[Sterling Archer]

Clown? For this season, how many matches are the one you said the opponents parking the bus? I count for you, only 3:2 away loss vs Brighton, 3:2 home win vs Newcastle the second half, 2:0 away win vs Newcastle, and 2:2 home vs Burnley after 80mins. For the 2:0 away vs Newcastle, Mata was substitued by Ole at 63mins without any performance, 3:2 away lose vs Brighton, Mata was even subtitued by Mourinho at half time. So would a player called "need for both types of options" by only suitable for playing three or four matches for the whole season, and that "three or four matches" may even have no performance?

It is always funny when seeing Mata is a good bench player. Vs PSG match is one of the example, can he offer anything from bench? No! But even made the team more worse. And i already not count both Mourinho and Ole even not trust him to play against big teams (under Ole 0 mins play against Arsenal and Tottenham), and high pressing teams from midtable teams (under Ole 0 mins play against Cardiff, Bournemouth, Leicester) because his lack of physical ability. Then what is the point of keeping him? Just to favour the Mata's fans like you? Or because he is a nice guy? If then, we should offer him a PR job instead of a contract of player with such amount of salary (Mata is 6th high salary of the team). We are Man Utd, not charity, our standard of keeping a player should base on his quality, what he can offer to the team, not his past reputation, not his image off the pitch.

You haven't answered the question. What was Mata when he joined us? And why is there this disappointment that he didn't become taller, faster, stronger and more aggressive after he joined us. That's the main complaint I see in this thread and what's so clownish. Now if we talk actual form and performances, I'd say he has not been at his best...and that's two parts form, one part team style and another just the type of player he is.

 

[Patrick08]

He sucks anywhere he plays. Even if he plays in the 10 position there is no way he is going to keep up with our strikers. He will be in the centre circle while our strikers have reached the opposition box and looking for a pass for our number 10 or for him to drag a defender away.

Also his passing and decision making has been very poor since a year and a half. There was a moment Vs psg when he had the ball in the box and he could have taken his man on and drive inside the box and create a wonderful opportunity, or win a penalty had he been challenged, and he completely squandered the opportunity passed it sideways behind his back to young to cross.

There are lots of sideways passers in the play making side of our game when pressed and Mata is one of them who annoys me a lot with his decision making.

 

[sweetmgd]

You haven't answered the question. What was Mata when he joined us? And why is there this disappointment that he didn't become taller, faster, stronger and more aggressive after he joined us. That's the main complaint I see in this thread and what's so clownish. Now if we talk actual form and performances, I'd say he has not been at his best...and that's two parts form, one part team style and another just the type of player he is.

What was Mata when we signed him? A record fee signing for a world class player, Chelsea's MVP, and expect him to lead us to success despite we knew he is slow and short.

But at the end he struggled under three managers. before you can explain Mata's under performance is due to LVG's boring football and Mourinho's offensive football. But now even Ole's attacking football cannot save him, and people finally understand his problem, think that he doesn’t fit Ole's philosophy, which Gary Neville already said Mata is not Man Utd type player when we signed him. so did Gary Neville not know when Mata is slow, small? Nobody trust him only, but finally prove he is right.

I don't see any clownish here, however i think you are funny, because you say Mata is a good bench player against teams parking bus, and i already count it for you, up to now just three to four matches are under your circumstances in this season, and two matches are without any performance and be substituted. Keeping a player only play for such performance is good enough?

You explain it as a difference between team style and players' style? People explain it as not fit in Ole's new system, i don't see any difference. However i can only see Mata's fan always find excuses to defend him again and again. Everytime talking Mata, their standards are suddenly dropped a lot, but to other players, like Lingard, an academy which is free for transfer fee, are harsh as hell.

 

[Foxbatt]

Mata tries to pass sideways so much because he knows that if he gets tackled he is going to lose possession.
We thought Berbatov was slow but Mata makes him look like Usain Bolt. People here were slating Berbatov but defend Mata. Berbatov is a much better player than Mata and he is in a different class to Mata.

 

[Adisa]

Times reporting we are still looking at extending his contract. This club has no vision.

 

[sullydnl]

Times reporting we are still looking at extending his contract. This club has no vision.

I would guess it's just down to pragmatically assessing how much work we can actually get done in one summer.

I think in the last two summers we have tried and failed to sign four players? There's no guarantee that this year's plans won't hit snags either, especially as we may be changing both manager and management structure at around the same time.

Meanwhile you have other players who are already likely to leave (Darmian, Valencia, Rojo) and other players who could also be easily sold before Mata is (Sanchez & Fred, for example).

With all that going on, letting Mata leave so we have to sign another player this summer to replace him might be putting too much pressure on one transfer window. In fact it would be pretty reckless to do so when there's no real need to sell Mata before better players are actually in place.

 

[Ekeke]

I would guess it's just down to pragmatically assessing how much work we can actually get done in one summer.

