Premier League 2013/14

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The Observer

The Observer

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Alik said:
What's the win ratio of Mou's Chelsea, vs Di Matteo's or Rafa's?
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Di Matteo: 52 %
Benitez: 58 %
Mourinho: 63 %

If we ignore the 9 Europa League games, because Mourinho doesn't play in an easy competition like that, it's 56 % for Benitez. Beating the likes of Everton, Southampton, Arsenal and Liverpool has also become harder this season in the league IMO. It's more competitive now.
 
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big_man

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I'm with the Observer, I think Mourinho is a disgusting character in football but stupid he's not. Most of his decisions have been justified, In the same way Pep never fancied Ibra despite him being the best center forward of his generation, Mourinho sees Mata in the same vein. Strong willed managers stick to their vision and it is a quality that they must have.

We all know the type of Manager he is, he'll take a 7/10 hardworking player over a 10/10 "lazy" player because he is so hell bent on hardwork off the ball. It's almost as if he prefers inferior quality teams technically that he can mould in his image and grind out results, it works most of the time until he meets teams that are simply of considerably better quality, I don't think that is the case with any team in the PL though (nope, not even city) and for that reason I still think they have as much a chance of winning that league as City do.
 
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S7_MUFC

S7_MUFC

New member
The Observer said:
Di Matteo: 52 %
Benitez: 58 %
Mourinho: 63 %

If we ignore the 9 Europa League games, because Mourinho doesn't play in an easy competition like that, it's 56 % for Benitez. Beating the likes of Everton, Southampton, Arsenal and Liverpool has also become harder this season in the league IMO. It's more competitive now.
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He has better squad compared to what Di Matteo and Benitez had...Hazard and Oscar are also better than they were last season......
 
antonnn

antonnn

Blue Blooded Aussie
Die Bayern said:
It's easy for him to say when his team won 3:0 though. ;)

The Mata situation is awful. As a Chelsea fan what do you make of it? I know he doesn't fit in Mourinho's style, but he's been one of your best players and is a fan-favourite as well. I hate seeing someone like him on the bench and would love it if he could leave. Can't see it being in the PL as well. Just hope it's not to PSG, though he might fit very well in there.
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Not the biggest fan of it, especially at the start of the season, but right at this moment I can't really complain too much either. At the end of the day, this time last season and the season before, we were out of the title race. This year we're 2 points behind and getting better, Hazard is coming into some good form, as is Willian, while Oscar seems to have hit his stride again after a dip in form and an injury. As awesome as Mata is I think we were too dependent on him the last 2 years, now it's a little more spread out. If he could hit form during the game time he gets then he'd give Mourinho no reason to drop him, but unfortunately he's doing nothing to merit a spot in the team due to a loss in confidence, and no matter how many starts he's been getting he hasn't performed like we know he can. He hasn't exactly been bad, but with other guys in form waiting to get on the pitch, he'll always be the first hooked, the Southampton game is a perfect example.

So yeah, pretty much, as much of a fan of him as I am, I can't say he should be in the team based on current form. It's not a nice situation but Mourinho's decision has so far been justified. Everyone would have assumed at the start of the season that we'd be worse off not having Mata as a first choice player, but look, we're a half decent bet to win the title and starting to look stronger.
 
AnfieldEd

AnfieldEd

I am Leg End
If you don't want Mata then give him to us like you did with Sturridge :D Him Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho would wreck teams :D
 
Z

zanela

Senior Member
If Man Utd finish outside top 4, Barca should make a serious move for DDG, who'll 've only 2 years left on his contract come summer.

FreeDave :xavi:
 
DonAndres

DonAndres

Wild Man of Borneo
The Observer said:
I still don't understand your problem. How is he hurting the team? Chelsea are 2 points off the top right now and finished first in their CL group without Mata. Last season at this point they were 10 points off the top in a title race that wasn't as competitive and exited the CL in the group stages with Mata. They can only get better from here. We are comparing a growing Oscar with a peak form Mata. Basically Mourinho's system with Oscar not even firing on all cylinders > previous system with Mata firing on all cylinders. Now let's wait until Oscar becomes truly world class.

Not reinforcing the squad in defense and upfront is irrespective of Oscar vs. Mata IMO so I won't comment on that. Mourinho's targets were probably not available at that time.

