(Don't kill me as I may only be speaking for myself here but...)

I have just been reading the Matt vs Gavin thread, and shockingly 90% of the votes to save seem to be for Gavin, and as much as I loved Matt at the start and for the first few weeks, I am now tending to prefer Gavin. I am always excited to watch Matt's dances but recently they seem to have disappointed somewhat.

Is it down to Aliona's sort of 'obscure' choreography or is it Matt himself and his personality? I find his personality rather boring and his dancing is almost strating to make me cringe now. I feel he could of done SO much better but maybe with Katya or Natalie? He has so much ability and it just doesn't shine through anymore! I'm gutted for him

What do you think?

Well you're certainly not speaking for me!

Not speaking for me either!. Love Matt. Reckon it will be him and Pam in the final.

I really wouldn't worry his place in the final is almost certain. I just dont understand why people are voting for Gavin over people with real talent. Scott and Matt both deserve a final spot. Gavin better not spoil it.

Not speaking for me either, I think a lot of people on here are either opposed to a male winning (and they know Matt is the likely candidate if that were to happen) or they've just never liked Matt from the start.

I also think the main competition to the forum favourite always gets a tough time on here

I think Matt's personality is alright, I like the guy. But he just hasn't delivered many stand-out dances - I think the Cha Cha Cha was a stand-out dance for week one, and I *really* enjoyed his samba as well, but other than that? Well I sort of liked the VW, Charleston and the rumba but his other dances have (for me) been a major disappointment - the Quickstep, Foxtrot, AT and especially the AS. It's a real shame because I think it's the choreography that's let him down.
Bottom line, from what I've seen of his dancing, it doesn't compare to Kara's. He could be just as good a dancer but unless Aliona gives him a chance to show that, we'll never know. At this stage even if he was brilliant over the next two weeks, it's too late to win my vote because I'm already invested in the K&A partnership who have delivered many outstanding dances.

I'm not very good at maths, but a very quick count (may be wrong by one or two) tells me there are 15 votes for Gavin and 32 for Matt. OP, obviously you're no better at percentages than I am

You might have a point, but ... I've got no favourite this year (actually the closest I would come to one would be Pamela, but if she goes tonight, she goes and I still know that there at least some good dancers in the competition).

Matt was my original favourite. I know him from Blue Peter, Crufts and all other stuff. I personally think he has a lovely personality, he is a fun guy etc. His first dance was outstanding and I really enjoyed it, and I thought yes, I can support you. However since then, he hasn't really wowed me anymore. I think a lot of it is down to Aliona's choreography (not really working to his strengths, having him do lots of gym stuff is not really working to his strengths).

I still think he is an outstanding dancer, and i hope he will wow me. The tango training looked good and it could be his wow dance for me.

I don't mind who wins (although I would tend to say that Gavin deserves it less than the others), so I'm not afraid for any of my favourites, it's just how I see Matt.

Okay well I feel like a mug now, i'm not stupid, honest.

I just think Matt's performances are a bit mediocre now and that must be down to poor Aliona's choreography?
(Trying to save myself here)

I only looked at the first page lmao, I swear I am good at percentages.

You need to read on then. The first page is largely from those few forumites who don't like Matt (and/or Aliona), haven't from the beginning, and don't like to miss the opportunity to say so. And there are many Matt fans who haven't bothered to contribute to the thread at all.

I agree. I can't believe people are saying Gavin will get to the final. He is barely any better than Craig at dancing, just coz ee iz fit innit!

Fortunately for Matt, he still seems to connect with enough of the wider audience, but he's been unsuccessful in connecting with me. I've waited and waited to be excited by one of his dances and it's never happened.

I think it's a mixture of poor choreography by Aliona, Matt struggling to emote and the pair of them having a weak chemistry.

I think we're dealing with the Silent Majority here - those who have quietly voted through their favourite (and mine) every week without failing and without making a song and dance about it (no pun intended).

Gavin is probably on his way out - having got honourably far.

deleted, more relevant elsewhere

I started supporting Matt, but my interest tailed off rapidly. He just didn't move me and I think he looks a lot more naturally comfortable doing his work on Countryfile. It's Aliona's choreography and his acting skills that are letting him down for me.

Contrarily, I didn't like Gav to begin with but do now and I like that he cares so much and is really trying. I don't think he should get through this weekend unless he pulls a truly great dance out of the bag.

I'm surprising myself by saying I hope Kara, Scott and Pamela are in the final...I didn't know anything about Kara and Scott to begin with and just adore Kara now and think that Scott has produced some really brilliant dances. Pamela is a woman I generally have no time for but I can't deny that she can dance and James is producing some great moves for her.

Matt is lovely, and a brilliant dancer. I have enjoyed all his routines with Aliona, even the "Argentine Tango" one. He is not my favourite, but I would like to see him in the final with Kara.

The problem with Matt is that he hasn't had a big breakthrough yet. He has been consistently good, but hasn't had an absolutely brilliant dance yet. For me, his most memorable dance was the first. He needs to do something to wow us. And not the type of wow Aliona has in mind, ie acrobatics and gimmics. He needs to wow us with his dancing. He needs to start living the dance.

I don't think more people voting for Gavin than Matt...

I love Matt

He's a clear second in the Favourites Poll, and last week he was top. How much support does he need?

It's not a question of support for him - I think the OP's point is more about why many people (supporters included) don't feel that Matt's as worth watching as he was.

My personal response to that would be that he seems to put emotional engagement to one side in favour of perfect technique and representative face-pulling. This is made much more frustrating than in other less able emoters (the Gethins/Dawsons etc) because he's got so much potential physically.

As the weeks have gone on, we haven't seen any sign of this tendency changing. To my mind, Aliona's real crime is nothing to do with her routines and everything to do with the fact she hasn't picked up on this element of Matt's performance, which the judges have commented on more than once IIRC.

So in response to the OP, I'm not connecting as much with Matt because he's not connecting with the dances. I still think he's great, and a lovely guy, but I tend to watch him now more in hope than expectation.

Nor me!

Matt and Kara in the final, say I!

The trouble with Matt, is that he will easily make it to second place at least, regardless of how he performs. He's the inoffensive, non-threatening "boy-next-door" type that many women want to marry or mother.

Aliona's choreography certainly isn't helping him, but he has next to no personality on the dance floor. He hasn't had one "wow" dance IMO, unlike the remaining 3 of the "fab four". I think he's overrated as a dancer.

You explained it a lot better than me LL
That's basically what I mean.

I just think the OPs wrong in saying that this forum no longer connects with Matt. He has a large and devoted fanbase, and he polls consistently well. Out of all the celebs I think his support is actually the one that's held the most consistently level. It's just that now that the elephant is no longer in the room, there's a lot more anti-feeling swilling around in general. There's threads on the front page now saying that all Gavin voters are hypocrites, and that Kara's showmance is a fake. Matt isn't really particularly a victim I don't think.