I remember writing a few weeks ago that mata is played out of position, playing/starting out wide with no pace is not what he's good at. With pace on the wings last night we actually got in behind them, something we've not done for weeks. It's gonna be very difficult to play Rooney,mata,rvp and januzaj in same team. Someone will have to miss out, who care about there egos. Personally think mata should be given a run at centre mid, pinging the ball round aka scholes
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Mata isnt out of position at Right wing (even though he actually doesnt stay there). As he has played there a lot during his career.
However he would certainly be out of position as a centre mid.....
Ill NEVER forget that match EVER. Was at the stadium and the guy next to me who I d never met before in my life Im sure remembers me till now. I dont think he has ever been shaken as much as I shook him in frustration every time a chance went begging.
In my life dont remember us dominating so much and losing so many sitters against anybody (only that West Ham match which cost us the championship came close - couldnt go to match watched it at my parents' had a fight with my Dad after actually kicking his TV in frustration)!
So yes. Must be Dortmund. And if it is I hope the players are made aware of the past.
Mata started his career at right forward, he likes to cut in from right forward and orchestrate play, he isn't going to provide width so better play Rafael behind him.
He also played on the left wing for Valencia, so can even play there as out and out winger.
Weird that you'd wish for Chelsea tbh, knowing how Jose is and he will grind a win that will frustrate the **** out of both parties, although Chelsea fans are used to it.
He also played on the left wing for Valencia, so can even play there as out and out winger.
Weird that you'd wish for Chelsea tbh, knowing how Jose is and he will grind a win that will frustrate the **** out of both parties, although Chelsea fans are used to it.
Yes of course. Last night changes nothing. We played decently against the worst team in the draw. We let the worst team in the draw (and a team I know pretty well since I live in Cyprus) come very near causing an upset (if they had a better attacker they d have put away at least one of their big chances). Last night cannot be a litmus test for him.
I have the fear of god in me that we ll be excluded from the top 4 for years if we dont bounce back in and that therefore we cannot afford giving him a chance to balls up next season also.
But I also think that he wont be sacked whatever happens this season. He WILL be given next season as well. And he WILL balls up next season as well. He'll be sacked between next August and Xmas.
He has no pace at all, so playing wide is out of position, drifting in then means we have to many cooks in the kitchen. Being forced to drop him last night proved that stretching the opposition and running in behind them actually works. Mata would be better served in the middle spreading the play either from a cm or no10 position. But if he plays no10 then someone has to be dropped.
A lack of pace does not mean he is out position. You do not have to be super quick playing out on the flanks. You can actually mix and match, much like Spain do (creativity on one flank, outright pace on the other). You can quite easily have play Mata on one flank, Welbeck on the other.
Mata has never played as a central mid. That is the definition of out of position.
The problem with this post is that you have already decided he will fail. No one actually knows. So it lacks credibility. You're making a decision on something that isn't known for certain.
What happens if the club has an excellent end of season, and everyone fully buys into what he does? You still want him sacked then?
No one has even said it was a litmus test. Everyone (including himself) has said it can only be a start.
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In other news:
You know who also had no pace at all?
Beckham.
Yep, made up for his other sheer qualities, and by having pace on the other flank (Giggs)
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wkdsoul
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Mata only played no 10 for Chelsea, he was a wide midfielders for years before that, he should imo stil be more effective in that postition than he has been. Is he better in a free role? Yes. but he should still know how to play his default postiton.
Wonder what the odds were for Van Persie scoring first and United winning 3-0?
Oh yes, there they are. UNITED UNITED!
View attachment 404999
Oh yes, there they are. UNITED UNITED!
View attachment 404999
Mata only played as no.10 for Chelsea under Fat Spanish Waiter. He played on both flanks under Villas Boas and Di Matteo. FSW relieved Mata of his defensive duties fully, and put all the work on other players. Resulting in insane numbers like 20 goals and 35 assists.
Nice one!
wkdsoul
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Aannd what i said was different how, only played no. 10 for Chelsea, was a still a widemidfielder before that..
A lot of you are probably wondering why a scouse biased kopite would randomly be betting on United... and I too never thought I'd see the day. I hardly even bet as it is. But PaddyPower had an offer on were they refunded losing bets on scorecasts if Olympiakos went through. So basically if Olympiakos got a goal I'd get my money back as I couldn't see United getting four goals. I made my bet, as I thought United could get 3 and then defend their lead. It all made sense at the time I swear.
Then my final choice was RVP or Rooney... and I initially went with Rooney but changed my mind after hearing "VAN PERSIE" in John Motsons voice in my mind.
Brilliant.
lol. Was never an issue or even noticed until Jose made that statement.
Well, I wouldn't say it wasn't an issue, lack of defensive work of midfield trio was a major problem under Di Mateo. Benitez found a workaround by always including runner (Moses) along with Hazard and Mata. Add the fact that Azpilicueta+Cole>Evra+Rafael, and defensively Chelsea found some kind of balance - still fragile, but good enough for top 3 finish.
Mata on the wing can definitely be effective but the side needs to be balanced by other means. Like Mike said, having someone with 3 lungs on the other wing would definitely help, someone like younger Giggs or like Kuyt was for Liverpool, just running up and down like a freak for 90 minutes.
Another thing is, Mata on the right wing will drift inside and Rooney sometimes likes to drift to the left, and more often then not, it leaves gigantic hole on the right. And when you put Mata on the left you have RVP whining people play in his space since he also likes to drift to the left.
That needs to be figured out as well.
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lol what? When we first got AVB and he insisted on playing Mata on the left, young Juan would constantly drift inside leaving Cole 2v1. It happened an unbelievable amount of times and we conceded an insane amount of crosses because of it. I can dig the stats out later if you want but trust me: even though I think he's brilliant, there's no way Mata's lack of defending wasn't noticed before this seasob.
Of course, whether having someone like that in the team is offset by his creative contribution is another Mata (☜(ﾟヮﾟ☜) ) entirely...
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