Transfer Rumour Juan Mata

[blueblue]

Who has Martinez bought (that's the main job of DOF) that shows any potential to be good enough?

Lukaku and Deulofeu. Both at the time who were well known and recognized as leading young European talents.

All the rest of his signings we are actually going to have a hard time unloading just to get them off the wage bill. Martinez wasn't good at anything. He lucked into a very good team that was well drilled and just needed a top class striker which he then also lucked into on the last day of the transfer window. When his luck ran out we saw the emperor actually had no clothes.

Galloway and Holgate look promising, ask @MoutsGoat about Besic, I am told he has an opinon on him.
Getting both Lukaku and Deulofeu to Everton were quite an achievement, I would say.

But, most important of all has been the development of Galloway, Holgate Pennington, Davies, Connolly, Kenny, Dowell, Walsh, Ledson to name just nine is worthy of giving somebody a job.
That is an incredible numbers of academy players pushing for a place and I have probably missed a couple. Most clubs would not have that many in twenty years.
It was right to get rid of him as manager, but let's at least recognise what he did well.

 

[CynicalBlue]

Lads can we stick on topic rather than discussing the merits of individual posters.

Thanks

Could you discuss/disclose the shirt number Mata will wear please?

 

[ToffeeTownMilto]

Could you discuss/disclose the shirt number Mata will wear please?

... Juan?

 

[Westland]

Galloway and Holgate look promising, ask @MoutsGoat about Besic, I am told he has an opinon on him.
Getting both Lukaku and Deulofeu to Everton were quite an achievement, I would say.

But, most important of all has been the development of Galloway, Holgate Pennington, Davies, Connolly, Kenny, Dowell, Walsh, Ledson to name just nine is worthy of giving somebody a job.
That is an incredible numbers of academy players pushing for a place and I have probably missed a couple. Most clubs would not have that many in twenty years.
It was right to get rid of him as manager, but let's at least recognise what he did well.

I'm not as up on the youth players. He bought Galloway and Holgate. Who did he buy of the rest?

Plus I was very impressed with Davies when I saw him but the rest definitely are in the two early to judge category. That's not me being negative. I just think it's a huge step up from youth league to a premier league top 6 squad. Realistically if one or two of them make it for us we will be doing well.

The players who were slightly older that he bought. The likes of Henen and Leonardo Rodriguez etc seem to be no closer to the first team than the day we bought them and really at that age it should have been pretty clear whether they were good enough or not.

Besic was a good buy. I'm not sure he will eventually make it with us but we will definitely make money on him if not.

 

[rochdaleblue]

Galloway and Holgate look promising, ask @MoutsGoat about Besic, I am told he has an opinon on him.
Getting both Lukaku and Deulofeu to Everton were quite an achievement, I would say.

But, most important of all has been the development of Galloway, Holgate Pennington, Davies, Connolly, Kenny, Dowell, Walsh, Ledson to name just nine is worthy of giving somebody a job.
That is an incredible numbers of academy players pushing for a place and I have probably missed a couple. Most clubs would not have that many in twenty years.
It was right to get rid of him as manager, but let's at least recognise what he did well.

Id suggest credit should be given to David unsworth and the academy staff for the majority of players you've mentioned, not Martinez.

 

[The Esk]

Esk I thought things had gotten further than "whispers". We're on almost 400 pages here. Are we just interested or has there actually been talk between the two clubs?

Yes plenty, I was indicating that Mata has indicated a preference which is significant.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Galloway and Holgate look promising, ask @MoutsGoat about Besic, I am told he has an opinon on him.
Getting both Lukaku and Deulofeu to Everton were quite an achievement, I would say.

But, most important of all has been the development of Galloway, Holgate Pennington, Davies, Connolly, Kenny, Dowell, Walsh, Ledson to name just nine is worthy of giving somebody a job.
That is an incredible numbers of academy players pushing for a place and I have probably missed a couple. Most clubs would not have that many in twenty years.
It was right to get rid of him as manager, but let's at least recognise what he did well.

Of the young players you list he bought two of them (barely played Holgate) and the rest of they touched the first team was either in the Krasnodar game or in his last few. Ledson has gone backwards under him. The young players could have been given numerous opportunities to revive a flagging season but instead we saw the same old tired Barry McCarthy Kone selections rather than giving other players a chance.

 

[blue61]

Could you discuss/disclose the shirt number Mata will wear please?

Eleven, it's a Juan Juan situation.

 

[Socrates]

So to use in another sentence;

My girlfriend is rarely amenable.

Right?

Oh but she is mate.

just not to you.

 

[Jacko93]

I used to coach football with a fella called John. He was a youth coach at City and was responsible for the emergence of Stephen Ireland and the players within his year group. He was in constant contact with the manager over there at the time over player development and first team opportunities.

I can confirm that, even though he had close contact with all members of the first team and development squads, he had absolutely no idea what was happening with transfers as players would tend to keep it between themselves their agents, and well within the boardroom.

I've no idea who your mate is, but I have a feeling that they're less loose lipped round Uniteds Carrington training ground as to go telling everybody what their intentions are.

Of course, I could be wrong......

 

[when i score we riot]

I prefer we scrap the whole deal, pull out ASAP, just to avoid all the depressing Juan Mata puns

 

[blueblue]

Id suggest credit should be given to David unsworth and the academy staff for the majority of players you've mentioned, not Martinez.

Absolutely, credit goes to the academy, but any academy is only as good as the support it gets from the manager. There is no doubt there was a good rapport between RM and the coaches in the academy and in particular it would seem Unsworth.

 

[exiledtoffee]

Just that it wouldn't make sense Mourinho not wanting to sell Mata to an English club, considering he originally sold Mata to one of Chelsea's biggest rivals at the time.

Agree except that it makes sense after the Stones issue last year, and the fact that we are now almost certainly going to sell Stones to their biggest rival... I could see why Jose would be saying there is no chance he would want Mata to come to us. Not convinced he has the control to actually dictate where a player goes if he deems them surplus to requirements (I would think Woodward takes care of that) but i could see Jose saying "don't sell to them" if he does get a say....

Still think we will get him mind you.........

 

[blueblue]

Of the young players you list he bought two of them (barely played Holgate) and the rest of they touched the first team was either in the Krasnodar game or in his last few. Ledson has gone backwards under him. The young players could have been given numerous opportunities to revive a flagging season but instead we saw the same old tired Barry McCarthy Kone selections rather than giving other players a chance.

Ledson does appear to have gone backwards, but nearly a dozen others seem to have surged ahead, maybe Ledson will not entirely fulfil his early promise, I hope that is not the case, but we see it happen so often.
A lot of criticisms can be levelled at RM but not an unwillingness to play youngsters.
However, they are youngsters and should be gradually introduced to the team.
It would be lunacy to bring a seventeen year old into a struggling team and expect them to turn the team around.

 

[Peter watts]

On his Instagram page just now...