Definitely. I also think I remember seeing stats which showed that he had been even more productive for us than he had been at Chelsea. Which was a massive surprise.
Which was the better signing - Mata or Fellaini?
- Thread starter KM
- Start date
Fellaini, by far.
Mata has been here for 5 years and at no point was he an important or a dominant player in our side.
Fellaini has been more effective and had spells of dominant performances in the team, Mata is an absolutely forgettable and ineffective player, for us.
Mata has been here for 5 years and at no point was he an important or a dominant player in our side.
Fellaini has been more effective and had spells of dominant performances in the team, Mata is an absolutely forgettable and ineffective player, for us.
I think they've both been underwhelming - with some decent moments to remember. Mata with Juanfield of course & Fellaini with his last minute equalisers/match winners.
Won't miss either of them though; I wish Juan all the best.
Won't miss either of them though; I wish Juan all the best.
Still can't decide between them.
Someone who has voted tell me the resuts so far please.
Someone who has voted tell me the resuts so far please.
There are some really weird people on this forum.
70/30 in Mata's favour.
not sure if serious.Impact wise Fellaini definately. He might play Ugly but he won us lot of games and helped defended so many leads. He was worth the money than Mata for us.
I don't think that is true
Atleast 7-8 games i remember getting the winning goal.
Of course I’m serious.
Taking expectations from both into account, of course.
He only played two full seasons with Chelsea. Both of which were far better than the consistent mediocrity he’s produced here.
The fact that he’s our top contributor in his time here isn’t surprising – Look at the competition. In reality he’s been the mainstay in some of the worst United sides in recent history who’ve been especially poor in attack. Often struggling to break into said sides altogether.
He’s been a huge disappointment. Signed to be a creative force ala Silva/Eriksen and has been nothing of the sort. Ozil has been twice the player at Arsenal and gets nothing but shit despite costing around the same money. He gets away with murder here.
Fellaini by a long margin.
I can't see anyway how Fellaini can be construed as having been a better signing than Mata, each to their own I guess. It's well known that Fellaini's days at Utd are numbered, a Chinese club are offering around 7 to 10 million for him. That alone should show his true value. When Mata goes I wouldn't be surprised to see him go to a top 4 spanish team. Mata's bicycle kick v Liverpool will go down in folklore. Also there seems to be a lot of kudos being given to Fellaini for the Juve game. Let's remember he came on at the same time as Mata, they both made an instant impact in a game we were chasing. Remember it was Mata who scored that wonderful free kick. It's okay being nuisance but it still needs quality in the end.
At least 7 or 8 of his 22 for United were winning goals? So far I've got four: Palace, Everton, Arsenal and Young Boys.
People will choose Mata only because they don't like Fellaini's style. Nothing new but it won't change the fact that Fellaini has had far more important points and goals in pretty much all the trophies we won post Fergie. He has also given his all and never disappoint when he was put on despite getting abused by fans for no reason.
Away from Juanfield, Mata has been a disappointing signing and never lived up to the hype of 40m paid for him which at this time was our most expensive signing.
Fellaini has better impact and over all did better whenever he played while Mata only showed signs of brilliance here and there.
Away from Juanfield, Mata has been a disappointing signing and never lived up to the hype of 40m paid for him which at this time was our most expensive signing.
Fellaini has better impact and over all did better whenever he played while Mata only showed signs of brilliance here and there.
Likewise, people who choose Fellaini are doing so because the expectations from him were pretty low. So it was much easier to go beyond the expectations.
Games: 21; Goals: 22; Wins: 17; Draws: 2; Defeats: 2; Points average: 2,52 ; Game winning goals: 9
This page might help
https://www.transfermarkt.com/marou...&wettbewerb=&pos=&minute=&pos=&torart=&stand=
No we're choosing him because he was far more effective when it mattered than Mata overall. He also did it while he was getting abused by the fans unlike Mata.
They weren’t THAT low, it was obvious he wasn’t what we needed in midfield, but he was good for Everton, and bossed us proper, twice if not more.
Both Mata and Fellaini are players we didn’t need at the time.
Mata was never going to be David Silva, he’s not even a midfielder, he’s a final third player and quite ineffective at that.
Fellaini is not a good midfielder either, he can’t pass or shoot or tackle really well, but he can be very effective at what he does excel at.
