Matic is just as slow or not far off. Without the brain
8
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 32
- Goals
- 6
- Assists
- 3
- Yellow cards
- 3
- Status
Some nice touches and did well in first half. In modern game his pace and athleticism make him redundant at top level. Too limited going forward and too easily by passed when trying press but still admire his effort.
Played well today.
Did well to score with his right foot. Also a good cross to the far post that Chelsea defended well.
I genuinely hope we keep him for the next season. We have too many players, who are either technically poor or players who are on too high wages to justify being here, to be sold before him
Yeah I also think he is a great person and someone that can help things in training. I think he also can be a key player in the europa league since the pace migbt be a bit lower.
Can be hard to remove Sanchez though.
I'd like to see him complete at least one more season and then maybe become an Ambassador for the club. We should keep him in some context - perfect human beings are so hard to find 
Post Van Persie, he's always been the player I want the ball to fall to in the last minute of a huge game. So composed and so much quality overall. I'd keep him as a squad player. Good enough to get 20 starts and some sub apps in a (hopefully)well-oiled team.
Feels like a case of “here’s what you could have had” with Mata today. His sixth year at the club and the opportunities he has had to be in the team in his preferred role have been sporadic. Thought his first 45 minutes were class, pulling the strings and creating spaces for the other attackers to move into. Off the ball he was all over Jorghino, stopping his rhythm.
Not much point him being in the squad though, if he’s never going to be regularly used how he should be.
Not much point him being in the squad though, if he’s never going to be regularly used how he should be.
Really impressive today, hes much better at keeping the ball than most of the squad.
Find it mental people want him sold. The only player in our team who wouldn’t stick out like a sore thumb in City’s team for being a donkey. He’s the only one who’s up to anything technically. Worth keeping.
Like the rest of the team to be fair.
For me, the all looked labouring and tired in the second.
He hasn't played for ages but in saying that he still did 100% more than Lingard's done lately.
Even a 31yo pedestrian Mata is twice the player Lingard will ever be. Ball control, vision, pass and movement are miles ahead. Shame he ain't got the legs anymore.
Our only second outfield goal this month.
4th goal overall, in 7 games.
I don't remember him playing in the second half.
Very good first half, and foxy goal.
4th goal overall, in 7 games.
I don't remember him playing in the second half.
Very good first half, and foxy goal.
If everyone had his first touch, confidence and desire to drop into midfield spaces to receive a ball at any time then we would be Barcelona.
While I agree to an extent and certainly thought he was good today, he has just regressed so much physically.
Lovely fella and player but would do well to move to a less physical league.
He's our best footballer by quite a lot, handicapped by genetics.
Yeah, he's regressed for sure but there are still at least 10 players I'd get rid of before selling Mata.
One good game today doesn't really mark the fact that he's been as big a part of our decline post Fergie as anyone. 200+ appearances and really not a huge amount to show for it.
Slow, doesn't beat a man, easily bundled off of the ball.. of course compared to the likes of Lingard he's good, because he can actual pass the ball accurately, but the level we should be aiming for is higher then either of them. He doesn't excel on the wing, hasn't excelled at his favoured AM position, and really leave / have left by now, but probably won't because our squad is filled with countless other dross that needs to be moved too.
Players like Mane, Salah, Sterling, Sane, Hazard, Willian etc - fast, can beat a man, will get you 10-15+ goals a season are the types of players we should be going for.
Slow, doesn't beat a man, easily bundled off of the ball.. of course compared to the likes of Lingard he's good, because he can actual pass the ball accurately, but the level we should be aiming for is higher then either of them. He doesn't excel on the wing, hasn't excelled at his favoured AM position, and really leave / have left by now, but probably won't because our squad is filled with countless other dross that needs to be moved too.
Players like Mane, Salah, Sterling, Sane, Hazard, Willian etc - fast, can beat a man, will get you 10-15+ goals a season are the types of players we should be going for.
Played well, and in his best position. He never should be played anywhere else.
Hopefully he starts the next game in the same formation
Hopefully he starts the next game in the same formation
Score a goal since January, which is three months ago, suddenly he is good enough for Man Utd? So how about two weeks ago vs West Ham, no performance and be substituted by Ole at 55mins, and giving him 0 mins vs Barcelona, Everton and Man City?
You mean 3 games we lost badly?
He won us the penalty against West Ham if you remember correctly... and in the previous game he started before that against Watford he did well in the first half (which is the only part of the game we played well in).
In a better team with a good attacking system, he'd thrive. I don't think we should be so desperate to move him on, I doubt he's on mega wages anyway. If a good offer comes in for him then I wouldn't mind, but he's not on the same level of players like Rojo, Darmian, Valencia, etc that I want out the club ASAP.
All the criticisms of Mata are about pace and athleticism. Do people not realise that is having forwards with that and nothing more is part of our biggest problem going forward? We’d be a better team with slower players who can keep the ball than with sprinters who can’t.
So you think Mata was good at previous games? Man Utd played 23 games under Ole, Mata only provided 2 goals and 0 assists (1 vs Reading at January and 1 vs Chelsea yesterday), 10 games even not start for any mins, 8 games for starting line, but 4 games being substituted before 65 mins. The only good games that he played under Ole is vs Reading, vs Fulham, vs West ham penalty if you want to count, and vs Chelsea first half, so basically he had no performance for 19.5 games out of 23. Is it what a good squad player does? If we value a player, we should base on the whole season, not a relatively good game after a few months, and we say he is good enough to the team.
