable receiving the ball needs to take half a dozen touches before releasing it, nor do they get robbed of it quite as much, or repeatedly misplace simple passes. He might pull off the odd silky drag back but the only reason why he needs to do that is because his inability to move the ball quickly forces him into it in the first place.

We absolutely do need a midfielder in January, but that player certainly isn't Matic, and no amount of wishful thinking is going to get us the Matic from 4 years ago.
Hmm, that’s not how I recall it being called at the time. I remember making a thread on ‘how can we rest Pogba?’ and immediately being overtaken by a consensus of posters saying it was Matic who was most invaluable and needed to be looked after. He was very good. A glance back at the respective performance threads will tell you that was the consensus at the time. I appreciate he is something of a public enemy now, so nobody wants to give him any dues.

That said, I can’t disagree with your general sentiment of him being past his best. My position is that the window is closed so we have to squeeze something out of what we have at least until January. I don’t believe his qualities, whatever they may be, should be so roundly disregarded in this particular context, that context being us having a collection of central midfielders who struggle to control and pass the ball when out under any pressure. That ‘silly drag back’ you speak of is an important ingredient in a PL midfield now. Sometimes your mate just isn’t there to help you and you have to get out of it on your own. McTominay pisses himself in such situations, for example.

Fred is another we need another look at.
 

Rozay

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I agree it looks dire and I do understand you wanting the technically competent Matic due to his ball playing skills. McTominay is nothing more than a plodder that is being willed on blindly by a certain section of the fan base to become something he won't IMO. And then you have Lingard also starting games in attack in central areas contributing diddly squat to our goals or assist column.

I think integrating Gomes could be a potentially season defining move for our midfield. I think Garner will be played in the Europa League and a good performance or two in the competition could propel him into the first team squad.

Matic definitely adds that composure in midfield when he's on his game and can pass the ball to a good standard. Maybe the extended time out of the team will recharge his batteries and it'll benefit us later in the season. I'm definitely not giving up on him just yet, especially with our current midfield options.
Integrating Gomes should certainly be a priority. If he can transition with the qualities he has into the first team, it will transform us going forward. We lack this player to knit the final third together, and too often Jesse gets the ball in a position to play the final pass and can’t do it. He doesn’t even attempt it, even if it’s on. Gomes’ dribbling ability will also help us to keep possession better.

I think regarding Garner, whatever he does this season we will need to buy a DM. With Gomes, I believe he can show enough this season to start the next one as our first choice 10.
 

Sultan

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Another player who shouldn't be anywhere near an MUFC first team.

Littered with them
Ole is definitely clearing the dross.

Just taking time due to the stupidity of giving out contracts like confetti to mediocrity. Clubs are simply not interested.
 

Adnan

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Integrating Gomes should certainly be a priority. If he can transition with the qualities he has into the first team, it will transform us going forward. We lack this player to knit the final third together, and too often Jesse gets the ball in a position to play the final pass and can’t do it. He doesn’t even attempt it, even if it’s on. Gomes’ dribbling ability will also help us to keep possession better.

I think regarding Garner, whatever he does this season we will need to buy a DM. With Gomes, I believe he can show enough this season to start the next one as our first choice 10.
I agree.

A DM of one of the varieties (DLP or Destroyer) will still be required and possibly a box to box CM. Gomes i'm hoping does get a opportunity sooner rather than later because i'm quite excited to see how he does in tandem with the likes of Pogba, Rashford and Martial. And who doesn't want to see a player with such mercurial ability on the ball...
 

Rozay

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Ole is definitely clearing the dross.

Just taking time due to the stupidity of giving out contracts like confetti to mediocrity. Clubs are simply not interested.
To be fair, some of that has happened on his watch. The 3 year deal for Mata was ludicrous, for example.
 

settembrini

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Matic coming back into the side would be horrendous. He was garbage last season and looked feeble in pre-season. Getting him out the team was the right call by Solskjaer and we look the better for it.
 

