🇪🇸 Juan Mata

[meetdoscar 335]

One of swindon's best effort in the first half came when Kasim skinned mata and took a dangerous shot. I think he shouldn't play so deep.

[ChelseasMessiah 304]

Far too much pressure on the boy for what was centainly a meaningless match. He overcooked it.

Still a solid performance though. I'd love to see him involved against Spurs.

[zolayes 14,489]

Solid match from our backup no.10

sorry can't agree ,,even in offense he was poor today ... So far this season it has been terrible for him

[Rmpr 8,977]

No, sorry, that wasn't nearly good enough. He looked slower than usual on the ball and on the defense he was terrible. Gave away 3-4 needless FKs in our own half. It is unfair to judge him on this game alone, but if this the "chance" that Jose gave him, then he definitely didn't take it.

Definitely agree, but if this is the kind of chances Mourinho is going to give Mata (as he did with Kaka), I have a problem...

I have been on the record Oscar is my preferred #10 (and no, it is not because he is Brazilian), but Mata sure can play and he deserves better than games against Swindon.

So, for me, Jose must find a balance in keeping Oscar as our primary CAM and giving Mata enough opportunities to prove himself!

[Blue Armour 4,439]

Good first half, but faded in the second. Still not close to his menacing best.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

No, sorry, that wasn't nearly good enough. He looked slower than usual on the ball and on the defense he was terrible. Gave away 3-4 needless FKs in our own half. It is unfair to judge him on this game alone, but if this the "chance" that Jose gave him, then he definitely didn't take it.

The problem is that this whole thing is ridiculous. Mata was easily our best player in the past 2 years. Suddenly, a game or two into the season, Mata has to play game by game for a spot out of position in a style he's not suited for, something Oscar and Hazard don't have to do. They have bad games and they're right back in the starting XI in the same spots. I'm not worried about Mata's ability. Last year, he was was pretty awful for his first 6 games. 0 goals, 0 assists. He had 20 goals and 28 assists after that. He's been great for 2 years. If Chelsea were to give him a few games in a row, he'd be back to his dominant offensive self. (Although still a liability defensively) I am worried about and don't remotely understand the way he's being jerked around, especially when offensive creativity is the single thing we are missing the most.

BTW, In Mata's 3 starts, he has started with 5 different central midfielders (Van Ginkel, Essien, Lampard, Mikel, RamiresX2), 5 different attacking midfielders (Willian, De Bruyne, Oscar, Schurrle, HazardX2) and 3 different strikers (Eto's, Torres, Ba). For a player that relies on reading plays developing and chemistry with other players, how is he supposed to do that when he never plays with the same players?

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

sorry can't agree ,,even in offense he was poor today ... So far this season it has been terrible for him

It only looked bad if you were comparing him to last year.

If you take him as a squad player and backup player now that was a decent enough performance.

Far from good, but solid enough.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Definitely agree, but if this is the kind of chances Mourinho is going to give Mata (as he did with Kaka), I have a problem...

I have been on the record Oscar is my preferred #10 (and no, it is not because he is Brazilian), but Mata sure can play and he deserves better than games against Swindon.

So, for me, Jose must find a balance in keeping Oscar as our primary CAM and giving Mata enough opportunities to prove himself!

The problem is that we're not exactly setting the world alight at the moment, so even against the likes of Fulham, Jose would still want to put out his best XI, especially in that number 10 role for it's importance to the team. But despite that, Juan has had 3 starts and a couple of sub appearances in our opening 7 matches, so I don't think we can say that he isn't being given a fair chance by Jose.

The problem is that this whole thing is ridiculous. Mata was easily our best player in the past 2 years. Suddenly, a game or two into the season, Mata has to play game by game for a spot out of position in a style he's not suited for, something Oscar and Hazard don't have to do. They have bad games and they're right back in the starting XI in the same spots. I'm not worried about Mata's ability. Last year, he was was pretty awful for his first 6 games. 0 goals, 0 assists. He had 20 goals and 28 assists after that. He's been great for 2 years. If Chelsea were to give him a few games in a row, he'd be back to his dominant offensive self. (Although still a liability defensively) I am worried about and don't remotely understand the way he's being jerked around, especially when offensive creativity is the single thing we are missing the most.

BTW, In Mata's 3 starts, he has started with 5 different central midfielders (Van Ginkel, Essien, Lampard, Mikel, RamiresX2), 5 different attacking midfielders (Willian, De Bruyne, Oscar, Schurrle, HazardX2) and 3 different strikers (Eto's, Torres, Ba). For a player that relies on reading plays developing and chemistry with other players, how is he supposed to do that when he never plays with the same players?

It really isn't ridiculous, one player is playing so much better than the other and thus is starting. Mata has failed to perform from the start of the season and find himself in a position where he has to prove himself in order to regain his place, that's only natural. Sentimental reasons can't cloud our judgement. We really can't afford to give Mata a run of games because we need Oscar in that number ten role to get results.

