Juan Mata

[Stats 7,053]

Just imagine if we had him now while Oscar has been in a slump of form. Would have been an excellent option with his vision and ability to score goals. We sold him for good money but as many people stated before we could end up regretting this. I would have Mata over Oscar no doubt now and let Oscar rest for a while. We sometimes just lack the creativity in the final third. Oscar is not a playmaker and Mata is and the loss of those abilities he gave us has had a part to play in the games we have messed up.

[yuvala 2,167]

Just imagine if we had him now while Oscar has been in a slump of form. Would have been an excellent option with his vision and ability to score goals. We sold him for good money but as many people stated before we could end up regretting this. I would have Mata over Oscar no doubt now and let Oscar rest for a while. We sometimes just lack the creativity in the final third. Oscar is not a playmaker and Mata is and the loss of those abilities he gave us has had a part to play in the games we have messed up.

That is exactly why I want another world-class AM, but no one seems to agree.

We sold a WC player and didn't bring in a proper replacement.

[haranr 485]

That is exactly why I want another world-class AM, but no one seems to agree.

We sold a WC player and didn't bring in a proper replacement.

Exactly!

[haranr 485]

Just imagine if we had him now while Oscar has been in a slump of form. Would have been an excellent option with his vision and ability to score goals. We sold him for good money but as many people stated before we could end up regretting this. I would have Mata over Oscar no doubt now and let Oscar rest for a while. We sometimes just lack the creativity in the final third. Oscar is not a playmaker and Mata is and the loss of those abilities he gave us has had a part to play in the games we have messed up.

I don't think that what Oscar needs is rest. He needs to find his feet and quickly.

[Ze Mario 638]

xavi and iniesta are considered the best AMs in the world yet barca still lost against lower table team. they had hard time too unlocking opponent's tight defense. and unlike us, they even have 2 fullback with amazing attacking ability, but still they lost against them.

nonsense about this bring mata back or regret about sold him on winter window.

[Tomo 21,733]

Villa, QPR, West Brom, West Ham, QPR, Newcastle, Stoke have all beaten us while Mata has played. This fantasy that we would have magically hammered Sunderland, Palace and Villa merely because of his presence is laughable.

[The Skipper 20,593]

Villa, QPR, West Brom, West Ham, QPR, Newcastle, Stoke have all beaten us while Mata has played. This fantasy that we would have magically hammered Sunderland, Palace and Villa merely because of his presence is laughable.

To be fair, Mata did not play as a number 10 in any of those games (IIRC).

[Sidzeret 2,257]

xavi and iniesta are considered the best AMs in the world yet barca still lost against lower table team. they had hard time too unlocking opponent's tight defense. and unlike us, they even have 2 fullback with amazing attacking ability, but still they lost against them.

nonsense about this bring mata back or regret about sold him on winter window.

Wasn't that their only defeat of the season ( Espanyol)? Also they have the better chance than any other team in breaking down parked buses because of their quick tempo to a passing and one touch passes. Our problem is holding onto the ball for too long before making passes give my the defenders some sort of advantage.

[Oscar 441]

@https://twitter.com/br_uk/status/457964137948004352/photo/1

That is exactly why I want another world-class AM, but no one seems to agree.

We sold a WC player and didn't bring in a proper replacement.

Exactly!

Mata is exactly what we need. Winning 5 league games in 2014.

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[1chelsea 864]

I don't think that what Oscar needs is rest. He needs to find his feet and quickly.

that said it all that am not the only one who think that Jose will buy some that can unlock team that park the bus like Mata and at same time can defend base on the fact that he promise next season and would do anything to archive it. Jose already have locked on to target players for next season

[Ze Mario 638]

Wasn't that their only defeat of the season ( Espanyol)? Also they have the better chance than any other team in breaking down parked buses because of their quick tempo to a passing and one touch passes. Our problem is holding onto the ball for too long before making passes give my the defenders some sort of advantage.

granada, valladoid, sociedad, and the strong team that defeated them are bilbao and valencia

are you refer to our counter attack pattern or how we unlock bus parking defense?

[Jase 43,479]

Villa, QPR, West Brom, West Ham, QPR, Newcastle, Stoke have all beaten us while Mata has played. This fantasy that we would have magically hammered Sunderland, Palace and Villa merely because of his presence is laughable.

True but don't think anyone is saying we would have magically won those games if Mata was around. It's just that he could have helped us made the difference by giving us something else offensively, much like how some have said that about Hazard. And I posted something about this point in another thread. Will just stick it here..

True but TBF, that wasn't the case when Mata was still around under Mourinho. Was given a role with responsibilites (especially defensively) but still able to create chances. It's just that comparing him with our other AMs, he can give us that X-factor and create something from nothing for others (apart from Hazard) in final third. Not talking just about playing those through balls, 1-2s with the others but also chances like ball over the top of the opposition's defence when they are parking the bus/defending in numbers in front of us (e.g. Ba's FA Cup goal against United, Torres' league goal against Swansea two seasons ago) and it's these kind of chances at times, this kind of ingenuity, that is missing from our play when the opposition are being stubborn against us.

[haranr 485]

Mata is exactly what we need. Winning 5 league games in 2014.

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No We don't need Mata. We need other World-class am player that fits the system

[Sidzeret 2,257]

granada, valladoid, sociedad, and the strong team that defeated them are bilbao and valencia

are you refer to our counter attack pattern or how we unlock bus parking defense?

I was referring to the latter

[Ze Mario 638]

I was referring to the latter

tbf barca not so good either if the opponents are so good in concentration. and they intend to holding the ball for long too because if they rush to through pass they can lost ball possession and risked of counter attack (but yeah they have better chance than us to win a match against teams with def strategy).

imo there isnt effective solution for breaking into bus park defense. its 18yard box filled by 8-9 players.

be it mata or WC AM will get hard time to deal with that

[lionsden 4,689]

xavi and iniesta are considered the best AMs in the world yet barca still lost against lower table team. they had hard time too unlocking opponent's tight defense. and unlike us, they even have 2 fullback with amazing attacking ability, but still they lost against them.

nonsense about this bring mata back or regret about sold him on winter window.

Barca have also won more games against midtable and bottom feeders and have created and scored significantly more goals than us. perhaps world class players and a sound philosophy still hold some weight.

The biggest difference is, most times when top teams like barca drop points, it usually means that the opposition team have been extremely lucky and I'm not referring to "referee decision" either. I'm talking about desperate defending, holding on for dare life stuff, excellent goalkeeping performance, ball hitting the woodwork and poor finishing.

The only time this season that i can remember us applying an opponent under anything resembling relentless pressure was against westham and we still didn't create enough clear cut chances.

Most times when we drop points against these teams, the opposition players rarely need a shower after the game from the relative comfort and minimal effort required.

[Reddish-Blue 2,347]

Villa, QPR, West Brom, West Ham, QPR, Newcastle, Stoke have all beaten us while Mata has played. This fantasy that we would have magically hammered Sunderland, Palace and Villa merely because of his presence is laughable.

Mata's ability to create chances would have definitely helped us against the likes of Sunderland and Villa. In the attacking sense, he's twice the player Oscar is right now and he seemed to have a solid understanding with Hazard.

Would have loved to have seen Mata in the #10 with Matic - Luiz behind him...

[Sidzeret 2,257]

Not sure why we continue to have this discussion about him. He was the most creative player we had maybe except Hazard but he never seemed like he fits Mourinho's team dynamics.