Ok, I know Mata is already a club favourite, and he is indeed my second favourite player of the new generation (after Oscar), but I do often wonder if our defensive problems are down to our reliance on him. Defense starts from the front and all that.
I never see the likes of similar players Xavi, Iniesta etc or our own Hazard, Moses, Oscar etc flinch out of tackles as much as Mata. And i've seen him flinch out of several over the past few weeks.
Maybe it's because they can somehow anticipate the other player enough that they don't end up having to flinch out of 50-50s - i.e. they never put themselves in situations where they have to make a 50-50. Perhaps this is something that Mata needs to learn - avoid 50-50s by positioning yourself to cover the pass instead, or to ensure your challenges are going to be more weighted in your favour.
Coupled with the fact that Mata is frustratingly ineffective when not given time and space on the ball, I do question his overall effectiveness when we don't have the ball, or when we need to defend leads.
To that end, given that we've got loads of miniature players who are never going to be favourite in 50-50 challenges, I'd like to see a coach that can instill the same kind of wolf-pack mentality in our front players whenever we don't have the ball, as per Barcelona. Hunt-down the ball carrier in packs.
I never see the likes of similar players Xavi, Iniesta etc or our own Hazard, Moses, Oscar etc flinch out of tackles as much as Mata. And i've seen him flinch out of several over the past few weeks.
Maybe it's because they can somehow anticipate the other player enough that they don't end up having to flinch out of 50-50s - i.e. they never put themselves in situations where they have to make a 50-50. Perhaps this is something that Mata needs to learn - avoid 50-50s by positioning yourself to cover the pass instead, or to ensure your challenges are going to be more weighted in your favour.
Coupled with the fact that Mata is frustratingly ineffective when not given time and space on the ball, I do question his overall effectiveness when we don't have the ball, or when we need to defend leads.
To that end, given that we've got loads of miniature players who are never going to be favourite in 50-50 challenges, I'd like to see a coach that can instill the same kind of wolf-pack mentality in our front players whenever we don't have the ball, as per Barcelona. Hunt-down the ball carrier in packs.
