What should we do with Mata if Mourinho is appointed?

[sammsky1]

He has not made much of an emotional impact on me, and though he is talented is a ditsy sort of way, I don't think he is a world beating winner that Mourinho can build an empire from. So I don't think Im that fussed and am happy with whatever JoMo decides.

 

[LouisDanGaal]

Hope Mourinho finds a way of getting the best out of him I guess, because when he is at his best he is one of our best players easily, he is just quite inconsistent. I don't think he is automatically sold just because Mourinho has sold him before so he will sell him again, different teams have different systems that work for them because you can't just ransack a whole squad at one time. Mourinho will look at the squad and pick a formation and style of play based on what needs the fewest additions to be competitive for the league, there is certainly a chance he will look at the great pace we have in the team with players like Rashford, Martial and Lingard and realise putting Mata in the 10 and letting him just link up play and thread through balls over the top is an effective way to counter attack, or even keep him on the right as he did with Ozil. To be honest its the way we should have been playing all along, as was pointed out in that inside story article yesterday on the right he would be expected to wait for his full back and it clearly doesn't suit him, a more direct Mata would be a much greater asset.

 

[Attila]

He has not made much of an emotional impact on me, and though he is talented is a ditsy sort of way, I don't think he is a world beating winner that Mourinho can build an empire from. So I don't think Im that fussed and am happy with whatever JoMo decides.

Jomo...never heard that one before

 

[El Zoido]

What, those formidable Chelsea teams that finished 6th and 3rd?



The problem is the bitter, joyless, angry shills LVG's reign has made of them. You'd think, for example, that a player whose not only been our second highest scorer since he arrived (from midfield no less) but one of the most effective from his position in the entire league, scored a spectacular winning brace at Anfield (enough alone to make him a **** hero in virtually any other era) and now a crucial goal in an FA Cup final to boot, would at least be better thought of by his own fans than Shinji - I did nothing for 2 years in a better team - Kagawa... But, amazing as it may seem, apparently not!

Something as irrationally baffling as this can surely only be explained by his perceived, singular association with the Moyes & LVG reigns, and the rabid, entitled hatred many fans hold toward them, and anything associated with them. That...or Japanese spamming.

Not only is he a fantastically efficient and occasionally delightful player, but his often maligned work ethic has been shown to actually be amongst our best, and even the recent idea he's a flat track bully confounded by the fact his goal yesterday extends his impressive record of scoring or assisting in every final he's ever played, which include 2 Fa Cups (goal & assist) a Champions League (assist) a Europa League (winning assist) a Copa Del Rey (goal) and a European Championships (goal), making him pretty much our most conclusive, statistically factual big game player.

In fact none of the arguments I've ever seen against him amount to more than "Yeah his stats are great, but I've watched him, and I'm not convinced he does enough cool shit enough of the time, apart from score or assist, of course.."

None of which is to say he's been a paragon of excellence or anything, or that there aren't better examples of his ilk to chase for a long term first XI spot (there are) but the sheer amount of people champing at the bit to not just undermine, but write off and sell one of our best and most prolific players - one of the few, small, but occasional delights to support in these last few years - is simply mind boggling to me. Almost as mind boggling as Shinji Kagawa ranking as Redcafe's 39th favorite player....But not quite, because that's really, really weird. I mean, are there just a lot of Shinji fans secretly butt hurt by Mata's arrival or something? What on earth is that about!?

Jose will almost certainly sell him of course, and whilst I'd love to see him thrive in a more dynamic and confident team, if our new regime can land a genuine upgrade then I'll support it. I am happy he got to sign off with a goal and a trophy though, as at least something to show for his criminally underappreciated spell at United. Maybe with the benefit of hindsight, the gollum-like cynicunts these meagre lean years have made of our fans will come to appreciate him more....Perhaps even as much as Shinji - I once got a hat-trick against Norwich - Kawaga? But who knows. We can but dream.

Terrific post, I agree entirely though I think Jose will keep him on for another year. The squad isn't exactly flushed with talent and although he'll be well supported in the transfer market I don't think Mata is a player he'll look to replace with urgency.

 

[San Diego Red]

A lot of the post in here sound the same, not good enough, isn't a Mou type of player, ect... But I don't think Mou will make the same mistake Lvg made by selling players and not replacing them. Mata isn't going anywhere until Mou brings in a replacement. If anything having worked with him before he might have a better chance this time around. Another thing we still don't know what kind of football we will be playing under Mou, Mata might just be the prefect player in our new system.

 

[Devil may care]

I don't see how he fits in when we also have to accommodate Rooney and will have a 35 year old striker, the AM role in the team will need a dynamic type of player IMO. If he was willing to be a squad player then maybe, but didn't he leave Chelsea because he wasn't happy being that?

 

[Gasolin]

It depends on what Jose wants and what formation we want to use. If it's 4-3-3 we should think about selling him. If we're going to stick with the 4-2-3-1 then he should stay unless we're spending big on another no.10.

Yet he hardly ever peforms like Riquelme, he's always playing it safe and rarely actually uses martial or rashford to his advantage.

I disagree here a bit. Rashford makes some rare calls but Martial is not currently, their training is not trying to improve that aspect of the game cause if they did, Mata would have plenty of occasions to pass. Furthermore, he has been moved on the right side... If Mata could have a free role, he will find the players.

