He should of started ahead of Fellaini.
He's our best #10 and by some distance. We should be pairing him with Rooney.
He's our best #10 and by some distance. We should be pairing him with Rooney.
8
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 35
- Goals
- 10
- Assists
- 4
- Yellow cards
- 2
- Status
I think that was true for the earlier part of the season but until the So'ton game he was in good form. The problem here is that a different set of rules apply to players like Mata, Rafael and Herrera, one poor game and they are out for ages. Obviously his inclusion is not a panacea to our issues but we will definitely be more creative and score a lot more with him in the side, especially at OT. With Carrick back I'd like to see him, Mata and Herrera in a 3 because I think we would be well primed to utilize the pace on the wings with such a midfield.
Mata is PL proven and Chelsea's player of the year two years in a row. Why are we acting like he can not handle the EPL? No he is not as strong or big as Fellaini, but are we acting like this is binary. Mata bring a load of strengths and weakness to the table like every player. Are you really going to tell me Fellaini's overall worth is more than Matas?
I mean look what happened when we took Herrera off last night. We lost all composure on the ball and couldn't string anymore passes together. I mean look at Bayern and Barca, do you really think they rate size or ability? Do you think they want more or less skilled players on the pitch at one time. look at arsenal last night with how many skilled players they had on the pitch.
Yet we sit one of our most skilled players so we can lump the ball forward to Fellaini.
This is my whole problem... LVG keeps talkinmg of his philosophy and I have not read anything in detail but based off his Ajax, Bayern, and Barca teams I am seeing skilled technical players moving off the ball and retaining possession. Am I off?
So how is Fellaini and what I watched last night more LVG's Philosophy... ?
Dispossessed per game.
Falcao - 2.1
Rooney - 1.8
RVP - 1.5
Fellaini - 1.4
Di Maria - 1.4
Mata - 1.0
Not the easiest argument to make when Fellaini ends up fouling people whilst he has the ball.
It's also not a valid argument when Coquelin and Koscielny are both knocking Fellaini off the ball...
The Mourinho example gets used time and again as a stick to beat Mata with but for all his limitations Mourinho was clever enough to realise that Mata could be useful in certain games and played him a lot more actually than he's been playing under LVG recently. Whenever he felt they needed defensive solidity he brought off Mata. But in games like the ones we have had recently with slow static passing possession with no direction i have no doubt Mourinho would have used Mata.
Also Chelsea had a better team. What applies to them doesn't always apply to us. Felipe Luis is barely getting a game and he would walk right into our starting lineup. Robben was another player they got rid and he's more than good enough to play for us. Tiago as well he would immediately improve our midfield.
Also Chelsea had a better team. What applies to them doesn't always apply to us. Felipe Luis is barely getting a game and he would walk right into our starting lineup. Robben was another player they got rid and he's more than good enough to play for us. Tiago as well he would immediately improve our midfield.
When you break down Mata's strengths and weaknesses it's really not hard to see why he's not every manager's cup of tea, despite being Chelsea's player of the year twice running.
His best period coincided with Chelsea being poor in the league, and lacking a proper system or shape.
Some feel that this is just a coincidence; I don't. Some think he was that impressive despite Chelsea being poor; I think it was partly down to Chelsea being so poor.
Looking at Mata's assets, I think his role going forward is an impact sub who's worth a late goal/assist, and a versatile rotational option.
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I would much rather see Herrera as a number 10 against Spurs with Rooney up front. Herrera gets involved in games more than Mata and has more pace and has better defensive capabilities even though Mata is a better playmaker. Then Carrick and Blind would make up the two places in central midfield with Mata on the bench to come on in the last 30 mins if Herrera is not performing
Well we are poor and he hasn't exactly been impressive. Not sure if that credits or discredits his Chelsea performances.
We're poor, but that Chelsea side were poor to the extent that Villas Boas was sacked. His replacement then had them playing pretty gung-ho football, where the discipline and balance was lacking (until the Champions League, funnily enough)
I don't think it was a coincidence that Mata shone in a Chelsea side that, for about two years, looked quite lacking in discipline and order over 38 games. It allowed Mata to only get on with what he was good at and not do what he wasn't good at. In theory that's good, but the things he isn't good at can leave holes in the team.
It was also a time where Chelsea lacked a genuine goal scorer. The emphasis wasn't on Mata to dictate games and he didn't (which some people seem to think he did) - the emphasis was probably more on him getting into goalscoring positions and cut-back areas.
Some still think that signing a fast winger and physical midfielder will give Mata the ability to dictate and impose himself on games properly, but the issue is as much (if not more) to do with Mata's own skill-set as his team mates.
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Not sure i buy that. Our performances have been equally gung ho. Oh well, doesn't matter really.
If nothing else we've surely given the alternatives enough of a chance at this stage, haven't we?
I mean given that Mata is a better footballer than Fellaini and is in better form than either RvP or Falcao you'd think we'd have been willing to give him more of an extended run in his best position up to now anyway. At this stage though the rivals to his position must've played their way out of the team to a certain extent so maybe at last....
I mean given that Mata is a better footballer than Fellaini and is in better form than either RvP or Falcao you'd think we'd have been willing to give him more of an extended run in his best position up to now anyway. At this stage though the rivals to his position must've played their way out of the team to a certain extent so maybe at last....
