Nemanja Matic

Personally I always felt his 'decline' or poor form was slightly overplayed. A lot of the criticism levelled at him reminded me of that which was often levelled at Carrick. I'm not saying he's constantly been at the level he's currently playing at, but there have been times where he's actually done well and been criticised. The loss away to West Ham towards the start of the season springs to mind.

What's clear to me is that being part of a functional and higher quality midfield will make the difference for most players, and with Pogba & Bruno in and around him, we suddenly look to have a midfield three that has intelligence, athleticism, experience and composure+quality in possession of the ball.

Matic's ability with the ball and passing through the lines is so much superior to McT & Fred that he is very much helping Bruno & Pogba do their work. Finding his longer term successor will be really important going forward.

comment by ☼ Great_Red_Shark ☼ (U1711)
posted 12 minutes ago
Looks like he is rejuvenated and more focused on the ball and pitch in general. Improved defending and passing...

How bout that pass for goal 3?
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A player re-born and long may it continue. A in-form Matic is good news for Utd but above all Pogba and Bruno. It gives those two licence to wreck havoc further forward.

he is by a country mile the best dm we have. He got unfair criticism from everyone (myself included) who singled him out for our pedesterian midfield and lack of creativity in the past. He is good at one thing and he does it well without necessarily having the mobility of kante or the vision of carrick.

Like i say in ever midfield article I do not rate fred

McT is still a work in progress imo

comment by Garner be a star (U13920)
posted 5 minutes ago
he is by a country mile the best dm we have. He got unfair criticism from everyone (myself included) who singled him out for our pedesterian midfield and lack of creativity in the past. He is good at one thing and he does it well without necessarily having the mobility of kante or the vision of carrick.

Like i say in ever midfield article I do not rate fred

McT is still a work in progress imo
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The criticism he received for being picked by Jose following poor showing after poor showing was merited.
He was doing everything wrong, even basics expected of a pro let alone a DM.

He's turned a corner of late though.

He didn’t get unfair criticism, he’s been largely crap for Manchester United. His quality gets overstated, it’s just that we’ve been used to watching Fred and McTominay treat the football like a hot potato that Matic looks like Busquets in comparison.

comment by Don Draper's dandruff (U20155)
posted 5 hours, 45 minutes ago
comment by Randomer (U5245)
posted 5 minutes ago
How many times can Matic have a run of good form followed by turning into absolute sh’te for months before some United fans see the light?
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I don't know, how many times can Matic have a run of good form followed by turning into absolute sh’te for months before some United fans see the light?
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27

He was superb last night, The pass for our 3rd goal was sublime.

comment by Tiddles (U17634)
posted 3 hours, 23 minutes ago
comment by Don Draper's dandruff (U20155)
posted 5 hours, 45 minutes ago
comment by Randomer (U5245)
posted 5 minutes ago
How many times can Matic have a run of good form followed by turning into absolute sh’te for months before some United fans see the light?
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I don't know, how many times can Matic have a run of good form followed by turning into absolute sh’te for months before some United fans see the light?
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27
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boy, you wait 5 hours for a punchline, and it's never quite as good as you'd hoped

That was dynamite Don and you know it

comment by Tiddles (U17634)
posted 5 minutes ago
That was dynamite Don and you know it
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ha, i might not go quite that far, but it was almost certainly funnier than the one randomer had lined up, so i do appreciate the work