[Rozay]

If we go with Matic into next season, we will regret it. If not he will be playing at his level you can count on that. I am not hating on him, he's been a great servant for the club but he can't do it at a higher intensity. Ole is managing him well now giving him less game time and that has helped.

That is fair enough, and his games need to be managed for sure. A long term succession plan is needed. But he’s quite obviously not unable to perform anymore, because he is literally performing. He’s not the long term solution, but if he’s in the team for our next match, I will still expect a contribution from him as I don’t see him as finished.

 

[diarm]

Had to give Martial man of the match but Matic gave an absolute masterclass in the position there today.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Was great before the lockdown and great again today. The key at his stage of career is to manage his games carefully.

 

[Eddy_JukeZ]

If only he was a few years younger.

Great performance.

 

[Raven]

I've been critical of him but he was magnificent today.

 

[Litch]

He excels in slow paced games but when under pressure he fails to deliver. Good game tonight.

Agree.

 

[MikeKing]

Had to give Martial man of the match but Matic gave an absolute masterclass in the position there today.

Yeah he did. Leading, and the reading of the game in front of him was magnificent. He controlled the events, told players where to pass and move and made our possession game quite effective. He is a very underrated player I think. His legs might be a little bit gone but if he can get his head back in the game like this, I have no issue with him staying on.

 

[diarm]

Yeah he did. Leading, and the reading of the game in front of him was magnificent. He controlled the events, told players where to pass and move and made our possession game quite effective. He is a very underrated player I think. His legs might be a little bit gone but if he can get his head back in the game like this, I have no issue with him staying on.

Ole needs to have McTominay shadowing this fella 24 hours a day, every day. The lad should be watching the video of this game every spare minute he has because he has all the physical tools to play this role and I reckon he has the attitude and hunger to even improve on it.

 

[Beachryan]

For me it's the little things that separate him from our other two options in this type of match. Namely, he knows when to slow it down, but also can speed things up with one touch passing or striding past a player. His understanding with the 2 cbs left the opposition chasing shadows the whole match.

 

[Foxbatt]

His long range passing was brilliant too. Yes when he has to play in a fast paced game without Pogba he is going to struggle. To me though Martial scored a brilliant hattrick, Matic was the outstanding player. I thought he was finished and criticised him in the past especially in Jose's last season. But he has turned his game around. Ole should drop a forward against top teams and play Matic, Pogba, Bruno and Fred in midfield and play Rashford and Martial up front.

 

[2 man midfield]

brilliant if he isn't run into the ground.

 

[MikeKing]

His long range passing was brilliant too. Yes when he has to play in a fast paced game without Pogba he is going to struggle. To me though Martial scored a brilliant hattrick, Matic was the outstanding player. I thought he was finished and criticised him in the past especially in Jose's last season. But he has turned his game around. Ole should drop a forward against top teams and play Matic, Pogba, Bruno and Fred in midfield and play Rashford and Martial up front.

Not sure. We would need a lot of attacking runs from the fullbacks and with our slow CB's it might be suicidal. Combined with the lack of legs on Matic, it would be too much work for Fred to cover. We should be able to boss the midfield though if we play Shaw and Bissaka, but I'm not sure we'd create much with so few runs. We might need to play Brandon and Dalot or something.

 

[ShinjiNinja26]

Proving he’s still quality, just need to manage his games from now on. Save him for the bigger or more important games because when he’s refreshed and his fitness levels are high he’s an excellent player. Its just when he starts to get worn out the performance level really starts to dip.

 

[RikRuud]

Seems to have adjusted his game to suit his maturing years. Very intelligent and assured performance from him today.

 

[RikRuud]

Proving he’s still quality, just need to manage his games from now on. Save him for the bigger or more important games because when he’s refreshed and his fitness levels are high he’s an excellent player. Its just when he starts to get worn out the performance level really starts to dip.

Absolutely agree.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

One of the world's best CDM midfielders for 2-3 seasons before at Chelsea.

Not difficult to see why, still has flashes of those.

Sheffield is off form and doesn't have (?) good centre attacking midfielders helps.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Absolutely bossed the game. I suppose the only question is whether he can produce that the sort of peformance when the opponent pressed. But regardless, he absolutely ran the game. Top peformance.

 

[SambaBoy]

Such a composed player, made the midfield tick today and let Pogba and Fernandes do their business further forward. Good news that he has signed a new contract, think he will benefit us for another season at least. Has excellent feet and body feints for a big man.

 

[kiristao]

Ole needs to have McTominay shadowing this fella 24 hours a day, every day. The lad should be watching the video of this game every spare minute he has because he has all the physical tools to play this role and I reckon he has the attitude and hunger to even improve on it.

Absolutely. Mctominay has the physicality, composure and confidence to play that role. The only question is, does he have the ability to read the game

 

[Dr Foo]

This is the Matic that I so like, akin to his first half season here. Technically great, and positionally disciplined. The closest we have to a Carrick-esque DM. All our midfielders yesterday could pick passes between the lines to unlock defences - been a while since I have seen that.

For bigger or more physical games we can add or rotate Fred/Mctominay in. For low block teams we now have the midfield to comfortably unlock them

 

[gajender]

Absolutely bossed the game. I suppose the only question is whether he can produce that the sort of peformance when the opponent pressed. But regardless, he absolutely ran the game. Top peformance.

