Juan Mata

[kellzfresh 7,229]

Mourinho always likes left footed players on the right.

chelsea- robben

inter - pandev

madrid - dimaria or ozil

So meaning mata will definitely play on the right, with oscar and kdb battling for the center.

Lukaku/Ba

Hazard/schurrle - KDB/Oscar - Mata/KDB/Moses

Vanginkel/lampard/ramires - MIkel/Essien

[Dion 2,476]

Mourinho always likes left footed players on the right.

chelsea- robben

inter - pandev

madrid - dimaria or ozil

So meaning mata will definitely play on the right, with oscar and kdb battling for the center.

Lukaku/Ba

Hazard/schurrle - KDB/Oscar - Mata/KDB/Moses

Vanginkel/lampard/ramires - MIkel/Essien

What I would really like to see is 4-3-3. With Oscar, KDB and a DM in the mid. That would be a hell of a midfield. Oscar and KDB seem suited to help defending and they're high energy players, we would have plenty of creativity for attacking purposes and we could press like crazy all game long.

[Jase 43,479]

Chelsea FC ‏@chelseafc 31m

Mourinho repeats that there is no chance of @juanmata10 or @DavidLuiz_4 leaving. They will be at Chelsea this coming season.

[Hutcho 8,443]

Essien Oscar

KDB Mata Hazard

Schurrle/Moses to rotate for the wide positions.

And Oscar to sometimes move up and Rambo/Lampard to rotate in there.

[Barbara 15,149]

van Ginkel, Schürrle...we do not sign those players to play 4-2-3-1. We will surely be returning to 4-3-3 at some point. It may not fit Mata, but it does fit Ramires, Lamps, KDB, MvG, Mikel better, which in the end is more important. Our best player is not Mata, it is Hazard. Technically he is just as good as Mata but much faster and younger. His as well as Oscar's ceiling is much higher than Mata's. Even though Juan Mata is a brilliant little player, we can and should do better in terms of star man. Mata is a worldclass player, but he won't get any better, Hazard is the future. Hazard has ability to impose himself on any opposition with his speed, Mata will always go missing against strong defenses like Bayern, City, Real, juve.

That's exactly how I feel, but rarely say it myself so I don't sound ungrateful or harsh.

But imo the truth is when Mata came in we were the team parking the bus against strong opposition because our midfield lacked any creativity, power and brilliance. So of course he shined, after all he is quality.

I still believe he is overrated and to say what you said in other words, he isn't big enough to be THE player in a team like Chelsea plans to become. I'm not sure he has much more to grow - to be honest - so his ceiling is probably not much higher than where he is now, while Hazard and Oscar seem to have miles to grow. Out of the three, he's the less brilliant one, but the other two are too young and still have to grow and mature a lot, and let's not forget continue to adapt to EPL.

And the fact that Mourinho seems to hint that he will move him from his undoubtedly best position, shows he might think the same because if he believed Mata was the best player in the team, he wouldn't move him to a position that isn't his favorite (not because of personal preferences, but because of results). I don't expect any less as Mourinho understand football better than any of us. If some of us can see this, Mourinho definitely sees this and more. I have no doubt as the young guns gain confidence, Mata will lose space in the team. It's the obvious thing to happen - unless the young guys like Hazard and Oscar and then Kevin don't progress as everyone expects them to progress (those things aren't completely predictable and some players never live up their potential. I hope that's not the case with those three)

I don't know if people are being selective on Mata and seemingly chosen to focus more on his weaknesses rather than positives. Yes, there is no doubt that Mata's main weaknesses now are his tame physical strength and poor defensive work off the ball BUT these are aspects that he can still improve on, yet I can't understand why the way people have been talking is as if he can't do that. It's not like he has some attitude problem and shown that he can't be helped anymore! Additionally, the thought of some people saying the form Mata shown us last season was his best and he can never get better feels somewhat hilarious. Last season might arguably be his best season ever in his career but is that the best he can offer? No. What he has shown is his astonishing consistency in producing quality assists and attacking play in the final third but there is still more to his locker in that attacking play aspect.

