In modern day football with pacey wingers and magical attacking midfielders the defenses need more guarding than ever before. Every top club in Europe has got a defensive midfielder or players in the double pivot that shield the defense and provide that one pass which is an instant transition from defense to attack. Finding the right mix of players in the pivot is an art and Chelsea have had problems in the past when it came to that in the last couple of seasons.
Over the past two years Chelsea have tried various options but to no avail in order to give the right balance to our highly creative midfield. A weak pivot has let to defensive problems for Chelsea and conceding late goals became more of a habit.
Over a passage of time different options were tried in that role. Lampard was given a role to sit deep and help the defense out, something he wasn’t needed to do his entire career with players like Essien and Makelele doing that over the years for the Blues. Lampard today really doesn’t have the legs either to go ahead and score and come back and do his defensive duties. Mikel was asked to sit deep but his slow sideways passing dropped the tempo of the game, though he is still a very effective pivot player but he lacks the ability to move forward as he is very one dimensional.
Ramires has got the legs to go box to box, make tackles, make interceptions but his passing has let him down in that position. In all fairness Chelsea never really got the right balance in the pivot to be carefree with their attacking options.
Benitez last season looked towards David Luiz as a possible Defensive Midfielder, a defending with great passing ability. Someone who could spread the play and keep the tempo up and start the attack. It paid off for Chelsea as the Blues won the Europa League and secured the 3rd spot in the league as well.
With the arrival of Jose things once again took a turn and Chelsea went on and signed Marco Van Ginkel, a box to box midfielder in order to bolster the options in the pivot but his Chelsea career got off to a sorry start as he suffered a cruciate ligament injury that took him out for atleast six months.
Jose persisted with Lampard, Ramires and Mikel and lately with Luiz to good effect but something was still missing. Jose decided to dig in the market and got back Matic for £21 million, a neat passer of the ball, good at interceptions and a great tackler. Just what a pivot player should be. Matic was on Chelsea’s radar for a while for his performances for Benfica in the Europa League last season this after he was sold to Benfica in a part exchange deal that saw David Luiz coming to Chelsea.
David Luiz who also played in the pivot last season makes for a good comparison. Luiz has got a better shot ratio but defensively Matic is a clear winner. Not only that, he has been a better passer and tackler of the ball which as i have already mentioned are his specialties.
Intercept the ball – Pass the ball – Track Back – Repeat!
Easier said than done as we have witnessed in the past but Matic is gifted in a way that he knows where he needs to be. His positioning is fantastic and is an excellent reader of the game. His task is simple, Intercept the ball and pass it to someone in advanced position starting an attack.
Matic is Chelsea’s closest prototype to Yaya Toure as a box to box midfielder and has tactical awareness having played in 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 formations in the past and will make an ideal partner for someone like Ramires who often misplaces his passes and leads himself into trouble.
Matic, an excellent tackler is also exceptional in the air and good at out muscling his opponents. A shield that would allow our team to attack as a unit. His abilities are not just restricted to defensive aspects but is also good going forward, his technique is impeccable and can score wonder goals as well. Not a bad option to have in just 21 million!
Matic vs Stoke:
His first full game for Chelsea was against Stoke at home and he showed us why Jose put his faith in him. With limited opportunities in training there was the odd misplaced pass but the composure and the energy Matic displayed over the 90 minutes would have really please Jose.
Matic game stats:
Tackles – 5, Interceptions – 3, Clearances – 4, Effective Clearances – 4, Pass Completion – 89%
A composed performance to say the least, yes it was Stoke and he is going to face teams that pose a bigger threat but looking at his performance it is really hard to imagine how he could have done better than this.
A late bloomer at 26, he is now back in the big league and is all set to prove his doubters wrong. Surely a mainstay in Jose’s Chelsea that relies on strong defensive displays and quick counters.
I think its too early to start saying whether he will make us tick or not.After just one FA Cup match!That’s very absurd!He’s a very good player but its too early for all this!
Well said oremi! This is just his first 90mins. You’re becoming more of a Matic fan than Club fan!
Just making a case for him based on his past performances and abilities the man possesses.
Good performance! Z coming City Matches wl show what he is! Matic vs Toure!!! >, = or <
Reblogged this on fahmicfc360's Blog.
i think we should give him a little time before making any comparism
dis shows disrespect 2 rami,mikel,lamp & even luiz.dez guys hav had a better game each dan wat matic displayd aganst stoke.is too early 2 sing his praise.u cant write off men dat hav weatherd d storm under many coaches wit difernt tactis just b\cos of a single match perfomanc.writer u are just a leardis shows disrespect 2 rami,mikel,lamp & even luiz.dez guys hav had a better game each dan wat matic displayd aganst stoke.is too early 2 sing his praise.u cant write off men dat hav weatherd d storm under many coaches wit difernt tactis just b\cos of a single match perfomanc.writer u are just a leardis shows disrespect 2 rami,mikel,lamp & even luiz.dez guys hav had a better game each dan wat matic displayd aganst stoke.is too early 2 sing his praise.u cant write off men dat hav weatherd d storm under many coaches wit difernt tactis just b\cos of a single match perfomanc.writer u are just a leardis shows disrespect 2 rami,mikel,lamp & even luiz.dez guys hav had a better game each dan wat matic displayd aganst stoke.is too early 2 sing his praise.u cant write off men dat hav weatherd d storm under many coaches wit difernt tactis just b\cos of a single match perfomanc.writer u are just a learner.
