Antonio Valencia | 2013/14 Performances

[Moonwalker]

Do you honestly think him being so humble and firing his agent has not bought him some extra credit among the fans and staff? Imagine if he were a real c*nt like Suarez, but playing just as badly. IMO he would be out the doors a long time ago.

Besides, i did not say him being nice was THE reason he still plays here, but i suspect it has helped him. Frankly i have no idea why he still plays so much, he must show something in training he does not convert to the pitch. I saw some stats a while ago and IIRC he produced something (goal/assist) every 5 matches or so. For a top-team winger that is just unacceptable

He is not playing badly at all, unless that penny drops you won't be able to explain this to yourself in a million years. You can find dosens of examples of people being nice, but that giving them no extra credit whatsoever. In fact, the examples are so numerous, you needn't look farther than our recently sacked manager.

 

[Tarrou]

So first Fergie, then Moyes, and now it seems Giggs loves having Valencia in the side despite his complete lack of final ball. Surely his run-good can't extent to LVG as well?

My preference would be to keep him as back-up for winger and full-back, as I still love him, just for his mono-expression mostly.

 

[Moonwalker]

Just wait till the notoriously obtuse footballers catch on to this agent sacking trick. We'll soon have a mass exodus of agents.

 

[Ekeke]

So first Fergie, then Moyes, and now it seems Giggs loves having Valencia in the side despite his complete lack of final ball. Surely his run-good can't extent to LVG as well?

My preference would be to keep him as back-up for winger and full-back, as I still love him, just for his mono-expression mostly.

Rooney loves him too

 

[Devil may care]

The reason he starts so often is his pace and the lack of said pace in CM, he'll tuck in and help them out when we don't have the ball and that makes him valuable, as he offers very little in the sense of what wingers are usually played for which is to make and score goals.

 

[Ekeke]

Pace, carrying the ball up the pitch, aggression/tackling which maybe we lack from cm, width as an easy option when none of our central players want to try a pass through the middle.

 

[Sunny Jim]

I think Valencia is quicker and stronger than Nani. When Rooney was asked to pick one team mate's attribute he could have, he picked Valencia's pace.

He's also more disciplined when it comes to maintaining our width and always giving the team an outlet. It's just a shame his final ball is non existent.

Valenica was once clocked to run at 35 km/h which made him the fastest player in the world. Yep, faster than Bale and Ronaldo.

 

[Bobcat]

He is not playing badly at all, unless that penny drops you won't be able to explain this to yourself in a million years. You can find dosens of examples of people being nice, but that giving them no extra credit whatsoever. In fact, the examples are so numerous, you needn't look farther than our recently sacked manager.

Not playing badly? He has 3 (THREE!) assists in over 1700 PL minutes this season, about 1 every 560 minutes or so. Not saying hes the only one who hasn't delivered, but how on earth can you classify that as "not bad".

You also have to consider the fact that we tend to shift the ball wide and right when we attack, so it's not like he sees little of the ball either

 

[Adcuth]

Really think he needs to be doing extra training on beating the first man with his crosses, he was awesome a few years back with his driven crosses which Rooney thrived on, he's gone so frustrating these days though. He really is a handy player to have with his strength, work rate and speed but for him to get a first team spot consistently under the new manager he will have to sort himself out.

If we need to lose a winger he beats Ashley Young every time so he's safe in that respect.

 

[Ekeke]

Valenica was once clocked to run at 35 km/h which made him the fastest player in the world. Yep, faster than Bale and Ronaldo.

Of course he really isnt. Sterling is faster

 

[Moonwalker]

Not playing badly? He has 3 (THREE!) assists in over 1700 PL minutes this season, about 1 every 560 minutes or so. Not saying hes the only one who hasn't delivered, but how on earth can you classify that as "not bad".

You also have to consider the fact that we tend to shift the ball wide and right when we attack, so it's not like he sees little of the ball either

He is not playing to the best of his ability, nor has this been his best season by any stretch, but even when he does play very well, like he did vs Bayern(a match in which he produced an assist as well as being our man of the match, which your conveniently picked statistics will not show) he still get's the 'shit as usual' piffle from the people on here.

