Juan Mata

[chrismada9 1,948]

I have a horrible feeling in my stomach that Mata will leave in January ..

.. PSG is not a bad shout. He almost signed for them in the summer!

[Special Juan 27,476]

"Oscar is my No. 10"

There isn't nothing to fight for, nothing to change. Mourinho made his choice months ago.

And Jose also claimed he can play wide, he can, but he can play wide but needs the energy of Oscar and Willian, he hasn't got it.

[bushman 2,043]

then he will get less playing time

Of course he will. We all know, Jose is my way or the highway & Mata either abide, adapt or he can walk or sit on the bench & play the odd 25 minutes.

[Mouri_Matic 560]

If the Bison can sit on the bench, then so can Mata.

It was a poor reaction, and one you would expect from a kid not a 25 year old veteran on this team.

Not really sure that is the right word. And like others have said, Mata will need to overcome this adversity if he wants to become a regular here. Remember Terry under Rafa, Lampard under AVB, Drogba under Scolari all endured hardship but eventually triumphed because of their patience. Mata is the same, but if he wants to leave because he is having a tough time and believe he don't need/deserve to have to fight this then he isn't legend material and can leave.

[cchuka 99]

Mou's subs were spot on. I expected a lot more from Mata & Shurrle. They have only themselves to blame for being subbed early.

Oscar and Willian were spectacular (sans that unnecessary dive). Hazard -Oscar -Willian are making a strong case for their inclusion in the starting XI

I expect Mata to stay, but if he's unhappy here and feels he needs to leave, then he should; no hard feelings. He has helped us immensely over the past few seasons and deserves to be happy here or wherever else he decides to go.

In Mou I Trust

PS - LOL @ David Moyes

[Korea 734]

Should of swap him for Rooney in the summer...

But than again, people on this board actually think Mata is better than Rooney...

[chelseathebest 150]

He is definitely out of his best form, but I'm still not giving up on him. Having an in-form Mata would be of great use to us, he just needs to find that piece of magic again.

[Mouri_Matic 560]

Should of swap him for Rooney in the summer...

But than again, people on this board actually think Mata is better than Rooney...

At the time Rooney only had 2 years left, MU didn't want to sale at any cost, Mata was still part of Mou's plan and was worth more than Rooney based on last season, swap wouldn't make sense then unless they add in something.

[Korea 734]

He is definitely out of his best form, but I'm still not giving up on him. Having an in-form Mata would be of great use to us, he just needs to find that piece of magic again.

It has nothing to do with form......

Its the fact that he is playing on the wings and in the center, rather than staying mainly in the center role. In addition, he is required to use a lot of energy pressing..

Mata still is the same player he was last season, its just his role and current tactics arent beneficial for him to have incredible stats....

[Korea 734]

At the time Rooney only had 2 years left, MU didn't want to sale at any cost, Mata was still part of Mou's plan and was worth more than Rooney based on last season, swap wouldn't make sense then unless they add in something.

Mata was never part of Mourinho plan....

Mourinho plan was to slowly fade out Mata so he wouldnt get the supporters disapproval for the direct sale of Mata.....

In addition, Rooney didnt want to be at United or for Moyes... Had we swap and added cash, we might of had a chance at him. rooney fits the team better than Torres, eto, ba or lukaku.

[bushman 2,043]

He is definitely out of his best form, but I'm still not giving up on him. Having an in-form Mata would be of great use to us, he just needs to find that piece of magic again.

Where should he look for it, on the bench ? That´s where he is gonny be most of the times. Jose will never forgive him for today´s rants.

[Azpinator 2,325]

He was a great player for us...but we were a poor team.

Really? So adding Eto'o, Schurrle and Willian made us not poor?

He's been awful this season, he doesn't fit the system and he was awful today. He deserved to be subbed and he didn't need to make the fuss he did. I'm only disappointed the cameras didn't cut to him when Oscar actually started leading this team.

He had a couple of bad games which happened to every single player of our team. How was he awful today? he was good, he played a lot of key passes, you can watch it again.. He didn't deserve to be subbed for that. Oscar got lucky with that deflected cross in Torres goal which was a critical moment in the game.

[bushman 2,043]

Just browse through some UK papers now. Every cunt has already reported Mata can leave if he wants, ADMITS JOSE is the headline.

As I said, Chelsea is not well liked in fucking UK, any small quarrel is blown out of proportions, just to damage the club.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Really? So adding Eto'o, Schurrle and Willian made us not poor?

He had a couple of bad games which happened to every single player of our team. How was he awful today? he was good, he played a lot of key passes, you can watch it again.. He didn't deserve to be subbed for that. Oscar got lucky with that deflected cross in Torres goal which was a critical moment in the game.

You can believe that second part if you want, but Oscar and Willian's introduction saw us add pace and precision to our play. Personally I'm not too fussed who plays, so long as they work hard and produce results. At the moment that's Oscar and Mourinho doesn't seem willing to change his number 10 any time soon.

Adding a manager like Mourinho and players like Willian made us 'not poor'.

[bushman 2,043]

Chelsea is far from being poor. Whoever think they are ought to try to watch Manures, instead.

[Mouri_Matic 560]

Believe it or not, sometime actually replacing great players even at the peak of their game is part of the club moving forward. MU had to replace Ronaldo, Rooney stepped up. They had to replace Van Gol, the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Saha...etc stepped up to fill in his shoes. Arsenal had to do this yearly, Liverpool had to do it when Torres left and Suarez they got. So now it is our turn, Barca and Madrid also do this regularly as well. It is rarely ever the case of a player dominating in a team for most of his career, the likes of Messi, Ronaldo are exceptions, most of the time players no matter how good they are only really have 2-3 years top at a club, the likes of fat Ronaldo, Ibra...etc all left big teams at the peak of their game because things didn't work out for them, and they are still flourshing/were after they left.

So there is still hope for Mata, just not at Chelsea as long as Mourinho is still here which he will be because he is one of us.

[chelseathebest 150]

He had a couple of bad games which happened to every single player of our team. How was he awful today? he was good, he played a lot of key passes, you can watch it again.. He didn't deserve to be subbed for that. Oscar got lucky with that deflected cross in Torres goal which was a critical moment in the game.

Spot on.

Almost every CFC player has had a fair number of shit games this season, including Jose's favorites.

Hazard was shit at the beginning of the season (still, he was never dropped by Mou).

Oscar has also had a decent number of shit games.

Mata is unlucky that from the very beginning Jose didn't consider him a starter.

Surely this is a tough situation for him. I like him very much and I hope he'll manage to earn his place. It'll be hard for him, but not impossible.

[darrus 422]

Where should he look for it, on the bench ? That´s where he is gonny be most of the times. Jose will never forgive him for today´s rants.

That would be probably the main narrative now when Mata is starting the games on the benck. But the reality is - under Mourinho Ramos played despite repeated acts of direct disobedience, Coentrao played even after his misbehaviors, heck, Vitor Baia got away with a good selection of insults and attempt at physical agression towards Jose.

So I very much doubt that throwing a bit of hissy fit will be the reason Mata gets benched. Not good enough contribution to the team's play will be.