[Sir A1ex]

If you watched a player objectively you'd know what I'm talking about. He'd a very important part to play in our second goal. Better to focus on him conceeding a free kick that wasn't defended properly though.

He made a regulation pass in the build up to the second goal, as I recall. Hardly like he made the goal or anything.

I can assure you I was watching him very closely, and he was depressingly poor, esp in the second half. First half I'd give pay him the compliment of being solid and workman-like.

 

[KiD MoYeS]

Thought he did well in midfield, he's nowhere near good enough going forward to be utilised as an attacking player in this squad, but he has a terrific engine, incredible strength, great pace, and is at his best when he keeps it simple.

 

[mattsville]

Thought he did well in midfield, he's nowhere near good enough going forward to be utilised as an attacking player in this squad, but he has a terrific engine, incredible strength, great pace, and is at his best when he keeps it simple.

Agree with this, did a job, muscled them off the ball a few times and played a simple ball, can do backup job there or at right full.

 

[Still ill]

Solid enough in there today. Mobile and aggressive enough to be a presence in that current midfield set-up. A temporary option, obviously.

 

[MoneyMay]

Holy shit, Valencia has lowered the standards of expectations so much that now a 6/10 performance is now a good performance. He was nothing more than average, flowing moves broke down through him, he still hit the player's shins the 1 chance he got to cross, cut in a few times and should have chanced his booming shot on one of the occasions. Nothing to write home about and to describe him as a good replacement for AH is absurd because he is bringing about half of what AH is bringing to the table.

That's because you're expecting too much. You probably need to lower your expectations because right now, Valencia is a squad player and squad players generally perform at the sort of level he produced for us today. This is exactly what he should be limited to, and I'm glad that he's produced two good performances for us recently.

 

[bosnian_red]

You have to feel for some players like Valencia, just can't get praised even when it's justified. He played well, solid all around, worked really well with Rafael over on the right hand side and kept onto the ball well. Pretty much the only thing you could criticize him for would be his needless fouling at times, but maybe that was him trying to be a bit more aggressive in a different role then one he's used to. Could be very good cover for Herrera in that position though, gives us a different option.

 

[17Larsson]

Played very well today

 

[SteveW]

Did fine today. No complaints

 

[Jerch]

Yeah i must admit he played very well. It was obvious how much worse we were after he went off and how much better he played than Fellaini. Fellaini on the other hand, well he was not good to as the least.

But as LVG said he was tired and LVG decided to sub him. It was a pitty because he was very good but he is not playing as much as last season and because of that he lacks stamina.

We have a great cover for the Herrera there.

 

[Sir A1ex]

If you watched a player objectively you'd know what I'm talking about. He'd a very important part to play in our second goal.

Having seen it again on MOTD I take it all back. That goal was all about Valencia. He quite literally jogged forwards a few meters, then passed it sideways and slightly backward across the midfield.

 

[acnumber9]

Having seen it again on MOTD I take it all back. That goal was all about Valencia. He quite literally jogged forwards a few meters, then passed it sideways and slightly backward across the midfield.

Ok.

 

[Kag]

Had a decent game today, I thought. I prefer him in that role as opposed to labouring out on the wing. Needs to cut out the brainless diving in, though. It's been a problem of his for a little while now. Good game nonetheless.

 

[Danny1982]

Wow, who thought the awful, terrible, horrible, painful-to-watch Valencia could be useful in a game like that?

 

[Dunk]

He was so good today. Really happy with his performance.

 

[herokiller84]

He was good.

Manager found his forte,take a touch burst inside and find someone who can create.

Lets not get ahead of ourselves,yeah hes a workhorse and did his job,,,,still so many other options on in decent positions out wide and a shite cross.


But good,maybe like dimarias switch at real to a more central midfield role,antonio can emulate.

 

[Litch]

Did anything asked of him. Really useful squad player as he gives us options.

 

[Someone]

Wow, who thought the awful, terrible, horrible, painful-to-watch Valencia could be useful in a game like that?

