http://eplstatistics.wordpress.com/2014/01/08/juan-mata-performance-analysis-2013-14-season/

 

In-depth analysis on Juan Mata's performance in comparison with his previous seasons and his fellow attacking midfielders.

 

Share your views on his performance this season and your take on his future in Jose Mourinho's squad!

This is the key stat:

 

 

He has the 3rd highest amount of playing time out of the 6 attacking midfielders, playing more minutes than the summer recruits. 

 

Considering Jose has supposedly outcast him from the team, he's still playing his fair share. 

Think those stats will be dramatically different come the end of the season. Willian has staked his claim

This is the key stat:

 

 

He has the 3rd highest amount of playing time out of the 6 attacking midfielders, playing more minutes than the summer recruits. 

 

Considering Jose has supposedly outcast him from the team, he's still playing his fair share. 

 

Good point!

 

Willian has also been slightly more defensive minded albeit less minutes on the field... And 2 more goals!

Think those stats will be dramatically different come the end of the season. Willian has staked his claim

 

And done so with less playing time!

 

That's just it, Mata is being given chances but has contributed to less goals than Willian and Schurrle despite greater playing time. 

 

I'm not criticising Mata at all but I do think Willian and Schurrle have done enough to justify getting chances ahead of Mata this season. 

I'm glad I am able to have seen the minute stat graph because when people ask me 'what is happening with Mata' they don't believe me when I've told them that he has played more minutes. A top top player, but right now we are a better team without him.

If Willian continues his good form he could easily be our best attacking midfielder,consistency wise.

If Willian continues his good form he could easily be our best attacking midfielder,consistency wise.

 

Willian at his best will never be even close to Hazard

Good article

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/tacticsandanalysis/id/2463?cc=5739

Willian at his best will never be even close to Hazard

bit of a harsh judgement considering we have seen very little of willian and he is still settling in. if he continues to improve as much as he has done of late, i see no reason why he cant prove to be a world class attacking midfielder

I think it's fair to say that Willian at his best v Hazard at his best, Hazard will always come out on top. I think it's also fair as True Blue said, Willian could well be a much more consistent performer in the long run. A large part of which is that even if he isn't producing in front of goal, he's at least putting in the work defensively.

Back to Mata, I think it's a good topic and it'll be interesting to see if we manage to keep hold of him next year and how his game develops with Mourinho guiding him.

I'm more interested in out of those minutes, how many he played at No 10? I'm contend with the fact Oscar is a better player ( with the current system), and god bless him for keep playing. Considering how much football Mata has played in the last 2 years, may not be all bad for him to have a bit of 'rest' right now. He will get starts when we get back to the 3 games a week period, and I feel a fresh Mata would do us a lots of good.

Good article

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/tacticsandanalysis/id/2463?cc=5739

 

It's a terrible article, actually. The usual Michael Cox trinity of hedging bets, after-the-fact predictions and ignoring evidence that doesn't fit the chosen cliche, all wrapped up in an "I told you so" bun, and served with a dollop of hindsight for good measure.

At the end of the day, Mata's performances have not been good enough. If he cannot adapt to what Mourinho is trying to impress then he has to be sold. The success of Mourinho, Klopp and Guardiola have forever changed the tactical landscape and a static number 10 who doesn't contribute defensively is a liability against teams who are willing to sit deep with 9 defenders behind a lone striker.

Right now my opinion is that Mata will most likely leave in the summer with Willian and Schurrle having a full season under their belts they'll both kick on from there. Mata isn't Mourinho's signing and he's going to continue to shape the squad to his preference and I think there will be about six transfers this summer coming in so a couple of players will leave to accommodate the signings.

I wouldn't be surprised if funds raised from the sale went towards a striker in truth.

Willian at his best will never be even close to Hazard

 

Consistency wise,read it again mate.

Edited January 9, 201412 yr by TrueBlueBIH

Sorry I pressed post before I finished, and then it wouldn't let me edit the post

 

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Unfortunately for Michael Cox, the statistics don't lie; Mata has improved defensively from last season and yet still finds himself "unwanted" and not dominating games like he used to. Mata's extremely high passing statistics- relatively speaking, miles ahead of his competition- shows that his ability is not in question, but there are questions over whether it is being used effectively. You simply can't say Mourinho isn't favouring him because he hasn't improved defensively.

 

I should clarify my opinion on his performances; it's not so much that they are not good enough but that they are not good enough to justify him being an outright pick over Schurrle and Willian. The stats in the original poster's article certainly seem to suggest he is no different in his output to the other two. 

 

The comparisons to Mata's output last year are really interesting, and paints a similar story to that of Andre Schurrle. Last year Schurrle topped the Bundesliga for successful dribbles, Mata was one of the best in the EPL and yet this season they find themselves approaching the dribbling success of Peter Crouch. Schurrle and Mata are actually quite similar in their style when playing on the wing. Neither are orthodox wingers, if you watch their movement in previous years, they both favour drifting from wide to central positions. This year, however, they are somewhat inclined to stay wider, suggested by the drastic drop in dribbles and shots.

 

In contrast, Willian has adapted much better. Unlike Schurrle and Mata (and evidenced no better than his games against us), Willian had played a truly "free" role at Shakhtar and Anzhi and seems to fit the wide role much better now that he is adapting to the pace of the league. Willian certainly seems more comfortable and definitely interacts with his overlapping fullback much better.

 

The biggest concern for me, and the biggest reason why I think Mourinho is erring on the wrong side of caution with Mata, is that we simply miss his goal return more than anything else. His creativity is being well covered as the team has improved chance creation as a whole, but in the absence of a competent striker his 12 goals from last season are sorely missed. Playing him (and Schurrle) in an unfamilar wide role is probably better for the team as a whole in the long run but it is certainly costing both us and them in the present.

Good article

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/tacticsandanalysis/id/2463?cc=5739

It places too much blame on Mata. Lost to Newcastle? He wasn't even on the pitch when they scored their goals and I think our midfield in Lampard and Ramires were more at fault if we were to start pointing fingers.

 

Should have trimmed a lot of that to the bare basics which is Mata doesn't suit Jose's style.

It places too much blame on Mata. Lost to Newcastle? He wasn't even on the pitch when they scored their goals and I think our midfield in Lampard and Ramires were more at fault if we were to start pointing fingers.

 

Should have trimmed a lot of that to the bare basics which is Mata doesn't suit Jose's style.

 

Their first goal was from a free-kick and  their 2nd was at around the 88 min, Lampard was subbed off at  70 mins.

Consistency wise,read it again mate.

 

I dont really get the point

 

Willian may be more consistent than Hazard but Hazard is still more productive

 

Basically what youre saying is if we did a statistical analysis of their ratings, Willians standard deviation would be lower, which means fukk all

I love our 5 attacking mids. They are all different and unique.