Too many cooks spoil the broth

With Juan Mata looking destined to join Manchester United there is a lot of speculation as to how will he fit into a full strength United side. A player who for the past two years had been Chelsea's player of the season could was ousted by the former young pretender turn star Oscar, but will Mata's proposed move bring success or will it be more bench time for the Spanish international.

Mata has looked a shadow of himself when pushed out wide for Chelsea this season. The same can be said for United's former Bundesliga player of the year Shinji Kagawa. Manchester United's manager David Moyes seems reluctant to play Kagawa there preferring almost every other option. This could not only spell the end for a player who was pivotal to the success of Borussia Dortmund but also see Mata replace him in a wide role on the left.

Unfortunately for him, with the ever improving Adnan Januzaj proving a revelation and Moyes' consistent desire to play Valencia, Mata's lack of form playing wide may see him fall out of favour there and have to fight for the number 10 role with club legend Wayne Rooney

People will suggest that the United first choice front for will look like this:

                                             Van Persie

Mata                                     Rooney                               Januzaj

However, only two out of the four are playing in their most effective positions. When Mata has played this season he has underperformed when placed out wide.

Obviously strength in depth is key to any side and having an abundance of attacking options can not be seen as a bad thing but there is also many negative impacts of this. For one, players vying for a starting role will need to make sure they perform or fear being dropped. This fear can drive better performances but can also see players afraid to express themselves and when they do get a chance lack match sharpness, for example Javier Hernandez at the moment.

So instead of adding to an already populated position in the United squad, Moyes should have looked to improve areas where United have looked the most vulnerable, across back four and in centre midfield. There is not enough quality in this area, whereas in attacking positions there are too many options, not enough consistency and because of this they have underperformed this year.

Only time, and a signed contract, will tell whether it will be a success story, but what it has done is made the shelf life of a number of players considerably shorter.