What Mata did for us last season was great especially when you consider we can't even retain possession to save our lives and constantly retreated to defend first and when he did get on the back, we saw how great it can be. Imagine if we can fix our midfield problems, keep the ball like 80% of the time in match especially against the lesser sides and be more aggressive on the ball, what can kind of crazy damage can Mata do on the opposition working with the likes of Hazard, Schurrle, Oscar, KDB etc? You have people banging about how Mourinho's return will improve this player, improve that player but when it comes to somebody like Mata, it's suddenly all negative thinking and having thought he won't get any better than what he has shown so far. Hilarious.

And seriously, I don't know if people have been well and truly spoilt by watching too much of Hazard or players like him who is flashy on the ball, has the flicks and tricks that has caused some people to seemingly devalue Mata all of a sudden and this is a similar situation with Oscar. Granted Mata may not be like Hazard when he's on the ball, the ability to run at pace with the ball at oppositions' players, dribble past people etc but there seem to be an issue of people not appreciating the brilliance in simplicity sometimes.

You just further prove my point with this post. In a team there had huge midfield deficiencies and then two adapting players, Mata rose above all, but really, his ceiling isn't this high thing you seem to imagine. Nobody here - as far as I can say - thinks he's done in his growth,but just like every other 25yo player that there isn't that much left to improve. He will improve in things like the ones you mentioned, of course he will, every player working under Mourinho does, otherwise they visit the bench. But there's a reason players the same age as him had chances in Spain NT where he continues to be a reserve. And when VDB tried to use him in the starting XI against Brazil, he was one of the most useless players in the match... He did basically nothing for Spain and the team improved when Navas got in.

Which comes back to the point that against big teams with good defenses he tends to disappear because while being a hard worker, and consistent in his play, he isn't what I would call brilliant. Great yes, but not brilliant and that's my point since the beginning. Chelsea fans - on their majority - for the lack of a star in the midfield - made Mata seem much bigger than he really is. In teams with good midfielders he would never be THE player. Just the next great guy contributing to it. So according to your own post he needs better teammates to reach a certain level, whereas brilliant players are the ones that reverse a negative situation, by owing a zone in the pitch (and in rare cases even the whole team) and making a difference. So yeah.

Note that I don't think he's bad, far from it. But when you see the very top teams and see who their stars are and you compare them to Mata, you see the point Magic Lamps was trying to make.

We already won every title that is there to win. We don't have to prove we can. Now we have to prove we can be as big as teams like Real Madrid, Bayern, Barcelona and Manchester United. In teams like those Mata wouldn't ever be the main star. Ever. But he would be one of their key players, which I think is what he'll become to us.

And I personally am not looking for a flashy player. Oscar has a higher ceiling than Mata imo and it doesn't get less flashy than Oscar...

Mou seems to def like the idea of Mata on the right which means more of Oscar in the middle

That's because Mourinho - better than any of us here - knows where there's more potential. I think in a year from now both Oscar and Kevin will threaten Mata's position in the team - if they continue to grow as expected (the three of them).

[Dion 2,476]

That's exactly how I feel, but rarely say it myself so I don't sound ungrateful or harsh.

But imo the truth is when Mata came in we were the team parking the bus against strong opposition because our midfield lacked any creativity, power and brilliance. So of course he shined, after all he is quality.

I still believe he is overrated and to say what you said in other words, he isn't big enough to be THE player in a team like Chelsea plans to become. I'm not sure he has much more to grow - to be honest - so his ceiling is probably not much higher than where he is now, while Hazard and Oscar seem to have miles to grow. Out of the three, he's the less brilliant one, but the other two are too young and still have to grow and mature a lot, and let's not forget continue to adapt to EPL.