It's this bias* on your part that explains your own incredulity, much better than any theory about him being a nice guy explains his continuous selection(by 3 different managers).

* Whether it's bias or conformity I'm not sure. Not mutually exclusive anyway.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Never has a player regularly left me feeling equally satisfied and disappointed. He remains an absolute beast, his work rate is second to none, he can beat any full-back on pure power, yet he consistently fails to deliver crosses of any quality.

 

[Borys]

Valenica was once clocked to run at 35 km/h which made him the fastest player in the world. Yep, faster than Bale and Ronaldo.

If he could utilize his speed he would be a very good asset for us. Unfortunately, he's more of an athlete than a footballer these days IMO. These stats Bobcat mentioned are absolutely terrible for ManUtd winger.

 

[acnumber9]

More goals and assists than everyone's favourite son on the other flank. He's also a team player who those who have worked with him rate highly.

 

[Tomuś]

Pogue absolutely nails it (as do Moonwalker and acnumber9). We are better with Valencia in the team than we are without him, whether some like it or not. Not Man Utd standard? None of our wingers is. We don't have Ronaldos and Beckhams anymore and till we sign a better winger, which we should, he has to play to give us the right balance.

 

[RedStarUnited]

Yep, which brings me back to this crazy idea that he lacks intelligence. He's actually one of our most disciplined and intelligent players. You see it in his choice of pass too. Very high pass completion (if you ignore the crosses, that is!) and usually chooses the right option. Then there's his defensive attributes, which are about more than just getting stuck in. He's great at anticipating danger and dropping back to help out the back four when needed. Very clever movement and positioning in our own half.

His final ball has gone to shite, though. That's a real problem. For me this is more about him struggling to beat that last defender. Perhaps because he's lost a bit of pace. He was never an amazing crosser of the ball but seemed to be able to beat his man a lot more and get crosses in without anyone closing him down. Now he seems to be needing to hit crosses in before he beats his man and lacks the quality of delivery to whip it round them, Beckham style, so it hits the closest defender far too often.

An intelligent player would have perfected a way to cross a ball properly by now. He has played in most games when fit, always for some reason our go to guy (Rooney loves to spread it wide), and yet isnt outputting anything close to what he should be. Give Nani or Young the same amount of playing time and i guarantee they will exceed Valencias goal/assist output. Valencia is one of the players that fuel my dream to spend a week at Carrington to see how a player like him can start so many games for us. He must be an amazing trainer and Nani must be a shit one.

As for Rooney saying he wishes he had his speed, HA!. Its not like Rooney is slow is he? how about Van Persie or Mata's technique Wayne? English mentality personified.

 

[Brightonian]

He is not playing to the best of his ability, nor has this been his best season by any stretch, but even when he does play very well, like he did vs Bayern(a match in which he produced an assist as well as being our man of the match, which your conveniently picked statistics will not show) he still get's the 'shit as usual' piffle from the people on here.

It's this bias* on your part that explains your own incredulity, much better than any theory about him being a nice guy explains his continuous selection(by 3 different managers).

* Whether it's bias or conformity I'm not sure. Not mutually exclusive anyway.

Yep, this is what annoys me about the Caf's response to Valencia (and a few other players too, actually). It's not that I'm a massive fan or that I wouldn't happily replace him with someone top quality. But there's zero nuance in people's response to him, and some simply refuse to notice his good games when he has them.

 

[Pexbo]

He is not playing to the best of his ability, nor has this been his best season by any stretch, but even when he does play very well, like he did vs Bayern(a match in which he produced an assist as well as being our man of the match, which your conveniently picked statistics will not show) he still get's the 'shit as usual' piffle from the people on here.

It's this bias* on your part that explains your own incredulity, much better than any theory about him being a nice guy explains his continuous selection(by 3 different managers).

* Whether it's bias or conformity I'm not sure. Not mutually exclusive anyway.