I don't see what's so special about Mata. Vicente del Bosque uses Silva, Pedro and Cazorla before Mata despite the fact that Mata as a left-footer could easily slot into that vacant RMF role where Silva is playing most of the time. There seems to be a discrepancy between how top class coaches rate him and how fans rate him based on Whoscored stats.
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The team isn't considerably suffering because of it, that much is clear. Comparing Chelsea's position this season with last season doesn't really spell out a lot of truth since there was a lot of managerial turmoil in the previous fall/winter. Look at Chelsea at the end of last season with how they are now and you'll see that Mourinho hasn't given the team some sort of killer edge with his arrival. Chelsea don't look at all better in games because of his system, truthfully playing some ugly football at times and aren't convincing as title contenders, and definitely not looking as possible CL winners. His decisions shouldn't be held in some God almighty respect because he hasn't been a revolutionary success. Mourinho's team doesn't just look like they aren't firing on all cylinders yet, they look held back because they still lack edge or quality in the team.

I don't care how he runs Chelsea but I don't get what his purpose was in changing the dynamic of the one area of the squad which was a true success (the trident in the 4-2-3-1). It shouldn't have to be Mata vs Oscar since they both were clearly able to play very well together, yet for some reason he had to bring in new unnecessary players and then push out Mata for the sake of his defensive system. Is he allowed to mould the team into his system? Obviously, to some extent, but there's nothing to be gained from adamantly losing a player as good as Mata just for his "system" when there are other things to focus on that'll actually further develop the team in quality. They don't look lost without Mata, but they don't look better either and it just goes to show that while pushing him out didn't have some sort of huge downward effect, it's not helping the team towards something better and doesn't look "necessary" at all.

Will there be any backlash from benching Mata? Maybe, maybe not; can't say that it looks like there will be any as of now. Yet what is there better as a result of it? Willian, even at his best, doesn't look half the player Mata has been in years past. Even if the system is centered around a developing Oscar, adapting to include Mata would not have been tough to do and he would've complemented the team very well. Instead he opted to change things in a place where not much needed to be changed, ignored the squad areas that actually needed change, and is now not even bringing in some sort of newfound success because of it. Chelsea as a team have potential to succeed under Mourinho, but they would've been on that road to success earlier had he chosen to direct his focus onto actual issues of the squad rather than playing his usual game of pushing out key players as a statement.

Mata is a very good player, probably the best talent in the Chelsea squad. Two time Chelsea player of the year and leading the team for the past few seasons doesn't seem to coincide with a player who is simply rated off of whoscored stats. The issue with the NT makes sense as it has been tried and shown that the role of RW suits that of Silva or Pedro more than it does Mata. Pedro has been on fire for Spain and Silva is a VDB favorite and while he hasn't been amazing for the NT, he slots in as a winger more easily than Mata does.
 
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Die Bayern

Die Bayern

New member
antonnn said:
Not the biggest fan of it, especially at the start of the season, but right at this moment I can't really complain too much either. At the end of the day, this time last season and the season before, we were out of the title race. This year we're 2 points behind and getting better, Hazard is coming into some good form, as is Willian, while Oscar seems to have hit his stride again after a dip in form and an injury. As awesome as Mata is I think we were too dependent on him the last 2 years, now it's a little more spread out. If he could hit form during the game time he gets then he'd give Mourinho no reason to drop him, but unfortunately he's doing nothing to merit a spot in the team due to a loss in confidence, and no matter how many starts he's been getting he hasn't performed like we know he can. He hasn't exactly been bad, but with other guys in form waiting to get on the pitch, he'll always be the first hooked, the Southampton game is a perfect example.

So yeah, pretty much, as much of a fan of him as I am, I can't say he should be in the team based on current form. It's not a nice situation but Mourinho's decision has so far been justified. Everyone would have assumed at the start of the season that we'd be worse off not having Mata as a first choice player, but look, we're a half decent bet to win the title and starting to look stronger.
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Fair enough. I was baffled at the start when he dropped him and thought it will come back to bite him in the ass. As much as I dislike the guy, can't argue about the decision. Oscar has indeed been brilliant in the number 10 spot.

Hopefully he picks it up and starts to get picked, if not I'd love to see him go to Atletico Madrid.
 
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