Had a good second half was still culpable in the goal. If we had Rafa playing, who knows if it would've ended 0-0
25
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 35
- Clean sheets
- 12
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 5
- Yellow cards
- 4
It's unbelievable isn't it? He does it almost every time too. I remember what must have been his first match at RB so he had to take the throw-in and he was raising his back leg at least a foot off the ground. Has never been called for it though. Madness, simply don't understand how a professional player can't take a throw-in.
Don't even get me started on his defensive awareness, he simply doesn't have any.
He was one of our better players today.
I picked up on the foul throw thing too. Am surprised one of them didn't get picked up by the referee.
Yeah, he never gets caught out of position.
He totally froze up when the ball passed through, I would think Rafael would be less inclined to do that.
Valencia did not help the attack. I don't think that should be ignored. He's more comfortable in possession than either Jones or Smalling in that position, but like them doesn't offer the wingers help in attack. It's night and day difference between what he does and what Shaw and Rafael do.
Man Utd 1:0 Crystal Palace
Still no crosses into the box. Why he exists is a puzzle to both creationists and evolutionists together.
He's not even bothered to overlap Januzaj. fecking useless.
Embarrassing that we still have to play him.
His days as an attacker are a distant memory, but he's been very solid defensively when played there. Bolasie is a tricky player, and he didn't give him a sniff. Seems to win every one on one and every physical battle.
I prefer Rafael every day of the week, but I have no problem with Valencia standing in, from a defensive point of view.
I prefer Rafael every day of the week, but I have no problem with Valencia standing in, from a defensive point of view.
This!
Thought he did a really good job today and was aware in his defensive display. As some already mentioned, Bolasie can be a tricky player, but he stuck close and made some really good tackles. If he can keep his concentration up like he did today, he is a useful alternative if Rafael is out injured. He also attacked the space well today and went more centrally if his side was closed down, something I haven't seen him doing a lot over the years. Keep it up Tony!
Offers nothing offensively but was very solid defensively today which was what we needed.
He outwrestled absolutely anything on the pitch today... good to see him doing good defending, shame he doesn't offer as much going forward.. he showed glimpses but shaw looked much more threatening.. anyway I am still waiting for another loss of concentration when he gets caught out of position.. but certainly gets better and looks like good squad player to have. Him and Fellaini would certainly be two scary soldiers as their physical presence is felt although valencia is more of a rambo..
Did really well today, especially at moving with the ball up the pitch to close the gap in midfield.
He's no Rafael in terms of attacking but been a solid backup these games.
Never understood the criticism of him as a right back. Certainly not top class there but more than decent. Been saying it for years but I'd like to see more of him in CM too. Strong, quick and aggressive in the tackle, rarely loses possession, powerful shot - surely a handy option.
Its because he tends to fall asleep sometimes, credit where credit is due it was a good performance. Dont be too surprised if he loses concentration at the worst possible time.
One of our best players today. Matched Shaw's contribution on the other flank defensively.
Very good today(CP home).. Didn't lose a meaningful battle and very sharp with his passing. Obviously when Rafa gets back he'll start from the bench but hopefully he can produce more of these kind of performances. Maybe at RB he can stay here a longer time..
I disagree with the notion that he's a good defender, Smalling got sent off literally last week, trying to bail him out from bad positioning. He doesn't really have defensive instincts and is prone to switching off. He had a bit of spell last season where he was costing us goals at RB, off the top of my head vs Chelsea away and vs Everton home. He's also a bit too rash in the tackle and gives away too many free kicks coming through the back of players.
To be fair, full back is one of the hardest positions on the pitch to get the positioning spot on, and you can't really blame him since he's only played there part time. He was good today defensively, mainly because Bolasie tried to run/outmuscle him, and you can't out-Valencia our Tony. But when he comes up against cuter movement, overlapping full backs etc, it's a different story.
Going forward he is still frustrating. As crap as Januzaj was today, he wasn't helped by the fact that Valencia didn't make a single overlapping run. He's clearly got some serious confidence issues, because he can go past players with ease around the halfway line but when it comes to taking on his man in the final third he is awful, and has been awful for almost three years.
Rafael is better both going forward and defensively - who would have thought that in 2012.
He had a good game defensively because they did absolutely feck all to give Bolasie as chance to square up to him, I can recall may be 3 balls played into that side and all aerial. Valencia had some good moments in the 2nd half when he took on some runs and advanced the ball really well into the attacking zones so that's a positive. If we're going to find a new position for him, it has to be as a central midfielder.
Both of them (Title)!Very valuable player. Didn't disgrace himself at CM either. Works hard for the team with little fuss being moved around. Good squad player to have.
Every game he plays as fullback he understands the position better and better. Developing into a very solid defender and we need as many of them as we can get right now.
His transformation from winger, to defensive winger, to defender is almost complete.
He doesn't even try and hide the fact he doesn't want to attack anymore.
He doesn't even try and hide the fact he doesn't want to attack anymore.
Except when he attacked, anyway.
I agree.
The way van Gaal has used him so far is spot on imo. One of the few positives this season is that Valencia seems to get better again. In that central role he played he looked good as well.
He's no winger anymore, that much is clear though.
Thought he was really solid defensively. For a winger though he offers zilch going forward.
I think half his problem is that he's clearly a gym addict and is carrying about a stone too much weight in muscle. It makes him clumsy as hell and takes away any agility he used to have. He's still got an impressive top speed but he's sluggish as hell when it comes to accelerating and changing his pace.
Looks the same size he always was. Been built like a brick shit-house since his Wigan days.
My iPhone Cut/Copy/Paste is totally screwed with iOS 8 so I can't paste any images here hit I just searched his Wigan days and his 09/10 season with us and there's no doubt he's bulked up more. Absolutely no doubt. His top half is much thicker, his chest and shoulders have gained a few inches. I'm obviously not saying he's unfit or out of shape like people periodically moan at Rooney for being. I just think that for the position he plays its not optimum to carry that extra muscle. He could lose half a stone in muscle mass and he'd improve his agility loads and with it his attacking game.
Had a "good game defensively" yesterday because he had nobody attacking him the entire game, he had virtually no defending to do for 90 minutes.
othet than a couple of runs forward which ended in nothing he didn't do a great deal offensively either, he was just there on the pitch making the numbers up.
othet than a couple of runs forward which ended in nothing he didn't do a great deal offensively either, he was just there on the pitch making the numbers up.
Yet somehow won 9 tackles.
See if you can find another United defender, in another game this season, who won more than that.
It does look like any future he has with the club is going to be based on his defensive abilities rather than attacking. Of course he'll still be an attacking outlet (of sorts) but his best performances this season have come in CM and RB, where his strength and ability to win the ball have been important. He's no longer much of a threat as a winger, but I think he does have value as a defensive option.
Did well against Palace's best player. Was also decent in the City match and not more can be expected more of our 2nd choice right back.
Plus did very well in midfield against Everton, so there's more to him than just being a reserve fullback.
Forgot about that Everton match. With all the injuries around, he's a great boost for us right now. Might get stick for this but I'm not sure if Rafael would've fared any better defensively than Valencia against Bolasie yesterday.