A Matić Made In Heaven

It’s not all that bad being a Chelsea fan at the minute to be honest.

Sitting pretty on top of the Premier League table with a snazzy set of kits and a striker who can actually consistently score goals for the first time since 2010, you have to do an awful lot of scratching away at our glitzy surface to find any sort of problems. I mean sure, the Champions League outings have so far been disappointing, and yes we did allow Frank Lampard to score the most Frank Lampard of goals against a defence and midfield who should’ve known better, but, other than that, it’s hard to really see any glaring issues.

For the first time in what feels like an age, the club seems settled and at harmony. We have a manager whom the board, fans and players alike all seem to have a huge deal of faith in. A starting XI who too, looks settled, in particular, a former Gooner who has taken to the team like a duck to water. With Cesc loading up the ammunition for his sort of Spanish compatriot Diego Costa, we have been firing our way through the table, and racking me up some valuable fantasy football points.

It has not just been these two new signings who have contributed to this early-season success though. Eden Hazard has looked sharp, lean and vibrant, capable of twisting and turning the very insides out of any full-back in world football. Oscar too, has improved this season, using his understanding and tactical awareness to great effect this season, as he’s interchanged and linked up with the rest of the midfield seamlessly. The football tactics fetishists may cry out and say that “he’s not a true number 10” (whatever that means), and he may not be lauded for doing all dem wicked skillz that look terrific on Vine, but all that doesn’t matter. He’s a unique type of player, and, provided he doesn’t fade like last year, will be crucial if we’re to have any success this season.

More important than any of these players though is the man who holds our fancy, expensive jigsaw all together, like duct tape, superglue or some other adhesive substance. More crucial than flour to a cake and more essential than wheels to a car. The one who came back: Nemanja Matić.

I was asked back in January this year on a podcast I was doing, if Chelsea could sign any player in January, who would it be. My answer was the exact man we got. And no, it was not Mohamed Salah.

Signed back in January for £21m 3 years after leaving as a make-weight in the David Luiz deal, the gangly Serb returned to Stamford Bridge a totally different, and far more complete player than most at Chelsea ever thought he’d become. Nicknamed ‘The Spider’ for always seemingly having a leg in every corner of the pitch – which mathematically doesn’t work, but you get the point – Matić added a considerable amount of height, strength and stability to a flimsy midfield that, like the strike-force, had never looked the same since 2010.

He might not be the most handsome footballer to grace the modern game, and he might not tell BBC Sport that he’d never move to a rival in a tweet compromising of several hashtags, but what he is, or at least seems, is a very down-to-earth, lovely fella. The sort that would happily lend you some change and not ask you to pay back. His favourite film is probably Finding Nemo or something not very violent, with a happy ending. I bet he owns a pair of slippers, too.

Now I could bamboozle you with all sorts of stats that demonstrate his importance, such as his 88% passing accuracy, his average of 6 defensive actions per game, or even that he managed double the assists in the Premier League than Oscar last season, despite arriving in January. But you don’t need stats to show the importance of him to this team; his importance is apparent whenever you watch Chelsea play.

Chelsea FC have been blessed with midfielders since foundation in 2004, with the likes of Claude Makelele, Michael Essien (pre-injuries) and Michael Ballack. All of which added an abundance of steel, experience and drive to the team. None of which had really truly been replaced. Ramires is man who loves a charge around the pitch before fouling someone, but not really a replacement for any of these 3. John Obi Mikel divides opinion, with many suggesting he’s never really delivered on the potential that was seen in him, which provoked the bizarre transfer saga between Chelsea, Manchester United and Lyn Oslo. Nowadays, he appears to be our human final whistle.

Matić though is a totally different monster to any of those aforementioned. Capable of bullying the more bulky players off the ball in a good old ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ (see: Yaya vs Matić January 2014), he is also more than happy to carry the ball long distances, with the subtlety of touch to play concise and intelligent passes.

His importance was greatly highlighted last season, as he instantly bolstered the midfield, with his absences in the vital Champions League games most telling. This season though, he’s gone up another level, providing the ideal platform and stage on which Fabregas, Hazard and Oscar can orchestrate their sweet music. If it’s not North London’s favourite Spaniard alongside him, it’s Ramires, who goes back to what he does best, sprinting up and down the pitch for 90 minutes and breaking up play. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Chelsea’s number 21 is the confidence and security he gives the rest of his teammates, and his ability to bring the best out of those around him.

The more pessimistic Chelsea fans might have some worries though despite our early form, the faltering hamstrings of Diego Costa for example (he’s more than welcome to mine), but the greatest fear right now would be losing Matić to injury. As good as the rest of the depth we have in his position is there is no direct replacement that can bring everything he can. He is that good, and he is that crucial, and he is world class.