It's ironic that you mention that assist when talking of conveniently picked stats as it was a terrible cross that floated miles away from its target before Evra turned it into a wonder goal.

 

[Nighteyes]

There's no doubt that both Nani and Young would be a lot more productive than Valencia had they gotten the same amount of chances.

 

[Brightonian]

As for Rooney saying he wishes he had his speed, HA!. Its not like Rooney is slow is he? how about Van Persie or Mata's technique Wayne? English mentality personified.

Pretty much sums up the idiocy of your post. "Rooney admires Valencia's speed = Rooney doesn't value technique, doesn't understand football, thinks Mata and RVP are shit, no surprise though is it he's English, English players have no technique or intelligence."

Clueless.

 

[RedorDead21]

Yep, this is what annoys me about the Caf's response to Valencia (and a few other players too, actually). It's not that I'm a massive fan or that I wouldn't happily replace him with someone top quality. But there's zero nuance in people's response to him, and some simply refuse to notice his good games when he has them.

Any winger who puts in 7-8 consecutive deliveries which all hit the first man game after game is really not up to the standard required. I wouldnt go as far as to say they should be lined up and shot......but...

 

[Brightonian]

Any winger who puts in 7-8 consecutive deliveries which all hit the first man game after game is really not up to the standard required.

Yep, that's definitely what happens. The fact that you feel you can sum up an entire season's performances in one hyperbolic half-line certainly doesn't underline my point that you've decided what your opinion of Valencia is and you now pay almost no attention to what happens in each individual game. Nosirree.

 

[Ekeke]

What happens in each game is he does what was stated. Put his delivery straight at the defender more often than not and waste the good positions he gets himself into.

There's also other good stuff he does between completely wasting our opportunities to deliver to the frontmen, unfortunately most of it was getting into the good position to put in a cross. When he wastes the cross, it undoes the good work he did getting there because we gained nothing from it. Its a frustrating cycle he cant seem to break.

 

[Moonwalker]

It's ironic that you mention that assist when talking of conveniently picked stats as it was a terrible cross that floated miles away from its target before Evra turned it into a wonder goal.

He was our only attacking positive in that match, and it's due to that fact that we've scored. Furthermore, he was also directly involved in the other great chance which Rooney missed, except that one won't show up in the statistics. So yeah, let's pick the one assist that actually does count and disregard it to fit the narrative.

Well, at least we agree it's ironic.

 

[Varun]

Pretty much sums up the idiocy of your post. "Rooney admires Valencia's speed = Rooney doesn't value technique, doesn't understand football, thinks Mata and RVP are shit, no surprise though is it he's English, English players have no technique or intelligence."

Clueless.

He didnt say any of that.

 

[Tomuś]

It's ironic that you mention that assist when talking of conveniently picked stats as it was a terrible cross that floated miles away from its target before Evra turned it into a wonder goal.

Watch it again. It was a good ball into the free zone where Kagawa should have appeared. Right on the penalty spot. Is it his fault that Rooney and Kagawa decided to stand on the edge of the box? If you can't give him credit for that move, you won't give him credit for anything.

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

There's no doubt that both Nani and Young would be a lot more productive than Valencia had they gotten the same amount of chances.

Nani may be, but Young? He came on Saturday with the team 3 or 4 goals up and still looked a step below the rest of the squad.

 

[Silent_Running]

i think Valencia's had a good season, and continues to be a useful player for us

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Valencia is a useful player, I agree. Particularly in the tougher games, but he should only be considered a defensive winger nowadays. Manchester United is a club with rich traditions concerning wingers, the fact Valencia can no longer cross is alarming and has been for a couple of seasons now.

 

[Moonwalker]

Watch it again. It was a good ball into the free zone where Kagawa should have appeared. Right on the penalty spot. Is it his fault that Rooney and Kagawa decided to stand on the edge of the box? If you can't give him credit for that move, you won't give him credit for anything.

To say nothing of how difficult it was to even make any cross with as little space as he had.

