Juan Mata

[Hutcho 8,443]

Haven't read the whole last page.

But do you really think, one of the greatest managers in the world will dismiss Mata for lampard.

You know why he favoured Lampard over Joe Cole and fit the team around him... Because he was one of the top 3 midfielders in the world. Joe Cole was good and had his moments but was never one of the greatest. And comparing him to Mata, is just crazy because their totally different players, and Mata has so much more capability in him.

Why is there this underlining assumption that apparently Jose only wants to come here to reminisce about the past and joke about with Lamps, terry, cole, essien etc. He knows what he is talking about and i am sure will do what he thinks is best for the club. Lampard will still have a role to play. But that is not something that would be just down to Mourinho as most coaches would want Lampard in their team in some capacity.

[Bl33D BlUe 16]

fcking Farcas

Barca are gonna offer 17m + Sanchez for Mata, Hoping Roman will give his used toilet paper to barca for that

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2013/05/28/barcelona-prepare-17m-plus-player-swap-bid-for-chelsea-playmaker-juan-mata/?

[Jase 43,479]

fcking Farcas

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2013/05/28/barcelona-prepare-17m-plus-player-swap-bid-for-chelsea-playmaker-juan-mata/?

Rubbish source = rubbish story.

[Amblève. 4,995]

fcking Farcas

Barca are gonna offer 17m + Sanchez for Mata, Hoping Roman will give his used toilet paper to barca for that

http://www.caughtoffside.com/2013/05/28/barcelona-prepare-17m-plus-player-swap-bid-for-chelsea-playmaker-juan-mata/?

Coughtoffside... one can only assume why I want more restrictions when it comes to sources...

[Blue Gino 377]

I know nothing about the legitimacy of "El Economisto" but I believe Mata goes nowhere and Chelsea should pursue Thiago after U21 Euros on top of that.

[communicate 2,703]

Joe Cole was groomed to play in the number 10 role (or at least in a central position) at West Ham. It wasn't until he came to Chelsea that he was pushed in an out wide position. The problem will be is what if Jose does not want to use the 4-2-3-1 system, or any system that uses a number 10 role. What if he wants to favour the likes of Lampard because he still scores every once in a wile. That will be the big question and why I make the Mata and Cole comparisons.

Also, even if he does use a formation that has a number 10 role. He will still want them to contribute a lot defensively. Unfortunately one of his (very, very few) weaknesses is that he is not particularly strong. And I can see Jose not favoring over this, either changing the formation for others or using more physical players in his lace. Again this is due to my fear that he will try and make Chelsea too physical like in his last season and not favour flair and creativity - trying to use the likes of Lampard and Essien to help relive that image. Even at Real Madrid he had to let some players have a free role despite obviously wanting to make the team a counter-attacking one relying on the strength with the likes of Khedira, Ronaldo, Ramos etc.

I thought i have quashed this argument about Jose will drop mata if he is awful defensively.

You just need to see Ronaldo. He is awful defensively and he does not want to track back but last time I checked he still play 90 minutes almost all of Madrid game

[Kojo 4,676]

Hazard-Mata-Schurrle

Among that type of line-up it would be interesting. Juan has proven to full of ideas, flair and that spark to help us score those goals, however we need to start pulling through as a team, next season we need that work rate. That's why I think players like Schurrle are crucial, players who will chase players down and put in shifts.

Juan Mata isn't the type of player to work his socks off, and even if he was he would be nowhere near as good, that's not the player he is. He's a player who spends most of his time at doing what he does, providing. That's vital, that's what makes him so good as he's always that player who is involved, and he's definitely the best at it, probably the best in the league. But if we can fix the problem, that problem being work rate, then we will need to get those type of players who are very good at doing that duty. I believe this team is far too unbalanced anyway, we seem to just be all about attack and then the defence is left vulnerable in so many ways.

But if Mourinho can do the job and balance that, then I really believe we are in with a chance, of course the players will need to be signed, but it's an aspect we really need to be looking at, because at the end of the day despite our striker, scoring the goals isn't really the issue.

