Fantastic article by Michael Cox. Said it all really.
Mata's lack of defensive ability is really turning into a liability. Mata's central deployment is hurting Chelsea

Another good article which was posted last season. This is realized when our midfield were heavily exposed by fast passing and our two midfielders simply can't cope with that.
This is very similar when Mourinho brought 4-3-3 into premier league in 2004 and dominated the 442 formation. Two midfielders in 442 also can't cope with the 3 midfielders of 433.

But another point of view is that, Mata is an attacking player, why does he need to defend? Why not just leave the responsibility to the midfielder? Non-stop arguments...

This post has been edited by ericling: Jan 10 2014, 08:32 AM

I am totally against Mata transfer, ok anyway, who will allow him to go?
Unless, UNLESS, Mata himself requested to go.
Surely Jose would want to keep Mata, but that doesn't mean that he will play Mata. It's clearly that Willian, Oscar and Hazard are performing so well under Jose that three of them deserve to be in the first XI. While Mata has been under par.
Dont get me wrong, I am not saying that it's Mata fault, but since Jose is winning his games, he won't change his whole system just to fit in Mata right? 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.'

Call me naive, but I still have the belief that Mata wants to stay. First, looking at United system over the years, it's clearly that Mata doesn't fit into that system too. Second, who wants to play for United when you have a chance to win the Premier League? (Sorry I might sound rude to United fans, but I agree with Jose that United is out of the title race.) Thirdly, even if he plays for United, I believe that Spain is biased and they will not play him too.

Chelsea have NO reason to sell Mata too. We are not in need of the money. And if we're speaking about the FFP, Mata wage is VERY LOW. Absolute bargain. And Mata is still under the contract for 2.5 years.

Another IMPORTANT thing is that, we are now running well under Willian, Oscar, Hazard. That means we have Mata and Schurrle as backup. It's perfectly fine to me. Every top teams need to have 2 players in backup. Champions League is coming soon, that also means packed schedule.

Sorry for the rant. I know that I can't give Mata a call to ask him to stay, but hopefully he believes in Jose that his time will come.
'Do you want to spend the rest of your season fighting for a Champions League place or do you want to have a chance to win the title?'
[modified from Steve Jobs quote ]