Do you not think he can learn though? Improve?
It’s not like he’s being asked to do anything complicated, just know which position to take up behind the ball when we’re defending. I mean I know and I’m not a World Class footballer.
I found Mata’s performance very interesting. A guy Jose has already discarded due to not being effective enough defensively. A player most people assumed would be immediately out the door when Jose arrived.
I thought he was terrific, at times playing as an auxiliary right-back and making tackles and tracking runners in his own box. Mata! It didn’t seem to destroy his attacking game either.
Just a thought.
I really couldn't say whether he can improve as it's one thing to do a pseudo job of something as opposed to one where you have actual duties and responsibilities that if you fail in, you cost your team goals. Compare it Lukaku defending set pieces - sure, he can do the job sort of, but when he fails at it, should he be slaughtered, or should we acknowledge that a lot of forwards simply don't have that switch permanently on like defensive-minded players do?
Regarding Mata, he tracks runs and does some stuff, but he switches off, just like Pogba, the difference is, his job brief isn't really to run so deep into his own half that he is culpable if a goal is scored whereas Pogba has to track deep runners who are direct goal threats and when he switches off, our whole defensive structure is compromised by a free runner right at the heart of midfield. I thought he [Mata] did a much better job than he usually does on Sunday, like he was completely focused on the job he'd been given probably aware he does it or gets hooked, but it's not a constant state of being for him, which is understandable.
I don't think it's dissimilar to Pogba doing a good job of playing deeper once in a while and then duping people into thinking he can always do that when it's more an anomaly than a normal state of being for him. Whenever he's played deeper I expect at least a couple of complete lapses in concentration just as you would get with the majority of offensive minded players being played deep.
One last thing I'd add is that Pogba does track basic runs, it's when there's a complex build-up with multiple off the ball runners, sometimes switching positions, that he looks completely lost. That's when you get those confused 'half-arsed' runs that people lambast him for, too. I don't know how you make a player who doesn't see those runs suddenly aware enough to be relied upon. For me, you take that kind of responsibility off him and play him ahead of others that excel at that kind of stuff.