Also, I don't think vs Watford is a good game for Mata, he was subtituted at 63mins. And if you remember that penalty vs West ham, a sidepass to Mata, and the oppenent stupid foul, that was oppenent's mistake, not because Mata was in any danger situation. Look at the comments here for the West ham game, did anyone mention that penalty was due to Mata's contribution?
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Nah! All we need are 11 fast and strong players. Who gives a feck about technical ability in football!
Lets be honest he is the best 10 we have, but we don't play a system which includes a 10 (save for yesterday) so he is often stuck out on the right wing. He clearly isn't a winger. If we are going to play 4-2-3-1, then he should stay. If not, he can go.
As far as I am aware, his contract expires at the end of June. Is there a replacement at the club? Probably not in terms of a technically gifted no.10.
A side point - the contract situations of Herrara and Mata seem to be affecting DDG. Looks like they are all going in the summer.
As far as I am aware, his contract expires at the end of June. Is there a replacement at the club? Probably not in terms of a technically gifted no.10.
A side point - the contract situations of Herrara and Mata seem to be affecting DDG. Looks like they are all going in the summer.
We need players who have both that is the level that is required now. We can’t keep accepting players because they are better than so and with the ball or they are quick they need to be good enough technically and athletically.
Problem with Mata is he is so slow that it makes his pressing poor as well which would make it tough for him at any top side.
We can’t replace a whole squad at once unfortunately. A team that can’t pass the ball shouldn’t really be looking to get rid of one of the few players they have who can pass the ball. If we can replace him with better then great. If we can’t then what’s the point?
Pressing is not the be all and end all. Keeping the ball will always be more important than how quickly you can win it back.
That kind of thinking is outdated now winning the ball back as quickly as possible and as high up the pitch as possible is a huge part of the game now. Stopping other teams playing and challenging players on the ball is what the best teams do. Mata isn’t good enough on the ball to paper over his limitations consistently.
We can’t get rid of everyone but someone like Mata whose contract is expiring needs to be signed on reduced terms for one year or moved on. That’s the mindset we need from now on, stop rewarding mediocrity and being scared to let someone go because they do a job every so often.
You already have the point, we can't replace a whole team at once. But how come we get such amounts of deadwoods waiting to clear? It is because we keep rewarding them contracts! (Just count defenders we have already 6 deadwoods - Young, Rojo , Smalling, Jones, Valencia, Darmian, plus Sanchez, Mata, Lukaku not suitable for Man Utd style, and also Matic and Bailly), 2X players for first team, 11 deadwoods, and i already not count Fred, A. Pereira, almost half of the team are useless, and we keep rewarding Young, Smalling, Jones contract, and now Mata, to complete with Man City and Liverpool?
Only passing is not enough for English Premier League, look at Ozil at Arsenal. B. Silva and D. Silva in Man City can survive, is because Pep's extremely skillfull tactic, plus both players can dribble the ball, high press, and defend. Can Mata do that? Look at the statistic that i provide above, under Ole's 23 games, 19.5 games Mata provided nothing. So don't always think Mata is such important to the team. Even we don't sign players, we don't need someone to replace his jobs. And don't forget we get Angel Gomes, which can totally replace Mata, and doing much better (Younger, faster, and can dribble the ball to beat defenders).
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He was a MoM nominee on MUTV. Since then, he has barely featured and we've been abysmal. Not saying he could have made a huge difference but he might have been a better option than at least one of the players who have been featuring. Ridiculous to keep on about his speed - Matic is also slow, and the quicker players haven't been functioning either. Mata offers creativity that we sadly lack. And he can never be faulted on effort.
As already stated, he was a MoM nominee against Watford. Being subbed doesn't mean he's not having a good game.
He has hardly featured under Ole. Of course, those who have, have done so well recently, haven't they....
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He has been our best finisher in the past 5 years and the only one with a footballing brain.
You’re right, keeping the ball is incredibly outdated. There is only one way to play football.
Almost as if starting centrally is different to drifting into that area.
He was piss poor against West Ham, despite winning the penalty. A genuinely abject performance. Which probably explains why he's been marginalised since.
Was one of our better performers at the weekend. Hopefully he holds onto his place in the team. We do seem more likely to get a good performance out of him than whoever might start in his place.
Nowhere near good enough after his legs have gone - but so too are a good 80% of our squad, which is pretty fecked up if you think about it.
Always liked him though.
Always liked him though.
If we have proper wingers, striker who can pull defenders Mata could really excel in numbe10 especially in European Games.
Football is not all about all 11 players with pace and running you know. I hope keeping Ander and Herrera for another 2 years would be a good deal rather throwing lot of money on their replacements with huge salaries without knowing their success rate in league.
I say focus on other replacements like wingers/defenders this summer and look for Mata/Herrera replacements in next transfer windows. I think that is what Ole is trying to do anyway as Mata's father confirmed there is an offer from UTD on table.
CD/RB/RW/CM/LW/ST, lets find these 5 in this summer and think about other postions later.
Football is not all about all 11 players with pace and running you know. I hope keeping Ander and Herrera for another 2 years would be a good deal rather throwing lot of money on their replacements with huge salaries without knowing their success rate in league.
I say focus on other replacements like wingers/defenders this summer and look for Mata/Herrera replacements in next transfer windows. I think that is what Ole is trying to do anyway as Mata's father confirmed there is an offer from UTD on table.
CD/RB/RW/CM/LW/ST, lets find these 5 in this summer and think about other postions later.
He's good in the home games where he doesn't get pressed much and when we have majority of the ball. The quality and ball retention is always there. Perhaps he shouldn't play in the away games especially against relegation teams. I also feel Ole could have used him more in the two legs against Barca
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