Did absolutely nothing at all
8
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 42
- Goals
- 10
- Assists
- 6
- Yellow cards
- 5
- Status
Look at him vs the Spurs AMs, the contrast is huge. He's a squad player at best.
So are you telling me if you switched him with either Alli or Eriksen today, then they'd have played well for us and Mata would have been rubbish for us?
Clearly not.
Your post is a little unclear but essentially I'm saying Mata is a level below the Spurs AMs. I'd swap him in a heartbeat for Alli or Eriksen and i think both would have been more involved in the game today had they been in a red shirt, than Mata was.
Hes a luxury and the sort of player who should play at home when we're playing a Bournemouth or Crystal Palace when the midfield has time on the ball, when he's up against the better sides and is pressed high up the pitch he's often poor and goes missing, as was the case today.
I will not be persuaded into believing he played today.
Absolutely invisible today.
Don't remember him doing a thing.
Don't remember him doing a thing.
If we're playing to counter teams, then to me, it doesn't make sense to play Mata out wide.
Yet he still gets a lot of goals/assists against better sides. If that's luxury..... *shrugs*
He never dictates or dominates a game like an AM can/should and goes missing far too often and for lengthy spells in games. He's a good example of us being 6th place in my view. Nice footballer on the ball but when the going gets tough he's missing.
When the team has no control of the game, any AM will struggle. Also, there was no pace around him- which meant one of his biggest strengths - vision and passing- were of no use.
Having said that, Mata isn't good enough for games where we plan on playing defensive football or games where the full back opposite to him (when he's playing on the flanks) is an attacking threat.
He worked hard but isn't match sharp yet.
With 0 movement provided by anyone you can't really expect Mata to do much.
yes, so slow cant turn and beat a man, slows attackss. Average player, cafe darling
Very harsh to give him stick for today's performance, absolutely no movement other than Martial and he's completely isolated up front.
Every game he is invisible someone will make excuses for him. The lad is untouchable as far as criticism goes. He has yet to win a title, he can't carry a team to a prem title. He isn't fast enough to counter attack, he isn't strong enough to turn a man and run past then, a lot of his passes are sideways and backwards due to this.
He doesn't score free kicks anymore and he doesn't whip in balls from corners like he did at Chelsea. He is a very very limited player and honestly I would take Ali, Coutinho, Erikson, Sigurdson, Fabregas, Ozil over him. I fact I'd take most wingers and most 10s over him. A luxury player that big teams can't afford to Carry.
FIFY
He was well off it today, I think he's been rushed back from injury because we're so desperate.
I'm not his biggest fan but he's been fairly consistent since he's been at the club and most of the time he's playing from the right. Yes he's not going to dribble past the defence and stick it in the top corner but that's not his game. At Chelsea he was always looking for runners and chipping in with a lot of goals, the set up at United doesn't get the best out of him at all. If he leaves in the summer then that's fine but I guarentee he'll be a success wherever he goes if they play him behind the striker with runners.
He's an extra body that's allowed the key Europa league players a rest.
The guy is a good passer, probably the neatest we have. He is useful against teams that park the bus. He has already shown what he can do when Ander partners him.
29 year old with one year left on his contract.
I think there is a case for selling Mata and giving Pereira his mins on the pitch. Not sure whether the timing is perfect but Mata seems hugely reliant on having the team based around his strengths.
I think there is a case for selling Mata and giving Pereira his mins on the pitch. Not sure whether the timing is perfect but Mata seems hugely reliant on having the team based around his strengths.
Ozil is one of the biggest luxury players in the PL. And the laziest!
Wouldnt mind selling him if the price was right.
His spread ball to Blind that set up Martial's assist was the best pass of the game from our midfielders.
If we played him through the middle and let Rooney stink up the right wing, we might have looked halfway decent in attack.
If we played him through the middle and let Rooney stink up the right wing, we might have looked halfway decent in attack.
This.
I'm a fairly big critic of Mata but today I couldn't really blame him.