Nothing changes,now Afroman is an issue,you want Mata,next game Mata gets a chance,he does not fulfill your needs nor what you want,then you have a go at him too. Lets be honest,we just know what we want to see,how to get there is another thing.
Maybe Mata is more number 10 but the moment they start knocking him down,some will have a go at him how he can not keep the ball longer then 3 sec,how there was a reason why he got sold, all same bs at the end.
Maybe Mata is more number 10 but the moment they start knocking him down,some will have a go at him how he can not keep the ball longer then 3 sec,how there was a reason why he got sold, all same bs at the end.
Yeah it is hard to argue that we have given every one else a shot barring januzaj up front. I would not exactly say we have been "all that" lately would you?
Mata needs a run of games at 10 with Rooney up front as the lone striker. It's our best chance of starting to look like a Manchester United team again. His style would also complement Di Maria and Januzaj/Young playing either side of him.
4231
rooney upfront
mata as the 10
januzaj + a top winger alongside him
2 proper central midfielders, one who can defend and one with some creative guile (like Modric + scheiderlin/matuidi etc
best back 4 we can muster
big dave.
i just think we need to go back to basics and build around the top players we actually have, instead of trying to redefine the wheel.
Mata is an unbelievable no.10 with great productivity, still think he's here for the long term.
rooney upfront
mata as the 10
januzaj + a top winger alongside him
2 proper central midfielders, one who can defend and one with some creative guile (like Modric + scheiderlin/matuidi etc
best back 4 we can muster
big dave.
i just think we need to go back to basics and build around the top players we actually have, instead of trying to redefine the wheel.
Mata is an unbelievable no.10 with great productivity, still think he's here for the long term.
It's a question of LVG's philosophy: Blind over Mata
All of those teams you have mentioned that LvG managed had a physical presence in midfield, and you need that in this league more than any other. It's obvious LvG has decided it's either Herrera or Mata, not both. Now Herrera got hauled off and Carrick is back we'll see what he does.
I've eliminated Di Maria as everyone knows he gives the ball away much too often and Falcao can barely control it so he's irrelevant. RvP has been dreadful this season and shouldn't be starting any more than Mata. However this is another example of stats being a poor discussion tool, I mean how many attempts at dribbling with the ball has Mata had compared to Rooney and Fellaini? How many risky passes has he attempted? Those things need to be factored in to give some context to the stats. Mata gets it and almost always gets rid of it straight away, where as Rooney and Fellaini try to keep it and use it.
Its hardly outlandish to suggest LvG is driven by his ego. His world cup goalkeeper switch was nothing but reminding everyone who runs the show.
He's well known for preferring players he's moulded from scratch.
To be honest i just cant think of any other reason and this fits the big heads modus operandi
Based on this season neither has done much with the ball. I can't think of a single through ball that has worked. Both Mata and Fellaini have been equally unimpressive. And the same thing can be said about the others.
He put the keeper better at stopping pens on before a penalty shoot out. How's that ego? If they'd managed to get Krul on for the semi final shoot out, they'd probably be in the finals.
You wont get any disagreement as regards Mata and Fellaini from me, I think Rooney has done pretty well quite often this season playing way too many times out of position. The only advantage Fellaini has right now is his size and that is why it's him and Herrera or Mata IMO.
Yeah its kinda hard to criticize Rooney when he's played out of position. When he plays upfront he's scoring goals. As regards to Mata and Fellaini i just don't think that one should be played all the time. There are games which suit Mata and there are games which suit Fellaini more. If we are assuming they play in the same position.
It's really difficult to say as we have changed formation so many times, I mean there was a period where neither were playing. I think if we stick with the current 4-3-3 Fellaini will always be one of the 3 CM's for the next 10 games.
You're probably right. Think Fellaini is a mainstay now. I saw some good understanding between Mata and Herrera, would have liked us to explore that more personally and see if we could build around that but they're rarely playing together. Oh well who am i kidding it probably wouldn't have worked lol.
Mata and Herrera do link well and it's a shame we haven't been able to exploit that more. If we had a Matic type DM and a strong back 4 we probably could, but right now we lack the other pieces needed to facilitate playing both of them.
The Mata transfer is another one where we ovrpaid by about 20-25% , never suited or suits or style, very much like ADM seems a panic buy, if we can get rid of both and reinvest into squad I would be very happy.
Hopefully he replaces Fellaini in the line up and we finally start to play some proper football
Its just complete nonsense that Juan Mata is being kept out of the side by Fellaini. The only time that would make sense is when we are chasing a game and going route one.
What exactly has Mata done to lose his place in the lineup, he had a good December then has gone missing - ridiculous IMO.
What exactly has Mata done to lose his place in the lineup, he had a good December then has gone missing - ridiculous IMO.
Or how about we keep both and invest further into the squad? I find it very amusing when people say they'd be very happy to get rid of talents like Di Maria and Mata.
Doing an AMA. This is what has become of our players. smh.
Probably a naive question but what is an AMA?
It's because people and football fans are generally idiots.
And what's so wrong about him doing an AMA?
Ask Me Anything. Like a Q&A session with the fans/general public.
There's nothing wrong, but he should be out playing on the pitch/impressing and convincing the manager to let him play rather than doing a chat show.
You do know that they only kick a ball around for a couple hours a day so they have plenty of free time right?
And I fail to see how doing an AMA somehow takes away from his training.
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