Using transfermarkt, it says that Mata started the first three games at right wing (with Miki replacing him off the bench) but for the next few months he played a fair bit of both with the majority in the centre. It wasn't until December where Jose seemed to only start using him on the right. Miki was the opposite - played almost exclusively on the right until February where he started playing mostly in the centre.
Has Juan Mata been a flop?
- Thread starter Raees
- Start date
Not a flop but a disappointment.
Juan Mata was a very good acquisition at the time. Unfortunately the game has got faster and he has got slower.
Since joining us, and taking into consideration his price tag, he's certainly been a big disappointment. He's never been anywhere near the form he showed in his early Chelsea days. Mourinho sidelined him, obviously not considered good enough for his Chelsea team. Which makes you wonder why he played regularly for him at utd??
of course he's a flop. we paid almost double the price they got him from Valencia only for him to never repeat his player of the year worthy performances from Chelsea + now we're stuck with this useless and spent version of him untill 2021. which means, while we spent the most money on him and while he spent the most of his career here, he gave more to Valencia and Chelsea. now when he's almost completely useless, it's going to look even worse with each passing month and year.
Not at all. Hes a model professional and most likely a great character to have in the dressing room. That being said, Mata is very much a luxury player that only shines when he has the right players around him. We've been a complete mess since he got here, so we have not really gotten the best out of him
Just speculating here, but i think he would have been immense in 12-13 if he got here then
Just speculating here, but i think he would have been immense in 12-13 if he got here then
He’s been part of the problem, you can’t absolve a player of his own performances.
how does this "character" help the club in getting results? what's the purpose of it? what exactly does he do? he comforts the rest of the squad while we're getting shitter and shitter every month? serious question.
Performance wise, there are plenty of players i would point fingers at before Mata. Not saying hes been great for us, but when thinking about the players that have come and gone over the years and some that still are in the squad, he is by far not the worst
So Mata isn't a flop because he's a model professional and a great character. And he isn't a flop because we have had worse players than him. His fanboys are proper deluded.
It doesn't mata.
He is what he is. He is a very intelligent player, good at free kicks, can make intelligent runs, and can pick a great pass in the right areas.
There is two points with Juan, why he will never be recognised as a great success at a club like Utd.
Firstly, as supporters we have been brought up with teams traditionally having pace, power and penetration, Juan has none of these attributes, he doesn't have a turn of pace and doesn't go past players, if he is it out wide, he cant give you what Giggs or Beckham gave you going forward or defensively or if playing behind the strikers centrally, he cant give you what Rooney could give you. So he will always be compared (and rightly so because they are standards) with players that are more effective in their own ways.
Secondly, in the bigger games, you always felt that defensively you were playing with 10 men with Mata was in the team. He works hard don't get me wrong but isn't effective at that side of game at all.
Has he been a flop - I would say No that would be a bit harsh. Has he made enough of a difference - I would say No.
There is two points with Juan, why he will never be recognised as a great success at a club like Utd.
Firstly, as supporters we have been brought up with teams traditionally having pace, power and penetration, Juan has none of these attributes, he doesn't have a turn of pace and doesn't go past players, if he is it out wide, he cant give you what Giggs or Beckham gave you going forward or defensively or if playing behind the strikers centrally, he cant give you what Rooney could give you. So he will always be compared (and rightly so because they are standards) with players that are more effective in their own ways.
Secondly, in the bigger games, you always felt that defensively you were playing with 10 men with Mata was in the team. He works hard don't get me wrong but isn't effective at that side of game at all.
Has he been a flop - I would say No that would be a bit harsh. Has he made enough of a difference - I would say No.
If we could do it all over again then there's no way we would have signed him and I think that makes him a flop.
He has had some good moments but he has been a square peg. It's a shame, he is a decent player but I don't think he is well suited to the style of play of any of our recent managers. A better organised club would have shipped him out years ago.
He has had some good moments but he has been a square peg. It's a shame, he is a decent player but I don't think he is well suited to the style of play of any of our recent managers. A better organised club would have shipped him out years ago.
He was our best outfield player under LvG, unfortunately he was so physically limited that even a minor decline in sharpness would make him half as effective as he used to be and that's what happened. He also played a lot of football for his age, both for club and country when Spain were dominant.
I'm going to say Mourinho sidelined him at Chelsea purely out of jealousy. Mata was adored by their fans and Jose's ego couldn't take that so he forced him out. At United this wasn't an issue and so he played him more often.
Mata has been a monster flop. About as good/effective a signing as Mkhitaryan/Alexis Sanchez/Anderson were. Goes missing in about 8 out of every 10 games.
At Chelsea he was surrounded by at least 6 world class players - Terry, Cole, Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Cech which meant his weaknesses would not have been exposed as much as they were at Utd, similar to how Januzaj/Anderson looked good for us in a team full of decent players but did very little in the game when they left.
The only reason he has been kept on is because of his outstanding maturity and character which can only be healthy for the dressing room.
