It's Official - The Juan Mata Thread

Lingard and AP neither have brains of Mata in final third and Mata has vast experience something useful to Chong/greenwood etc ... however i agree he is not much useful in Ole system specially when his wages are on higher side .. The fact whixh makes me mad is Jones Smalling getting extension when clearly they arent good enough if we are to win any major trophy nor they have any sort of experience-value beneficial to CBs like Lindelof or Baily...

 

Mata's way of playing is simply too slow in Ole's system: we've seen it enough recently in the few opportunities he's had. AP and Lingard may not have his brains, but they're both more mobile and athletic, which makes them more valuable than Mata.
It's nothing personal against him, I like him and with a manager like Mourinho still in charge, it would make far more sense for us to keep Mata. But now, it's best to move on: that's the reality of it.

 

Agree but when we are getting rid of Smalling Jones ? who have proved under 3 diff managers and countless occasions that they should be playing for club like Westham at stretch ..

 

I'm not for getting rid of Smalling just yet. Never have: he's been one of our best CBs in the post SAF years. And while I don't see him as regular material anymore, having him in a #3/backup capacity for one more season is perfectly fine by me.
Have no issue with him getting a new contract: what it means to me is that if we decide to sell next summer, at least we'll be able to get a proper fee for him. Tuanzebe can replace him in the CB rotation next summer.
Jones is different and I'd want him gone this summer, especially if we bring in a new CB this summer, as expected. The contract renewal again was fine, as we could have sold him for decent money (due to the fact he is still young and English). We still could and part of me hopes that is the route we'll take this summer.

 

Tuanzebe replacing is all romantic but looks hardly practical....Smalling been best post SAF is symptomatic of why things have been sobad for us in last 5/6 yrs..

 

Tuanzebe is still young and has proved capable when he had a chance to play, whether it's with us or on loan with Villa. Don't know what is impractical about it. He still needs seasoning and games, so I'd keep him out on loan next season, but his quality is undisputed, as far as I'm concerned.

 

Juan Mata (and Lee Grant) speak of their experience of 99 CL final

 

Disgusting. Just another of many examples of how poorly our club is run. Rather than offer one of our best midfielders a realistic contract, we instead offer one to an ageing player that plays a position we dont really use and doesnt fit into our new managers style. So now we have Mata getting worse and worse but still getting minutes over growing youth players like Gomes, Chong, and Greenwood.

Cool.

 

A lot depends on what is being offered for me. Mata is a bad fit for Ole ball as he doesnt have great pace in attack and in defence his pressing while energetic looking is somewhat ineffective.

His only spike for us is his creativity given we have so little. So can give us something as a sub where he can sometimes find pockets of space.

So on his current 150k per week - no thanks. On an appropriately reduced fee and sensible term then ok. However Matt Judge (who negotiates player salaries supposedly) has a record of over paying.

 

Not official yet but Juan Mata contract extension agreed.

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) June 18, 2019

All but official. Now to find out the length of the contract: some are saying 3yrs, while others claim it's 2. Either way, it's interesting that the club has chosen to deliberately break their own guideline so to speak on over 30yrs old players on Mata.
I love the guy as a person but this is really a stupid move (unless we've tied him down to let him go soon somehow). He's not a starter anymore, plus he's potentially in the way of talented young players who easily could have taken his minutes.

 

Either way its a joke. So we gave extensions to Jones, Rojo, Smalling, and Mata but decided Herrera, an actual first team contributor, should be released.

From a pure footballing standpoint, we're the worst run "big" club in football and its not even close.

 

Renewal doesnt make sense he is not gonna fit in Ole style of play.. another bad move by clueless cunts..

 

Juan Mata agrees three-year deal to stay at Manchester United

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...united?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

 

Just Mata me, please.

 

2 year extension, club option for a 3rd.

Kill me now. We're a joke.

 

OGS 'delighted' re Mata new deal: "@juanmata8 is ultimate professional. One of most intelligent players I have worked with. Great example to our younger players in his approach. Understands what it means to be a #MUFC player and has embraced everything about this great club."

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) June 19, 2019

So much for Ole's ruthless streak (so far at least): Mata, Jones, AY and Rojo are still at the club and likely to all be there by the start of the coming season...
Not to mention, everything that Ole has said about Mata, applies equally (and in some areas even more so) to Herrera. And he's a more active part of the squad, as well as a more natural fit to Ole's way of playing.

 

Because the feeling of being a @ManUtd player is something very special. Unique. I’m really proud to sign a new contract and keep trying my best to bring the club back where it belongs. 🔴⚪⚫🙏🏼❤ #MUFC pic.twitter.com/9IORMF73EU

— Juan Mata García (@juanmata8) June 19, 2019

 

Ambition.

 

Stil trying to figure out who some players were that were not meant to be part of Ole successful tenure.. Pogs ? DeGea ?

 

I am for Juan Mata signing an extension.

It obviously should not stop us from going after our signings.
We need a stand up example for the youth players to be around.
We need that type of experience for players that are coming that are young.
He still provides ability with lesser oppositions.

In other ways, I would take him over Lingard at 30 years old.

 

What do you think would benefit those youth players more...

Having Mata around as a mentor or getting meaningful minutes in the senior team? Because Mata re-signing is effectively taking minutes away from Chong, Greenwood, and Gomes. All guys that are potentially the future of the team.

The Mata signing is a disaster and a further indication that we have no plan or idea how to rebuild properly. We just gave a 2 year extension to a 31 thats never been worse, hasnt been good in several years, and has never been in a system thats fits him worse.

 

Mata would actually probably fit really well in a diamond at the tip, played behind some clinical, pacy and intelligent players ahead of him. Even now at 31.

Maybe not week in, week out, but definitely as a back up.

 

I actually disagree. He used to thrive in that role but his movement has gotten worse drastically. I don't mean the runs he makes but his actual ability to get around the pitch. It almost looks like he has hip problems or something.

I could see him being ok as the 10 in a 4312 only againsy weaker teams where we dominate possession. Any games where we expect to be dangerous on the counter can't include him. He doesn't have the pace, ball carrying ability, or passing range to make up for the lack of pace. I'd rather those minutes go to Gomes.