Is Matic ruffling Ole's feathers | Starting counter-attacks like a boss

VP89

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So good, how will we plan for players of a similar ilk?
 

TheNewEra

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Matic definitely is needed for the big games, he's still 31... he has 2 years left in him top flight.

Use him sparingly in my opinion (especially top 4 battles), I think he can offer a lot up until 33-34 barring injuries.

Then the following transfer window seek a replacement (not meaning to 'upgrade') but meaning to find someone given his age.
 

DWelbz19

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Guys a quality player. Proven winner.
 

el3mel

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Would be pretty tough ask to replace him. Really hope we'll challenge for the league and win something big with him before he reaches the end line of his career because it'll be shame if he didn't win anything here.

Incredible player and character.

Some need to apologize to him.
 

Sandikan

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Has had a funny career with us, seemingly alternating from superb to dross for real spells of time.
 

MadDogg

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Has had a funny career with us, seemingly alternating from superb to dross for real spells of time.
Even before us to some extent.

He joined Chelsea (the second time) and had two very good seasons then had a poor last season. He joined us and had a good 6 months then his form fell away for a year. Ole took over and Matic came good for 1-2 months before dropping off (once again for about a year). Then he started playing quite well for about a month before football was put on hold. Thankfully he's come back and continued in that form, but hopefully he can at least maintain it until the end of the season as he probably suits playing as the third midfielder next to Pogba and Bruno more than Fred and McTominay do.
 

James Peril

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Very good game, good to see the guy back in action. Always been a great servant to the game, tough but always fair.. players respect him 100%. Amazing to see that he’s only 31 years old, that boy Ronaldo is four years his senior.. just doesn’t sound correct at all
 

el3mel

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He was only poor for us during first half of last season.

Rest of his career with us he has done far more than anyone can ask for. His first season was amazing. His performance when Ole got the job was great. His form when he returned to the side this season has been great too.

People just like to jump on this "finished" thing because some didn't want him here from first place.
 
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This is the same nonsense rational used to justify Mata's new contract. This is madness. It is amazing how the Caf can forget 2 years of crap playing when a player manages to string together a couple of good games (just go to the Lingard thread after the City game for proof of that). This is the exact kind of stupid signing we've been making for the last 6 years and all the people here endorsing it will be the same people calling Ed an idiot one year from now lead by Regulus Arcturus Black.
Or maybe some posters aren’t as quick to write players off as others eh @billybee99 :confused:
 

Tom Cato

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That pass to Greenwood on the break is one of my favorite passes of the season. Talk about resurgence
 

El-Manos

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He's been great since January, we must keep him fit. Finding his replacement is going to be a tough ask.
 

UtdAgain08

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What a player, that pass to Mason, ending up covering for the back line at one point in the second half. Not a dig at Scott or Fred but Matic with less mobility is still better.
 

Champ

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Don't actually think the players we had back at the start of the season assisted Matic's form.
It's not coincidence that we now have a proper midfield with options and Matic looks a different player.
The one thing that has always gone unnoticed it seems is how much ground he covers and how much work he puts in. People don't seem to notice this as he makes it all look effortless.
A class player.
 

groovyalbert

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We need to have someone for him to mentor and bed in. Will miss so much from him in a season or two.
 

OrcaFat

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He was only poor for us during first half of last season.

Rest of his career with us he has done far more than anyone can ask for. His first season was amazing. His performance when Ole got the job was great. His form when he returned to the side this season has been great too.

People just like to jump on this "finished" thing because some didn't want him here from first place.
I owe him an apology. I did think he was finished because for a while he was shite. Turns out he was just out of form, perhaps unfit with some kind of niggle, who knows but he’s back and looks like the DM we never knew we always wanted. I’m happy for him. Hope it lasts.
 

Schmeichel's Cartwheel

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My DM. Enough with the Partey/Ndidi nonsense, we have a top 5 DM in the world in our squad. We need a young DM who can understudy for 2 seasons. Matic is only 31.
 

PieCrust

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Matic has always been good, but he needs a few things. He can't be expected to carry a midfield by himself, he needs to slot into a specific role and he cannot play 90 mins every match for long period of time.

We still need a long term replacement as McT nor Fred really fit the classic DM role that Matic fills. The ideal situation is to sign another quality DM to split time. Plenty of matches to go around.
 

Vernon Philander

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Finally getting the recognition he deserves. Too many posters treat age as the only defining stat for a midfielder.
 

Mr Smith

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Isn't praised enough. Matic has been a real quality player for us aside from two short patches of poor form.

We do need to find a long-term replacement, but I think we can get away with waiting one more season to do so. Ole just needs to be really on top of managing Matic's game time next season and keep him fresh for the biggest games.
 

MadDogg

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He was only poor for us during first half of last season.

Rest of his career with us he has done far more than anyone can ask for. His first season was amazing. His performance when Ole got the job was great. His form when he returned to the side this season has been great too.
Not really.

In his first season he was only amazing for the first 2 months or so. After that his form was on a slow slide throughout the season, so by January he was only decent and by the end he was fairly poor. Last season he was poor except for the month or so after Ole took over. When he started in the early part of this season he was fairly poor, although yes he did start looking a lot better again after he came back from the injury in January. Thankfully he's carried that on after the shutdown and hopefully he can maintain it at least until the end of the season.
 

Nickelodeon

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He's been absolutely fantastic. Without him, we wouldn't see Pogba and Bruno play with such freedom. And neither Fred nor McTominay would've picked out that pass on the counter. It is imperative that we use him properly and groom someone to cover his position in the exact way he's doing right now.
 

onemanarmy

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People saying he was finished. He's 31... He could keep this up for at least 2-3 years. Let's get a youngster for his position who we can bleed in.
 

Nickelodeon

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Is Matic ruffling Ole's features is one of the funniest thread titles I've seen on this forum.
 

hmchan

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Kante has revolutionized the way people look at defensive midfielder, now everyone considers mobility and coverage as the top priorities for a DM. This is very different from what we learnt from the past, when the likes of Busquets, Alonso, Carrick were called top DMs in the world.

They didn't have the legs to cover lots of ground either, but they read the game so well that they cut out the danger without travelling so much. This allowed them to sit comfortably in front of the backline without getting caught out of position. They also had the ability and vision to bring the ball out of defence, which is an attribute many have overlooked nowadays.

Football isn't marathon, you don't have to cover every blade of grass to win; football isn't sprint, you don't have to outpace everyone to be a good footballer. I really can't understand why people love to judge Matic specifically in the two areas he is not good at, and ignore all those important aspects for a DM.