I think Mata is after losing a couple of yards in pace this season.
8
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 40
- Goals
- 3
- Assists
- 7
- Yellow cards
- 1
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik @Rood and Imran @Annihilate Now! start with the good news by celebrating Manchester United Women's emphatic FA Cup win over Spurs at Wembley and the future of manager Marc Skinner.
Then it's the bad news and the ever worsening form of our Men with losses to Arsenal and Palace.
Finally the main debate - ETH Out now or keep him until the end of the season - if not longer. Are you Team Nik or Team Imran?
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Mata is normally able to get a decent goals/assist ratio but his is really poor this season.
It hasn't been his year at all.
It hasn't been his year at all.
Exactly.
Mata doesn't have problem with stamina. On pace, those teams mostly play short passes; thus only a good acceleration is needed. Mata has little pace, but good acceleration.
His sudden total loss of form puzzles me a bit.
I get that his general play could deteriorate as he gets older and his already iffy physical attributes suffer even more with age but I'm not sure I've actually seen that much difference in terms of the work he puts in or the ground he covers? Physically he seems to be holding up relatively well.
It's the rest of his game that seems to be off, which is odd as that's the part of his skillset you'd think would be least likely to suddenly dissapear. I mean the vast majority of what Mata does well is down to technique and intelligence. I don't think his technique has deteriorated and he hasn't suddenly become a brainless footballer. So what's happened?
I get that his general play could deteriorate as he gets older and his already iffy physical attributes suffer even more with age but I'm not sure I've actually seen that much difference in terms of the work he puts in or the ground he covers? Physically he seems to be holding up relatively well.
It's the rest of his game that seems to be off, which is odd as that's the part of his skillset you'd think would be least likely to suddenly dissapear. I mean the vast majority of what Mata does well is down to technique and intelligence. I don't think his technique has deteriorated and he hasn't suddenly become a brainless footballer. So what's happened?
He has on occasion covered the most ground in our team this season (at least by the point he's substituted). Maybe he's trying to hard to focus on the physical side of things and he's not quite as sharp on the ball? Would need to see previous distance stats. Maybe he's just in a bad run of form? Maybe his mojo is off, his uncle died earlier this year and who knows he could be struggling with that.
I actually think he's had good moments this year, his assist to Lukaku against Newcastle was a lovely moment I thought.
Man Utd 2:1 Moscow
What a touch that was..
Some nice touches but he offers very little as a number ten, easy to understand why mourinho wants ozil.
Bad backpass, other than that he's been good in possession.
It's great to watch clever and technically gifted players like him when they are on song. Great asist from him.
Did Mata Just burn someone for pace or are my eyes deceiving me? Heck this CSKA Moscow backline must be hella slow
Mata is playing the full 90 minutes!
Been absolutely brilliant today. His best performance of the season as I recall.
Definite improvement today.
Good game today.
Honestly I thought he was a bit of a passenger at the start, but grew into the game as it went on and was playing with CSKA by the end.
Has he been taking sprinting lessons?
The first half was very poor but he turned on the gear in second half and provided his best game this season.
A joy to watch.
Anyone has a gif of those silky skills right before the end?
Best game in months and months.
Hopefully this kick starts his season
Hopefully this kick starts his season
Woke up in the second half
If only he played like this on each game he had... That's what we expected from him when we got him, a player that keeps us on the edge of our seats each time he gets the ball. More of the same please, Juan.
Had some quality moments in the game tonight and got an excellent assist.
Anyone thinks he needs to start every game that Pogba doesn’t? Granted, he was wank in his last PL start but he adds a slickness and imagination to our passing and movement that nobody else can provide when big Paul isn’t involved.
No i don't think so, Mata would only start at home against the small teams IMO. A very important part of a Mourinho team is winning physical battles and Mata loses almost all of his physical battles.
Most teams away from home will try to get physical with you, and the top teams will also get physical when they come to OT.
Mata would also get into the team regularly in Europe where the game is less physical.
Without Pogba the lack of technique in our play is evident, I can see the logic in filling that void but he doesn't really compare in other areas to Pogba. Mata offers pretty much nothing when not in possession but when he has it he's one of the most elegant players in the game. We need someone who can offer more than just creativity against Man City.
Much improved today, happy for him
Thought his assist was lovely.
Welcome back
I think this clip summarizes what he is really good at and also why we may need to upgrade in the number 10 position with a more explosive player. He showed great touch, passing, movement to wriggle out of a congested place and make room for himself and the attack.
However, when he first received the ball, if he could have beat the on-coming player that was closing him down, there would be a 3 on 2 situation on the offering. Unfortunately his lack of athleticism really hinders our play in that position, which is why he is played out right where he can find more space and time.
However, when he first received the ball, if he could have beat the on-coming player that was closing him down, there would be a 3 on 2 situation on the offering. Unfortunately his lack of athleticism really hinders our play in that position, which is why he is played out right where he can find more space and time.
That is a lovely bit of skill so smooth and silky but what makes it good is it actually beat his man, so many do skill but dont get any advantage from it makes them look silly!
I was thinking the same. He has to start in the City game, as we have little creativity without Pogba. Lukaku and Martial (or Lingard replacing one of them) would enjoy playing ahead of him.
In my humble opinion, Mata in a counterattacking system has not been great for United thus far, but should do well with two fast & strong strikers ahead of him. He himself seems to have put in some work into his running.
Sadly, Jose won't start him.
Yup. Absolutely no chance of him starting as he played 90 mins yesterday. I'd actually be shocked if he even comes on as a substitute later in the game
Thought he was superb, still has a bit of a problem when people come near him in transition and wants to dribble backwards away from everything, but all in all a nice little outing!
Thought he was superb last night. He is actually a joy to watch when he plays like that. Unfortunately it doesn't happen often enough. Can still see him laving in the summer, but i hope i'm wrong. I do love the guy!
And here's a close up of those silky skills:
And here's a close up of those silky skills:
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He looked very good yesterday. I think he's one of the few players we have that is quite calm in possession. He doesn't possess the dribbling & pace of some of the other forwards, but he'll also reliably execute pass and move without surrendering possession. Good controls and first touches all day long, accurate passing, playing with his head up. At his worst, he'll be anonymous and fail to influence that game. But that's still a damn sight better than being catastrophic to our attacking play. He's quite reliable in that sense.
If we're bolstering our attack with a new #10 and/or a new RW in the summer and we can only keep one of Mata / Mkhi for back up as a result, I'm very heavily leaning towards Mata at the moment.
If we're bolstering our attack with a new #10 and/or a new RW in the summer and we can only keep one of Mata / Mkhi for back up as a result, I'm very heavily leaning towards Mata at the moment.
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