In the summer of 2017, when Nemanja Matić joined Manchester United from Chelsea, the general consensus was that Chelsea had made a huge mistake. Why would they sell such a solid defensive midfielder to a direct rival? People were confused, and understandably so given Matić's exceptional defensive displays in title winning campaigns under José Mourinho in 2014/15 and Antonio Conte in 2016/17.
However, it now seems that Chelsea sold at exactly the right time, while his stock was still high but his powers beginning to wane. Matić is now a shadow of the powerhouse who returned to these shores in January 2014. His ponderous, lethargic style of play that relies on physicality perfectly mirrors the problems United are facing as a team right now. And yet, he starts every week.
This has begun to annoy his teammates at United, according to a report from the Times. Some members of the United dressing room feel that Matić should be dropped and have grown frustrated at Mourinho's reluctance to do just that.
The Serbian midfielder was at fault for İlkay Gündoğan's goal in the Manchester derby on Sunday which made the score 3-1 to Man City, as he allowed the German to control the ball unchallenged just seven yards from United's goal, before Gündoğan's slotted the ball past David De Gea.
But his 'untouchable' status in the United squad has caused friction in the dressing room, with some players reportedly wanting him dropped.
The problem for Mourinho is, who would he bring in to replace him?
On the opening day of the Premier League season, Mourinho deployed Andreas Pereira in a holding midfield position, but the Brazilian has hardly been seen since.
He could move Ander Herrera back into a more defensive position, but the Spaniard might struggle playing as a single pivot due to his tendency to charge forward in pursuit of winning the ball.
Marouane Fellaini is another option, I suppose.
But the crux of the issue is that United do not possess any other natural defensive midfielders, which is probably why Matić has not yet been dropped. If reports of a £100m January war chest are true, they'd probably be best off investing it in a replacement for Matić - the benefits would be plentiful
https://www.joe.co.uk/sport/manchester-united-players-frustrated-mourinho-matic-208285
United players unhappy with Matic role
posted on 14/11/18
Was it Jose that sold Blind?
posted on 14/11/18
comment by manutd1982 (U6633)
posted 45 minutes ago
Mudd
Based on what? He was average at best at CM for us, his best performances all came in defence. He's gone back to Ajax where he's being used as a CB, not a CM. Why did none of the top leagues go for him either?
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Based on his ability to read the game, pass the ball well and not turn around like an oil tanker
posted on 14/11/18
But Matic can read the game well and pass and Blind turns like an oil tanker too. Blind wasn’t the solution and was rightfully sold and playing back at a level more suited to him.
posted on 14/11/18
Matic needs a rest. Worked hard last season in a 2 man midfield... Didn't get a proper rest one after the world cup... has played every minute of nearly every game.
Has been poor but mainly needs a rest before we give up on him completely.
posted on 14/11/18
comment by The Gentleman Entrepreneur (U13709)
posted 16 minutes ago
Matic needs a rest. Worked hard last season in a 2 man midfield... Didn't get a proper rest one after the world cup... has played every minute of nearly every game.
Has been poor but mainly needs a rest before we give up on him completely.
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The problem with that is we don’t have a like-for-like, ready made replacement to step in. Any option I can see if we are sticking with 4-3-3 would require tactical adjustments in front of and behind.
Now that might not necessarily be a problem to us; but Mourinho isn’t going to like the idea unless he already has a tactical shift in mind, and given recent results I’d doubt that’s on the cards.
I’d wager he wouldn’t be comfortable having to trust Pereira or Herrera to play there, or having to make the other necessary changes around them to accommodate right now.
Most likely we’ll see Matic run into the ground, at least until we see either a position in the top four cemented or a worse (and disasterous) run of form.
posted on 14/11/18
I’d wager he wouldn’t be comfortable having to trust Pereira or Herrera to play there,
..:..
He played Herrera there to very good effect in his first season.
He then decided to upgrade with a poorer player.
posted on 14/11/18
He was a shadow of himself for his last two and a half years with us and was widely regarded by the whole Chelsea fanbase as the first port of call in terms of an upgrade even during the title season. It was a faux media narrative that we made a mistake (they were literally acting like we sold you Kante), the fact that we fecked up so badly replacing him didn't help either.
posted on 14/11/18
Pretty much what under the bridge said, I'll add the fact that he started out quite will for us, which helped the media narrative, also that Conte didn't want him sold.
posted on 14/11/18
comment by Vidicschin (U3584)
posted 1 hour, 26 minutes ago
I’d wager he wouldn’t be comfortable having to trust Pereira or Herrera to play there,
..:..
He played Herrera there to very good effect in his first season.
He then decided to upgrade with a poorer player.
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He did, and I was disappointed that that experiment came to an end, as I know many others were.
We were set up to play differently then though, and Matic’s role now is quite different to the one Herrera was playing.
posted on 14/11/18
What's Fred.
Thought he was the new destroyer in midfield?