I think in the last two summers we have tried and failed to sign four players? There's no guarantee that this year's plans won't hit snags either, especially as we may be changing both manager and management structure at around the same time.

Meanwhile you have other players who are already likely to leave (Darmian, Valencia, Rojo) and other players who could also be easily sold before Mata is (Sanchez & Fred, for example).

With all that going on, letting Mata leave so we have to sign another player this summer to replace him might be putting too much pressure on one transfer window. In fact it would be pretty reckless to do so when there's no real need to sell Mata before better players are actually in place.

Makes far more sense to give Fred and Sanchez more time since they've had a lot less of it here than Mata has. Mata is one of the first on the chopping block because Lingard covers us for someone new coming in and settling in.

 

[sullydnl]

Makes far more sense to give Fred and Sanchez more time since they've had a lot less of it here than Mata has. Mata is one of the first on the chopping block because Lingard covers us for someone new coming in and settling in.

Not neccessarily. Mata seems quite content to be our 6th choice attacker for example, while Sanchez and Fred might want more than that. Plus Sanchez at least is on more money than Mata, which makes not playing him more of an issue. Also (assuming for a second that Solkjaer is representative of our new manager) Mata currently features more than Fred does even as is.

If the manager doesn't rate Fred or thinks Sanchez is past it then selling them may be more pressing as far as they're concerned than selling nice, agreeable, team-first Juan Mata.

 

[Ekeke]

Not neccessarily. Mata seems quite content to be our 6th choice attacker for example, while Sanchez and Fred might want more than that. Plus Sanchez at least is on more money than Mata, which makes not playing him more of an issue. Also (assuming for a second that Solkjaer is representative of our new manager) Mata currently features more than Fred does even as is.

If the manager doesn't rate Fred or thinks Sanchez is past it then selling them may be more pressing as far as they're concerned than selling nice, agreeable, team-first Juan Mata.

With Sanchez and Fred being here less than 2 years its good if they dont want to be 6th choice. They have something to prove.

Mata has shown us what he's going to offer here. We need to improve on that. Lingard is enough to keep while we try something new

 

[Bola]

If we are after someone who is 6th choice for the attacking positions, then I'd just promote Angel Gomes and sell Mata to China/ wait for his contract to expire

He's offering very little other than his free kicks and I'd much rather we continue our tradition of youth.

It also gets £150k plus off the wage budget each week

 

[RedDevil@84]

Times reporting we are still looking at extending his contract. This club has no vision.

After we extended Phil "crocked" Jones, what do you expect?

 

[Champagne Football]

If Ed gives Mata a new deal then I think it will be down to Mata's influence in the dressing room and nothing else. Mata despite his shortcomings as a footballer, has a special aura about him that can be infectious on a dressing room. Foreign players settle much easier when there's an approachable and welcoming Mata in your dressing room inviting you out for an Italian every few weeks upon arrival.

You're not gonna pull out your iphone and show everyone the bird you pulled at the weekend in a dressing room if the bloke next to you has just come back from a UNICEF meeting with Obama, Bono and George Clooney and that can only be a good thing. Also the board would realize that Mata boosts the image of the club.

 

[Ekeke]

If Ed gives Mata a new deal then I think it will be down to Mata's influence in the dressing room and nothing else. Mata despite his shortcomings as a footballer, has a special aura about him that can be infectious on a dressing room. Foreign players settle much easier when there's an approachable and welcoming Mata in your dressing room inviting you out for an Italian every few weeks upon arrival.

You're not gonna pull out your iphone and show everyone the bird you pulled at the weekend in a dressing room if the bloke next to you has just come back from a UNICEF meeting with Obama, Bono and George Clooney and that can only be a good thing. Also the board would realize that Mata boosts the image of the club.

wat

 

[Champagne Football]

wat

Mata fits into that category of luxury player or underwhelming squad player who you are happy to dispence of if any form of offer comes in for them. Kagawa, Nani, Fellaini, Rojo, Anderson, Darren Gibson etc...... If he gets a new contract then it's not because the board see him as a vital squad player.

Jose was desperate to get Zlatan back for his influence on the dressing room even if he didn't play and I think if we keep Mata it will be for similar reasons

 

[Ekeke]

Mata fits into that category of luxury player or underwhelming squad player who you are happy to dispence of if any form of offer comes in for them. Kagawa, Nani, Fellaini, Rojo, Anderson, Darren Gibson etc...... If he gets a new contract then it's not because the board see him as a vital squad player.

Jose was desperate to get Zlatan back for his influence on the dressing room even if he didn't play and I think if we keep Mata it will be for similar reasons

Zlatan did play. He was a starter and our top scorer

We didnt keep him when all he had to offer was his personality, because he was injured all the time and we didnt need him up front

 

[haram]

Mata only really works on the right if we have the gulf of possession and there is a number 10 next to him who he can link with.

 

[sunama]

Times reporting we are still looking at extending his contract. This club has no vision.

