Also, it's amazing the way this coward term has grown amongst United fans. I think people need to get the sand out of their pants when a player puts in a bad performance and understand that being low on confidence is a part of life, no matter what the profession.
25
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 35
- Clean sheets
- 12
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 5
- Yellow cards
- 4
Thats where we are fundamentally disagreeing. I don't think he is giving his all, and therefore think he's a disgrace. Whereas you think he's trying his best but just isn't good enough.
Because he hasn't improved on a great season, he isn't giving his all? So any footballer who doesn't improve should be called out for not giving their all. Some players don't improve.
We don't see them train but from all accounts from the people there, he is a very hard worker and looks to prepare the best he can.
Jesus Christ, coward seems to be the new buzzword around the Caf. Mata has done feck all this season, even less than Valencia and yet he isn't called a coward. These players do not go out onto the pitch and shy away from the ball. Even if Valencia never makes it past the 1st man, the hard cnut still asks for the ball regardless. The cowards are the ones who have the ability but aren't showing it.
I would call him a disgrace. He walks out onto the pitch brings his shell with him and just crawls into it from the off. Either that or he's just plain fecking stupid because he doesn't even bother using his one asset anymore, his pace. Just receive, do a twirl and pass safely. Or if God forbid he does get a chance one on one with the fullback, just smack it and hope for the best. Taking on the fullback, just bloody kicking it past him and using his pace seems unfathomable to the man.
Why? Its accurate when describing a player who is so afraid to lose the ball he doesn't look for it or when he gets it he passes back.
Among the cowards list:
Cleverly
Young
He has played 3 games and scored in 1, not exactly feck all. He is however not being creative enough or being a huge impact and that is simply because of the horses shit playing as wing backs in the 342, Valencia & Young. They are offering no width and are cowards as mentioned above. When we do not have creativity coming from the wide areas we have to resort to playing though the middle, Fletcher and Cleverly haven't a clue how to do that so its left up to Mata. How do you stop United? mark the crap out of Mata. That's why he hasn't been exactly world beating.
Its got nothing to do with not improving. Its to do with the fact he constantly takes the easy option. Rather then taking any responsibility to make something happen, to beat a man, to whip in a decent cross, he'll just turn backwards and pass it to someone else to deal with, or he'll just smash it at the defender. And he's been doing it for over two years now.
Its beyond ridiculous.
I see, so you would prefer a player who has spent 2 seasons smashing it against the shins of the opposition LB to carry on trying to? To show he has heart? If you ask me, I'd rather Antonio passed the ball back to the players who have the ability to hurt the opposition. When all Rooney and Mata have been doing for the past 3 games is get the ball in a central position and swing it out to Valencia, who is the real coward? The one who has been shit for 2 years or the guys who have genuine ability but aren't showing it? It's not a coincidence that we go from playing the best football we have for a few years in pre-season to being shit in the PL. These million pound signings who are above criticism are fecking shitting their keks and are just moving the ball to others who are genuinely poor players now.
Yes, he takes the easy option, as do many players but because we have seen him play much better, we won't accept anything else. We watch from our chairs at home, he is on the pitch seeing something different. It's so easy to sit and here and say take him on but on the pitch, he might not have the same sense. Again, there is no doubting his regression and I don't see a future for him at United but to call him a disgrace is way over the top, especially as you are basing that on performance levels.
He shut down his Twitter account. Apparently after this weekend's Ecuador friendly v. Bolivia he's received a lot of unfavorable comparisons to Renato Ibarra, Ecuador's young winger who plays for Vitesse in Holland.
So he doesnt manage to stand out in that shitty Ecuadorian side nowadays?
Must be pretty low on confidence for nearly 3 years now is it? i reckon he should probably go about starting to address that problem.
I don't have a problem at all with him not being good enough, but there is no doubt that he puts in a shift and does his defensive duties for instance, even when he comes up lacking in attack.
Calling him a disgrace, however, is a disgrace. He has said or done nothing to disgrace the club. If he plays poorly, it is the manager's duty to take him out of the starting XI. Thus why I think your comments are some way off the mark - call him a coward in attack and playing a little shit, sure, but disgrace is going too far.
100% spot on, mate - far more eloquently put than what I managed!
Has been terrible for a while now. Lack of confidence, our slow buildup play, and not having Rafael or a competent RB have all contributed.
He isn't a coward. Let's be realistic here.
He isn't a coward. Let's be realistic here.
Valencia doesn't look for the ball now? What a lot of old horse shite. He probably gets the ball more than anyone on the team.
He's a core part of our slow build up play issue. You want your wingers to carry the ball forward at pace and make up ground into the opponents half. When he's the main focus of our output through midfield and his natural instinct is to stop and pass it back you don't have a fecking chance.
Well our tactics for the last 3 seasons has been to pass to valencia. Horrible and predictable tactics that teams have found out. This has a lot to do with Antonio s poor form in my opinion . It has snowballed and now his confidence is shot and was evident at the world cup too.