Valencia struggles whenever we count on him for creativity, but with the players we have now and in that system he looked comfortable and added steel to our midfield, i'd like to see him play in big games.

 

[2 man midfield]

I think we saw him in a favourable light after that game, purely because he didn't infuriate as he usually does. He didn't do anything good in particular, i found myself praising him for attempting a cross, which even though it was blocked was preferable to passing backwards. Other than that i can't remember anything else he did.

But he didn't mess up, so there's that. Such a shame it's come to this when he used to own that right flank.

 

[Danny1982]

Valencia struggles whenever we count on him for creativity, but with the players we have now and in that system he looked comfortable and added steel to our midfield, i'd like to see him play in big games.

That is exactly how I pictured him. He's a hard worker who can be a solid squad player for the team, especially when he gets his confidence back. He's no Di Maria or Ronaldo, but he's nowhere near as bad as the first 20 pages of this thread suggest.

 

[Joga Bonito]

Holy shit, Valencia has lowered the standards of expectations so much that now a 6/10 performance is now a good performance. He was nothing more than average, flowing moves broke down through him, he still hit the player's shins the 1 chance he got to cross, cut in a few times and should have chanced his booming shot on one of the occasions. Nothing to write home about and to describe him as a good replacement for AH is absurd because he is bringing about half of what AH is bringing to the table.

No one is saying he is a good enough player to challenge Herrera for the first team spot. He is a decent back-up option to Herrera and ideally we can do with better quality back-up players in midfield but as of now I would rather have Valencia there ahead of Fletcher and Fellaini. You can read post #858 for my reasons. Unless you think there is someone better than Valencia for that right midfield role in the diamond as a back-up player?

 

[432JuanMata]

A better CM or RCM than a winger? Was good today which is good to see as there is a player in there. Love the Caf though still gets stick yet putting in a good performance . Has always been better defensively than offensively (ask Ashley Cole) and is a bonus that he played well there as if Herrera is out we have him and Carrick to step in.

 

[LLMU]

Put in his shift, did the simple things and make the right pass to better skilled team mates. Ya, did well for me.

 

[wonnie]

Good option in the RCM position - is capable of playing a shuttler role and provides great engine, tenacity and pace. Can go wide when required as well as that his usual position. Obviously Herrera is a better option but Valencia in the midfield diamond gives us different qualities.

 

[Aussie_Red_Devil]

I thought he was at his best when he kept it very simple just moving the ball along but when he found him self in a crossing situation he went back to what he does best and just blasted it into the defender.

I do think he will do well being used as a back up for Herrera this season.

 

[soap]

Yeah I thought Tony V had a good game, which didn't surprise me. His work rate, strength and defensive abilities haven't left him, which he can use those far more effectively as a cm, and his woeful crossing/lack of skill to beat a man are far less of a problem. He could be a very good squad option on the right of a midfield diamond. He plays there for Ecuador doesnt he?

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Always thought he would be a decent option more centrally. Playing on one side of this diamond thingy actually suits him down to the ground. In fact, until he was subbed off we probably looked the most defensively solid we've looked all season. With Herrera in that position we'll definitely score more goals but with Valencia we'll probably concede less. Herrera should be starting ahead of him anyway but nice to have another option.

 

[Pexbo]

Always thought he would be a decent option more centrally. Playing on one side of this diamond thingy actually suits him down to the ground. In fact, until he was subbed off we probably looked the most defensively solid we've looked all season. With Herrera in that position we'll definitely score more goals but with Valencia we'll probably concede less. Herrera should be starting ahead of him anyway but nice to have another option.

Agreed. As I said before and after the game yesterday, it's a role that plays to his strengths and doesn't ask him to display his weaknesses.

He's asked to do all the defensive work without being too close to our goal to concede dangerous fouls (well, maybe one) and he has Rafael doing the wing play work wide of him so he doesn't have to run with the ball anymore.

He also doesn't have to do anything creative as we have plenty of creativity. It's just an efficient support role.