[Sheva. 5,373]

He did alright. There was a moment at the end of the first half where a player was wide open in front of the box, and Mata stepped in front of him to deny any pass coming in, which shows how tactically aware he is of situations around him.

Overrall he had his usual good passing numbers and made 3 tackles. So while not impressive, Jose must at least have been pleased with his effort, enough to get him back to 4th choice after Schurrle. And it's only a matter of time before he starts showing what he's got at the other end of the pitch also.

[bushman 2,043]

To those who doubted Mata.

According to Mirror:

" The brilliant Spaniard was instrumental for the Blues & was in the mood to show the " Special One" he should be the man at SB.

Mata´s superb pass released Torres in the 27th minute but the striker was denied by keeper. "

Two minutes later, Mata was again involved & Torres tapped in the rebound.

All for you expert who thought Mata was shit, last night.

[Sir Mikel OBE 4,920]

To those who doubted Mata.

According to Mirror:

" The brilliant Spaniard was instrumental for the Blues & was in the mood to show the " Special One" he should be the man at SB.

Mata´s superb pass released Torres in the 27th minute but the striker was denied by keeper. "

Two minutes later, Mata was again involved & Torres tapped in the rebound.

All for you expert who thought Mata was shit, last night.

Did the mirror mention the dangerous free kicks he gave away?

[Jase 43,479]

Did the mirror mention the dangerous free kicks he gave away?

Think only 1 of those fouls was close to our penalty box and the rest were further away from the area. So, I wouldn't necessarily classify them as dangerous free kicks.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Did the mirror mention the dangerous free kicks he gave away?

When you ask attackers to defend, you live with the consequence. Like the penalties Drogba was giving away during our CL run lol.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Think only 1 of those fouls was close to our penalty box and the rest were further away from the area. So, I wouldn't necessarily classify them as dangerous free kicks.

I'd classify all of them as needless free kicks.

[Jase 43,479]

I'd classify all of them as needless free kicks.

Or one could argue with some of them being tactical fouls to stop Swindon's momentum. In the past, we have seen Mata hardly putting in any challenge to break up opponents' attacks when they build from deep or from his No.10 area and we ended up coming under pressure too easily.

It maybe needless in your eyes but for someone who is not the best defensively, it should not be surprising if and when some fouls are given away like that. Mata is obviously still rough around the edges and will take time before his defensive work and challenges get up to scratch.

[bushman 2,043]

Did the mirror mention the dangerous free kicks he gave away?

Dangerous ? Please look it up in the dictionary, what it means.

[didierforever 7,349]

Did the mirror mention the dangerous free kicks he gave away?

you mean when he came deep and broke off swindon's momentum... and probably the exact thing that jose wants him to do... seems legit that he gets called on for conceding 2 FKs (despite us keeping a clean sheet) rather than look at his whole performance and the effort that he put in last night.

[bushman 2,043]

you mean when he came deep and broke off swindon's momentum... and probably the exact thing that jose wants him to do... seems legit that he gets called on for conceding 2 FKs (despite us keeping a clean sheet) rather than look at his whole performance and the effort that he put in last night.

To look at his overall effort, are you kidding, folks in here to be fair ?

The Belgium gang, promote Belgium players, the Brazilian mom wants to dance samba with Oscar....& the show must go on.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

It really isn't ridiculous, one player is playing so much better than the other and thus is starting. Mata has failed to perform from the start of the season and find himself in a position where he has to prove himself in order to regain his place, that's only natural. Sentimental reasons can't cloud our judgement. We really can't afford to give Mata a run of games because we need Oscar in that number ten role to get results.

It isn't about sentimentality, it's about giving your best player a chance to succeed and help the team. Does anyone think that if Mata got consistent playing time, he wouldn't go back to the player we all know he is? And part of what irks me is this idea that Mata has to earn his playing time and after a poor performance, he doesn't deserve to start. Hazard has been bad almost all season and hasn't lost his place. Oscar has three very poor games in a row and kept starting. No player can hit their form starting 3 times in 5 weeks in different positions and with different teammates. Players have to earn their starting spots if you give them a chance to succeed. The "they have to earn it" for proven players is an appealing soundbite, but it's mostly bullshit because the manager decides who he wants to "earn it". Right now, Mourinho has decided that Eto'o, Oscar, and Hazard have the right to earn their places up front. I don't care who you are, but usage is an enormous part of results. If you rarely play them, it's you ensuring that they won't succeed. If you get a lot of chances, you have a very good chance at producing. That doesn't mean Chelsea have to be built around Mata, but by sidelining him, we are are making our most (and really only very) creative player as ineffective as possible.

[bushman 2,043]

Who is talking about sentiment here ?

Mata is, was & most likely will be the best among all Chelsea players.

This issue here has been a peculiar one, in my view.

I´d say, it has got a lot to do with Jose power trip, than anything else.