[Dobbs]

...which have led to a lot of goals over the past 4-5 years.

Nah his current "method" of crossing isn't what produced his assists five years ago. He'd still be knocking similar figures if that was the case.

Strikes me as a player who's developed a case of the yips. Bristow had it in darts, Hendry in snooker. They just can't release their arm/leg when they should. A delay kicks in.

He's lost some pace and with it confidence. Maybe that's affected his decision making.

 

[Amar__]

I will let your own quotes show you how badly you are distorting arguments to make your own point. Nobody denies he had a couple very bad seasons. And the topic of whether his crosses are good is subjective - what player is universally considered a great and consistent crosser?

53 goals is a lot of goals. And your statistics probably don't include CL and Cups which I bet you would get the number closer to 75.

It does include all competitions, 243 games. Assist every 5 games isn't great, especially because most of that came in in one season and because he can't score goals either. More than 1/4 out of his 53 assists came in 11/12 season, which was 4 years ago.

As for his crosses, are you really gonna say that? He is not some good but inconsistent crosser, he is terrible crosser of the ball for years now. Absolutely terrible.

 

[Brwned]

I really don't understand the level of criticism he gets. In games like today it's so obvious how influential he can be in putting us on the front foot with his drive, pace and direct threat 1v1.

 

[Robbie Boy]

I would have him over Darmian every day of the week.

 

[Minimalist]

He's better than Darmian for sure. The latter can probably defend better but it's a poor contribution if you can't provide support.

 

[Rossa]

Best player for United today. Looks a lot slimmer than before

 

[Antisocial]

Good game, would be my first choice at right-back as things stand.

 

[Hed Zitin]

Good game. He bring the best balance.

 

[Sylar]

If he had a left foot he would be a much much better footballer (and be appreciated more). Its a shame hes so reliant on his right foot to do anything (which at times results in the game being slowed down).
Saying that he did well with the outside of the foot cross. We need a somewhat equivalent of him on the left to help out in attacks.

I like him and think hes a good player to have for our squad next season anyway.

 

[Rossa]

I just think that if it was him playing instead of Lingard, it would have made a difference. Fuchs is quite slow, but Lingard just doesn't have that edge. With the space offered on the right side, Valencia could challenge him instead of having to make 50 yard runs again and again. We desperately need a new right winger.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

Would it be possible to maybe remove his foot and have it replaced by a frisbee?

 

[berbatrick]

It's ironic. If he was the opposing fullback Roney's crossfield passes would work a charm since he never manages to intercept (or even contest) a single long ball/cross.

 

[BennyBlanco]

He's been a big miss this year due to injuries, I know hes not popular on here, but hes a lot better at RB than Damien.

 

[bucky]

Good game from him.

 

[Esquire]

Best player for United today. Looks a lot slimmer than before

Still looks like a tank. Tony V played very well today.

 

[Raw]

Since getting the metal out of his ankle he's been much better. Very good game from him today.

 

[Rossa]

Still looks like a tank. Tony V played very well today.

Still a tank, just not an Abraham tank anymore, which may be a good thing. Very good today - a couple of good crosses, an assist and great first touch as always.

 

[M Bison]

Gets a lot of criticism on here but one of few who can be pleased with their performance today.

 

[Ducklegs]

He's been a big miss this year due to injuries, I know hes not popular on here, but hes a lot better at RB than Damien.

feck me I am a better right back than Damien........

It's ok, I'll wait

 

[Devil may care]

Another good shift from Tony and got an assist, his relentless overlapping on the right covers a bit for the fact we lack a player of Martial's caliber over there..

 

[Fahad Jawaid]

He was one of our best players today and is 100 times better than Darmian, but this game showed both sides of him. He was almost playing as a winger against a team which was pinned back and at times had only 20 % possession, and he only managed to create a single chance in the entire match that was a goal. Its criminal how much time he had a ball in two one one situation or all the time in the world to cross and he managed to mess it up. Compare this with Mahrez today with so little possession he still managed to terrorize us and create chances had a penalty shout turned down etc. This is the level of player we should be aiming at, and i can bet my house of it, if we had Mahrez and Leicester had Valencia we would have won the match comfortably.

 

[3KDré]

You could see he was reluctant to do his usual one trick that gets him past a player simply because he knew he wouldn't be able to outpace them. He's losing his best asset- his pace.

 

[Lawman]

You could see he was reluctant to do his usual one trick that gets him past a player simply because he knew he wouldn't be able to outpace them. He's losing his best asset- his pace.

Yet is still our best right back by a distance

 

[Ixion]

His reluctance to even touch the ball with his left foot drives me mad. He will literally run in a circle or make a more difficult pass to avoid it.

 

[Rossa]

You could see he was reluctant to do his usual one trick that gets him past a player simply because he knew he wouldn't be able to outpace them. He's losing his best asset- his pace.

