Mateta

[JHB]

I’m not judging Mateta negatively any more than I am any of our cup winners for their indifferent form in December, just think he looks knackered. I’ve been wanting him rested and Uche (or Nketiah when he was fit) tried for weeks.

Maybe with Johnson coming in it is worth keeping him in on Sunday as it feels like ages he has pace up alongside him. I’d be bringing Uche on for him on 60 minutes as a default though.

I think he will look better with Johnson and Sarr (or one of those) along side him and Munoz back. At the moment nobody makes any runs off JPM and we don’t have Munoz running in behind either. That means opposition defences can double up on marking JPM and play narrow, blocking the centre because JPM is almost always the furthest forward.

 

[ASCPFC]

Mateta's poor form has saved us money on our corner flag budget. Every cloud has a silver lining.

 

[PalazioVecchio]

Mateta's poor form has saved us money on our corner flag budget. Every cloud has a silver lining.

yes. Another major silver lining, of his lack of goals ? the entire League are not copying his 'shirt tucked into trousers' pioneering fashion crusade.

 

[Linford]

We massively lack creativity up front he's not really getting much from either side of him.

That’s so far from true. He get’s a constant flood of chances but at the moment he isn’t converting them. Most strikers would love to get the service he gets.

 

[Willo]

A few seasons ago I was alerted to a player who had scored a plethora of goals for both Club Brugge and Ludogorets. I had never heard of him as I am not any expert on players at these clubs.
His name - Igor Thiago, whom Brenford paid £30 Mill for his services after I was made aware of this player.
Thiago in place of Mateta would be a welcome scenario however this is unlikely to materialise.
At present I have little confidence that Mateta could hit the target from the penalty spot !

 

[Linford]

For me his issue is the injury. I’m not convinced that he ever recovered fully and I’d like to give him a rest for a while in order to hopefully get back to his form from the first quarter of the season, which was absolutely electric and had him second only to Haaland in the league.

Uche has shown great skill in the limited minutes he’s been given. I have faith in him to fill the role.

Nketiah had a great spell of form towards the end of last season before getting injured. He has had good performances this season too but again isn’t 100% fit, replacing one unfit player with another will probably reproduce the same problem so I’d rather give Uche the time, and let JP and Eddie work on fitness in Beckenham until both can come back into the mix fighting fit and suddenly it’s a lethal forward grouping again.

 

[PatrickA]

A few seasons ago I was alerted to a player who had scored a plethora of goals for both Club Brugge and Ludogorets. I had never heard of him as I am not any expert on players at these clubs.
His name - Igor Thiago, whom Brenford paid £30 Mill for his services after I was made aware of this player.
Thiago in place of Mateta would be a welcome scenario however this is unlikely to materialise.
At present I have little confidence that Mateta could hit the target from the penalty spot !

I think the key words are in your final sentence 'at present.'
Mateta is not on top form, we can all see that.

However, when our key players return in the next few weeks I'm convinced we'll see a return to form and goalscoring.
He's never been the sort of player to conjure a goal out of nothing and needs the service those key players provide.

Glasner is 51 and has acclaimed Mateta as 'the best finisher I've ever worked with' which is quite an accolade considering how long Glasner has been working .

Thiago impresses me.
Plays between the lines of the penalty area, is a calm finisher who is prepared to dink the ball over the onrushing keeper while at the same time also having the power to score more spectacular goals as well.
Strangely enough he didn't impress me at Selhurst where he must have had one of his quietest games of the season.

 

[McAhuna]

JP's form went off a cliff after his feud with Wilf went public.

It was similar to the way Haaland's form took a nosedive right after the 'Stay humble' incident last season.

 

[Palacesince64]

It seems like we’re making excuses for his lack of form, everything from his knee injury through missing Eze and Sarr, to being upset by falling out with Wilf! The reality is he wasn’t out first choice striker under Roy having a poor first half of the season but had a great second half of that season when Ollie took over. He then had a poor start to last season scoring 4 goals in the first half before going on another great streak in the second half of the season. He’s been poor again this season. We can only hope the trend continues and he has a great second half of the season.

 

[JHB]

It seems like we’re making excuses for his lack of form, everything from his knee injury through missing Eze and Sarr, to being upset by falling out with Wilf! The reality is he wasn’t out first choice striker under Roy having a poor first half of the season but had a great second half of that season when Ollie took over. He then had a poor start to last season scoring 4 goals in the first half before going on another great streak in the second half of the season. He’s been poor again this season. We can only hope the trend continues and he has a great second half of the season.

Yep. The reality is he has always been a streaky player. I think he will be better with Sarr and Johnson in the team plus Munoz. However, he’s never been clinical so would expect continued hot and cold streaks. We should also remember that he is playing in a team which is in the worst form in the whole EPL so it’s not a great surprise his form is poor. So is almost everyone else’s

 

[CPFCSaturn]

As frustrating as he's been, he's still managed 8 goals in the Prem at a rate of just under a goal every other game.

The only strikers who have outscored him this season are Haaland and Thiago.

Ekitike (£80m), Welbeck, Calvert-Lewin all also have 8 league goals.

Woletemade (£70m) & Watkins have 7 each.

There's obviously context to the above (mins played, penalties etc.) but at headline level he's on track to hit ~15 league goals.

Pre-Mateta, we spent tens of millions and many many years trying to find a striker who could put up those numbers.

A rest and a bit of confidence back and he will get firing again.

 

[Willo]

As frustrating as he's been, he's still managed 8 goals in the Prem at a rate of just under a goal every other game.

The only strikers who have outscored him this season are Haaland and Thiago.

Ekitike (£80m), Welbeck, Calvert-Lewin all also have 8 league goals.

Woletemade (£70m) & Watkins have 7 each.

There's obviously context to the above (mins played, penalties etc.) but at headline level he's on track to hit ~15 league goals.

Pre-Mateta, we spent tens of millions and many many years trying to find a striker who could put up those numbers.

A rest and a bit of confidence back and he will get firing again.

Some with whom I have engaged in conversation are of the belief that we have witnessed the best version of Mateta and that he is on a 'Glideslope.'