 

[Brightonian]

He didnt say any of that.

He suggested that valuing Valencia's speed is the same as not valuing Mata and RVP's technique, and then revisited that oh-so-tired of football clichés, 'typical English mentality.' So yes, he effectively did.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Poor and all as Valencia's crossing has been these last two season, he regularly sets up our right back to get some quality crosses in. Combines brilliantly with Rafael and even converted centre-half, Phil Jones was a real attacking threat against Norwich.

 

[Varun]

He suggested that valuing Valencia's speed is the same as not valuing Mata and RVP's technique, and then revisited that oh-so-tired of football clichés, 'typical English mentality.' So yes, he effectively did.

No, he said Rooney valuing Valencia's pace more than RVP or Mata's technique is typical English mentality. He's stretching it but the core idea is true. You changed it to mean something totally different to what he said and then added things he hadnt said at all for good measure.

doesn't understand football, thinks Mata and RVP are shit, no surprise though is it he's English, English players have no technique or intelligence"

What in his post pointed towards any of this?

 

[Moonwalker]

It's one of the most annoying things on the caf. It's a deadly sin to paraphrase. Anything but ad litteram will immediately earn you the accusation of word twisting.

 

[RedorDead21]

Yep, that's definitely what happens. The fact that you feel you can sum up an entire season's performances in one hyperbolic half-line certainly doesn't underline my point that you've decided what your opinion of Valencia is and you now pay almost no attention to what happens in each individual game. Nosirree.

Or the fact an opinion is rightly based on season after season of watching his performances where the average is certainly below whats expected from our main attack sources (the flanks) and has been for several years despite having more opportunites than all other squad members over those seasons in his favoured position. Welbeck should be a nailed on starter if you believe Valencia derserves such...The fact is..neither of them should be.

 

[Brightonian]

It's one of the most annoying things on the caf. It's a deadly sin to paraphrase. Anything but ad litteram will immediately earn you the accusation of word twisting.

Exactly. Bloody hell Varun, if you genuinely can't understand that I'm obviously paraphrasing what he said to elucidate the subtext, I can't help you. If you're being deliberately mulish because you agree with him, then just agree with him.

 

[Brightonian]

Or the fact an opinion is rightly based on season after season of watching his performances where the average is certainly below whats expected from our main attack sources (the flanks) and has been for several years despite having more opportunites than all other squad members over those seasons in his favoured position. Welbeck should be a nailed on starter if you believe Valencia derserves such...The fact is..neither of them should be.

So the 'opinion' of Valencia which you've distilled from 'season after season of watching his performances' is that he 'puts in 7-8 consecutive deliveries which all hit the first man game after game'? That's the sum total of what you've seen from him? Ok.

 

[Varun]

Exactly. Bloody hell Varun, if you genuinely can't understand that I'm obviously paraphrasing what he said to elucidate the subtext, I can't help you. If you're being deliberately mulish because you agree with him, then just agree with him.

I dont agree with him and I certainly understand what paraphrasing is. What you're doing isnt it though. Just look at what he said and what you posted he said in response. You can debate a point without pointlessly undermining the other poster by suggesting he posted drivel he didnt. I dont need to agree with him to point out what you were doing.

 

[Varun]

It's one of the most annoying things on the caf. It's a deadly sin to paraphrase. Anything but ad litteram will immediately earn you the accusation of word twisting.

Look up what paraphrasing means.

 

[RedorDead21]

So the 'opinion' of Valencia which you've distilled from 'season after season of watching his performances' is that he 'puts in 7-8 consecutive deliveries which all hit the first man game after game'? That's the sum total of what you've seen from him? Ok.

The sum total of his performances in recent seasons has not been anywhere near the level needed. Its laughable how you can even defend them. I could defend Cleverley, Smalling at right back, Buttner....but I won't because its farcical for a team like ours with ambitions like ours to expect said players to get us there. A one footed winger with one trick to boot whose game is as mechanical and predictable as its possible to be, minus the pace of his better years....hell your right!