The Thiago and Fabragas fiascos had taught me well, thus i shall not dream
Mata | Mourinho says it's just a Mata of time
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik (@Rood) and Jamie (@Vault Dweller) are here to talk about United's dreadful home defeat at the hands of Big Ange's Tottenham Hotspur. Should this have been the end of Ten Hag? How long does he actually have left? And does Nik finally want ETH out?!
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I think what he meant was he could play in the hole or on either flank. But yes you're right, he's a gimp.
Testing the water. We then spent more than that on Fellaini so your point about valuations is completely based on nothing.
And I was kidding, never you fret
. He's that sort of person that whatever he tends to say, you should go with the opposite pretty much every time, he's that useless.I'd say that's pretty much down to the fact that he has pretty much the same squad as Fergie had last year, what fergie did last year worked so it stands to reason you'd try it again. It's not working now so again it stands to reason if we bought a player like Mata we would do it with the intention of changing.
That formation isn't some new genius tactics that would be totally alien or hard to research. Half the top clubs seem to be using it now to great effect.
The cynic in me makes me think this is reminiscent of what Arsenal have done over the years.
Panic at results, then the PR team leak something to the press about how we're going to sign a big player and then it never materialises.
About four newspapers got the news at the identical time. Clear deliberate leak.
Panic at results, then the PR team leak something to the press about how we're going to sign a big player and then it never materialises.
About four newspapers got the news at the identical time. Clear deliberate leak.
Really hard to know from who though Al. It could also be very much from Mata's people given what's been going on there the past few weeks.
I'm yet to see one good reason why clubs would do it. To make the supporters call them cheap cnuts who cant deal in the market?
Like our fiasco with fabregas, it doesnt do the club's image any good.
Spurs used to do this too. At one time, they were regularly & publicly linked to just about every good player in the world, including some that I made up on Pro Evo 4.
Perhaps Moyes was referring to Mata when he talked about 'big players' wanting to join us. I definitely think Mata would prefer to be playing for us right now rather than warm the bench at Chelsea.
I think to an extent it is, though he could at least try to show some invention and do his own thing, he has enough versatile players at his disposal to move the hell away from a style that clearly is not working for him as well as it did for Fergie, to stop using ineffective players, to start giving others a chance. Honestly, he does literally everything the same, except win despite playing shite.
But that's a discussion for another place, I'm mainly just a little bit more skeptical of the idea of Mata suddenly transforming the way we play across the entire pitch, is all. I'd love it, but I wouldn't bet on it, and I'd rather a top left back and winger/midfielder, but they don't seem to be available in this window, so Mata's not a bad option either!
Yeh, the provenance of the leak isn't certain here. It's definitely deliberate though for all the press to get it at once. The fact that has come immediately after the game between the two sides is intriguing too.
If he's confident enough in his own ability as these lads generally are then he's got to believe he's good enough to fire us to 4th and keep himself in the CL next season.
He won't transform how we play across the entire field, who is suggesting that?
He would give us another quality option capable of creating in the final third, we still need other reinforcements.
He would give us another quality option capable of creating in the final third, we still need other reinforcements.
Reading between the lines of DTGuardian's comments and a few other journalists, the leak came from Mata's agents. The current briefing from United is that we haven't bid, and "no comment" when asked if we intend to bid. Apparently on Jan 4, the info from the top of the club was to ignore Mata stories so there has been some movement in our position.
My best guess is that Mata's agents are trying to force the issue while Chelsea and United are still locked into playing Rooney games; you unsettle our player, we will do the same to yours. In the real world, if United really want Mata then they'll have to hand over Rooney
You desperately do not want to see this happen, don't you?
Hmm, that's possibly true.
Rooney is the complicating factor here. I can't believe Chelsea would sell Mata without some agreement on his future.
I don't really mind, to be honest. Who knows how you'll use him?
Yep, an agreement to sell in the summer is very likely if Rooney is sticking to his "am not signing an extension" stand.
It'd be probably the highest profile swap deal ever.
Of course we do Pops, but I think being realistic about our chances of getting transfers that if we could capture a LB and Mata we would look a hell of a lot better for a top 4 spot.
Eto'o + cash for Ibrahimovich?
Would be a great signing if Moyes plays him in a role similar to the one he had Piennar playing. He's not playing behind the striker unless Rooney is sold or injured. If it happens I just hope he is not wasted by being asked to run up and down the wing and put in crosses. He is not that type of footballer just like Kagawa isn't.
Well, yeah, obviously I was exaggerating a bit, you know what Irwin's like, struggles with simple logic (looper).
Still, we would need to change quite a bit about how we currently play from an attacking perspective to get the best out of him.
Dont think it'd be a swap deal. Mata to move now, Rooney moves in the summer for a fixed amount. Just an agreement.
So true.
Their shitness is a issue but even as a matter of principle, wingers are fine but not as the preferred attacking outlet. When the game is fist-full of players who can place the ball on a sixpence from a great distance the idea of relying on what'll always be (to varying degrees) 'hit-and-hope' crosses from wide just annoy me. It isn't to say that wide play is dead, it isn't but it should be in terms of it being largely the only tactical approach going forward.
Had we someone who could cross like Beckham we'd be a moron to ignore him but even then if he was the primary focus of everything we did, I'd have an issue with it. The fact that the three you mentioned are nowhere near his quality in terms of crossing accuracy just makes the situation worse.
Wide play is fine but an over-reliance on crossing isn't. With full-backs playing as they do these days I've often thought wingers a waste as often you have two players on each side in the same role. In the modern game when so much is about control through the middle, essentially having four players from each time - two each tagging on the left and right - seems such a waste. Whether it be Rafael and Valencia or Evra and Young or whichever combination.
We probably need to do that anyway considering the combined worth of our wingers probably stands at about £12 at the moment.
I think if we swapped Kagawa with Mata and made no other changes it would still be an improvement.
Must not get hopes up.
I agree, I'm just concerned that we wouldn't and we'd try to accommodate a £37m player into a system that's not working instead of shifting things around to suit him.
Although I still think the chances of this happening right now are very slim so it's probably not even worth thinking that far ahead anyway!
It wasn't my point.
I wonder if Moyes had a word with Jose after the game over a "glass of red"?
Your point was that the club undervalue players and so will undervalue Mata. Based on the Fellaini transfer this is patently wrong.
Well?
As good as he is, it would be really stupid to sign him. We have enough number 10s at the moment and he will cost a fortune.
I think that as flawed as Moyes may be, he's not going to sign Mata for that amount of money to use him as an orthodox winger. I think it would be a clear signal of intent to shift towards another system.
Sadly agreed with your last line though.
Only that, it wasn't my point. Somebody else made that point. I was only responding to YOUR point about that person's opinions being based on fabricated paper talk, referencing some actual confirmed bids.
If rooney leaves, then januzaj, kagawa and mata behind rvp doesn't sound awful.
You forgot a "letter" next to the 2 there Popper or was that what you meant?
Unfortunately I didn't.
Januzai the exception, obviously.
Hed obviously be a replacement
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