...and then tries his damnedest to do the least of everyone with it.
He isn't somebody who hides from the ball. He lacks the confidence to do much with it. He keeps getting picked so maybe he's doing something the managers want him to do.
I agree with you but a lot of Utd fans are contrary hyperbolic planks - in the same way Fletcher was derided for years and now he's treated as a hero (by the same ppl), the first 3 years of Valencia's career here have been wiped MIB style. Only the past 2 years count (one in which he was reserved but had a great relationship with Rafael and we won a title).
AV has last his confidence and with the ball goes for safety first - it's a regression that started with the pressure of wearing the #7 and the effects are still there. But to call him a coward is ridiculous. I've seen some of our own players cry off for a sub with a little knock, others in tears - he couldn't see out of one eye and played on until the sub was force don him. Coward indeed.
If not for that coward assisting Mata and helping us get a draw we've be lower than 14th atm
Lacking confidence is not the same as being a coward. Ashley Young has shown cowardice (diving, evading 50/50). Clev has by hiding in CM when CBs needed an outball - AV has never shown cowardice. He is limited and lacking confidence in what he can do well. Up to the gaffer9s) to drop him - we obviously don't have better alternatives to wingback with Rafael unfit...
Bloody hell......
LVG looks disgusted at that pass.
I want the old Valencia back.
I want the old Valencia back.
The fecking space he had to run into, a square pass to his left or a long pass on to the left wing to what looks like Januzaj. Push the ball out of his feet in either direction and he'd have created 5 more options.
Send him to the glue factory already.
Send him to the glue factory already.
That gif 
The way he just stands still.He shouldn't be playing unless we are desperate, which we have been so far. It's painful watching him stand there and face the defender, with absolutely no clue what to do. I'm praying Rafael comes back and stays fit so we don't have to suffer his shite too much.
Don't really get what is laughable about that gif. Complete lack of options there. He's the last line of defence there, he's obviously not going to try and dribble past someone and nobody is making much of an effort to get into space for a pass. Especially Anderson, who does his usual "run behind the nearest opposition player" trick. I reckon Van Gaal is as pissed off with the poor movement off the ball as he is with the conservative pass.
I know people think I just defend Valencia for the sake of it but that gif is a really strange criticism. If you had one of him repeatedly smashing the ball into the full-backs shins, that would be a different story...
I know people think I just defend Valencia for the sake of it but that gif is a really strange criticism. If you had one of him repeatedly smashing the ball into the full-backs shins, that would be a different story...
It's pretty accurate at how messed up our whole play/movement is at the moment, in general, as a team
However, it doesn't reflect well on Tony V either.
What should he have done though? The only United player in space to receive a pass was Blacket and he clearly didn't want the ball, hence he was pointing towards the opposition box. So what was the next best option? Like I said, doing anything risky when you're the last line of defence would have been the height of stupidity. I don't see what other - sensible - pass was on?
Regardless he didnt have a picture in his head. Tyler Blackett should have got that ball first time or a shift out the feet to the player on the right. By the time he made up his mind he was closed down.. As expected in the EPL.
I agree. Whilst Valencia has been VERY underwhelming for a while now that little gif really shows our problem on the whole at the moment. First of all what is he doing in that position collecting the ball? Secondly why is our play so narrow?
Very very frustrating to watch but his options are basically nil in that clip which has forced him to go back to the goalkeeper from 3/4 of the way towards the opposition goal. Appalling from the team.
Giving it to Mata was a better choice or even attempting to switch it over to Januzaj.
It's not the pass back that does my nut in, it's how he had so much time, even some space to move into, and yet he just waited to be closed down. It's peculiar.
Even if he did hit it out to Blackett, he could have then knocked it on to Januzaj and Burnley would have been on the back foot again. Blackett was pointing out to Januzaj, so it was obviously in his head to get the ball out to him. Instead, the pass to De Gea gave them a chance to regroup.
Standing still for so long with the ball, will tend to reduce your options/angles.
He just didn't know what to do.
It's not cowardice or hiding, he just isn't very bright.
It's not cowardice or hiding, he just isn't very bright.
The picture in his head before he received the ball will have featured Blackett pointing frantically up the pitch and absolutely nobody else showing for the ball. The player on his right wasn't available for a pass until after he was closed down. He could have tried to buy a moment or two by shifting it to one side or the other but that would risk losing the ball altogether. A very bad idea with zero cover behind him.
Yes, risk. Something that he never takes. He stands on the ball for too long allowing the opposition to regroup, and I'm not just referring to this incident, which is obviously after a set piece hence why he's standing in that position, but whenever he's got the ball in space, he never takes a risk. Too safe and passive, literally offering nothing more than an outlet with no end product at all.
Not taking a risk when he's one on one against the opposition fullback is infuriating, I agree. Not taking a risk in that situation is just common sense.