And the fact that Mourinho seems to hint that he will move him from his undoubtedly best position, shows he might think the same because if he believed Mata was the best player in the team, he wouldn't move him to a position that isn't his favorite (not because of personal preferences, but because of results). I don't expect any less as Mourinho understand football better than any of us. If some of us can see this, Mourinho definitely sees this and more. I have no doubt as the young guns gain confidence, Mata will lose space in the team. It's the obvious thing to happen - unless the young guys like Hazard and Oscar and then Kevin don't progress as everyone expects them to progress (those things aren't completely predictable and some players never live up their potential. I hope that's not the case with those three)

You just further prove my point with this post. In a team there had huge midfield deficiencies and then two adapting players, Mata rose above all, but really, his ceiling isn't this high thing you seem to imagine. Nobody here - as far as I can say - thinks he's done in his growth,but just like every other 25yo player that there isn't that much left to improve. He will improve in things like the ones you mentioned, of course he will, every player working under Mourinho does, otherwise they visit the bench. But there's a reason players the same age as him had chances in Spain NT where he continues to be a reserve. And when VDB tried to use him in the starting XI against Brazil, he was one of the most useless players in the match... He did basically nothing for Spain and the team improved when Navas got in.

Which comes back to the point that against big teams with good defenses he tends to disappear because while being a hard worker, and consistent in his play, he isn't what I would call brilliant. Great yes, but not brilliant and that's my point since the beginning. Chelsea fans - on their majority - for the lack of a star in the midfield - made Mata seem much bigger than he really is. In teams with good midfielders he would never be THE player. Just the next great guy contributing to it. So according to your own post he needs better teammates to shine, whereas brilliant players are the ones that reverse a negative situation, by owing a zone in the pitch (and in rare cases even the whole team) and making a difference. So yeah.

Note that I don't think he's bad, far from it. But when you see the very top teams and see who their stars are and you compare them to Mata, you see the point Magic Lamps was trying to make.

We already won every title that is there to win. We don't have to prove we can. Now we have to prove we can be as big as teams like Real Madrid, Bayern, Barcelona and Manchester United. In teams like those Mata wouldn't ever be the main star. Ever. But he would be one of their key players, which I think is what he'll become to us.

And I personally am not looking for a flashy player. Oscar has a higher ceiling than Mata imo and it doesn't get less flashy than that...

That's because Mourinho - better than any of us here - knows where there's more potential. I think in a year from now both Oscar and Kevin will threaten Mata's position in the team - if they continue to grow as expected (the three of them).

Actually, if not for David Luiz's out-of-the-world saving, the only goal Spain would have scored would have come with his good assist to Pedro.

[Barbara 15,149]

Actually, if not for David Luiz's out-of-the-world saving, the only goal Spain would have scored would have come with his good assist to Pedro.

I know he had a good assist, but Spain as a team in that moment was nowhere to be found... whereas they were closer to their usual in the second half.

If we are going to discuss isolate goals instead of looking to a whole match, then we miss the point. Is Chelsea plan to continue to be the team that because of one good play - like Drogba's goal against Bayern - win titles? Or do we want to be a powerhouse?

That's exactly the point, Dion. If a player like Mata is expected to give one good assist in a whole match in such an important match, then we should continue to be the team we are today. And that's the point. Do we want to take one final step and be in the same level as those teams I mentioned in the previous post. Or are we happy to continue to be the team that from time to time will really challenge them? There's no problem in being the latter. But I think Roman's plans are more ambitious than that. But maybe I'm wrong.

[Dion 2,476]

I know he had a good assist, but Spain as a team in that moment was nowhere to be found... whereas they were closer to their usual in the second half.

If we are going to discuss isolate goals instead of looking to a whole match, then we miss the point. Is Chelsea plan to continue to be the team that because of one good play - like Drogba's goal against Bayern - win titles? Or do we want to be a powerhouse?

That's exactly the point, Dion. If a player like Mata is expected to give one good assist in a whole match in such an important match, then we should continue to be the team we are today.