I believe Mourinho should really consider Mata as a key player in his system and ask him to try to organize the offensive game. Riquelme is also ineffective in a system where players are not asking for the ball with depth...

 

[red_devil83]

Get rid. He is not and never was a United player. Too slow.

 

[Red Ryan]

Mascot?

 

[spiriticon]

I'd like to keep him. He is one of the very few dead ball specialists we have and has a knack of chipping in with a few goals over the season.

I'd trust him to score a crucial free kick over anyone else in the team.

 

[Clas Sified]

People saying Mata's not good enough is exaggerating a little imo. The man was poty for what, two years in a row for Chelsea, was he not?

The quality is clearly there, and he has shown it in the past few years, chipping in with important goals and assists. At the end of the day, the stats prove he's one of our most effective players, and if he's consistently played behind either pacy players or players with good movement, I'm certain he can do even better for us.

 

[Raoul]

People saying Mata's not good enough is exaggerating a little imo. The man was poty for what, two years in a row for Chelsea, was he not?

The quality is clearly there, and he has shown it in the past few years, chipping in with important goals and assists. At the end of the day, the stats prove he's one of our most effective players, and if he's consistently played behind either pacy players or players with good movement, I'm certain he can do even better for us.

I think Mata's role may be rejuvenated somewhat with Ibra in town. The creativity of Juan's passes will benefit Zlatan immensely imo. Same with Herrera.

 

[OohAahMartial]

Mata seems to me to be a very good player playing in the wrong league and wrong team. Think he'd do very well in Italy. Our offense has been woeful this year and Mata must share the blame for that. But let's see if we can get someone better first.

 

[AngeloHenriquez]

Not sure why so many like him as a person..

Not a bad player, but if not in new managers plans I'd be happy to see him go, there is only a small number of players I consider 'untouchable', players like DDG, Martial, Rashford & Smalling

 

[Mciahel Goodman]

Official United blogger.

He is the obvious choice to get the chop when Mourinho evaluates the squad, though. Maybe it's so obvious that Mourinho will find a place for him to play just to confound the critics.

 

[RedFish]

Sell him on Ebay?

 

[Sarni]

He hasn't been very good here and Jose has already sold him once, after his best season at Chelsea where he won the second consecutive player of the year to say. We've also been linked with James Rodriguez who happens to play in the exact same position. Honestly I don't expect him to be here in three months.

 

[Dr Pavel]

People saying Mata's not good enough is exaggerating a little imo. The man was poty for what, two years in a row for Chelsea, was he not?

The quality is clearly there, and he has shown it in the past few years, chipping in with important goals and assists. At the end of the day, the stats prove he's one of our most effective players, and if he's consistently played behind either pacy players or players with good movement, I'm certain he can do even better for us.

Stats while very important, should not be the only criteria used to judge players.

For example, Berbatov was top scorer for both our club and the PL in 2011. But he was rightfully left out of the CL final. So unless the player has the scoring rate of Ronaldo or Messi, he should be judged on all aspects of play.

 

[Noc-Z]

If he has a place in the squad it should not be starting on the right wing. We need a dynamic pacy player there and Mata just doesn't have that.

 

[FacerTheRed]

If he has a place in the squad it should not be starting on the right wing. We need a dynamic pacy player there and Mata just doesn't have that.

He'll be on his way out... love the guy but with Mourinho coming in he wouldnt want Mata in the starting line-up. Mata would see it coming and look elsewhere as soon as possible because I doubt he'd want to go through another half of the season sitting on the bench. At least he can leave the club with some silverware which isnt too bad for him.

 

[Sparky Rhiwabon]

Juan's first blog post after Jose is confirmed will be interesting...

 

[NJM78]

I like Mata and he is definitely a very technically gifted player but he is just way too slow and weak on the ball. Silva is the type of player I thought Mata would be but he is just not in the same bracket mobility wise.
I would love us to buy someone equally as technically talented but a much better athlete so Mahrez would be my first choice (but I think he will definitely stay at Leicester and play CL) although most on here like Sane etc and want a more pacey direct wide man to compliment Martial on the left. It will be interesting but I think if we get a good offer of 20m plus pounds he will be sold.

 

[ghagua]

Sell him. need much better players to reach the top again.

 

[Clas Sified]

I think Mata's role may be rejuvenated somewhat with Ibra in town. The creativity of Juan's passes will benefit Zlatan immensely imo. Same with Herrera.

Yep, this exactly. I initially just put 'pacy players in front' in my post, but thought of Ibra and realised his world class movement should in theory, benefit Mata massively.

Stats while very important, should not be the only criteria used to judge players.

For example, Berbatov was top scorer for both our club and the PL in 2011. But he was rightfully left out of the CL final. So unless the player has the scoring rate of Ronaldo or Messi, he should be judged on all aspects of play.

Absolutely. While I do agree with you there, I also do believe that while Mata has of course not been at his best and has had matches where he looked ineffective, he has generally positively been helping the team, keeping the play ticking, playing the occasional killer pass.

As I said before, I'm hoping that with players like Martial, Rashford and Ibra surrounding him, and (hopefully) better attacking by the whole team, Mata can truly shine. He's shown enough glimpses to convince me at least, that he's still got a lot more in his locker.