[Strike 7,217]

Mata at CAM is a double-edged sword. He is our best player. CAM is his best position but ironically, it poses a problem. His lack of leg-work in midfield is a big problem for the midfielders behind him.

With a better pivot this should be no problem, but I'd like to see Mourinho take the bold step and take off Mata during the game when Chelsea are leading. Oscar or anyone else at CAM will be better defensively. When opponents start attacks from the back, Oscar will put much more pressure on the defenders than Mata and this will lead to long-balls/clearances or delay the attack.

They have the benefit that they are taller and more physically stronger then Mata, which if you actually took the time to read my posts properly is why I fear that Mata will not be viewed as favorably.

Back then, Mourinho used the more compact 4-3-3 where the midfield 3 would all put a shift in. Now I think 4-2-3-1 is the way we will go. Jose used this at Real as well. Mata in the hole behind the striker. His defensive contribution is next to nothing but he will be a definite starter no doubt. Jose will know that Mata had a great season and was Chelsea's best player

[BlueLion. 21,491]

Mata isn't for sale. Unless someone comes in with an £80 million plus offer, thoughts of selling him should not be entertained.

[Joe Cool 388]

There is the problem of their defensive contribution. I don't think Jose every really cared about Joe Cole because of it. I think Jose once even bashed Joe Cole on this issue on national television. I can see him doing the same with Mata even though he is such a vital part of the team and try to push him down the pecking order..

lol that's a complete load of bollocks. Cole was one of the most talented players that we had in our squad. It wasn't because of his lack of defensive contribution that he was offloaded for, it was due to the fact that he was pretty much done in by injuries, which really affected his form. Had he not been injured so often, he really could have been world class. As it is however...

[Strike 7,217]

Spawned by tribalfootball? Complete BS then

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Mata at CAM is a double-edged sword. He is our best player. CAM is his best position but ironically, it poses a problem. His lack of leg-work in midfield is a big problem for the midfielders behind him.

With a better pivot this should be no problem, but I'd like to see Mourinho take the bold step and take off Mata during the game when Chelsea are leading. Oscar or anyone else at CAM will be better defensively. When opponents start attacks from the back, Oscar will put much more pressure on the defenders than Mata and this will lead to long-balls/clearances or delay the attack.

I think Rafa found the solution for that when he tweaked the formation to something closer to 4-4-1-1 towards the end of the season with Juan playing right behind the striker. I think that is Juan's best position and where his future is, but unfortunately that will need Hazard to be on the ball less often and put in more defensive work. We'll also need another winger because Moses can't be a starter.

[Rubber bullets 1,183]

lol that's a complete load of bollocks. Cole was one of the most talented players that we had in our squad. It wasn't because of his lack of defensive contribution that he was offloaded for, it was due to the fact that he was pretty much done in by injuries, which really affected his form. Had he not been injured so often, he really could have been world class. As it is however...

But I'm saying he was never favored by Mourinho if you actually read my posts properly. He never would make him one of the cornerstones of the team and I fear he will do the same with Mata due to the same problems he had like Joe Cole (e.g. lack of physical strength0 despite all of his benefits outweighing those few negatives.

[nono 791]

Cole even at his best can't come close to Mata. He was a very frustrating player is all I remember. Him and SWP.

[DDA 9,690]

Mata is an untouchable. A 17 million + Sanchez swap deal is just comical!

[Milan 17,853]

[Mceachran 109]

Mata is even listed as a forward in the Spain Squad. That's what he is. The strangest and most effective striker over an entire season you've ever seen.

[Jase 43,479]

Not denying that Mata's defensive work isn't exactly the best but think it's been made to look even worse than it is. Under Benitez, the first thought or approach whenever we lose the ball is to immediately retreat to a 4-4-1-1 shape or with two banks of four leaving Mata and Torres/Ba further forward and we have hardly ever pressed and defended high up the pitch and more importantly doing it as a team throughout the season. When that happens, we'll only have Mata and Torres/Ba trying to close down or press the oppositions' defenders/midfielders further up the field and considering they are usually outnumber in those situations, it will make them uninterested in doing so (and instead place themselves to be in a position to setup counter attacks) and made as if Mata (and Torres/Ba) is lazy or ineffective to do so.