2017 Pre Season | Vålerenga vs Manchester United

AndyJ1985 said:
I'm impressed by our young players who are trying to break in to the first team. Martial was good and Lukaku is a beast of a forward. As for Pogba...what a guy.

Mata and Mkhitaryan for me are the senior players who really need to step it up. They're so slow and ponderous and offer next to nothing.
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I will keep saying this even though its mega unpopular on here - Mata is a nothing footballer at the highest level does nowhere near enough.

If football were like gymnastics where points where awarded for style and gracefulness Mata would win the Ballon D'Or but his total lack of physical attributes and the way he plays so safe all the time really hinders our attacking play.

Mhiki needs to do more but at least has more pace than Mata and is more direct.
 
Mitchell got a proper bollocking from Lukaku for messing up the final cross. Rashford was staring daggers at Blind all game long too, not been a good day for the left backs.
 
Lentwood said:
I will keep saying this even though its mega unpopular on here - Mata is a nothing footballer at the highest level does nowhere near enough.

If football were like gymnastics where points where awarded for style and gracefulness Mata would win the Ballon D'Or but his total lack of physical attributes and the way he plays so safe all the time really hinders our attacking play.

Mhiki needs to do more but at least has more pace than Mata and is more direct.
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Perfect summary. Unfortunately he's just not very good.
 
Devil may care said:
I thought TFM and Tuanzebe were decent in that second half.
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Fully agree with this. I'm feeling a bit more confident about this season especially with our new CB, lukaku and Matic if he going to be here.
I'm sure TFM and Tuanzebe are going to feature more this season.
 
Didn't watch it but we comfortably beat the team currently lying 7th in the Norwegian league 3-0 so clearly we're going to win everything.
 
Lentwood said:
I will keep saying this even though its mega unpopular on here - Mata is a nothing footballer at the highest level does nowhere near enough.

If football were like gymnastics where points where awarded for style and gracefulness Mata would win the Ballon D'Or but his total lack of physical attributes and the way he plays so safe all the time really hinders our attacking play.

Mhiki needs to do more but at least has more pace than Mata and is more direct.
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Mata is a #10 but is played out wide. Mhkitaryan is best in the middle but is usually on the left. Can't see either excelling here under Jose's system.
 
A good match, Valerenga are a decent side for a team 7th in their league. Hope to see the other players who missed the match today in the game vs Sampdoria.
 
Lentwood said:
I will keep saying this even though its mega unpopular on here - Mata is a nothing footballer at the highest level does nowhere near enough.

If football were like gymnastics where points where awarded for style and gracefulness Mata would win the Ballon D'Or but his total lack of physical attributes and the way he plays so safe all the time really hinders our attacking play.

Mhiki needs to do more but at least has more pace than Mata and is more direct.
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Agree. Mata is a master at running sideways or backwards before passing it back to our midfield. Gets us nowhere.
 
Lentwood said:
I will keep saying this even though its mega unpopular on here - Mata is a nothing footballer at the highest level does nowhere near enough.

If football were like gymnastics where points where awarded for style and gracefulness Mata would win the Ballon D'Or but his total lack of physical attributes and the way he plays so safe all the time really hinders our attacking play.

Mhiki needs to do more but at least has more pace than Mata and is more direct.
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His goals/assists record for us is fine though. I accept he isn't the answer for Jose at 10 but a nothing player who has done nowhere near enough? That is demonstrably untrue.
 
12OunceEpilogue said:
His goals/assists record for us is fine though. I accept he isn't the answer for Jose at 10 but a nothing player who has done nowhere near enough? That is demonstrably untrue.
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Mata has 16 PL assists in 3 and half seasons for us, not convinced that's enough. For comparison De Bruyne got 18 last season alone.

It's not just Mata though, no one in this squad has more than 6 assists for us in a season since 12/13. Best were Rooney (10 in 13/14) and Di Maria (10 in 14/15).
 
Lentwood said:
I will keep saying this even though its mega unpopular on here - Mata is a nothing footballer at the highest level does nowhere near enough.

If football were like gymnastics where points where awarded for style and gracefulness Mata would win the Ballon D'Or but his total lack of physical attributes and the way he plays so safe all the time really hinders our attacking play.

Mhiki needs to do more but at least has more pace than Mata and is more direct.
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I often watch our games and think Mata is a bit of a useless player but then he will often pop up with a goal just when we need it most. Also he is a hero after them 2 beautiful goals against pool.
 
Alex99 said:
Didn't watch it but we comfortably beat the team currently lying 7th in the Norwegian league 3-0 so clearly we're going to win everything.
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Think we'll just about get our heads above 10th in the table.
 
Tosicsleftpeg said:
I often watch our games and think Mata is a bit of a useless player but then he will often pop up with a girl just when we need it most.
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Leftback99 said:
Mata has 16 PL assists in 3 and half seasons for us, not convinced that's enough. For comparison De Bruyne got 18 last season alone.

It's not just Mata though, no one in this squad has more than 6 assists for us in a season since 12/13. Best were Rooney (10 in 13/14) and Di Maria (10 in 14/15).
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Fair point, your stats highlight the problems we've had with our creativity and our finishing throughout the team for a while, and though Mata has been pretty good for us in my opinion his inability to nail down a starting place for us in his best position is a part of that.

However if Mata's sin has been to not be the dynamic, free-scoring perfect fit of a 10 we've been crying out for then neither has anyone else. He's a good technician with a decent goals/assists record (by our post-Fergie standards) and I'm happy to have him in the squad.
 
We really struggled in the first half lots of sideways and backward passing slow build up. Looked better when we had Lukaku and Martial playing together down the middle in the second half build up still too slow though.
 
12OunceEpilogue said:
His goals/assists record for us is fine though. I accept he isn't the answer for Jose at 10 but a nothing player who has done nowhere near enough? That is demonstrably untrue.
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I didn't say he has done 'nothing for us' but you would expect any half-decent player playing in an advanced position to contribute at least some goals and assists

This is a bloke who some keep telling me is a great player, stats certainly don't look "great" - they look very average at best

The main problem for me is that I have never seen an attacker go backwards so often! Also, offer no threat moving forward at pace and can't beat a player
 
Red Katie said:
Did he just walk straight over to shake your hand? I imagine Jose looking quite small in person.
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Nah, he stopped to sign autographs for some kids that were screaming for him, and I seized the chance to stretch my arm so far as I could! He looked a bit puzzled that I didn't want anything signed, just a touch :lol:
 
Just seen the highlights. Love the grey kit but can't help wondering when we are going to have that "Southampton moment..." As for the game, well, the opposition were so weak, it's hard to come to any conclusion other than we had to win and we dide
 
manichester said:
We really struggled in the first half lots of sideways and backward passing slow build up. Looked better when we had Lukaku and Martial playing together down the middle in the second half build up still too slow though.
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Same sh*t different season. Havent upgraded in the final 3rd whatsoever.
 
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