Mate 2 b fair he did look the part and done mpre in that game than mikel has dome his whole chelsea carer!! Lamps is not a dm and rami will play very well nxt 2 him but best 2 has 2 b matic n luiz on that display alone!! We will see very excited bout this player
Its stupid to say he has done more than what Mikel has done. Mikel was pivotal to our champs league success. Its one thing to say that Matic is a goos buy and another to disrespect Mikel like that. Just shows how ignorant some fans are of Mikel’s abilities.
hahahaha okay.
Jason gets what i am trying to say here.
Yh its too early buh he is promising. When chelsea signed hazard, from his first league game against wigan when he won us penalty, ppl started praising him. If he is good, he is good. We don’t need any more midfielders for our pivot. MVG shd be taken into consideration. The boy is really good. We are only weak in the striker position. The other positions just need to blend together. Up Blues.
Matic did well and he would complement our other pivot players well.
The talk about making us tick is too early to be too certain that he would. Moreover is not a Deep lying playmaker- He is just a faster and more apt to make forward passes DM than Mikel- Just a little upgrade on Mikel. Didn’t play like a Box to box though.
Ramires and a fit again Marco Van Ginkel v got the box to box role locked down.
Now the future of players like Romeu, McEachran, Chalobah, Ake, Cheek Loftus, etc looks bleak in Chelsea colours.
I wont go as far as comparing him to Yaya Toure coz that would be absurd..but we surely have got an upgrade to all our present pivot players..in the pivot we always have one destroyer and one box to box or playmaker..for box to box rami is as good as any player with his lung busting runs..with due respect to mikel..he cant be called a destroyer..which brings me to Matic..a perfect destroyer and a presence in midfield..he also is a very effective linker from defence to attack that is a key component to Jose’s Counter attacking style..I think we have found ourselves a gem and somethinh we have been lacking for so long!
I did not call him the next Yaya Toure .. i called him a closest prototype chelsea currently have ..
For the writer of this trash to concur with with a retard Jason: that said Matic did in 90min eclipse’ what Mikel had done and is still doing for ChelseaFC means he is complete imbecile! How many top footballer can combine two parallel positions and still be effective. Mikel plays according to coaches instructions which have seen him play under over four coaches. For Nigeria, he is an AM, whille for ChelseaFC a DM. Yet. This stupid retard learning to write agrees with his brother-retard that Mikel is not worth it! Not to talk to insulting Ramires, Lampard and hitherto Essien (my very own deares/lookaliket)! VOUS 2 IDIOTAS!!!
For the writer of this trash to concur with with a retard Jason: that said Matic did in 90min eclipse’ what Mikel had done and is still doing for ChelseaFC is inconsequential means he is a complete imbecile! How many top footballers can combine two parallel positions and still be effective. Mikel plays according to coaches instructions which have seen him play under over four coaches for ChelseaFC. For Nigeria, he is an AM, whille for ChelseaFC a DM. Yet. This stupid retard learning to write agrees with his brother-retard that Mikel is not worth it! Not to talk of insulting Ramires, Lampard and hitherto Essien (my very own deares/lookaliket)! VOUS 2 IDIOTAS!!!
@kes. What is this? This site is where ppl who love chelsea can come together to discuss what we love. Why the insults? Why insult the writer yu so eagerly run to read his analysis on ‘what we learned’? Y u insult the writer yu eagerly wait for him to analyse a new situation so u can learn? We shd all be mannered. Mikel has been one of the greatest talking points in modern football. Some ppl don’t like him stating that he plays it too ‘safe’ with his sideways pass. Others like myself love him cos he is d best at what he does. Mou said so himself. But I will not start insulting someone who is on the other side. Mikel will have one of those careers where ppl will always debate on his usefulness but when he is gone, the world will miss his presence. But pls pipe down on the insults.
Nemanja Matić will be a real dragon of player for Chelsea!
As much as i love matic i believe Mikel has done enough over the years to earn our respect and Love ,the man has been giving his all………its disrespectful to overpraise matic over one “decent performance” when mikel has served us for his entire carrer
I am a huge Mikel fan, but he is one dimensional. And in modern football we need players who are more than just good defensive midfielders.
Mikel one dimensional? Mate you make me laugh. As a Chelsea fan, I try to watch all our players play for their respective countries to see if they do anything different and also support them, cause they are the ones who make Chelsea Chelsea, all of them (as a team). They won us the trophies. Torres wasn’t scoring, but how many of you remember the man who won us the corner kick that resulted in our equalizer at the Allianz Arena? Torres might not had scored on that day but his contribution indirectly helped us win the UCL trophy. If any of you had ever watched Mikel play for Nigeria then you will reshuffle your words! I bet this writer never watched Mikel play and if he did was prejudice/bias. Hate him-Love him (as u claim) he is GREAT!