 

[Annihilate Now!]

Agreed. As I said before and after the game yesterday, it's a role that plays to his strengths and doesn't ask him to display his weaknesses.

He's asked to do all the defensive work without being too close to our goal to concede dangerous fouls (well, maybe one) and he has Rafael doing the wing play work wide of him so he doesn't have to run with the ball anymore.

He also doesn't have to do anything creative as we have plenty of creativity. It's just an efficient support role.

To be fair, that foul was about 40+ yards away from goal... If we can't deal with that, then we're going to concede a lot of goals from set-plays this season.

 

[bishblaize]

Good game from Tony yesterday. He offered a lot more from that inside right position than we've had over the last few weeks, where all our play is either central or left. I'd even say that our overall performance dropped when he went off, albeit he was replaced by Fellaini. Not enough, of course, to displace Herrera. But it does soften the anxiety that our squad is paper thin.

Really wish the guy would use his left foot a little more though.

 

[Roboc7]

He did well yesterday and showed that as a squad player in that role he has some value, he offers us some pace, physicality and looked more dangerous going forward than he does out wide. Was a mistake taking him off and we suffered for it because Fellaini wasn’t mobile or intelligent enough to fill in for him.

For me there are about 10 players in our first team squad (not including the guys out on loan) who are playing for their futures, he is definitely one of them but he showed yesterday he could potentially find a new role to play and it was right to start him ahead of Fletcher and Fellaini.

 

[lem8sh]

Not sure was it a mistake taking him off considering he was booked and he is not a good tackler by any stretch.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

He's a very good tackler. That's why he usually makes more tackles than almost all of his team mates. Definitely guilty of committing unnecessary fouls, though. Which does justify the substitution, as you say.

We did miss him went he went off, though.

 

[Roboc7]

Not sure was it a mistake taking him off considering he was booked and he is not a good tackler by any stretch.

I don’t think Fellaini won a tackle after he came on and Mata was a passenger so I would have preferred to see Valencia stay on, he did commit some fouls but he doesn’t have a track record of getting sent off so I think he would have been ok to see the game out, taking Mata off would have been a much better substitution.

 

[DatIrishFella]

He actually cut in a few times from the right which was nice to see.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I don’t think Fellaini won a tackle after he came on and Mata was a passenger so I would have preferred to see Valencia stay on, he did commit some fouls but he doesn’t have a track record of getting sent off so I think he would have been ok to see the game out, taking Mata off would have been a much better substitution.

Got sent off in the WC.

 

[hurstafus]

Valencia went off due to injury. Was stretchered off the pitch after everybody else left the field.

 

[Roboc7]

Got sent off in the WC.

Yeah he has been sent off a couple of times recently for a bad tackle and for reacting to Sterling but he isn’t exactly renowned for being sent off and Fellaini was so poor and Mata so ineffective at the end that I would still have left him on even if he was in danger of being sent off.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Valencia went off due to injury. Was stretchered off the pitch after everybody else left the field.

Really? FFS...

 

[sincher]

I thought it was a decent performance - certainly one that renders the fact that we have never tried this before truly bizarre.

We have all witnessed him losing confidence in his ability to beat a man when playing on the wing, and we have all seen that he has many of the attributes needed to play CM, we have all seen him play well there for Ecuador, and we have had a long time with United desperately needing a physical presence in midfield... it is a real mystery.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

I thought it was a decent performance - certainly one that renders the fact that we have never tried this before truly bizarre.

We have all witnessed him losing confidence in his ability to beat a man when playing on the wing, and we have all seen that he has many of the attributes needed to play CM, we have all seen him play well there for Ecuador, and we have had a long time with United desperately needing a physical presence in midfield... it is a real mystery.

It's really strange alright.

The only possible justification I could think of would be because he's so one-footed. You usually want a CM to be comfortable with both feet, so wouldn't have considered him in the role until this right sided CM position came up for grabs.

Of course, there's a Ryan Giggs shaped hole in that argument...