Fellaini can cause opponents serious problems, put him against PSG away upfront or in no.10 away and he’ll cause them issues. Most teams don’t face players like Fellaini on a weekly/monthly or even yearly basis. He’s a very unique footballer, duo to his size and his world class chest technique.
Put Mata against PSG away and you wouldn’t notice he’s on the pitch because there are hundreds of tidy technical ineffective players out there, and because of how slow he is, he would be easy to deal with for any good team.
What is this Games: 21
Is that the total no of games in which he scored?
You're counting the first goal in 3-0 and 4-0 wins as "getting the winning goal"? Hmmm.
In which case Mata has scored 18 "winning goals", twice as many as Fellaini. Just as he has scored twice as many actual goals as Fellaini, and three times as many assists. Hard to square that with him having less "impact".
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How are people even debating this. Neither have been the greatest signings but:
Fellaini will forever be associated with this era, poor dismal performances. Apart from the few winning goals he has scored, he's been absolutely useless. He's also lost us a lot of games, for example Everton. There's no creativeness at all, all sideways and short passes with many of them not even being successful. From August 2017 to Nov 2018, our win percentage with Fellaini starting was 50%, compared to 65% without.
Mata has never lived up to the hype he showed at Chelsea, but he has always been very composed, he ensured we were composed under Mourinho when chasing the game at times. He would've been a lot better if the previous managers played him to his advantages, what was Jose thinking putting him on RW?
Fellaini will forever be associated with this era, poor dismal performances. Apart from the few winning goals he has scored, he's been absolutely useless. He's also lost us a lot of games, for example Everton. There's no creativeness at all, all sideways and short passes with many of them not even being successful. From August 2017 to Nov 2018, our win percentage with Fellaini starting was 50%, compared to 65% without.
Mata has never lived up to the hype he showed at Chelsea, but he has always been very composed, he ensured we were composed under Mourinho when chasing the game at times. He would've been a lot better if the previous managers played him to his advantages, what was Jose thinking putting him on RW?
I totally like Fellaini for whatever he can contribute in the team and I believe it is a useful asset to have in certain match situations.
But in terms of contribution to the team, Mata has good number of goals and assists and for me at least, that seems a bigger contribution than what Fellaini brings on to the field.
If Mata was English and named John, he'd be playing for some mid table club.
He is a fraud with no incision and rarely influences games. And if it all he does influence games, it will be in one-off moments, versus controlling the game for 90 minutes.
He is a fraud with no incision and rarely influences games. And if it all he does influence games, it will be in one-off moments, versus controlling the game for 90 minutes.
Rock and a hard place.
I went with Mata because it was the right idea and he’s got some crucial goals (FA Cup final, Liverpool, Juventus, etc).
Fellaini might have some crucial goals too but epitomizes everything we shouldn’t be from a stylistic POV!
Matas signing was like a bonus and temporarily brought back that feel good factor whereas Fellaini must have been literally our 6th choice CM target in 13/14 - all summer trying for Fabregas, Kroos, Thiago, Herrera, even Khedira and de Rossi and then ending up with Fellaini was heartbreaking!
Also, where’s that Gif of Mata and Woodward dancing? I was lurking here back in 2014 and that cracked me up!
I went with Mata because it was the right idea and he’s got some crucial goals (FA Cup final, Liverpool, Juventus, etc).
Fellaini might have some crucial goals too but epitomizes everything we shouldn’t be from a stylistic POV!
Matas signing was like a bonus and temporarily brought back that feel good factor whereas Fellaini must have been literally our 6th choice CM target in 13/14 - all summer trying for Fabregas, Kroos, Thiago, Herrera, even Khedira and de Rossi and then ending up with Fellaini was heartbreaking!
Also, where’s that Gif of Mata and Woodward dancing? I was lurking here back in 2014 and that cracked me up!
If Fellaini was english and called Mark, he'd be off playing in China haha
I'd definitely disagree with the bit in bold, not so much with the rest of your post. He's definitely been a disappointment overall but I do feel for him spending his prime under such incredibly conservative/negative managers. Which makes it almost impossible for a player like him to excel.
Consistent mediocrity helped by us being absolutely fecking shite. Not only that but Mata has good return on goals and assists here too.
I'm not sure what people expected Mata to be? He needed a manager who built a team around him when he's played in behind a striker, that was his best position for Chelsea. He has been dragged all over the fecking place here by Moyes, LVG and Mournihno who misused him horribly.
