Gilvorak

Clubs change philosophies all the time. Traditional wing play is increasingly becoming outdated.

They spent that on Downing, Adam and Carroll genius. They didn't become relevant again until after we sold Sturridge to them.

Hernandez is 4th choice at United for a reason. He's the same level as Ba but is also a much worse all round footballer.

If Mata joins United we won't be getting Rooney anyway. That's the calibre of player Rooney is desperate to play with. There's no other incentive to leave otherwise now that Moyes has made him the main man at Utd again. They'll just sell RVP instead and play Rooney upfront. With an incredible core of Jones, Rooney, Mata, Januzaj and De Gea. All they would need is a replacement for Evra and a WC CM.

You have to hand it to Mourinho he's incredible at manipulating fans. Can't wait till Mata destroys us on his return.

Btw if the only reason we're reluctant to sell Mata is because of depth, why the f**k did we let go of De Bruyne so easily then?

I heard this "he isn't the player they need" nonsense when Arsenal were after Ozil in the summer too or City when they signed Negredo. They're simply certain players that you sign once they're available. I think United's "awful squad" has been greatly exaggerated this year. Bringing in a player of Mata's quality reduces midtable players like Valencia and Young to reserve roles. Mata, Coentrao and a CM this window and they have a better squad than anyone not named City. This is still virtually the same team that walked the League only a couple of months ago.

If they get Coentrao, Mata and any of the CM's they're linked with then they'll almost certainly qualify for the CL. And they're in a fabulous position going into next season. They could sell either RVP or Rooney in the summer and play Mata in a #10 role. Or imitate Pellegrini's system where they play with inverted wingers (Nasri and Silva) with the fullbacks providing the width. Januzaj, Mata, RVP & Rooney would be incredible to watch in sync with one another.

Agreed we should package Hazard along with Mata to bring Rooney here. Strikers don't usually rapidly decline around their late twenties.

LOL. Typical Mourinho Zealot. Not even going to bother rebutting this garbage post. Our manager is not infallible people.

I'm also struggling to see the vast improvement we've made this season as well. We're still third like we were last season despite Man Utd's epic collapse. We struggled in a piss easy CL group and we got knocked out in the the League Cup by the worst team in the League. The same Mata the Mourinho fanboys are eager to trash and get rid of in favour that wanker Rooney, (that will be 30 next season) helped us win the (elusive) Champions League, Fa Cup and Europa League in his first two seasons. All of a sudden he's a liability that can't even start against a Championship team. All because we're third in the League and won games without him in the team. Liverpool have a better record without Suarez in the team, did they make the wrong choice not selling him to Arsenal in the summer instead of building the team around Sturridge & Coutinho?

Would Ronaldo, Iniesta, Messi, Silva, Ozil or Ibra get into this team considering they don't track back and win tackles? That seems to be the only argument against Mata it seems. Apart from the guy who somehow believes Oscar is a better playmaker than Mata anyway.

Gonna miss Juan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiL0hMLTaxs

You guys do know Rooney is 30 next year right? It'd be the typical Chelsea short term move so I wouldn't be surprised tbh.

If they can get in someone of Mata's quality as well as another CM then they'll have done extremely well this market. RVP Januzaj Rooney Mata Would easily be the best front four in the World. Mata would get more games in his preferred position while Van Persie ages/struggles with injuries as well but I imagine they'll give him a free role when he's fit.Signing Mata would be a real statement of intent and I imagine they'll go in for a Top CM in the summer.

Imagine the boost Mata will give to them too. Mata feeding RVP and Rooney would be incredible.

Lol

You remember how insanely good Drogba's technique & first touch was? Hell, even him becoming another Negredo will do.Right now his technique is worse than Heskey's. He's not even much of a power player. He's useless in the air and he can't hold play up despite his strength.

Had a shocker tonight, completely dominated in the air by Lugano and co as well as struggling to use his strength, size and touch to hold up play. 1 in 9 record now after starting the season on fire (8 goals in 9 app). Still shocked at how bad his first touch is.

Arsenal are starting Ozil who's even worse than Mata and they're having their best League season in years to go along with the best defensive record in the League. I mean even while Oscar was out injured he was still playing out wide. I can't remember the last time he was played in his preferred position. It's bad management, simply don't freeze out a fan favourite and the best player in the team out like that and any other manager would have been under fire for it. As long as we don't sell him to any other club in the League where he will continue to haunt us until he retires I'm fine with him leaving. The way he's been treated is a disgrace.

It's a disgrace the way Jose has treated Mata. Has he even seen the pitch since then? Embarrassing. He does this crap at every club. Hate to see Mata treated this way. You're telling me it's a risk to play Mata even against Derby County or bring him on when we're 3-0 up with Oscar playing poorly?

Because Mourinho has never played Mata in his preferred role behind the striker. He's always pigeonholed out wide. Like he's deliberately sabotaging his Chelsea career. The one game he played AM he dominated (Arsenal away). Hope Oscar gets dropped. He's been complacent in recent weeks.

This wasn't a good performance by any means. Beating a terrible Utd team without their 2 best players and a clown in charge flatters us a bit. Hate to moan after a comfortable win but our passing and general play needs to improve if we're going to win the League this season. Hope the Luiz in CM experiment is over and Azpi at LB ends soon. David Luiz kept hoofing the ball when some patience and composure was needed while Azpiculeta completely took Hazard out of the game. Struggled to play any passes into Eden's feet and never once got forward tonight. Massive game by Eto'o. Somewhat fortunate hat trick but he delivered.

Thank God.

Why is Luiz still on? Madness.