Well, if we can't stop them, it'd be better if we score more than the opposition. As stable a midfield would be, there would be some errors as shown by Smalling/against Leicester.
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Leicester is a great example of why having a stable midfield in front of the defense is better than just overloading the first XI with attacking players.
You won't score without a solid midfield.
Blind and Carrick there will help the defence, the main problem with the defence is actually the lack of protection they get.
I know we've all accepted that Mata can't play wide, but should we? He's only 26, and he played well there for Valencia. We really need wide production and he can still shoot and pass from there as it's an off-wing.
I wouldn't mind. I don't like Januzaj there right now. He isn't that great at cutting in and shooting and his right foot delivery is non existent.
Mata has excellent delivery and he wouldn't be required to beat his man if Rafael is there to help.
I'd have Mata play on the right or behind 1 striker. Ideally supporting Rooney or Falcao but that probably won't happen.
Eh? He's spent most of his career playing from wide positions so not sure why anyone would accept he can't play there.
I was happy to see Mata score in the last game, but i couldn't help thinking...if he'd played with a bit more urgency in his previous outings then he wouldn't have been left out of the starting eleven in the first place.
Doing the 'whats my name' celebration, just made me question why footballers need some kind of drama for them to actually be bothered.
Another example of this will be when Welbeck scores against Utd in the next game! air shots galore every week from Danny in an Arsenal shirt but when Utd turn up he will become a killing machine.
Doing the 'whats my name' celebration, just made me question why footballers need some kind of drama for them to actually be bothered.
Another example of this will be when Welbeck scores against Utd in the next game! air shots galore every week from Danny in an Arsenal shirt but when Utd turn up he will become a killing machine.
His best position is as a number 10 but he has done well playing out wide during his career but you need the right players around him to compensate for his lack of pace, I don’t think we would get enough out of him by sticking him on the right wing against Arsenal (not with Fellaini and Rooney as the cm’s) and he is a liability defensively so I would still use him off the bench unless Herrera comes into the side.
I'd play him as the #10 against Arsenal. Whoever plays deep for them isn't that great defensively so he'll get plenty of space.
Neither of Arteta /Flamini / Wilsherer are particularly quick or physically strong either, so less chance he will get bullied out the game. He also had a decent record against Arsenal too if I remember.
Hopefully this will put all speculation of him leaving to bed which was ridiculous in the 1st place.
3rd in shirt sales. 32% increase in google searches. Twitter followers doubled. Who gives a flying shit about any of this?
It's called marketing.
Players, agents and shareholders.
Mata vs Arsenal:
It would most likely have been 4 out of 9 games if Rooney didn't get that red card, though... Kagawa was also third in shirt sales for quite a while. Shirt sales will not keep a player around.
I can believe that Mata doesn't want to leave and that Van Gaal wants to keep him. Having a player like Mata as a backup, is a luxury few other teams can enjoy. As for Mata, I don't think he's ready to give up and go to a weaker club just to get more playtime. Kagawa was lucky in the sense that he had the opportunity to go to a better team and be guaranteed to start in his favored position. Mata doesn't have the same luxury. Chelsea wont take him back now.
That's true, Dortmund are absolutely flying this year.
15th place, isn't it? Makes it seem like we're having a dynamite season by comparison.Kudos to him for crow-barring Kagawa into a discussion he doesn't belong though. He's got it down to a fine art.
He should start instead of Januzaj vs Arsenal, imo.
We should rename him to Mad Whinger.
Kudos to him for crow-barring Kagawa into a discussion he doesn't belong though. He's got it down to a fine art.
Or Mad Whiner.
@Damien
Yeah, IMO2.
Mata is on something like 150, 000 quid a week....Valencia and Atletico wouldn't be able to offer him half that amount....Mata is not going anywhere anytime soon but I get the feeling LVG doesn't want him here but he will be a useful player to bring off the bench
I also dont get why the press constantly talks about Mata leaving, we need more world class players, theres no point on selling the ones we already have. He has been good for us, not excellent, but who has been in the past one year or so?
