Juan Mata

[Ainsley Harriott 2,732]

I wouldn't understand the likes of Suarez and Bale being more higly rated than Mata. But you can't say that for Van Persie imo, he's performing in a team who's taming the league like it hadn't been since Chelsea 2004-2005. It's unthinkable not to choose a Red as best player of the season. And throughout the season who's been their best player ? RVP.

Think of it that way : On the pitch and statistically (european golden shoe), 2004/2005 best PL player was Thierry Henry. But if Lampard hadn't won the award would've seemed unfair to you and outrageous right ?

To be honest, RVP hasn't been that good lately

[Rmpr 8,977]

Juanito at his best!

[Mustafa 885]

[bushman 2,043]

J. Mata came, we saw him & fell in love with him, instantly.

The best Chelsea player this year by far. I hope, he stays at Chelsea for many years.

[Styles 9,790]

Great ball for Demba's goal. It was a strange game for Mata though, he kind of fluffed his lines a few times but still made a match-winning contribution.

I know I've criticised him in the past for disappearing in big games but he did very well in the draw at Old Trafford.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

He deserves to win the Premier League Player Of The Year award. But no, he won't. Van Pussy will probably win it despite being anonymous for the second part of the season or Mr. "I have to take 15 shots before scoring" Suarez will win it, I guess. Or Bale, who was anonymous for the first half of the season.

Mata is statistically the best midfielder attacking-wise in the whole of Europe this season.

We are far from a 1-man team, but he's been the most vital clog out of all top teams I can think of.

He has dominated top teams where-as Van Persie, Suarez, Bale etc. have done little spectacular vs. the likes of us and vs. eachother.

He has a goal tally rivalling the top strikers in the world.

An assist tally which I believe no one currently matches.

If he was at a top club wearing red he'd be the unanimous decision.

He doesn't really deserve it. He's been excellent, but not the best player. He has 10 goals and 13 assists for a team fighting for a Champions League spot. Van Persie has 19 goals and 13 assists for the club that's actually going to win the league. Suarez has 22 goals and 9 assists. He also hasn't dominated the top teams any more than Van Persie, Suarez, or Bale. All have scored against some big teams but have worse scoring records against them then they do against smaller sides.

Mata's overall numbers (in all competitions) are fantastic but a lot of that is because he plays in games that other top players don't. For example, Mata has played in 10 Cup games including 9 starts. Van Persie has 0 starts and 4 subs in those games. Bale had 3 starts. Suarez had 2 starts and 1 sub. The difference in statistics is largely Mata's games against poor opposition. Mata has 8 goals and 9 assists against teams that are not really Premier League calibre. Van Persie has 3 goals, 0 assists against the same sorts of clubs.(Which enforces the idea of how horribly Mata's playing time has been managed this season. Mata has not started in 7 Premier League games, but has started against Nordsjalland twice, Leeds, Brentford, Wolves, Monterrey, and three of our four Europa League games. In those Premier League games where Mata didn't start, we lost to QPR and West Brom by one goal and drew with Fulham and Swansea. It seems very likely that had Mata started, we'd have been able to get more points from at least a game or two.).

[kellzfresh 7,226]

How many assists does mata have this season because its getting ridiculous.

#Assistking

[didierforever 7,349]

what a player... if he continues playing like this and getting better match after match, i dont know where he ll stop and how great he ll end up being.

[Milan 17,835]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4FiLC8tHWM

[Jase 43,479]

Rory Smith ‏@RorySmithTimes

Superb journalist-buttering from @juanmata10. Asked why he blogs: "I've always respected people who can write. It strikes me as very hard."

[Mufassir08 2,400]

Only one juan mata!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/apr/05/juan-mata-chelsea-gianfranco-zola?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

[Kinol 337]

According to the interview in the UK's Men Health April edition magazine, Mata has been doing yoga once a week and he does it because it is good to stretch and relax the tension in the body. Also said it helps with injury prevention and good for the mind.

Slightly unexpected coming from him but not bad. Another interesting thing he said is that Ivanovic is one of his best friends around.

It would be unexpected if it came from lets say Balotelli. Not Mata

[Backstreet09 499]

How many assists does mata have this season because its getting ridiculous.

#Assistking

I don't know, I reckon it'd be around 19 ?

[Rekin 835]

I guess it depends on what you count as an assist, but I have seen the number 31 several times.
That goes for all competitions, but it is sick nevertheless. 31 assists and there are still quite a few games ahead of him!

[CHOULO19 24,332]

There's no official count of players assists. Heck there's no agreement on how to define an assist. Does the act of assisting have to be intentional? If he wins a pen that is later scored does he get an assist? What about if it was a FK?

Regardless of all that, I think it is beyond any doubt that the work Juan is doing to help his teammates score is immense. Definitely the best play maker in the league.

[Jase 43,479]

There's no official count of players assists. Heck there's no agreement on how to define an assist. Does the act of assisting have to be intentional? If he wins a pen that is later scored does he get an assist? What about if it was a FK?

Regardless of all that, I think it is beyond any doubt that the work Juan is doing to help his teammates score is immense. Definitely the best play maker in the league.

The general definition and consensus for an assist is:

Goal Assist

The final pass or pass-cum-shot leading to the recipient of the ball scoring a goal.

From Opta - http://www.optasportspro.com/fr/a-propos/blog-d%27optapro/posts/2012/optapro%27s-event-definitions.aspx

It's only like in those Fantasy Football Manager games that count winning penalties AND free kicks which lead to a goal that counts as an assist as well. And the fact some others like bigger numbers because it looks good on the player they're praising.

An assist should only be those final passes that led to a goal, be it through balls, crosses or free kick/corner kick deliveries.

[NiclasCFC 2,582]

There's no official count of players assists. Heck there's no agreement on how to define an assist. Does the act of assisting have to be intentional? If he wins a pen that is later scored does he get an assist? What about if it was a FK?

Regardless of all that, I think it is beyond any doubt that the work Juan is doing to help his teammates score is immense. Definitely the best play maker in the league.

18 Goals and 31 Assist this season so far according to this: http://www.chelseadaft.org/2013/04/juan-mata-18-goals-31-assists-better.html

[CHOULO19 24,332]

The general definition and consensus for an assist is:

It's only like in those Fantasy Football Manager games that count winning penalties AND free kicks which lead to a goal that counts as an assist as well. And the fact some others like bigger numbers because it looks good on the player they're praising.

An assist should only be those final passes that led to a goal, be it through balls, crosses or free kick/corner kick deliveries.

Does it have to be intentional to count as an assist? For example, hat if a player gets past a defender in the box and before he can shoot his team mate who's in a better position takes it off his toes and scores, does the player who got past the defender get the assist? Also, how long before the goal should the assisting pass be played? If Cole plays a simple short pass to Hazard down the left flank and the latter skins 2-3 players, cuts into the area and shoots, does Cole get the assist? What if the player was put clear on goal by the pass but had to run a long distance before scoring? Does Cole get the assist for Torres' goal against Barcelona (this is also a good example about intentional/unintentional assist)?

So, I stick with what I said, there is no official agreement about the definition of an assist.

18 Goals and 31 Assist this season so far according to this: http://www.chelseadaft.org/2013/04/juan-mata-18-goals-31-assists-better.html

Whoscored.com has him at 16 assists this season.