Sometimes a single moment of brilliance is what wins you a match. If Spain was nowhere to be found but Mata could still give a teammate a golden opportunity to score almost single-handedly (he starts the play, with a one-two with Torres, makes the run, brings all the defenders to himself and pass to Pedro who was totally unmarked), you really can't say he doesn't make an impact. There are few players in the world who could have done that.

Not to say I disagree with everything you said, I just think you are unfair showcasing Spain's game. He didn't play badly by any means. If anything, I thought he was one of the standouts.

[The Skipper 20,593]

My Tottenham friend says Mata is the best player in the league (yes, even over their beloved Bale). My United friend says he's the most exciting player to watch in the league. He's not overrated at all... I feel people are just spoilt tbh.

Last season similarly people were saying that Mata will be phased out of the team because of the Oscar and Hazard signings and alas, he had an even better season. People shouldn't write this guy off like that, he's absolutely brilliant. Like I said, we've been spoilt.

It's like people are ashamed to say that Mata is our best player, and I think that's very ungrateful and disrespectful.

Mata will again prove (don't know why he has to tbh, but yeah) this season that he's indispensable and truly one of the best players in the world.

[Barbara 15,149]

Not to say I disagree with everything you said, I just think you are unfair showcasing Spain's game. He didn't play badly by any means. If anything, I thought he was one of the standouts.

I agree about not showcasing that match. It's a NT match and that isn't fair... even Messi and Ronaldo failed in NT more than we should count (although for different reasons than Mata did).

That said, I rewatched the match just last week, I can't for the life of me point Mata as one of the standouts. Just an opinion though.

The point remains, in a time like the powerhouses in football Mata would never be their main star, although would of course be a valuable and key player. My whole point is about overrating him, not dismissing him. I don't expect even 10% of Chelsea fans to agree with me. After all I'm stating he is overrated which means people think he's much better than I think he is

edit: @The Skipper, I'm not embarrassed at all. I just think it doesn't compare to what the big guns in football have...

It's hard to try to make a point about perception. I think he's great... just not as great as most Chelsea fans think he is. I'm not dismissing the guy. And I guess we are quite the opposite of spoiled. We are in routes to become spoiled, but we aren't spoiled. Not when we look back to last season and see what happened...

[kellzfresh 7,229]

That's exactly how I feel, but rarely say it myself so I don't sound ungrateful or harsh.

But imo the truth is when Mata came in we were the team parking the bus against strong opposition because our midfield lacked any creativity, power and brilliance. So of course he shined, after all he is quality.

I still believe he is overrated and to say what you said in other words, he isn't big enough to be THE player in a team like Chelsea plans to become. I'm not sure he has much more to grow - to be honest - so his ceiling is probably not much higher than where he is now, while Hazard and Oscar seem to have miles to grow. Out of the three, he's the less brilliant one, but the other two are too young and still have to grow and mature a lot, and let's not forget continue to adapt to EPL.

And the fact that Mourinho seems to hint that he will move him from his undoubtedly best position, shows he might think the same because if he believed Mata was the best player in the team, he wouldn't move him to a position that isn't his favorite (not because of personal preferences, but because of results). I don't expect any less as Mourinho understand football better than any of us. If some of us can see this, Mourinho definitely sees this and more. I have no doubt as the young guns gain confidence, Mata will lose space in the team. It's the obvious thing to happen - unless the young guys like Hazard and Oscar and then Kevin don't progress as everyone expects them to progress (those things aren't completely predictable and some players never live up their potential. I hope that's not the case with those three)

You just further prove my point with this post. In a team there had huge midfield deficiencies and then two adapting players, Mata rose above all, but really, his ceiling isn't this high thing you seem to imagine. Nobody here - as far as I can say - thinks he's done in his growth,but just like every other 25yo player that there isn't that much left to improve. He will improve in things like the ones you mentioned, of course he will, every player working under Mourinho does, otherwise they visit the bench. But there's a reason players the same age as him had chances in Spain NT where he continues to be a reserve. And when VDB tried to use him in the starting XI against Brazil, he was one of the most useless players in the match... He did basically nothing for Spain and the team improved when Navas got in.