If we get the midfield balance right and don't overplay Matic , I think Matic would be fine but we absolutely can't let this turn into another Carrick situation it's absolutely vital we bring his understudy or his direct replacement as early as next season.

 

[Mr Smith]

Absolutely bossed the game. I suppose the only question is whether he can produce that the sort of peformance when the opponent pressed. But regardless, he absolutely ran the game. Top peformance.

He was doing it when we were playing City and Chelsea before the break.

I'm with others here in that he's still a class player but can't play every game and needs to be managed. McSauce will prove an able deputy for now, though it's not his best position. A long-term replacement will be needed, but I think we can go without for one more season.

 

[HowYouDoin]

Amazing player on his good day, a true defensive midfielder. We will need to focus this summer on finding his replacement or at least a player in a similar mold. We dont necessarily need to splash big cash, maybe find a player or two in the Premier League or even championship, same way we scooped up Daniel James but we need players in that mold.
Lets be real both Fred and McTominay are box to box, they cant do what Matic does.

Anyway to keep this about Matic, amazing performance. While its amazing to have Pogba and Bruno and all the brilliance and creativity they provide you absolutely require a Matic type to protect them and allow them to play their game.

 

[caid]

I wrote him off and was very, very wrong. We're just a much better team with him around. Kind of sceptical that he can manage next season starting most matches but wouldn't be surprised if he proved me wrong again.

 

[Freak]

Absolutely superb today. He’s class and should definitely be a starter beside pogba and bruno. That’s our best midfield.

 

[Andycoleno9]

With Pogba and Bruno in lineup he is by far best solution on dmc. Calm, has technique to make good passes and tactically he knows the game.

Edit; this game is the reason why i defended him last 12 months. He needs to play on dmc with creative players alongside him. We were using him in hard working midfield where he was main creator basically or in midfield two where his lack of pace points out. He is classic dmc for creative midfield setup.

 

[Kostov]

I have to admit I thought his career here was finished, I was wrong. He is a very good player and our best CDM, I just wish he was 22.

 

[Bwuk]

So much better than Fred and McTominay for that #6 role.

Fantastic again.

 

[11101]

The prolonged rest has done wonders for him. He was looking finished not so long ago. He looks like he can do another couple of years against teams where we control the game.

 

[Mickson]

He was shit and we rightly criticized him. But credit where it's due, he has reformed himself and is now playing fantastically well. As someone said, I just wish he was 22. I thought it was weird that he didn't start against Spurs.

 

[RkkMan]

He still needs to be a regular starter next season IMO but with managed game time(2 games a week at the absolute max if there is a 4/5 day difference in games but ideally 1 game a week). This young team needs an experienced and proven winner on the pitch if they are to take their game to the next level and Matic is the perfect player in the base of midfield to do that. A replacement is needed in 2021 though.

 

[DWelbz19]

I’d honestly go as far to say that since getting back into the team (from around Jan 2020ish) - he’s been in the best form he has been since joining us. He was good in the first half of that first season, but I think he’s been better this season.

 

[Fracture90]

What's class got to do with it? I can't critique a player now? He was not really tested today and if we want to get back to our winning ways we need an upgrade ASAP.

You're critiquing a player after a great performance for something that hasn't even happened, and it might not happen for that matter. I said stay classy because your agenda isn't allowing you to give praise without critique.

 

[Rolaholic]

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[Robbie Boy]

Good game from him yesterday.

 

[Brwned]

Not so sure about it always being clear he would age terribly but it was obvious to anyone with a set of eyes that he was well past it when we signed him. His form for Chelsea had turned to utter shit and their fans were delighted to get rid of him. He was a ridiculous signing and literally only Mourinho would have signed him for us.

Still think it was obvious he was well past it when we signed him?

 

[Robbie Boy]

I've been critical of him but he was magnificent today.

Yup, the past criticism was warranted but he's proven this season he can be a decent squad player for next season.

 

[HowYouDoin]

I feel people are too obsessed with age. I dont see any physical decline with Matic and he is 31. He still has like 2 good seasons in him. He wasnt particularly plagued with injuried nor can you tell he is physically declining, its just that we were a mess tactically for a long time. All of our midfielders looked bad.
Now that we finally seem to have a good thing going we look good again.

Also I think forcing McTominay or Fred to be players like Matic just isnt going to work. Theyre not that, theyre box to box. Can they learn, McTominay especially? Perhaps. Not counting on it though.
Replacing Matic isnt an immediate concern for next season but if we can find a young player or two who play the right style just like Matic I would be down for that. We dont necessarily need to spend big. Get a Daniel James or two for that position.

 

[TrustInOle]

Exceptional from him yesterday. It amazes me how composed he always seems in difficult situations, either dribbling through a crowd to set us forward or collecting the ball in 50\50s with such ease and composure.

Some second wind he is having and should be one of the first names on the sheet. Our midfield actually looked complete for the first time in a while yesterday. Long may it continue.

 

[bsCallout]

He definitely came back rejuvenated after being left out by Ole at the start of the season and he has continued that form.

He is the perfect CDM with Bruno and Pogba playing against smaller teams. Against the likes of Liverpool, City, Chelsea etc I think he would likely be dropped for a more mobile player with more tenacity.

He has started to develop into that Carrick role more and more, which works great against small teams. McT and Fred are likely playing that Fletcher role at the moment.