I'm starting to wonder about that also. He never loses a foot race; the one against Clichy was almost epic, where Valencia was at a standstill had to turn with Clichy going at full pelt and Tony easily caught up with him and outmuscled him. It seems rather his acceleration is fading a little. Also,when he kicks the the ball past players, the touch often goes to the right making him having to run further than the opposing player.

As for out and out pace, he made Mahrez his bitch, easily.

 

[LuisNaniencia]

He was one of our best players today and is 100 times better than Darmian, but this game showed both sides of him. He was almost playing as a winger against a team which was pinned back and at times had only 20 % possession, and he only managed to create a single chance in the entire match that was a goal. Its criminal how much time he had a ball in two one one situation or all the time in the world to cross and he managed to mess it up. Compare this with Mahrez today with so little possession he still managed to terrorize us and create chances had a penalty shout turned down etc. This is the level of player we should be aiming at, and i can bet my house of it, if we had Mahrez and Leicester had Valencia we would have won the match comfortably.

The cross to Mata was a chance but unfortunately it was on Matas head.

 

[3KDré]

Yet is still our best right back by a distance

Yes, agreed.

 

[3KDré]

I'm starting to wonder about that also. He never loses a foot race; the one against Clichy was almost epic, where Valencia was at a standstill had to turn with Clichy going at full pelt and Tony easily caught up with him and outmuscled him. It seems rather his acceleration is fading a little. Also,when he kicks the the ball past players, the touch often goes to the right making him having to run further than the opposing player.

As for out and out pace, he made Mahrez his bitch, easily.

It is kinda like Rooney, who has lost his acceleration but once he gets going he can be fairly fast. Just that he can't maintain that for too long. Rooney is gradually losing his top speed too, the same will happen to Valencia and we may have to say goodbye to a loyal servant to the club. I think Varela should replace him personally- have not given up faith in him.

 

[snk123]

He was one of our best players today and is 100 times better than Darmian, but this game showed both sides of him. He was almost playing as a winger against a team which was pinned back and at times had only 20 % possession, and he only managed to create a single chance in the entire match that was a goal. Its criminal how much time he had a ball in two one one situation or all the time in the world to cross and he managed to mess it up. Compare this with Mahrez today with so little possession he still managed to terrorize us and create chances had a penalty shout turned down etc. This is the level of player we should be aiming at, and i can bet my house of it, if we had Mahrez and Leicester had Valencia we would have won the match comfortably.

How many chances did Rojo create - or for that matter, how many chances would Darmian have created? And are you seriously comparing a RB with a RW who doesn't even track back?

 

[MAME DIOUF 32]

I think he's looking like a decent player again. Very nice cross for the goal and good defensively. He wasted the ball a fair bit going forward but no more than you'd expect Darmian to.

Torn between wanting him to get a run of games and wanting Fosu-Mensah to get more chances. Given that we're playing for very little now I'd probably go for the latter.

 

[berbatrick]

Everyone says he is under-rated and unloved but this thread is the closest thing to a circlejerk other than the Martial and DDG threads. He had to face maybe 4 crosses into his zone today and managed to lose his man for 2 of them, and he often doesn't bother tracking back if caught high up(though he gets universal praise for his commitment). Maybe the latter is part of instructions (Lingard defends ok) and maybe he is asked to defend narrow from crosses -- but today apart from the trademark open space behind him (towards the touchline), he let Ulloa walk right in front of him too to connect with a cross.

 

[Scorpy]

Did well. Very good assist, but I still feel that he should be much more effective near the opponent's box, especially when he receives so much time and space like against Leicester.

 

[Darwin09]

You could see he was reluctant to do his usual one trick that gets him past a player simply because he knew he wouldn't be able to outpace them. He's losing his best asset- his pace.

Nahhhh...this was 5 months ago against Argentina. Mind you, he's still probably not at 100% since his surgery.

 

[SoCross]

I wrote last year in the unpopular opinions thread that 'unfortunately' Valencia will end the season as our first choice right back. Looks like that will be the case. Bit disappointing, Darmian looked so solid till the Arsenal game. But I'm happy to go into next season with Valencia, Darmian, TFM and Varela as our RB options.

 

[arthurka]

Yeah Valencia is the least of our problems.. I am pretty sure the next manager will like him as well..

 

[Hed Zitin]

The only outfield player to look anywhere close to good.

 

[Di Maria's angel]

The shirts untucked... he means business.

 

[Godfather]

Good to have him back.

 

[LazyRed-Ninja]

Beast. Always a player who gives it his all on the pitch. How can you not appreciate that. Good game today.

 

[RedDevilCanuck]

Our best right sided player. Still has a future here as a squad player or RB. He can't beat players anymore but is just solid and intelligent out there.