Juan Mata

[BlueLyon 9,359]

He likes Chelsea, no doubt. He is same player he always was, but lacks play time and rhytm.

But he has hell of a bad luck, he will I think never be a starter again here, unless he somehow evolves into what Mou wants from him. Maybe he needs more time to adopt, but I doubt it. He is what he is, and he doesnt fit Mou's system.

Its love story with bad ending, Im afraid...

[Henrique 9,133]

Unless Mata accept he is not good enough to be the star man of a top european club challenging for big trophies, his Chelsea career is dead in the water. When Mata leaves, KDB will be a batter squad player than he is right now.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

[Mouri_Matic 560]

Unless Mata accept he is not good enough to be the star man of a top european club challenging for big trophies, his Chelsea career is dead in the water. When Mata leaves, KDB will be a batter squad player than he is right now.

Both will leave Chelsea.

[Jase 43,479]

Chelsea's Juan Mata ready to fight for his place and will not hand in transfer request

[lionsden 4,689]

For the 1st part, actually nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Maybe some players are clever and they know about their ability and where do they stand in the team, sometime moving is better for your career. For example Glen Johnson, not used enough here, decided to move to Portmouth and now eventually playing for 1 of the biggest club in England, regarding as top 5 BPL RB, at the time if he has stayed Ferreira, then Ivan would have been ahead of him so he wouldn't have ever make it here. Kevin another example right now. knowing that he is not ever gonna be better than our current starting 3, he decided he wants to move and maybe in 3 years he will be playing for PSG or something instead of warming our bench. So I can't really blame the players for leaving like you said, sometime it is important you know where you stand as well, for example if Nani was playing for Madrid atm and he knows Bale/Ronaldo are ahead of him, no point trying to prove yourselves because you know you will just never be able to win that spot. So maybe Mata believes he won't ever be better than Oscar for that CAM role or Willian for that RW role or Hazard for LW and who could blame him? I personally think he is at his peak atm and Oscar is no where near his world class self yet while Hazard will forever be a better player than Mata. So leaving is the best option for him and for us to get some money to sign a CDM/ST we really need.

So oscar is better than mata as a CAM now, Thought I had heard it all. what short memory some people have. this is the same mata that led the premier league in assist for 2 consecutive seasons with impressive goals ratio (for an AM) to boot which rightly earned him our POTY back to back. when or if ever oscar achieves such feat and level of productivity then that ridiculous notion might have some credence.

But for now, this is like comparing ramires to yaya toure or arturo vidal. the difference in quality is clear and no amount of dip in form and managerial preference can change that.

[Mouri_Matic 560]

So oscar is better than mata as a CAM now, Thought I had heard it all. what short memory some people have. this is the same mata that led the premier league in assist for 2 consecutive seasons with impressive goals ratio to boot which rightly earned him our POTY back to back. when oscar shows such productivity then that ridiculous option might have some credence.

He is doing that now, last season he was never given much chance in that CAM role because Mata was preferred by RDM then Rafa. Regarding Mata, his stats last season is good but not exactly mind blowing and in 11/12 it was just about decent.

[Billy. 2,742]

he has got until the end of the season to get back in Jose plans IMO if not then he will go in the summer

[The only place to be 11,313]

So oscar is better than mata as a CAM now, Thought I had heard it all. what short memory some people have. this is the same mata that led the premier league in assist for 2 consecutive seasons with impressive goals ratio (for an AM) to boot which rightly earned him our POTY back to back. when or if ever oscar achieves such feat and level of productivity then that ridiculous notion might have some credence.

But for now, this is like comparing ramires to yaya toure or arturo vidal. the difference in quality is clear and no amount of dip in form and managerial preference can change that.

It depends what you want from a CAM. If you just want assists and goals then maybe Mata is the better choice (although Oscar is adding that more and more to his game as you'd expect a young player with his talent to do). But Mourinho asks the midfielders to do more, to lead the pressing and link up the team from front to back and in that regard I think Oscar is clearly better.

