Oscar

[Pizy 18,877]

If things got bad with our #10 role I'd happily go and sniff around Liverpool for Coutinho

He's even MORE inconsistent than Oscar and is a terrible finisher.

[Special Juan 28,133]

He's even MORE inconsistent than Oscar and is a terrible finisher.

Right now I'd plonk Coutinho right in there ahead of Oscar without even thinking about it. Coutinho is fucking brilliant

[Pizy 18,877]

Right now I'd plonk Coutinho right in there ahead of Oscar without even thinking about it. Coutinho is fucking brilliant

Eh, I disagree. Tidy little player who's fun to watch but I couldnt see him working in our team.

Eriksen I'd have, though. If Özil hadn't gone to Arse I'm sure he'd love to work with José again. In fact, if you asked Özil himself privately and off the record he'd say he'd join us in a heartbeat.

[Reddish-Blue 2,495]

Right now I'd plonk Coutinho right in there ahead of Oscar without even thinking about it. Coutinho is fucking brilliant

To be fair, since their 2-2 draw against Arsenal (21-12-14)...Coutinho has been their best player and he seems to be switched on

[Barbara 15,149]

Right now I'd plonk Coutinho right in there ahead of Oscar without even thinking about it. Coutinho is fucking brilliant

Nobody in Brazil thinks he's brilliant, nobody complained about his absence in the WC, so except Liverpool fans and now you I know no one that thinks he's brilliant. Odd

[Special Juan 28,133]

Eh, I disagree. Tidy little player who's fun to watch but I couldnt see him working in our team.

Eriksen I'd have, though. If Özil hadn't gone to Arse I'm sure he'd love to work with José again. In fact, if you asked Özil himself privately and off the record he'd say he'd join us in a heartbeat.

Not a fan of Ozil either. Comes down to opinions and all that but I like Eriksen too. Right now the best #10 around is Coutinho for me

[Special Juan 28,133]

Nobody in Brazil thinks he's brilliant, nobody complained about his absence in the WC, so except Liverpool fans and now you I know no one that thinks he's brilliant. Odd

That's opinions though isn't it?

[Jase 43,479]

The issue is that Oscar's best performances have come against mid-table to relegation threatened EPL teams....he hasn't scored or assisted a single goal against a top 6 side this season

Against the big teams, I would love to see: Hazard -- Willian -- Cuadrado

Still better than Willian, who has only scored 1 and assisted 1 in the league this season and they both came against Aston Villa!

[Sheva. 5,373]

Still better than Willian, who has only scored 1 and assisted 1 in the league this season and they both came against Aston Villa!

Suddenly I have hope for him tomorrow.

[Pizy 18,877]

Not a fan of Ozil either. Comes down to opinions and all that but I like Eriksen too. Right now the best #10 around is Coutinho for me

Really?

There are a handful of #10's in the league I'd have over Coutinho. Özil, Eriksen, Silva, Cazorla and Mata. I'd love to just see what we'd look like with Mata back in his natural position here.

[Barbara 15,149]

Really?

There are a handful of #10's in the league I'd have over Coutinho. Özil, Eriksen, Silva, Cazorla and Mata. I'd love to just see what we'd look like with Mata back in his natural position here.

what exactly have changed since one year when he left?

He's far from impressive in Manchester United - in a much more fitting system for him than the one José has here. So if where his chances of doing better he isn't that impressive, I can only imagine how much worse he'd look here.

I agree about all other names in your list though. Carzola has been through a great moment and Coutinho does absolutely nothing for me. A fancy flick there and now, but he has never caught my attention. Disappears for even longer periods than Oscar does...

[Jase 43,479]

Suddenly I have hope for him tomorrow.

[Pizy 18,877]

what exactly have changed since one year when he left?

He's far from impressive in Manchester United - in a much more fitting system for him than the one José has here. So if where his chances of doing better he isn't that impressive, I can only imagine how much worse he'd look here.

I agree about all other names in your list though. Carzola has been through a great moment and Coutinho does absolutely nothing for me. A fancy flick there and now, but he has never caught my attention. Disappears for even longer periods than Oscar does...

He's constantly in and out of their team. Van Gaal is trying desperately to show the country that he's a genius and keeps tinkering with the system and Mata doesn't always play where he should.

I DO think our current set of players would be perfect for Mata in an attacking sense. Pacey, direct runners in Hazard and Cuadrado on the flanks for him to release and (as we've seen with Cesc) he'd have Costa's fantastic movement in front of him to play pinpoint through balls to.

The problem, obviously, is that having both Cesc and Mata in the same team we may get slaughtered in midfield defensively. Could work against small teams, though.

[Barbara 15,149]

He's constantly in and out of their team. Van Gaal is trying desperately to show the country that he's a genius and keeps tinkering with the system and Mata doesn't always play where he should.

I DO think our current set of players would be perfect for Mata in an attacking sense. Pacey, direct runners in Hazard and Cuadrado on the flanks for him to release and (as we've seen with Cesc) he'd have Costa's fantastic movement in front of him to play pinpoint through balls to.

The problem, obviously, is that having both Cesc and Mata in the same team we may get slaughtered in midfield defensively. Could work against small teams, though.

Completely disagree. I think Mata more than ever doesn't fit our team. With him and Cesc in the middle in addition to slow, we don't have enough physicality. Hazard while not useless isn't exactly a workhorse when it comes to pressing and defending. So you have completely useless Mata, Hazard that is more or less and Cesc who relies a lot on how much Matic covers him. Then you added a newbie in the team in the RW - which we don't know if will be able to cope with the physicality of the league and I'm sorry, but that's a disaster waiting to happen all over. It might not work even against small teams. Also, as someone pointed out, Oscar works well against small teams and we have Cesc, Costa and Hazard also working against small (and big) teams. No need for Mata at all.

His attacking abilities and contributions were never questioned (much), it was his overall contribution to the team, the defending commitment that Mourinho's system requires that cost him his position and lately led him out of the club. If anything we look way more vulnerable defensively this year than last year. Our pressing is in no way what it used to be and Mata would only make that look way worse.

[Pizy 18,877]

Completely disagree. I think Mata more than ever doesn't fit our team. With him and Cesc in the middle in addition to slow, we don't have enough physicality. Hazard while not useless isn't exactly a workhorse when it comes to pressing and defending. So you have completely useless Mata, Hazard that is more or less and Cesc who relies a lot on how much Matic covers him. Then you added a newbie in the team in the RW - which we don't know if will be able to cope with the physicality of the league and I'm sorry, but that's a disaster waiting to happen all over. It might not work even against small teams. Also, as someone pointed out, Oscar works well against small teams and we have Cesc, Costa and Hazard also working against small (and big) teams. No need for Mata at all.

His attacking abilities and contributions were never questioned (much), it was his overall contribution to the team, the defending commitment that Mourinho's system requires that cost him his position and lately led him out of the club. If anything we look way more vulnerable defensively this year than last year. Our pressing is in no way what it used to be and Mata would only make that look way worse.

Agree to disagree, then.

Again, purely speaking of attacking play, Mata needs pace and movement in front of him to thrive. This is why he doesn't look half the player at United as he did here. He's got an aging RvP, an injury plagued Falcao, and no wingers to speak of there. Their attack is stagnant and dull most of the time. He's resigned to sideways passes and walking pace. Here he'd have loads of movement and pace with which to work.

Our attack would be better in my opinion while our overall play would likely suffer, so I agree with you there. We'd probably resemble Arsenal or Liverpool a bit whereas we'd score 3-5 but also concede loads.