Sultan

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To be fair, some of that has happened on his watch. The 3 year deal for Mata was ludicrous, for example.
Fixed 3 years or 2 with an option for a 3rd? Lovely guy, very creative but has always lacked energy and pace. Unfortunately, it will obviously get worse. He has generally been a player to be subbed even in his younger days.

I'm not sure that would be Ole's decision.
 

AneRu

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Integrating Gomes should certainly be a priority. If he can transition with the qualities he has into the first team, it will transform us going forward. We lack this player to knit the final third together, and too often Jesse gets the ball in a position to play the final pass and can’t do it. He doesn’t even attempt it, even if it’s on. Gomes’ dribbling ability will also help us to keep possession better.

I think regarding Garner, whatever he does this season we will need to buy a DM. With Gomes, I believe he can show enough this season to start the next one as our first choice 10.
Agree with this, I think we could have done with Gomes coming in for Lingard in the final twenty minutes (I know he wasn't in the side). We went in expecting a battle and I think Lingard did well in helping us gain domination in the first half. However when we needed to go for the win later in the game we needed someone to run the game up top and get Rashford and Martial on the ball.
 

Devil may care

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Matic's period when Ole first took over is overexaggerated, he played some nice passess in those games but was still a liability defensively with his immobility and lack of tracking runners.

I'd rather chance it with Jimmy Garner tbh.
Me too, even the dead actor version.
 
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Why do you guys want him back in the team? He plays like he has cement in his boots, the team looks much better without him.
 

Rozay

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Fixed 3 years or 2 with an option for a 3rd? Lovely guy, very creative but has always lacked energy and pace. Unfortunately, it will obviously get worse. He has generally been a player to be subbed even in his younger days.

I'm not sure that would be Ole's decision.
2+1 I believe. Which was extremely generous. No way both he AND Lingard need to be in the squad. We play a formation with a 10 and don’t have even one good enough to start.
 

Rozay

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Why do you guys want him back in the team? He plays like he has cement in his boots, the team looks much better without him.
That’s borderline impossible, the midfield looks terrible at the moment.
 

MyOnlySolskjaer

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Why do you guys want him back in the team? He plays like he has cement in his boots, the team looks much better without him.
When the team aren't getting results, everyone internally from Albert the Kitman to U18 players is the solution and whoever we have on the pitch should be dropped and never play again.
 

Rozay

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When the team aren't getting results, everyone internally from Albert the Kitman to U18 players is the solution and whoever we have on the pitch should be dropped and never play again.
But we are getting results. We are not functioning well, which is a clear personnel issue.
 

Foxbatt

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I would have brought him on against Wolves later in the second half to release Pogba further forward.
 

Mickson

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Unpopular opinion but I think he needs to play. We don't have a holding midfielder and we can't play Pogba there. Pogba must be used further up the pitch. Now it's like we have no good holding midfielder and no good number 10 instead of choosing one position to be really good in.
 

Bestietom

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Pogba is wasted where he is playing. He needs to play further forward. McTominay and pogba do not compliment each other playing in a 2. We need a specialist DM and the only one we have is Matic until we get someone in. He has better cover behind with Maguire now.
Play Matic with McTominay or Fred with Pogba as the roaming no 10.
 

Foxbatt

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Yes I was one who thought he should be replaced and still think so but against Palace it was the only option especially in the second half. He should have been the one who came on and let Pogba go further forward.
 

Sterling Archer

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Unpopular opinion but I think he needs to play. We don't have a holding midfielder and we can't play Pogba there. Pogba must be used further up the pitch. Now it's like we have no good holding midfielder and no good number 10 instead of choosing one position to be really good in.
What's our other option? Fred, Axel, Garner?

Matic has experience and if he's used sparingly can have some great games for us still. We just have to manage his aged legs right.

But agreed, we need to move Pogba forward
 

Yagami

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I'm all for bringing him back in.

Aside from Pogba, he's our only CM able to bring the ball out from defence, and can resist pressing opposition. He's a liability defensively, but this is the situation we find ourselves in having stupidly neglected our midfield in the window just gone.

Him in means Pogba (& likely McTominay) get to play in their preferred roles so, overall, I think we'd be better off.
 
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