Palace fan here (that was an amazing night, btw. Even for us. I took my lad; his first away game. Unforgettable). Anyway, thought you might like an insight into Mateta.
My understanding is we won't loan him out, but we will sell if you meet our price and can get the deal done in two hours. How that'll work, I have no idea. Regarding the player:
Pluses: Great attitude, hasn't let his head drop in spite of a difficult time at the club, not really a goalscorer, but like a lot of forwards goes on spurts where he'll score a bunch in a few games, then run dry for a long period. Otherwise, bang average player.
Minuses: Very big, tall lad but doesn't win much (if anything) in the air and despite his size, doesn't really put it about. In fact, he's better on the ground than anywhere else and considering his size, his control and dribbling skills are surprisingly good. The fact that collectively we can't score for [Poor language removed] but Mateta still can't get off the bench probably tells you what you need to know.
Conclusion: Really, on an average team he's a third-choice forward coming off the bench. Not a bad lad to have in the squad, but no more than that. The one hope (for you) is that if he gets on one of his streaks at the right time, he might help but really, if we can clear anywhere close to 10 million for him we'll probably be breaking open the bubbly. In general terms, Mateta is to big, second-class forwards what Maupay is to small, second-class forwards. No offence intended; just trying to be honest.
I hope you stay up. Can't imagine next year (or any year) without a trip to Goodison. Speaking as someone who's seen his own club in administration twice and on the verge of falling apart completely, I have to say I've never seen a club fragment quite like you have this season. I honestly can't find the words to say what I think of your board, but stick together and good luck.
My understanding is we won't loan him out, but we will sell if you meet our price and can get the deal done in two hours. How that'll work, I have no idea. Regarding the player:
Pluses: Great attitude, hasn't let his head drop in spite of a difficult time at the club, not really a goalscorer, but like a lot of forwards goes on spurts where he'll score a bunch in a few games, then run dry for a long period. Otherwise, bang average player.
Minuses: Very big, tall lad but doesn't win much (if anything) in the air and despite his size, doesn't really put it about. In fact, he's better on the ground than anywhere else and considering his size, his control and dribbling skills are surprisingly good. The fact that collectively we can't score for [Poor language removed] but Mateta still can't get off the bench probably tells you what you need to know.
Conclusion: Really, on an average team he's a third-choice forward coming off the bench. Not a bad lad to have in the squad, but no more than that. The one hope (for you) is that if he gets on one of his streaks at the right time, he might help but really, if we can clear anywhere close to 10 million for him we'll probably be breaking open the bubbly. In general terms, Mateta is to big, second-class forwards what Maupay is to small, second-class forwards. No offence intended; just trying to be honest.
I hope you stay up. Can't imagine next year (or any year) without a trip to Goodison. Speaking as someone who's seen his own club in administration twice and on the verge of falling apart completely, I have to say I've never seen a club fragment quite like you have this season. I honestly can't find the words to say what I think of your board, but stick together and good luck.
