It's Official - The Juan Mata Thread

As much as I've been frustrated with Mata, especially with his use on the right in Prem games, he has also proven himself very useful. And he'll go on those run of good form (apparently when it's least expected).
With Sanches now on the team, I still believe the best use for Mata going forward will be in games, especially CL ones, where the tempo and offensive rythmn will have to be more controlled.
Also, when he does play, I really want to see him play centrally as it's where he tends to drift anyways and it's from there he tends to exert more influence on games.

 

poor man's david silva role is being a roaming playmaker RCM in a 4-3-3.

 

You put Silva in our system, he'll look like poor man's Mata.

 

silva would be hampered by our "system" if he were next to pogba with matic providing cover? nonsense.

 

Couldn't be happier that he's extended for a year. He might be my favorite player in the squad right now. I think we're still under utilizing him. Defensive frailties aside, he's makes things happen in the attack and has an ability to unlock defenses that is unique even at this level.

More importantly -- and I realize these are personnel decisions, not personal decisions -- he seems to love the game, love United, and clearly appears to be a great human being with all the charitable work he does and the salary donation movement in particular.

IMO, class act on and off the field.

 

Mata came as a goal scoring 10. I’m not sure about his utility in that role moving forward. Not full time. Perhaps if we ever transition to a 433 full time we can use him to spell Pogba as the furthest forward mid and he can get time (particularly when we are chasing the game and Pogba is playing deeper) in various roles.

 

Give him an extension... Very good squad player...

 

I am okay with this too. To have players willing to come off the bench with their quality, this is a bonus.

 

Mata is must .. Herrera was so so poor against citeh but definite yes ..

 

Scholes, Carrick and now Pogba have spoiled us. We've been conditioned to expect good midfielders to be effective even when they are alone/outnumbered.

Herrera is not the type of guy who can either run midfield by himself or even really be effective without someone to bounce ideas off of.

I'm happy enough with both re-signing, but happier with Ander. I think we'd be better served by Mata moving on and us giving his minutes to a kid from the academy or a young signing.

 

Happy too if we keep both as will also help in securing DDG.

Just wish in terms of deployment we see Mata as a sub more and Ander as a starter more (yes his City game was bad, but he was alongside the immobiles - Fellaini and Matic ffs).

 

You know things are not good when Mata does not put out his weekly blog.

 

Pessimism every where .. the end of Mou looms near .. hopefully very soon ..

 

5⃣0⃣ @PremierLeague goals
5⃣0⃣ @PremierLeague assists

A milestone day for @JuanMata8! 👑 pic.twitter.com/yKUYv6NNry

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 8, 2018

 

He excels in games where weaker teams sit back and give us space. Happy to have him here as an option off the bench.

 

Yup an excellent technical squad player ..

 

Mata is happy at United and is willing to extend his stay.

www.skysports.com/football/news/11667/11578267/manchester-uniteds-juan-mata-very-happy-at-the-club

Think he'd definitely sign a new deal, provided he's given a 2-3yr contract. Not sure however a one year extension (given he'll be 31 by the end of the season) would cut it for him, especially if he has other options on the table.

 

We shouldn't be giving players over the age of 30 anything but 1 year contracts. Physical ability fades too rapidly after 30 to be handing out multi-year contracts.

 

It is already our policy and I don't expect the club to deviate from it. But if there ever was a player we perhaps should consider doing it differently, it would be him.
Mata has never relied on his athleticism or physical abilities in his career and it's not inconceivable that he could perform at his expected level for some time yet.
Would like it personally if he could be around for the next 2yrs. Great team guy, personality in the dressing room. And as previously stated, it's hard to think of a better mentor on the team for Gomes, if he were to be promoted to the senior team next year (which I feel could be time).

 

You dont make exceptions for guys like Mata, even if they are great team players. You make exceptions for elite talent if there's a threat of them leaving. That's about the only time. You don't want to set a bad precedent for a squaddie that other players can refer to when negotiating.

 

I'm not saying that United will break their rule for Mata. I've clearly said so above and I've also mentioned that ultimately, I believe it will the catalyst for him leaving next summer.
What I did say is that he is a player I would consider breaking that rule for: there are exceptions to every rule, as circumstances are different from one player to the next. And I don't think that elite talent should be exempt to the rule either, as getting older and possibly losing it overnight, is pretty much the point of such a rule in the first place (and why I think it to be a sensible one in most cases).
Mata has made it clear how much he loves the club. I'm sure negotiations would be pretty easy and he would not look to hold the club hostage. And with his game, being based on anything but the physical aspect, it would not be difficult to break the rule about contracts for players over 30.
But again, I don't expect someone like Woodward to get those nuances or simply operate that way and this why I think Mata will be gone in the summer.

 

You glossed right over the reason you don't break the rule for someone like Mata. It has nothing to do with Mata's negotiations and everything to do with future negotiations.

If you give Mata a multi-year contract, than what do you say when you try and negotiate with another over 30 player on the team and they point to the club giving Mata a multi-year deal? It because hes a good team player? No, you've broken the clubs stance on something and now the doorway is open. Otherwise, when players over 30 ask for a multi-year option you can say that the policy is already in place and they wont make an exception. It's easy to take that as a agent/player.

The reason I say you make an exception for elite talent is because, say you give Ronaldo a multi-year deal after 30. If another player tries to use that as a reference point for when an exception was made, it's easy to just say "are you on the level of Ronaldo?" which shuts down the conversation.

 

The main argument for me breaking the multi year contract rule for players over 30, is because I believe, as I clearly stated, that physical ability and decline, probably will not apply to him.
Him being a good guy and teammate have nothing to do with why I'd consider breaking the rule: those are by product circumstances and have nothing to do with the fundamental reason stated above...
But like I said, I imagine Woodward has implemented that rule for the specific reason that he wants to keep some measure of control when negotiating with players a certain age.
But once again for me, Mata would be worth breaking that rule for and give him something like a 2yr contract, even if it's in the guise of a 1yr, plus an option for another. I imagine it's entirely possible...