At Chelsea he was surrounded by at least 6 world class players - Terry, Cole, Lampard, Drogba, Essien, Cech which meant his weaknesses would not have been exposed as much as they were at Utd, similar to how Januzaj/Anderson looked good for us in a team full of decent players but did very little in the game when they left.
The only reason he has been kept on is because of his outstanding maturity and character which can only be healthy for the dressing room.
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It's interesting in a way to see that Mata has basically sacrificed his career by signing a new deal here, in order to be a bit part player at Utd
He could have revitalised his career by moving to Spain or Italy
But I guess his Common Goal brand gets more attention by being at a commercial giant like Utd
He could have revitalised his career by moving to Spain or Italy
But I guess his Common Goal brand gets more attention by being at a commercial giant like Utd
How do you know he could have revitalized his career? He could do even worse.
His best category too
he didn't really sacrifice anything. his NT career is finished anyway and it's not like he was going to Barcelona or Juventus. I'm not sure whether he could be a first team player even in clubs like Sociedad or Lazio, and they certainly aren't giving him 150k a week like United. it was rather easy decision for fim.
Huge flop. He was a really poor signing. He has now played under 4 managers at United, all with different styles of play and he didn't fit in any of them.
He's a lovely guy and I think that is why he's still at the club due to the "culture reset".
It shows how poorly the club has managed its playing squad when you consider they spent £130m on Mata, Matic and Fred.
He's a lovely guy and I think that is why he's still at the club due to the "culture reset".
It shows how poorly the club has managed its playing squad when you consider they spent £130m on Mata, Matic and Fred.
Ah, thanks for the conclusive evidence. He's just not been good enough.
Ehh maybe not me personally. For instance, I don't think Pogba has been a flop at all and he's flashier than a middle-aged man's Mercedes on a Sunday morning.
This might be a better description.
Jesus. Giving Alexis a rating of 7.55 for his performances for us that season shows how little stats really tell us.
His best category too
No.
He is yet another example of a player who was brought in and is still here for all the wrong reasons.
He created chances, its just he gave the ball away too much doing it. Mata has the opposite problem, he keeps the ball better but doesnt create anything
Yes but it's not his fault. He is/was a high quality technical player, dangerous around the box due to his solid finishing, quick passing and quick thinking. signed with no idea how to use him, and then misused by a succession of managers. He has failed as a right wing, just as David Silva would fail as a full-back.
If an entire era has been a flop there are few who would escape culpability. Can you name anyone who has shone?
Could have been a 15 goal (plus 20 assists) a season player. If only Moyes, Van Gaal, Mourinho knew how to play him properly.
Not his fault entirely. I think we got 40% out of him.
At the same time, the game has also evolved away from the need for players with pure finesse.
Not his fault entirely. I think we got 40% out of him.
At the same time, the game has also evolved away from the need for players with pure finesse.
Yes, if we wanted a neat passer who gets the odd goal but flatters to deceive then we should have just kept Kagawa who was already here.
I like to think I am a nice guy too but that doesn't mean you get to play for Man Utd.
I like to think I am a nice guy too but that doesn't mean you get to play for Man Utd.
So 2 world class managers and a PL veteran didn’t know how to use him, what a fascinating, unique and hard to use player...
Only geniuses like Di Mattero and AVB knew how to use him innit
Perhaps he had just gotten slower and slower thus shittier with time and his incredibly limited physical attributes as there were, peaked when he was 23 or something, stranger things happened.
Guy is a pensioner with a great first touch, not an athlete therefore not a footballer.
Nice guys finish last.
Berbatov And Veron couldn’t thrive in terrific teams with world class talent around them,so I think it would be fair to use the word “flop” to describe them.Mata has had to play in an era of great uncertainty and lack of quality....Considering the quality around Mata,I certainly wouldn’t call him a flop.I would say that he’s been a good signing for the club,so I would classify him as a “success”...
Cmon this is really disrespectful. he's been way better than Alexis or Mkhi.
It’s just ridiculous to even compare Mata with Sanchez or Mikhitaryan...
If he's looking like lukaku, doesnt write a nice blog and doesnt have a blue puppy eyes then yes he's a flop.
I still don't understand the idea behind purchasing him in the first place, we were already lacking quality on the wings and had Kagawa/Rooney playing in Mata's ideal position. Whatever you think/thought about these two players, it made little sense to spend that much money on a non-essential upgrade. This transfer was the blueprint for our future botched transfer policy.
That blog really does piss me off. Sick of players users channels beyond the pitch to placate disgruntled fans. Placate us with your performances on the pitch
Most deluded post in this thread. Anything but a success and someone like Veron was another level as a player IMO.
Berba was definitely better too and would be producing more in this shit era than Mata has done.
All flops mind you but Mata has taken the buscuit and worst of all hasn’t been called out on it due to his ability to PR.
Why did they give him a 2 year contract and not 1?