Him, Blind and Martial were the only ones, who were actually trying to and could play football and by that I mean string more than a couple passes together. The usual suspects were all terrible i.e everyone else.
He doesn't TAKE free kicks anymore cause Pogba, Ibra and Rashford seemed to have called dibs on that.
As for him "not being good enough to win a title", that's a load of bollocks. Mata has won every trophy bar the Premier League. And look at the likes who've won that over the years... you honestly telling me every player that's won the Premier League was better than Mata? His stats speak for themselves. He's one of our best players and we haven't got many.
I wouldn't swap him for any of those players to be honest. He is a passer and he needs movement infront of him. This "pub player" version of Rooney isn't gonna provide that. And Martial always wants the ball at his feet so I can imagine Mata is frustrated not having somebody like Chicharito infront of him (who I thought had excellent chemistry in the few games they've played together)
What the hell am I reading here ? People already talking about selling here ? Unreal. 
It has been his best season with us and he showed some of his form when he was at Chelsea. He's just back from a surgery and absence for month so he's still discovering his form again.
It has been his best season with us and he showed some of his form when he was at Chelsea. He's just back from a surgery and absence for month so he's still discovering his form again.
This is why I don't get this "compare to Spurs AM thing" Alli is not that quick and Eriksen definitely isn't... neither are renowned for beating a man or anything like that (especially Erkisen).
Like I say, you put Eriksen in Mata's place yesterday and not a lot changes... similarly, you put Mata in Eriksen's place and Spurs would still have won the game.
Should play in Stockholm
I can't believe people think Ali and Erikson being in our team wouldn't change much. Mata is so average
How so? The things you're slating him for Eriksen can't do either.
Pointless trying to talk about Mata on this forum, people treat him like peak Messi when in reality he is closer to Sigurdson then Peak David Silva
You haven't actually answered the question. No one has called him Messi so stop putting up strawman arguments.
I can't be bothered wasting my time arguing with someone that believes Erikson / Ali in our team wouldn't change anything.
No need to put words in my mouth as I didn't say anything of the sort. You've been asked to explain why you called a player average and all you've come back with is strawman arguments I never put up.
I can't believe people are blaming our forward players in the last few league games when Mourinho has put up ridiculously under-powered teams against top opposition away from home.
What do you expect Mata to do when the midfield is Carrick, Tuanzebe, Rooney? Against Spurs away. Same with Martial. They get the ball and we expect them to beat players on their own and make something out of nothing, while the rest of the team never breaks out of a defensive formation. Fullbacks not attacking, CMs sitting deep, defenders just hoofing it...
Just what the feck is your realistic expectation of them? Mata has shown again and again that he's got great movement, a good eye for a pass, is very tidy in possession and a lethal finisher in the box. He's been showing that for years at United, Chelsea and Valencia. People have fecking lost their heads in this forum.
What do you expect Mata to do when the midfield is Carrick, Tuanzebe, Rooney? Against Spurs away. Same with Martial. They get the ball and we expect them to beat players on their own and make something out of nothing, while the rest of the team never breaks out of a defensive formation. Fullbacks not attacking, CMs sitting deep, defenders just hoofing it...
Just what the feck is your realistic expectation of them? Mata has shown again and again that he's got great movement, a good eye for a pass, is very tidy in possession and a lethal finisher in the box. He's been showing that for years at United, Chelsea and Valencia. People have fecking lost their heads in this forum.
Been missing since returning from injury. I don't know how much you can blame him for that. The whole team is just a shell at the moment.
Which is Arsenal & Spurs.
With the way we approach big teams recently, it's no surprise that players like Juan are missing. I can only hope we don't set up like this vs Ajax.
The Spurs AM's have licence to attack and have wingbacks overlapping and supporting them.
Juan had no support and is restricted in a negative system. If we're going to play this way we might as well sell him as Jose did with Chelsea because he's of no use to us in this style.
Mata is one of the most consistently productive players in our team! You'd have to be mad to think he's average.
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