They do have vision.
The vision is to save as much money as possible and to aim for top 4, while spending as little as possible.
In the last 3 transfer windows, what is our combined net spend? £70M? << Can someone check this please?

By saving money, the Glazers can pay themselves more money.

 

[sweetmgd]

If Ed gives Mata a new deal then I think it will be down to Mata's influence in the dressing room and nothing else. Mata despite his shortcomings as a footballer, has a special aura about him that can be infectious on a dressing room. Foreign players settle much easier when there's an approachable and welcoming Mata in your dressing room inviting you out for an Italian every few weeks upon arrival.

You're not gonna pull out your iphone and show everyone the bird you pulled at the weekend in a dressing room if the bloke next to you has just come back from a UNICEF meeting with Obama, Bono and George Clooney and that can only be a good thing. Also the board would realize that Mata boosts the image of the club.

If you talk about image, we have Herrera already, and at least he can offer something to the team. Look at now, when Martial and Lingard are injured, we found out that no player on the bench can replace them during the next three big matches. Image? Just nothing.

 

[haram]

Kept the ball well, nice to see him in a more central position.

 

[Raw]

Much improved when he's playing centrally. I think he'd be good backup for Pogba.

 

[Rockets Redglare]

Thought he was fantastic. Great on the ball and got properly stuck into them.
Him and Herrera seem to hype each other up.

 

[el3mel]

That was a decent match today unlike the dross served the previous matches. Well done.

 

[sullydnl]

Played well.

 

[tomaldinho1]

No surprise he was better centrally, that's where the lack of pace/dynamism matters less and he was vital for the first goal. hugs.

Still shouldn't start RW though, ever.

 

[extincti fugax hominum]

Too good to lose for nothing.

 

[Minimalist]

*without even looking*

I'm sure I'll read he was crap, slow and practically dead.

He was fine. Solid 7/10 outing.

 

[Adisa]

Like a rabid dog. Was everywhere.

 

[anant]

Brilliant performance from him. Kept the ball well and retained it in tight situations, moved the ball around quickly, and his movement for the first goal was fantastic. Add to that he did a good job on Jorginho as well

 

[Samid]

I've been bashing him for a while but he was very good tonight. Fair play.

 

[ManRed]

Good performance in the right position. Making him a RW is a crime that should not be ever commited. Its as bad as making Kante play CAM.

 

[AltiUn]

I'm a big critic but he did well tonight, he looks much better centrally. What impressed me the most was his energy, he was popping up absolutely everywhere.

 

[RedIan]

Played really well at the head of the diamond. He may lack pace but he has very quick feet and created opening with his crisp passing. Clearly his best position.

 

[Ban]

Had a really good game. When he's not on the wing he's good. Made a crucial move for the 1 goal, his overlap confused Chelsea defence, especially Rudiger so Pogba had space to put the cross in for Ander.

 

[Devil may care]

I thought he was excellent in the first half, really controlling the game with Herrera at the tip of that diamond. I'm not sure he faded in the second half so much as we failed to keep the ball well as a unit and thus his impact on the game diminished, but overall his best performance for some time, hopefully from now on when he is used it is in the role he played tonight and not coming off the RW.

 

[Phil Osophy]

He played very well. Every time he was pressed in central zones he found a way to scape, which is not easy at all. He was good in defence as well, covering spaces and making a pair of tactical fouls in the second half. In terms of technique and intelligence he's one of the best in the squad.

 

[PepsiCola]

I would definitely keep Mata as it allows for tactical versatility.

A game like PSG we probably should have changed to a similair set up like today when our wingers went off injured.

Sanchez - Rashford up top with Mata heading the diamond. It probably would have supported Pogba too, given he had a rough time in that game.

Played very well today. Will be vital, alongside Matic and Herrera, should we pull off a miracle in Paris.

 

[Rozski]

I’ve been wanting him to get a chance as the tip of the diamond for a while now and was happy to see him play well there. Linked play well and did his defensive work. We played really well in the first half and he was a big part of that balance

 

[Irwin99]

Like Sanchez he just seems a better player when played centrally. Was causing them a lot of problems (e.g the first goal) and his workrate was outstanding.

 

[Charlie Foley]

Absolutely did a job on Jorginho tonight. Also his decoy run for the first goal was great wide play.

He’s good at what he’s good at and he’s not good at what he’s not good at. The option of the diamond is another string to our bow.

Great option from a dead ball too

 

[Rish Sawhney]

Whats with us buying good number 10's and then playing them on the wings? Both Kagawa and Mata suffered because of this.

Same for Lingard.

 

[MikeKing]

I have to say Mata really impressed me. He was amazingly confident and quick with his feet. You could see he really took advantage of the space awarded to him by not being the primary threat. He played the right passes in very tight space to open up our play. Especially in the first half his performance was immensely important for us to establish some great attacking play. He also worked very hard and pressed like a maniac. Didn't think he had this level in him anymore, and to be real he probably doesn't have it consistently, but what a performance. Happy for him.