mid tier club
not his fault we play sh!t football. I hope he goes to a top club and shows his true potential. Being played out of position for far too long in a team that is average.
No Mata no problem
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mid tier club
not his fault we play sh!t football. I hope he goes to a top club and shows his true potential. Being played out of position for far too long in a team that is average.
To me, what happened last night that worked so well is we had three in midfield as opposed to this stupid double pivot which does work.
We had Fellaini in an attacking role (don't get me wrong he wasn't fantastic, but he scored a nice goal and it was probably
His best performance since last season) and Herrera whilst not making the best contribution to the attack I've ever seen did well to nullify West Ham whilst also not doing too bad at moving the ball forward.
The problem with Mata is that he doesn't really fit into this way of playing, he's not good enough to play outwide. Simply because he doesn't contribute enough in attack for his defensive issues to be worth it.
As of the minute given the players we have avaliable the team we played last night is the strongest we've got. For less physical matches Schniederlin might be better going forward than Fellaini but this is how we should be setting up. It should have been how we've been setting up since it worked last season though.
We had Fellaini in an attacking role (don't get me wrong he wasn't fantastic, but he scored a nice goal and it was probably
His best performance since last season) and Herrera whilst not making the best contribution to the attack I've ever seen did well to nullify West Ham whilst also not doing too bad at moving the ball forward.
The problem with Mata is that he doesn't really fit into this way of playing, he's not good enough to play outwide. Simply because he doesn't contribute enough in attack for his defensive issues to be worth it.
As of the minute given the players we have avaliable the team we played last night is the strongest we've got. For less physical matches Schniederlin might be better going forward than Fellaini but this is how we should be setting up. It should have been how we've been setting up since it worked last season though.
No coincidence that we were better without him. He offers next to nothing.
Herrera flatters to deceive. I personally don't think he's a starter in the first 11. A squad player. Lots of running but little end product. Mata is only effective in the 10 role. Anywhere else he is a liability defensively.
I had just commented on this in the post-match thread. Yes, we set up last night in a way that helped us but I think the fact we had 3 quick-footed players up front made a world of difference. Lingard is simply faster at what he does and there is no slowing down of the attack as when Mata is playing. This is not to suggest that Lingard is in any way technically better than Mata - but that doesn't matter. He has a quick, direct style where he makes use of space and we've been aching for players who do that. Lingard also gives defensive support, for which Mata is quite useless.
Not a fan. Rather he was sold in the summer
We don't have a freekick specialist except maybe Memphis ? Mata is better at this. In extended and more balanced squad, with pro attacking manager perhaps he could be a decent rotation option but Jose will probably disagree.
Almost three years in United so managerial judgement may be served on him and at some point it's not looking good for him and few others at all.
Almost three years in United so managerial judgement may be served on him and at some point it's not looking good for him and few others at all.
He doesn't have those qualities, hence why this thread exists.
For someone who is considered a creative player, he offers absolutely nothing attacking wise. Not sure what he offers that any average player cannot.
I think he would have done better than Herrera at WH. Absolutely no way he should be playing wide. He's a #10.
105 appearances, 28 goals, 17 assists = 0.428 goals/assists per appearance. In a side that has been in the doldrums since before he arrived.
We have a team full of average players but I doubt many are contributing like that.
We played better yesterday but I don't think including Mata would have changed that (unless it was in the amazing wingback role we tried against Spurs).
In fact the last time we dropped him we continued to play terribly, almost as if the problem comes from the manager rather than the players. Go figure.
In fact the last time we dropped him we continued to play terribly, almost as if the problem comes from the manager rather than the players. Go figure.
Jesus... some of these posts... how quickly we forget
He's had good moments. That's been his whole deal here. He's a highlights reel player.
He's had far more invisible performances than good.
He's had far more invisible performances than good.
I'd rather see Mata play #10 than Rooney.
Can we play neither there?
Thanks for providing the stats. What has he done on the pitch in the last few months?
Who do you play there then?
Ideally, but we'd have to get someone else in!
For Mata to be successful he needs a team built around him, he's not going get that here.
Don't think he is good enough, or young enough to have that done anywhere at the top level.
He's not a good enough athlete for a top team and not good enough overall to make it worth catering a team around that fact. There's many others who are worse, but presumably he's one of our higher earners, so for that reason I wouldn't be too sad if we sold him as long as we could get a good replacement.
No one, I'd try a different formation.
This is in a nutshell. When being played perfectly the team must revolve around him yet he simply isn't good enough for that.
Like the Spanish NT?
Oh I see. So... because he's not good enough to build a team around we should get rid? So... who stays?
How many assists has he got for us this season? How many has everyone else got?
Van Nistelrooy also had some good numbers, but the club had much better results before he came and after he left.
Predictable kneejerking....
I'm not convinced that replacing Mata in the team with Rooney or Herrera will have quite the same result though. Most people here probably wouldn't have Rooney in the team at all, while Herrera is having a poor season and isn't actually a #10. Neither deserve to play ahead of Mata.
Not really. These are largely the same complaints people have been making about Mata for the past few years.
Rooney's goal and assist stats is the same as Mata's but in 14 games fewer played.
I love him too, but he's not what we need in our current set-up. I'd be happy to give either Herrera or Rooney an extended whirl there.
Juan has a great football mind and wonderful skills, but he's not fast or strong enough for what we need. I love having him on the squad and I wouldn't sell him unless a massive bid came in, but he's not our long-term answer in any starting position.
Nah...its just bored people trying to build a weak argument. Once he knocks in or assists a goal or two, it will be tumbleweed city in here.
You're talking out of your arse, it's become so apparent that Mata isn't good enough for a team trying to win the league, a goal or two isn't going to change that.
You're probably right, I think he would be best at a team like Valencia, Wolfsburg or Everton.
It might take a while, he's only scored 2 league goals in over six months.
With Fosu-Mensah bombing up he could well do a decent job on the right although he would have more flexibility if we were to play 433 rather than 4231. That said I don't want him back in the side anytime soon.
You can't really evaluate any player with any degree of accuracy this year because of Van Gaal's management. He clearly isn't able to bring the best out of players and has generated considerable negative sentiment if comments by the likes of Nani, RvP, Di Maria et al are anything to go by. The likes of Mata and Herrera and several others are clearly victims of poor management, so coming up with threads like these is pretty pointless.