Which comes back to the point that against big teams with good defenses he tends to disappear because while being a hard worker, and consistent in his play, he isn't what I would call brilliant. Great yes, but not brilliant and that's my point since the beginning. Chelsea fans - on their majority - for the lack of a star in the midfield - made Mata seem much bigger than he really is. In teams with good midfielders he would never be THE player. Just the next great guy contributing to it. So according to your own post he needs better teammates to reach a certain level, whereas brilliant players are the ones that reverse a negative situation, by owing a zone in the pitch (and in rare cases even the whole team) and making a difference. So yeah.

Note that I don't think he's bad, far from it. But when you see the very top teams and see who their stars are and you compare them to Mata, you see the point Magic Lamps was trying to make.

We already won every title that is there to win. We don't have to prove we can. Now we have to prove we can be as big as teams like Real Madrid, Bayern, Barcelona and Manchester United. In teams like those Mata wouldn't ever be the main star. Ever. But he would be one of their key players, which I think is what he'll become to us.

And I personally am not looking for a flashy player. Oscar has a higher ceiling than Mata imo and it doesn't get less flashy than Oscar...

That's because Mourinho - better than any of us here - knows where there's more potential. I think in a year from now both Oscar and Kevin will threaten Mata's position in the team - if they continue to grow as expected (the three of them).

you ended up being harsh on mata lol.

But what i understand from your post is that the top clubs in the world have better star players when on form

Bayern - Ribery

Dortmund - Lewandoski

Real madrid - Ronaldo

Barcelona - Messi

Juventus - Pirlo

So in order to dominate europe as one of the worlds best teams, we need that star player on those people's level to score goals and wow the world. And we all hope hazard would be that man, if he starts adding goals to his game.

[Stingray 9,441]

Sometimes a single moment of brilliance is what wins you a match. If Spain was nowhere to be found but Mata could still give a teammate a golden opportunity to score almost single-handedly (he starts the play, with a one-two with Torres, makes the run, brings all the defenders to himself and pass to Pedro who was totally unmarked), you really can't say he doesn't make an impact. There are few players in the world who could have done that.

Not to say I disagree with everything you said, I just think you are unfair showcasing Spain's game. He didn't play badly by any means. If anything, I thought he was one of the standouts.

I do agree on this. Mata may not be Messi or Ronaldo like .... The proof of the pudding is in the eating and he delivered brilliantly last season. We can be a powerhouse with Mata in the team. I think this whole point is being polarized beyond reason.

If Mata ever gets 'replaced' by someone else to 'better' the team, it will happen automatically - step by step.

No need to fuss. Also: having one star in a team isn't a sure way to succes. It can be your downfall as well.

[Dion 2,476]

you ended up being harsh on mata lol.

But what i understand from your post is that the top clubs in the world have better star players when on form

Bayern - Ribery

Dortmund - Lewandoski

Real madrid - Ronaldo

Barcelona - Messi

Juventus - Pirlo

So in order to dominate europe as one of the worlds best teams, we need that star player on those people's level to score goals and wow the world. And we all hope hazard would be that man, if he starts adding goals to his game.

Bar Madrid and Barcelona, I don't envy anyone's star players. Not even Ribery or Pirlo.

[Barbara 15,149]

you ended up being harsh on mata lol.

But what i understand from your post is that the top clubs in the world have better star players when on form

Bayern - Ribery

Dortmund - Lewandoski

Real madrid - Ronaldo

Barcelona - Messi

Juventus - Pirlo

So in order to dominate europe as one of the worlds best teams, we need that star player on those people's level to score goals and wow the world. And we all hope hazard would be that man, if he starts adding goals to his game.