The sense I often get from you is that you have a very narrow scope of what you want from that role and it clearly doesn't chime with what Jose wants. I think you'd be delighted to see us build a team around Mata, rather than build a team and have players fit into the roles asked of them. Maybe that's unfair, but it's what I get from you.

[Kieran. 6,317]

Really wanted us to sell him this winter because we could use the cash, but we might need him later on this season with injuries.

[Korea 734]

So oscar is better than mata as a CAM now, Thought I had heard it all. what short memory some people have. this is the same mata that led the premier league in assist for 2 consecutive seasons with impressive goals ratio (for an AM) to boot which rightly earned him our POTY back to back. when or if ever oscar achieves such feat and level of productivity then that ridiculous notion might have some credence.

But for now, this is like comparing ramires to yaya toure or arturo vidal. the difference in quality is clear and no amount of dip in form and managerial preference can change that.

Year 1: Rambo should of been POTY...

Year 2: I think it was unanimous for Mata (hazard did have good spells though)

The players your using as comparison arent really good examples.....

I always thought Mata vs OScar was exactly the same as Gerrard vs Lampard.... The same Gerrard Jose try to buy at Chelsea, Inter and Madrid..

[lionsden 4,689]

It depends what you want from a CAM. If you just want assists and goals then maybe Mata is the better choice (although Oscar is adding that more and more to his game as you'd expect a young player with his talent to do). But Mourinho asks the midfielders to do more, to lead the pressing and link up the team from front to back and in that regard I think Oscar is clearly better.

The sense I often get from you is that you have a very narrow scope of what you want from that role and it clearly doesn't chime with what Jose wants. I think you'd be delighted to see us build a team around Mata, rather than build a team and have players fit into the roles asked of them. Maybe that's unfair, but it's what I get from you.

There's no maybe about it. statistically, visually and whatever measure and standard one can possibly apply, mata is light years ahead of oscar as a creative midfielder. no maybe about it.

And what prompted the response to bluemourinho's comment wasn't whether oscar suits mourinho's style better (which is fair enough assertion) but that oscar is simply a superior attacking midfielder and footballer to mata which is a very absurd and poorly thought out statement which lacks any substance. running around and winning tackles isn't and will never be the ultimate measure of an AM.

[The only place to be 11,313]

There's no maybe about it. statistically, visually and whatever measure and standard one can possibly apply, mata is light years ahead of oscar as a creative midfielder. no maybe about it.

And what prompted the response to bluemourinho's comment wasn't whether oscar suits mourinho's style better (which is fair enough assertion) but that oscar is simply a superior attacking midfielder and footballer to mata which is a very absurd and poorly thought out statement which lacks any substance. running around and winning tackles isn't and will never be the ultimate measure of an AM.

To be honest the ultimate measure of any player is whether their contribution helps us win matches. Oscar might not fill out a stats sheet like Mata but his contribution to this team has been fantastic. He's been the best player in a team which is far better than last year's and we haven't missed Mata.

Mata's problem now is that I'm not entirely sure what he brings to this team.

[lionsden 4,689]

Year 1: Rambo should of been POTY...

Year 2: I think it was unanimous for Mata (hazard did have good spells though)

The players your using as comparison arent really good examples.....

I always thought Mata vs OScar was exactly the same as Gerrard vs Lampard.... The same Gerrard Jose try to buy at Chelsea, Inter and Madrid..

I'm not interested in opinions (especially biased and agenda driven ones ) rather hard cold FACTS which remains that mata achieved an incredible feat of leading the league in assist for the past 2 seasons. If ever oscar achieves such feat or, to be lenient, comes close to mata's numbers for that period then you can get back to me. for now, there's no contest.

[darrus 422]

I'm not interested in opinions (especially biased and agenda driven ones ) rather hard cold FACTS which remains that mata achieved an incredible feat of leading the league in assist for the past 2 seasons. If ever oscar achieves such feat or, to be lenient, comes close to mata's numbers for that period then you can get back to me. for now, there's no contest.

If we were talking about individual sports than this opinion could be justified.

But we're talking about football players, and a team sport - and here individual stats mean much less than the team's performance. So the one who makes team as a whole play well is the better player, if we use logic.

