Jose: Mata has to adapt

I just think it's strange. I understand that Mourinho likes to have defensive strength but he should be a bit flexible, in oscar, mata and hazard he has arguably the best attacking trio in the league. I don't understand why he didn't look to buy one if not two, defensively strong midfielders in the summer. That's one of the best things about those 3, they don't need a deeper playmaker, between the 3 of them they can pick the ball deep and build from there. I wonder though if that's where Mour is showing his belief in lampard, wanting to ensure he stays in the team.

Also Mourinho seems to have made his judgement very quickly, I partly can't help but think with Mata being the main guy in the squad that Mourinho really wanted to assert that he is top dog.

It's interesting to see what will happen, the thing is there are plenty of places Mata can go and not have to change his game and personally I think he's a player you let slack a little defensively because he can be so good in attack. It's a world cup year so interesting to see what will happen.
 
They should try to pay without a striker more often, at least if none of theirs are firing. Dominate the midfield.
 
amolbhatia100 said:
Look at how moyes handled the Rooney saga. Or heck, look at how someone like fergie who is outspoken handled most controversies. You can ignore questions or beat around the bush too. It'd part of dealing with the media. Mourinho seems to love talking at length about this topic whenever he gets the chance. He spoke about it a day or so before the game, then in the interview before the game and them also after the game. We get it Jose, he doesn't run enough for you.

As for the actual reason it's a poor one IMO. Why can't mata start out wide? Does every single player need to be a hound defensively. At madrid he had Ozil and Ronaldo, and here he can't find space for one mata (lolzies)?
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He is getting defensive from what I feel. And people who need to explain themselves, we know what that leads to. Honestly, it is amazing how he can't fit in a player of Mata's class in the team. How often do we see Hazard hounding the defenders and tracking back?

He can easily shift Oscar deep and accommodate. Not that I am complaining. We should put in a 25M bid just to see the player's reaction.
 
rcoobc said:
They should try to pay without a striker more often, at least if none of theirs are firing. Dominate the midfield.
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I was thinking this yesterday aswell, go with the Spain 4-6-0 formation. With the amount of talented midfielders they have, they could cause teams some serious problems.
 
They did that against Utd and not only were they toothless they didn't even dominate the midfield.
 
And so far they've had no trouble controlling the game against every other team, they've just struggled to break them down. Eto'o is clearly not the player he used to be but he's brought others into play well, he's stretched the defence and he does look like he'll be a danger in the box once he gets in top form so there's no real reason to drop him.
 
The Man Himself said:
Came in to see how long before similar comment in this thread :D
You are right that we should be in for him but after Rooney episode, Chelsea won' be selling to us especially when there will be many clubs interested in Mata, including from abroad.
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Know Chelsea wont sell to us, but, should make a bid, and unsettle the twat Mourinho.
 
MrMarcello said:
Would they have been wise to retain Lukaku and not bring in Eto'o?

It's as if Mourinho thinks Eto'o of 2010 is still around.
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It would have been good for us, but maybe not for Lukaku. Say he stayed and Torres started playing well. Lukaku would waste a season as backup. At least at Everton he is a guaranteed first choice starter really, which will aid his development better long term.
 
I'm not gonna moan too much as leaving Mata out weakens the team and that's fine by me but it's a shame to see this happening to Mata of all the players Chelsea have. He seems like a decent bloke who doesn't complain and just gets on with it. Even during this 'saga' I haven't heard him complain. Will be sad to see him not in the Spain squad because of Mourinho.
 
Bizarre, he's clearly a model pro, doesn't piss it up, enjoys living in London, fantastic player. Mourinho is just a knobend, as they said about Salvador Dali (another overrated cuntbag) - 'he can't distinguish between his own voice and the squeak of his patent leather shoes'.
 
It's difficult because we all know Mata is class and a great character, but then Jose has won titles and trophies wherever he goes, and 2 champions league titles with different teams, it's hard not to believe whatever he says is generally going to be proved correct.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
It's difficult because we all know Mata is class and a great character, but then Jose has won titles and trophies wherever he goes, and 2 champions league titles with different teams, it's hard not to believe whatever he says is generally going to be proved correct.
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Exactly.
 
ItsEssexRob said:
It's difficult because we all know Mata is class and a great character, but then Jose has won titles and trophies wherever he goes, and 2 champions league titles with different teams, it's hard not to believe whatever he says is generally going to be proved correct.
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Wasnt correct at Madrid was it?
 
Ekeke said:
"whatever he says is generally going to be correct". Wouldnt have done so poorly last season then
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There's your answer right there. A large percentage of decisions Jose has made throughout his career have proven to be correct. One bad season doesn't change that.
 
So he could easily be wrong about Mata just like he was wrong about lots of things before. Alright brilliant
 
He could be but he did get 100 points in a season in La Liga, and has had to cope with fighting against probably the best team in the world for 3 seasons, im not one for believing Barcelona managers over the past 5 years have been quite as good as they are sometimes made out, I believe the team is THAT good regardless of the manager, as shown by the way Tito still won the title, and how the current manager is still winning every game.

He has done some pretty strange things before and been proven right, for now I guess as a Chelsea fan I am going to have to accept and hope that he is doing the right thing regardless of how bonkers it may look.
 
Ekeke said:
So he could easily be wrong about Mata just like he was wrong about lots of things before. Alright brilliant
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Well any decision could be wrong couldn't it? All you can do is assume he is likely to make the right decision in the same way SAF did. You know like how most fans trusted his decisions, even though they could turn out wrong. Brilliant.
 