Mikel plays like Xavi for the super eagles but at Chelsea he is different.
So writer you know this and yet ridicule him. Why??? Is he not playing according to coach’s instructions? Do you think is easy swapping parallel roles in football. Since you know this, why are you not decimating it for people to be enlightened on work rate? Rather you pinched tent with Jason that blatantly called him waste. Writer! Have you ever passionately wrote an article about Mikel that has given the club you claim you love, uncompromising 8 years? Stating how one performing swapping roles could be subject to such weakness? The answer is NEVER!
Look mate, i didn’t mean to offend you in any way .. when i said Jason gets what i am saying was that just that he actually understood me. I have no idea what his opinion on Mikel is.
This article was in NO WAY written to ridicule John Obi Mikel. Instead it was only written to talk of Matic’s potential and his ability and past performances. That’s it.
My opinion on Mikel is simple: Class player, he is great at what he does but might not have a future as a first team player in a counter attacking side in Chelsea.
Matic based on his past at Benfica is more swift passer of the ball.
Good signing, i want to see Matic and Luiz in the pilot role.
U see som nigerian are afraid their man is in danger, if he plays better for nigeria take him to enugu rangers nd pay him there. sombody is highlitin on some new good signing strengh, nd u are behaving lyk this, no one is saying Mikel is’nt good footie buh for our fast attackin style of now he got no place in there period, nd if u doubt me wait nd see.
@Gabby, I can see you bloody Ghanaians are of consequential good-not one bit! Why did Michael Essien leave? Why did Juan Mata leave? If Mikel’s role will be limited why should I be surprised? It’s football! The next time you sick retard bring man country into disrespect you get it! EWU ETUREKPE!
@Gabby , lets wait n see..when Jose arrived ds 2nd term he first sideline mikel.n we all knw what d result is. For 8 yrs under 4 to 5 managers…they stl recognised his abilities..if matic is what we want why do they sold him off in d first place.. Or do u think if let him go ,he wl not go to Big club with great history dan ds our chelsea… Dnt cos u signed new player n bellitle those dat av been doing d work b4 he came..n later all of u wl stl curse him if he fails you.
I agree with the analysis, I believe that Ramirez and Nemanja will be the first choice on important matches, because they are a perfect match to play on a double pivot formation – they complement themselves. As for Mikel, I don’t see any insult towards him, I think all CFC supporters respect him and love him for all he gave us. But I believe that with Matic arrival, he will lose some space on the team, unfortunately. I love the Mikel “profile” as a player, but I think he’s more fit to play “alone” in front of defense (a bit like Makelele), than in a double pivot formation. Nemanja is a more complete “package”, he can adapt himself easier to different situations and problems, can play as pivot or as a box-to-box if required. KTBFFH!!!
Only time would tell, if Matic can ensure Mikel gets sold
@KESS ARE U PART OF THEM?. II SAID SOM NIGERIANS, DO U KNW MA COUNTRY? WE STRESS ON THE FACT NOT BEING SENTIMENTAL, SOM OF U NIGERIANS ARE DUMP HEADED ALL U KNW IS MIKEL PLAYING. WHERE IN MA COMENT DID I DISRESPECT MIKEL, I ONLY SAID MIKEL DOES’NT FIT IN OUR FAST ATTACKIN PLAY HE ONLY SLOWS OUR GAME, WHY CNT U PEOPLE JAX TINK A LIL BIT, SENTIMENT PLAY PART IN FOOTBALL ESSIEN BCOZ HE WASNT GOOD ENOUGH FOR OUR STYLE,
Ramerise is very fantastic, Mikeal and Matic also fantastic players. But their styles of play r different. Mour selects and plays them based on their style of play for different team. As a fan am so happy with z arrival of fantastic Matic and hving Rami and Mikeal.
@ jason may be u hate mikel.is ridiculous 2 make such statement.by the way when did u start watchn mikel.matic is gud,but hav done litle 2 be compard with a player that was activly involvd in our champs leagu wining team.is way too early 2 compare both.romeo is an exampl.
This article was in NO WAY written to ridicule John Obi Mikel. Instead it was only written to talk of Matic’s potential and his ability and past performances. That’s it. so why are the nigerians making noise here nd there?. they only feel their man is in danger thats why all these noise. read nd understnd, he is a chelsea player nd the writter is trying to stress on wat he can be for us chelsea so jax get it into ur skull nigerians.
Thanks for the kind words re: Job-a-matic, Stephen. We Simply Hired folks have been excited by the receitpon the product has received since launch this week, and we’ll be working diligently to add even more capabilities to it for publishers in the months ahead.To answer the questions you issues in your post a) Yes, Simply Hired does not yet support international jobs. We’ll definitely tackle markets beyond the U.S., however, as we believe that many of them offer great promise.b) Simply Hired does search Monster along with thousands of other sites. With more than 5M jobs in our database, we now offer the biggest selection of jobs you’ll find online.