I didn't think of Dortmund because Dortmund is a competitive team like us now, not a powerhouse in football. I forgot to add Juve though.

Bayern is much more a collective team than one-guy team imo. They have many guys that make them work like a machine. Ribery and Schweinsteiger might be the most noticeable ones. Both of which I rate higher than Mata... (and now I crossed the line )

I may have been harsh on him (didn't plan to)... I don't want him to go, I think he's going to be very important to us. I just think we need someone better to be our star... we may have that on Hazard this season already. Let's not forget for many Hazard was our best player last season... it isn't about how flashy Eden is. It's about how he will step up and solve matches for us when we are under pressure. It's about him standing up in matches that were important to us last season and Mata was nowhere to be found...

[Dion 2,476]

I do agree on this. Mata may not be Messi or Ronaldo like .... The proof of the pudding is in the eating and he delivered brilliantly last season. We can be a powerhouse with Mata in the team. I think this whole point is being polarized beyond reason.

If Mata ever gets 'replaced' by someone else to 'better' the team, it will happen automatically - step by step.

No need to fuss. Also: having one star in a team isn't a sure way to succes. It can be your downfall as well.

Yep, that's the point. If your team is losing by three goals and being completely dominated, it's really hard to do anything by yourself, still, Mata created the chance that would put Spain back on the game. Had Pedro equalized, Spain would probably get a confidence boost to fight Brazil back. He's not at fault when his whole team is playing badly. Not even Messi can dribble past a whole team and score in every game. And Mata is awesome, but he is no Messi.

[The Skipper 20,593]

edit: @The Skipper, I'm not embarrassed at all. I just think it doesn't compare to what the big guns in football have... It's hard to try to make a point about perception. I think he's great... just not as great as most Chelsea fans think he is. I'm not dismissing the guy. And I guess we are quite the opposite of spoiled. We are in routes to become spoiled, but we aren't spoiled. Not when we look back to last season and see what happened...

It seems to be the Chelsea fans that underrate him more than anything. Opposition fans rate him very, very highly.

Like Dion said, bar Barcelona (Messi) and Real (Ronaldo), I don't envy anyone else's star players at all. Mata is just as good as anyone out there when at his best, if not even better than most.

Also, I don't see why a team can't have more than one star player. Don't see what's wrong with considering both Hazard and Mata as our star players.

[Dion 2,476]

I didn't think of Dortmund because Dortmund is a competitive team like us now, not a powerhouse in football. I forgot to add Juve though.

Bayern is much more a collective team than one-guy team imo. They have many guys that make them work like a machine. Ribery and Schweinsteiger might be the most noticeable ones. Both of which I rate higher than Mata... (and now I crossed the line )

I may have been harsh on him (didn't plan to)... I don't want him to go, I think he's going to be very important to us. I just think we need someone better to be our star... we may have that on Hazard this season already. Let's not forget for many Hazard was our best player last season... it isn't about how flashy Eden is. It's about how he will step up and solve matches for us when we are under pressure. It's about him standing up in matches that were important to us last season and Mata was nowhere to be found...

Or maybe we don't need a single star. We could be like Dortmund and Bayern, teams where it is really difficult to point THE star of the team. I wouldn't know who to point as the star of Dortmund team between Götze (when they had him), Reus, Lewandowski or even Gundogan. It's hard for Bayern too - Ribery, Bastian, Muller and Robben were all key to their success last season. What's the problem about having both Mata and Hazard as our key players? Or Mata, Hazard, Oscar, KDB? The more the better.

[Stingray 9,441]

Exactly. Btw recent research into motivation (Deci and Ryan- on selfdetermination) has indicated that the global team performance drops when you single out - explicitly or implicitly - someone as a 'star'. I quite oppose that very idea actually.

I also believe that part of Mou's succes is exactly this! A hardcore refusal to treat anyone like a star - only focus on the group performance.

Well - food for a future article. I promise.