Though with Mata's stats this season - 1 assist and 0 goals in 13 league matches - I'm not sure what this argument is about anyway. Or should places in the team be granted for past achievements? If so, Pele would still be playing for Brazil.

[Korea 734]

I'm not interested in opinions (especially biased and agenda driven ones ) rather hard cold FACTS which remains that mata achieved an incredible feat of leading the league in assist for the past 2 seasons. If ever oscar achieves such feat or, to be lenient, comes close to mata's numbers for that period then you can get back to me. for now, there's no contest.

Stats are good sometimes......

However, Mata the last 2 seasons never had to put a defensive shift like Oscar did the past 2 seasons and hazard is doing this season.... In addition, the tactics were quite different for Oscar playin as the 10, than last season when Mata was.......

Goal wise, I think either hazard or oscar can replicate Mata stats, but assists wise, it might be difficult cause both of them arent good in set pieces (or not yet).. I think what your forgetting though is that Mata isnt behind only Oscar. Its both Willian and Hazard hes behind...

Also, the comparison you use before with Rambo vs Vidal/toure really isnt the same thing... If anything, its more Vidal vs Pirlo (current age)..

edit....

Truth be told is, that you can use the same situation Mata is in with Spain..

How many assists +goals does Mata have vs Silva/Santi? Yet, the latter 2 are always getting on the team before Mata...

[lionsden 4,689]

To be honest the ultimate measure of any player is whether their contribution helps us win matches. Oscar might not fill out a stats sheet like Mata but his contribution to this team has been fantastic. He's been the best player in a team which is far better than last year's and we haven't missed Mata.

Mata's problem now is that I'm not entirely sure what he brings to this team.

It's funny because no one on this forum and anywhere else said that last season when mata's confidence was still intact and wasn't required to do things he wasn't physically capable of doing. when he was allowed to pull the strings and play his natural game, he was undoubtedly our best player and instrumental to many of our victories last season. and he completely overshadowed and outperformed this same oscar, who was a regular feature in the team, last season.

[darrus 422]

It's funny because no one on this forum and anywhere else said that last season when mata's confidence was still intact and wasn't required to do things he wasn't physically capable of doing. when he was allowed to pull the strings and play his natural game, he was undoubtedly our best player and instrumental to many of our victories last season. and he completely overshadowed and outperformed this same oscar, who was a regular feature in the team, last season.

Yes, but the team was 10 points off the top and out of the title run by Christmas. Go figure.

[lionsden 4,689]

If we were talking about individual sports than this opinion could be justified.

But we're talking about football players, and a team sport - and here individual stats mean much less than the team's performance. So the one who makes team as a whole play well is the better player, if we use logic.

Though with Mata's stats this season - 1 assist and 0 goals in 13 league matches - I'm not sure what this argument is about anyway. Or should places in the team be granted for past achievements? If so, Pele would still be playing for Brazil.

Which begs the important question. are we playing better quality of football or playing better generally than last season or just simply achieving better result as performance and result are 2 completely different things e.g UCL man utd- chelsea 2008,Chelsea- Barca 2009 VS chelsea-barca and bayern 2012 where the performance of the former was significantly superior while the latter produced better result.

so i ask are we necessarily playing better this season and has oscar's influence this season being greater than mata's last season.

[The only place to be 11,313]

It's funny because no one on this forum and anywhere else said that last season when mata's confidence was still intact and wasn't required to do things he wasn't physically capable of doing. when he was allowed to pull the strings and play his natural game, he was undoubtedly our best player and instrumental to many of our victories last season. and he completely overshadowed and outperformed this same oscar, who was a regular feature in the team, last season.

And we finished third in the league miles of the pace and crashed out of the CL? There are other factors but so many times last season we looked disjointed whereas this season we actually seem to be building a consistent game plan based around a pressing game and a fast attacking system that suits Hazard, Willian and Oscar.

You're right that it seemed incomprehensible that Mata wouldn't be at the centre of things last season, but some people did ask questions about how he would fit into Mourinho's team. Also Oscar was playing on the right a lot last season which really didn't suit him. Now he's in the middle and he's an early favourite for this season's Player of the Year.