04 Oct 2014 22:24:58
I see many fans having a pop at mata. His record when played centrally is superb for goals and assists. Playing him wide is pointless because he is not a winger. There is nobody technically better than him in our squad. He is not the quickest in terms of pace but he is in terms of brains. When Mata was chelsea player of year two seasons in a row he played through the centre and was one of the best players in the league. If the players in front of mata have pace and make the moves he will pick the holes and find the spaces. Mata is a player like silva who you don't ask to defend you ask him to do what he is good at which is a playmaker. No doubt in my mind mata would feed falcao, rooney and rvp from that position. Mata wants to be at united and cares about the fans. The last two games i have been at old trafford and mata stayed and signed all autographs whilst our captain got straight into his range rover and drive away. Mata for me is world class and we need to keep world class players. Mata has done more than most if you look at his goals and assists. If he was put up for sale a long list of clubs would want him. For me Mata must stay.

1.) 04 Oct 2014
Completely agree. He is a model professional and fantastic playing as a number 10. If we get champion's league next year, having a deep squad is essential. Rooney may not always function as a playmaker and Januzaj is still young and won't be playing week in and week out so he will get a lot of games in his preferred position. Selling Mata would be a big mistake imo.

2.) 05 Oct 2014
05 Oct 2014 01:49:32
Completely agree johnjoe11

People slagging him off are pathetic. His assist and goal ratio are very good, he's a very clever technical player. He lacks pace yes, but his brain is quicker than most and he picks out passes so it doesn't matter. And in top of that he has good set piece delivery! For me, he should start every game before Rooney

3.) 05 Oct 2014
John. I agree that mata is an exceptional player and if we get into cl then we'll need depth.
But in my opinion, he doesn't possess the energy or mind that Silva has.
I watched city last night, and Silva was unplayable.
It will be interesting to see mata's performances in the next three games.

4.) 05 Oct 2014
Saw Silva last night didn't defend reason why city got caught on the counter down the left but he dictated the game as a number ten set p a few chances and could scored Mata is our very own version of this and how many times do you see Silva sprinted past a player very few Mata is the very same

5.) 05 Oct 2014
Silva is much better than Mata, he has better movement and can cover the ground quicker, he is braver and links better. Both very intelligent without a doubt and I like Mata, but he is not in the same class as Silva.

There is far more to the free role than goals and assists, its about being an outlet and creating space for others, Mata struggles with this part for me which is why we have created so few chances when he has played previously.

Mata won player of the year for Chelsea twice, where did they finish overall? He can be brilliant, but more often than not he is a passenger in a Utd shirt, who does have a very good knack of getting goals here and there.

We should see how he goes over the next few games with quality and pace around him, because in his defence this has been lacking and he needs movement to excel. But anybody saying that because he has scored a few and got the last touch before somebody else scored a few times justifies World Class status is deluding themselves, he is very good but not world class.

I admire him as a man and wish more professionals showed his attitude to the game and supporters.

6.) 05 Oct 2014
Beast. You've nailed it. Setting our prejudices aside, Silva is in different class to Mata. He does link up better than mata and his penetrative passing is the best in the league.
Mata is a decent guy, but personally, I never see him as a game changer. Silva is.
Hope mata proves us wrong in the next three matches.

7.) 05 Oct 2014
Beast
So basically Rooney is mata plus the running and minus the class?

8.) 05 Oct 2014
Silva is a better version than mata.
silva was excellent yesterday different class

9.) 05 Oct 2014
Yes IMBS but they are the two most important things, so virtual opposite players - if you could mix the two then we would have the perfect player.

10.) 05 Oct 2014
Silva is the best in the league at what he does and just a complete footballer. That is what he starts for spain and mata does not.

11.) 05 Oct 2014
05 Oct 2014 14:26:59
I read a quote that said David silva could find space in a single bed with dawn french. Different level to mata.

12.) 05 Oct 2014
GDS, classic.

13.) 06 Oct 2014
As a chelsea fan, I can say that Mata (when with us), was as good as Silva. He can score more goals than Silva and doesn't go hiding in the big games.