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2021-22 Performances


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5.3 Season Average Rating
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32
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4
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lsd

The Oracle
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
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He is our best midfielder when you watch him in the team. However it's just a shame he is at the wrong end of his career now. If only we had a peak Matic
 

MadDogg

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Apr 24, 2002
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Manchester Utd never lose, just run out of time
yes especially when he has Pogba who does feck all to defend. He needs to play with Fred against Liverpool. I would rather DVB plays with Matic against Liverpool.
In theory Matic and Fred should be our best and most balanced combination (at the start of last season I was hoping to see it become our main midfield), but sadly they always play terribly together.
 

Adam-Utd

Part of first caf team to complete Destiny raid
Joined
Sep 10, 2010
Messages
39,954
I'm not sure how people are raving about him when Tielemans was running past him and sitting behind him at will.

The amount of space they managed to get behind our midfield was frankly bonkers. While it's not Matic's fault alone it certainly wasn't a brilliant performance.
 

MadDogg

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Manchester Utd never lose, just run out of time
Matic was good on the ball, but time after time Leicester would just pass the ball straight through our midfield and go straight on the attack. It's not just on Matic as pretty much our entire front six gave them far too much space and time, but he is playing in probably the most important position to stop it and he just wasn't able to. He was just constantly caught in no-man's land between the lines where he was completely taken out of the play with one simple pass. Pogba wasn't any better of course, but...well we don't really expect much from Pogba in that regard.
 

TSE123

New Member
Newbie
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Apr 19, 2021
Messages
187
Best defensive midfielder in the squad.
Anyone know why he just doesnt work on his fitness and play every game full 90?
 

Foxbatt

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Oct 21, 2013
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14,297
In theory Matic and Fred should be our best and most balanced combination (at the start of last season I was hoping to see it become our main midfield), but sadly they always play terribly together.
yes this is very puzzling to me. I would say that it is a coaching issue. Players at this level do not go wandering about the pitch on their own. You can put Kante in our midfield in this setup and he would get by passed too. Matic is a slow player and when he is the only player to be passed, they can even knock the ball pass him and run on to it again the way we are set up. when we do not have the ball, we need to make the pitch smaller while the other team tries to make it bigger. We do not do that and that is why we get played through the midfield so easily.
 

Yagami

Good post resistant
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
13,493
I've been on a Pirlo binge and have just realised that he is the spits of Maldini.
 

VanDeBank

Ma’am
Joined
May 13, 2021
Messages
4,862
Help me out here. Which game did Matic randomly knee a guy in the balls? I want that clip on my hard drive.
 

Impulse

Full Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2013
Messages
934
Help me out here. Which game did Matic randomly knee a guy in the balls? I want that clip on my hard drive.
Was that the Villa game where he got subbed on for the final ten minutes to see out the game but spent the entire time fouling their players?
 
Watford 4:1 Man Utd

VanDeBank

Ma’am
Joined
May 13, 2021
Messages
4,862
Made some mistakes, but he's not exactly match fit.

He looks worse for us than he actually is. His immobility gets highlighted more with how disorganized we are. Busquets is allowed to bring his cane on the pitch yet bosses it for Enrique's well oiled machine.

Matic our only natural DM. Should play as much as possible.
 

MadDogg

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Manchester Utd never lose, just run out of time
Made some mistakes, but he's not exactly match fit.

He looks worse for us than he actually is. His immobility gets highlighted more with how disorganized we are. Busquets is allowed to bring his cane on the pitch yet bosses it for Enrique's well oiled machine.

Matic our only natural DM. Should play as much as possible.
He tends to only be able to play well for about 45 minutes a week. Every time we've tried to play him more than that for the last 2 seasons or so he's struggled massively.
 

TheMitz

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Jun 22, 2020
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676
Even worse than Wan Bissaka today, that just about sums him up today
 

VanDeBank

Ma’am
Joined
May 13, 2021
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4,862
He tends to only be able to play well for about 45 minutes a week. Every time we've tried to play him more than that for the last 2 seasons or so he's struggled massively.
Then we should play him 45m every week. I think it's closer to 65m but whatever.
 

11101

Full Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2014
Messages
21,296
Terrible. A huge part of why we couldn't control the game, made to look better only by McTominay touching the ball about 3 times in 45 minutes. He cannot play at the PL pace anymore, how many more times does Ole need to see that?

Him sitting alongside Maguire in defence causes us so many problems.
 

Ekeke

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Aug 1, 2006
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Not very brave with his ball use today, but filled in notably several times for defenders caught up the pitch (AWB) and filled in as a CB. He's still our best DM at actually defending which is sad, because Ander used to be miles better than him when they were both here. Shows how far the quality has dropped in that area
 

MadDogg

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Manchester Utd never lose, just run out of time
He was released by Chelsea 3 years ago for a reason.

He could though still play in a better organized team.
We are not that team.
It was more than three years ago. This is now his fifth season here.

Which means it's now been six seasons since his last actually good season. He was poor in 16/17 (his last season at Chelsea), poor in the second half of 17/18 for us, terrible for most of 18/19 except for a couple of months after Ole first joined, terrible for most of 19/20 bar a month after the lockdown, poor for most of 20/21 other than the occasional good match here and there, and now this season is following a similar pattern.
 

sp_107

New Member
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Aug 26, 2012
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2,367
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Yorkshire
We should have sold / released him long time back as he is not suited to PL any more. After 10 years, spending millions on MF's we still have non-existence midfield. that is very poor.

Bruno is an impact player not a good midfielder, he makes difference with a goal or assist but rest of the time he is just useless as Mctominay. This might be reason top managers didnt go for him

We never know what is real pogba and if he has hear to play for us anymore.

We really need a DM who can let other players like DVB/Bruno play well in middle of the park, I dont mind even trying Hannibal.
 

R'hllor

Full Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2013
Messages
15,414
Played good few games, got contract extension and lunatics said, he earned it lul.
 

Litch

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Dec 23, 2013
Messages
10,237
It's interesting when you have to assess a player when they come on with cameo's. They come on with just long enough to do something with not long enough to be critised. When he starts when it truly matters so exactly what he is. Some have to be careful what you wished for...
 

Dominos

Full Member
Joined
Jul 5, 2009
Messages
7,004
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Manchester
I'm surprised this thread isn't more active after today. I know he's not played much, and I'm used to seeing our midfielders put in terrible performances, but that was horrendous. So many errors on the ball leading to dangerous attacks for Watford, no protection for the defence, poor defensive work on numerous occasions including one of their goals.

If we were allowed 5 subs I'd have brought both him and Mctom off. Dreadful.
 

ivaldo

Mediocre Horse Whisperer, s'up wid chew?
Joined
Nov 15, 2012
Messages
28,699
He's a mess, but we'll still have the same posters claiming he's our best midfielder, pretending he's still some great passer who brings calmness to the team. He's a coward off and on the ball, playing so deep as to avoid any pressure from the opposition, that he makes it impossible for the rest of the team to play effectively through the middle. Gave the ball away 3 times in hugely dangerous areas.
 

Beachryan

More helpful with spreadsheets than Phurry
Joined
May 13, 2010
Messages
11,646
Only reason I didn't post is because I've given up. He's an absolute liability, coasts through games making countless mistakes, lacks the mobility to be a professional footballer yet still gets minutes.

Must be a really top bloke, which is nice. He, Mata and Ole can make the team tea and orange slices or something.
 
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