Kagawa and Mata as traditional wingers. Dreadful.
Mata - free agent
- Thread starter Andy_Cole
- Start date
Kagawa and Mata as traditional wingers. Dreadful.
All in for a De Gea and Mata being reunited somewhere.
They can be my second team.
They can be my second team.
*shudders*
Sign Chelsea’s best player and then proceed to waste him out of position.
*Eyes Mount signing nervously*
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This is a player who never reached the level he had at his previous club yet he stayed with us for a hell of a long time. Training with the juniors instead of going on international duty. Disappointing signing from the beginning so why on earth would we have him back?
Managers of United have certainly made some very baffling decisions over the years, that's for sure. You have to wonder how, with hundreds of millions of pounds available, you end up with so many scenarios of square pegs in round holes. Felt like deliberate sabotage at times
Mata was better on the right than when he played as a 10 for United.
Ultimately though, he wasn't good enough for either position.
Ultimately though, he wasn't good enough for either position.
He was best on the left wing drifting in at Chelsea for my money because he was good enough to pick a pass if he came inside or run off the forwards, and he still had an actual threat down the outside as well where he could bend a cross in.
I thought he retired in 2017.
Together with Ander in Saudi Arabia, same club of course.
Would love it if Mata could return to the club in some capacity.
Arsenal got the dog so maybe we could get Mata just for players to hug and cuddle with?
Inappropriate joke
I'm not happy with Russo either, but that's a bit strong
Its not a lot more awful than Pep playing Silva, Mahrez and Foden wide. The key is to not lose the ball and have good attacking patterns.
It was very different as they had almost no licence to drift inside and their only real instruction seemed to be hit the byline and whip it in.
To be fair he was poor when we played him at #10. He was normally better on the wing for us.
Of course that is most likely because of the system (or lack thereof) around him. But it wasn't just as simple as playing him in the wrong position.
I thought he looked his best on the all-too-rare occasions when LVG played a flexible 4-1-4-1. Him, Fellaini, Herrera and Young were a weird mishmash, but somehow it worked.
Regarding his underuse in later years, the problem seemed to be that he’d come on as a late sub, look far and away the best player on the pitch, and consequently be rewarded by starting the next game. In which he’d invariably disappoint. Using him as a sub against tired opposition to both retain the ball and create openings made a lot of sense, and wasn’t done enough.
I don't expect them to look like bodybuilders, but jesus, do we even make them work in the gym? No wonder de Gea had no presence in the box and was constantly bullied.
Yes DdG looks like he's taking a break from selling merch at a coldplay concert while his life partner sells vegan falafel wraps from an old Citroen van.
Tbf Herrera never had a problem with physical presence despite his slight build. Scrappy little cnut, in fact. It's what you do with it...
Top fella but how he managed 9 seasons at the club I'll never know
Mata did well for us. The club was in a mess and he was played out of position… and yet managed to be one of my absolute favourite players ever to play for us.
Really good bloke and always wore the shirt with pride.
In what planet would we bring him back at 34 when we want to win trophies and be a pressing machine? That’s insane.
Very accurate
Yeah it was madness but it was a madness that Moyes started and yet LVG/Jose continued. Baffling.
The name Moyes if not worthy of a permanent ban should be at least moaned about for years to come. Sir Alex's worst decision as United manager, by far.
Yeah he wasn't great in either position, but then i don't think we ever played the football that suited him. He was certainly not the player we saw for Chelsea. I remember we tried him numerous times at 10 and he and Rooney just got in each other's way all the time. The dinosaur coaching probably didn't help matters, but he never hit the heights of his Chelsea form for us.
Hugs. Was he useful at anything else? Nice guy but a used tampon at United.
Mata was good for us I thought, better than he’s generally rated on here.
I don’t think he always played centrally for Chelsea either, we have plenty of Chelsea fans who will know more than me but I thought he played on the left and the right for them?
I don’t think he always played centrally for Chelsea either, we have plenty of Chelsea fans who will know more than me but I thought he played on the left and the right for them?
Stayed about 5 years longer than he should as is par for the course at United under the Glazers.
I wonder if Chelsea had noticed a decline already and that's why they weren't too bothered about selling him to us. We certainly mismanaged him too, but he never looked as good for us as he did at Chelsea.
Not that he was bad, but he wasn't as good as we'd hoped he would be
Not that he was bad, but he wasn't as good as we'd hoped he would be
Mata was at his peak with United when he played on the right. He wasn't really a traditional winger. He used to cut in and join the play centrally.
A surprisingly active thread for a 34 year old free agent who was mostly mediocre even during his prime years here
Sadly yes.
I did not realize he stayed for 9 seasons! Nine?!
Mind boggling. Could've stayed one more for the testimonial.
This literally never happened.
Don’t really get the love in for Mata. Asked him for a selfie in Selfridges in London and he just blanked me.
Cesc Fabregas on the other hand was really nice and was even willing to have a chat about football.
Cesc Fabregas on the other hand was really nice and was even willing to have a chat about football.
Hire me selfridges boy