Mata, and it's not particularly close.
While I'd largely agree with the argument he struggled to consistently replicate his best season at Chelsea (12/13) when he came here, he's consistently been productive and has often been one of our better players. He's arguably been a bit like Berbatov in that he's not necessarily the type of very good player who'll turn a game on its head alone, but he is one who's nevertheless been one of our most skilled players, often popping up with key goals and assists on a regular basis.
Fellaini's done enough to avoid being written off as a flop but has still been a squad player at best, and a wildly inconsistent one whose most lauded traits tended to be the sort you'd see praised in a mid-table midfielder. There's not much of a comparison.
While I'd largely agree with the argument he struggled to consistently replicate his best season at Chelsea (12/13) when he came here, he's consistently been productive and has often been one of our better players. He's arguably been a bit like Berbatov in that he's not necessarily the type of very good player who'll turn a game on its head alone, but he is one who's nevertheless been one of our most skilled players, often popping up with key goals and assists on a regular basis.
Fellaini's done enough to avoid being written off as a flop but has still been a squad player at best, and a wildly inconsistent one whose most lauded traits tended to be the sort you'd see praised in a mid-table midfielder. There's not much of a comparison.
I don't know how Mata with more goal and assists to his name could be less effective than Fellaini. Unless of course you were bringing up the expectation levels. Which takes it back to my last point.
No. We'd never hear the end of it by the English media how we're misusing such a gifted player like Johnny Kills.
Neither, both poor signings who've contributed to our downfall.
There's no more manager suited to the slow pace Mata play at than LVG. The slow possession based system LVG played suited Mata to the core and he was still over all disappointing bar some moments of brilliance here and there.
What are you talking about. English players are ridiculously over-rated. Most of them are world class. Like Wilshire.
How many important goals has Mata scored here and you can add a few since the video was made.
I mean Fellaini was decent in parts but better signing than Mata? Ya fecking mad?
Different positions ?
Mata will always get more goals as he's always playing in the final third anyway and 44 goals in 209 appearance with highest goals tally in one season is 10 goals at best is pretty poor for a forward playing consistently.
Fellaini has played as DMF, CM and AMF and never had a continuous run upfront but he usually delivered when it mattered whenever he played.
They really aren't. The World Cup comes with hype, but no one genuinely thinks Wilshere or Oxlade Chamberlain are world class.
We have to constantly watch games where Mata puts in tumescent performance, and pretend like there's some genius hidden underneath restrained by the system.
No it didn't suit Mata to the core considering we absolutely had/have no movement. Mata needs to be playing in triangles and having high level of movement. Matas brain is what makes him the footballer he is.
Why would you need such a view reinforced? Fellaini came with far, far lower expectations that Mata. From the outset he was a player many of us didn't want anywhere near the club - contrast that to Mata, coming from Chelsea as one of the absolute stars of the league, what on earth else would you think the two would be compared as?
From the very start, Fellaini was a player who had to try and win over a fanbase who weren't convinced. Mata, everybody expected to be wowed by and he has got nowhere near that level of performance here and is often just dumped off to a position where his weaknesses are most made up for.
The third paragraph doesn't say much when you're comparing a forward to a midfielder - Mata not outscoring Fellaini would be a shambles, likewise for assists. I don't think you're being at all objective contrary to saying 'objectively' in your post, in fact, you're tilting to favour Mata by mentioning goals and assists. A 'better' player, absolutely nobody thinks Fellaini is a better footballer than Juan Mata, which actually weakens Mata's position further, because as the better player, he shouldn't even be compared to Fellaini unless Fellaini performed absolutely out of his skin to match the higher bar... or, Mata performed worse, to lower his own bar to be in line with the likes of Fellaini. One player was purchased for a club record fee for the very reason he was supposed to come here and be a star, the other, many baulked at the £25m price tag, and not just because Moyes ballsed up getting him for the lower fee with his dithering.
Well no, that's patently false and a reductionist way to enter a discussion. Whether you like him or not (I don't), Fellaini is a player who has given the opposition far more to think about than Mata has in his time here, been utilised in many a donkeyish way as an important conduit we've utilised time and again and has enabled others to play. If you're going to be objective, you take that into account. If you're not, then you make your own view redundant.