Manchester United Banter Archive October 15 2014

15 Oct 2014 22:50:10
I am after some advice we have recently had a baby boy & A friend has bought him the blue Aon united top, do u think it will be ok if he wears it or shall I only put him in the red one till he knows? Don't want him thinking it's ok to wear blue football shirts . Thanks in advance . O he's 6 month now .

Dont really think it matters, he will know eventually!
Will be nice to look back at pictures of him in all of Utd's kits.

As Long as Man Utd is on it I dosen't matter to me once had a cheap pink conterfit united shirt didn't really matter

15 Oct 2014 10:57:12
For all the Juan Mata haters on the site here are some reasons why I'd be delighted if he stays:

(1) Players who consistently score and create goals are like gold dust. I'd rather offload players who cannot contribute at the highest level e.g. Anderson.

(2) Mata is more effective than Adnan . and yes I did see his free kick for the U21's. I mention Adnan as he has been touted as a 'No.10' a few times on this site and Mata spent time out wide last season. So Mata as cover/replacement for Rooney every time for me.

(3) He seems to a positive and popular character, we need that around the team at the moment with all the changes etc.

I like him as well. But he doesn't track back or tackle. And he is not fast enough.

15 Oct 2014 13:26:38
I haven't seen any "hate" on here for Mata.
And you can't unload players nobody wants. No one wants Anderson.

Mata just doesn't bring enough for the key position he plays for top class competition, he isn't physically capable.

Also when was the last time we saw Mata play an incisive key pass where we thought "class", it rarely happens? His assists are typically simple passes anyone could see or play, same goes for his goals, tap ins for the most part. He doesn't do enough to hold down that key role in the team, this is why he has struggled imo for us. He shows glimpses for sure, but that isn't enough at this level.

Nice guy though and intelligent, but so are a lot of people in life!

15 Oct 2014 13:27:41
Charlatan,

I don't think anybody has ever suggested Mata is not a popular character, he seems an absolute gem of a guy, very clever man and a great understanding of English and how the game works.

There is also no dispute from anybody that Anderson should be kept instead of him.

The reason people give for thinking Mata may leave is that he is on a lot of money to be a 'cover/replacement' for Rooney, and the way we are playing at the moment he MAY be surplus to requirements.

In my opinion IF we get back into the Champions League next season which I fully expect we will, as you say players like Mata are like Gold dust. He could be the kind of player that can break down defences in the slower more technical matches against teams on the continent.

I would like to see Januzaj given a good run of games, but the fact that such a great player (and someone we relied on way too much last season) may not be able to get into the team regularly shows exactly where United are now compared to where we were 12 months ago.

Matas end product short passing first touch and vision is great rooney has none of these rooney is a great striker one of the best in the world if you go that far he's not fast either you don't have to be fast iniesta was never fast neither was xavi schoels the mightent have been attacking midfielders but were in a position where pace is needed more

Matas Beard - I don't rate Rooney that highly and certainly don't think he should be playing in the hole. However the one major benefit he does bring over Mata is his physicality, he has a presence and does create room for others with his unpredictability, (unintentional of course). The fact we create more chances with Rooney playing rather than when Mata plays goes some way to proving this.

I would have Mata any day of the weak if games were based purely on technical ability and time on the ball, but the way the English game is played, pace & power are key aspects of the game. Mata just goes missing far too much and is only suitable for a minority of game styles with the assets he has.

We don't need a Mata type player with the intended 4-3-3 so its kind of pointless keeping him now to sit on the bench through the transition and then probably miss out all together when we change formation. Not to mention it is holding up the development of Jan & Per.

Matas Beard, I think the EPL is faster than the La Liga, (just my opinion) so Xavi and Iniesta don't have to be as fast, but anyway what i mean is, for the person in that position; having speed won't hurt.

Matas biggest problem is D

If Mata dropped back into a deeper position and picked up the ball with Herrera and Di Maria running he could play a creative pass into them because of his passing been better than both of theres