Valencia are quite rich right now, they might not be able to offer the exact same amount but could be thereabouts (say £100k a week).
The hivemind mentality of this forum strikes again
1. At the moment of Kagawa's departure, Dortmund was quite easily considered a better team(not in terms of big name or money, mind you). Where they are now is irrelevant.
2. Dortmund will still quite comfortably finish top 4, all while setting records in the CL, a tournament we're not even qualified for.
How is this crow-barring? Their situations are eerily similar: they are no.10's who were(arguably) world class for their respective clubs, who struggle when played out of position, aren't/weren't favored by their manager, and sold a shitload of shirts in their first season.
You're talking as if Kagawa left 2-3 seasons ago. He left in august this year, and our current no.10 is suffering from pretty much the same things as Kagawa suffered from, and now there are even rumours of him wanting to leave(not that I believe them). Of course Kagawa will be mentioned! Anything else would be weird.
1. At the moment of Kagawa's departure, Dortmund was quite easily considered a better team(not in terms of big name or money, mind you). Where they are now is irrelevant.
2. Dortmund will still quite comfortably finish top 4, all while setting records in the CL, a tournament we're not even qualified for.
How is this crow-barring? Their situations are eerily similar: they are no.10's who were(arguably) world class for their respective clubs, who struggle when played out of position, aren't/weren't favored by their manager, and sold a shitload of shirts in their first season.
You're talking as if Kagawa left 2-3 seasons ago. He left in august this year, and our current no.10 is suffering from pretty much the same things as Kagawa suffered from, and now there are even rumours of him wanting to leave(not that I believe them). Of course Kagawa will be mentioned! Anything else would be weird.
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From now on I'm just going to threadban you from every thread you mention Kagawa in that isn't to do with Dortmund or Kagawa, starting with this one.
We do need more quality but we need players that fit into a system and compliment each other, at this moment in time Mata doesn’t meet those requirements and if that is still the case at the end of the season I think he will be on his way. There are only so many high earners you can have and any who aren’t in the team are going to be vulnerable as we might need to get rid in order to bring in those new players we need.
If Rooney starts in midfield again I wouldn’t play Mata because I think it will put too much onus on Rooney to defend and cover for Mata otherwise we will be leaving whoever is playing at RB too exposed.
I'm not gay, but when you talk like this I get really hot inside. I just melt.
Mad Winger brings Kagawa out of nothing again?
He will shine in zweite Bundesliga next season I'm sure.
He will shine in zweite Bundesliga next season I'm sure.
Horse, stable door...
Mad Winger brings Kagawa out of nothing again?
He will shine in zweite Bundesliga next season I'm sure.
Despite Balague becoming a Caf favourite since breaking the Di Maria story, I still think Mata will be off in the summer.
That might've just been your coming of age moment.
If he's happy here there'd be no point in selling him, and I do think he is happy here.
I agree with the first bit. Not so sure about the second bit, though. It must sting like hell to go from being one of the best players in the league to warming the bench in your mid-twenties.
Having said that, I don't think he wants to leave. I mean, where would he go? There's no way for him to get consistent playtime for an equally good or better team than us. He'd have to go a level below. I don't think he wants that.
I hope he starts vs Arsenal.
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We need diferent players for different roles in what it is a long season. I don't understand this system talk since I haven't seen what it is our famous system.
No we don’t have a system, we keep trying different ones and as yet he doesn’t fit in to any of them and we have an abundance of players who lack pace and or physicality and he needs that around him. First and foremost we need a strong, competitive team, anyone who doesn’t fit into that is going to have serious doubts against their future especially if they cost a big fee and are on big wages. He was bought to be the player he was at Chelsea, not a rotation option or to have good cameos, anything less isn’t good enough.
There isn’t much point having players who are a plan B or can be different options if you don’t have the right options in the first place, someone like Mata will have to make way if LVG wants to bring in other attacking players because there isn’t a bottomless pit of money and wage bill has to be managed. We didn’t need him the day we signed him, don’t need him now so he is gone unless he changes that by the summer or possibly even January.
I think he will come out good during the rest of the season, for me he has not been "that" bad to sell him already.
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