Every manager deserves the chance to set up his team in his own way. However, it's a bit suggestive when the players to suffer are a) Known Rafa-fan Mata, and b) Girlfriend-in-the-media Casillas.
 
Spiersey said:
Well any decision could be wrong couldn't it? All you can do is assume he is likely to make the right decision in the same way SAF did. You know like how most fans trusted his decisions, even though they could turn out wrong. Brilliant.
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I understand what you're saying but then you need to be objective and weigh up how controversial/strange/unlikely to succeed the decision is and base you're opinion off that. It isn't as simple as just saying "Mourinho thinks it is right so it probably is".

He was your best player last season and you haven't looked particularly good at all this year. Not playing him is bizzare IMO.
 
Theon said:
I understand what you're saying but then you need to be objective and weigh up how controversial/strange/unlikely to succeed the decision is and base you're opinion off that. It isn't as simple as just saying "Mourinho thinks it is right so it probably is".

He was your best player last season and you haven't looked particularly good at all this year. Not playing him is bizzare IMO.
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I agree but Mourinho claims to be thinking long term. Oscar is definitely the long term option. I imagine it is thought that it is more beneficial long term to play Oscar in what is deemed his best position (I'd argue CM could be best) Him not being in the squad is strange, but for all we know it could be the manager's way of saying 'either change to the player I want or you won't play.' In an ideal world Mata would fit in as well and Oscar's progress wouldn't be hindered, but I don't think we have a solid enough defence for all our attacking players to not defend. You always see our wingers collect the ball on the edge of our own box and start an attack, asides from Mata. I think Jose just wants him to be able to do that.
 
So far Oscar has been our player of the season, so thus far we haven't missed Mata in say the same way United miss RVP, or City miss Kompany. If Jose can successfully mould Mata into the player he wants then we still have a class player to fill the role Jose wants to build a title winning team.

Lets not forget for all Matas credit and talent in his seasons here we have finished way off the pace in the title.
 
Theon said:
I understand what you're saying but then you need to be objective and weigh up how controversial/strange/unlikely to succeed the decision is and base you're opinion off that. It isn't as simple as just saying "Mourinho thinks it is right so it probably is".

He was your best player last season and you haven't looked particularly good at all this year. Not playing him is bizzare IMO.
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We havent but we are adjusting to a new manager and style. We looked worse when Rafa first took over, then improved, especially as Jose is making such sweeping changes.

Besides the Basel game we have looked good defensively, even if we have been stagnant in attack. We desperately need one of our strikers to score though.
 
On his blog today, he uses far too many exclamation points. Sell the cnut.

Hi everyone!
Another intense week is starting, again with games in two different competitions, after we weren’t able to win twice in a row at Stamford Bridge against Basel and Fulham. We will try to do it this week. The first match is already here, this Tuesday against Swindon Town in the Capital One Cup. I haven’t been able to win this tournament with Chelsea yet. In my first two years we couldn’t get to play the final at Wembley. As it is also the case with the Premier League, I would love to add this trophy to my record… It would be very special to end my career having won all the different competitions in the English football.
And the game that awaits us on the weekend is another derby, very intense and emotional, this time at White Hart Lane. The most recent memory from there is very positive: we won 2-4 and I was able to score two goals. I hope we can win again, this is a very special day for our fans, and there is a really motivating atmosphere in the stadium!

This last Sunday I watched a lot of sports on TV: the Spanish basketball team winning the bronze medal in the Eurobasket, in a great victory against Croatia, and before that the Formula 1 race. I also watched the games in the Spanish la Liga, of course. There had been plenty of goals on Saturday evening (Almería-Levante, 2-2; Rayo-Barcelona, 0-4 with a superb performance by Pedro; and Atlético’s 0-2 victory at Valladolid), but on Sunday’s first two matches the goalkeepers played the starring role. Then the Real Madrid vs Getafe started at a very high pace and was a very entertaining match. My friend Mosquera was in Getafe’s line-up, I’m sure he will have a great season! He deserves it.
I really liked reading your comments about your favourite strategy goals, as I suggested last week. Speaking of which, my friend John Obi Mikel scored his first goal for Chelsea last Saturday! Congratulations ‘crack’, better late than never!

Leaving football aside now, my personal recommendation about London is the Somerset House. I’ve been there for an exhibition on the famous ‘El Bulli’ restaurant and I think it’s an amazing building… It’s worth a visit, seriously! And the exhibition is very recommendable for cooking enthusiasts!
By the way, thank you for your suggestions on books, now my to-do list is huge!

See you next week and, as usual, a million thanks for your messages; they are really moving, everything would be more difficult without you guys!
Juan
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duffer said:
Eh? There's never been a footballer I've wanted to hug more. He's adorable.
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I know it sounds so ridiculously friendly he cant seriously be a footballer, why isn't he talking about sleeping with someones wife or taking legal; highs?

Basketball, Mosquera, and Somerset house indeed!
 
Part of it is Mourinho's pragmatism coming to the fore, but fundamentally it's your standard case of a new manager imposing his authority by undermining a figure from the previous regime. The bigger the ego of the new man, the more sacred the cow to be sacrificed.
 
duffer said:
Eh? There's never been a footballer I've wanted to hug more. He's adorable.
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:lol:

I agree. I love Mata even after he didn't sign for us and decided he likes to score against us too. He's a brilliant player who always comes across as a reserved and good guy.
 
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