Full Name:
Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
Date of Birth:
Aug 4, 1985 (32)
Nationality:
Ecuador
Height:
1,79 m
Foot:
Right
25
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 9
- Clean sheets
- 4
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 0
- Yellow cards
- 4
- Status
Full Name:
Luis Antonio Valencia Mosquera
Date of Birth:
Aug 4, 1985 (32)
Nationality:
Ecuador
Height:
1,79 m
Foot:
Right
The player most in need of replacing, in my opinion. Put a decisive, good crosser in his place, and watch Lukaku flourish.
Never mind a good crosser. I’ll take someone who doesn’t need to pause and swivel his entire body to pass with his only existing foot.
Agreed.
Hopefully a lot less ‘performances’ this year to comment on.
That said, with Dalot confirmed to be out until approximately September, he’s lost a big chance to make a strong pre-season impression.
That said, with Dalot confirmed to be out until approximately September, he’s lost a big chance to make a strong pre-season impression.
Less 'performances' and more actual performances, surely? I'm not really expecting much from Valencia, I hope he surprises and bounces back with a good season.
Less games in general, I meant. Hopefully Dalot provides real competition for his place.
Another year of him running down the line, looking around then passing the ball back, and having that hailed as him being “effective” going forward.
Just saw a post on here that said he’s as effective going forward as Marcelo FFS. He’s the player we need to replace in the starting line up as soon as possible, not LB. At least young is capable of putting in a good ball. Simply moving the ball forward without doing anything too productive with it does not make a player effective going forward.
Just saw a post on here that said he’s as effective going forward as Marcelo FFS. He’s the player we need to replace in the starting line up as soon as possible, not LB. At least young is capable of putting in a good ball. Simply moving the ball forward without doing anything too productive with it does not make a player effective going forward.
People talk about Mata slowing things down, but nobody slows things down to the extent that Valencia does. For me, replacing him should be a far bigger priority than replacing Ashley Young.
My bleak attempt at humor. Agreed, but I would just as much hope that Valencia can have an outstanding season. Either solution means a much better integration of defensive and attacking contributions and that for the team can only lead to better cohesive performances. But the bar is set low after such a poor season defensively last season, just have to ride this one out unfortunately. But I still hope we see an improvement from him at the very least.
Picked up calf injury today. Hope its not serious.
Mourinho just said: 'He's injured and I think we need to get use to it, because he was already on (sic) this kind of situation and probably this season we are going to have more of that.'
Dalot to feature more than expected then I assume.
Dalot to feature more than expected then I assume.
Confirmation of what some people have been thinking...
Glad to hear it, if Dalot is out till September like we've been told then ideally we don't want Valencia getting injured. Does seem like Dalot will be getting a fair amount of play time and Valencia will be slowly phased out.
Can officially be described as injury prone these days.
Second most one-footed player in the PL:
That's impressive from Kyle Walker. I would have bet Valencia would be top of that one-footed chart by a considerable margin
Torn his calf by all accounts, that must be a decent few weeks out.
Jose saying Valencia had too much holiday and didn't come back in great condition. Not great to hear about the apparent captain.
Was just away to mention this. You know things have to be bad when Valencia doesn’t show up ready for pre-season.
Did Jose mean Valencia was slacking or that he was simply not in actual training for too long a period?
That he was out of shape - so not taking care of himself during holiday and as a result came back not fit and picked up the injury.
Never would have imagined Valencia to be like that. Always struck me as someone quiet in top shape who works hard and doesn't party.
That said, I felt similar about Martial in that I thought he'd stay in shape during the holidays but he came back for this pre-season an absolute mess.
That’s why I thought it was just because he was not in proper training for too long.
I can't understand the constant criticism of Valencia around the Cafe. He's being dismissed as a player that is a liability due to age and poor crossing ability but I see him as a very proper defender who's willing to get up and down the pitch the entire game. He will work combinations in the forward third and he's excellent at finishing relative to other fullbacks. He has had some iconic goals from the right corner of the box last season alone.
He's one of if not the strongest (figuratively and literally) defensive right backs and is still one of the fastest players on our team. In my eyes, he's not a liability at all in relation to our competition and in relation to what is available in the market, very few would be an upgrade to Valencia.
IMHO look to other positions to improve our squad, our right back may just be the best one in the league.
He's one of if not the strongest (figuratively and literally) defensive right backs and is still one of the fastest players on our team. In my eyes, he's not a liability at all in relation to our competition and in relation to what is available in the market, very few would be an upgrade to Valencia.
IMHO look to other positions to improve our squad, our right back may just be the best one in the league.
The problem is he's basically being asked to do everything on the right side right now. As a right back he's fine but since we essentially have no right winger whatsoever we have no one else to provide any attack on his side. If we got a proper right winger in I think Valencia wouldn't get nearly as much stick as he does now.
Agreed.
He’s nowhere near one of the best RB’s in the league, he’s vastly overrated on here by some people, because he’s strong, he’s a beast etc. Unfortunately, he’s an average defender, and utterly appalling going forward. He would be fine as a squad player, he’s never going to throw his toys out of the pram, however when our captain in waiting returns to pre-season, that’s a big question mark over his professionalism. He’s not good enough to be our first choice RB.
How long is he out for?
Nowhere near the best? Okay, lets see if I can name some players that he's nowhere near... Most will make a case for Walker as the top RB in the league and I tend to agree mainly due to his blazing speed. Next? Trippier? Azpilicueta? Moses? Bellerin? Aurier? Coleman, Lawton? Nowhere near these guys? Are we kidding?
Not so great once you list them out, eh?
I would take Walker, Trippier, Azpilcueta, Bellerin and Coleman over Valencia - maybe Moses if playing wing backs. So no, he’s nowhere near the best RB in the league. If Young didn’t have to play LB, I’d rather he played RB for us as well.
Walker and Trippier are far better than Valencia. The only reason I won't list Azpe is because he stopped playing as a RB for 2 years and became a 3rd CB, but as a RB he's still better than Valencia.
Valencia is better than the likes of Moses and Bellerin, but that doesn't mean much. Even Darmian can look better than Moses tbh.
Valencia is better than the likes of Moses and Bellerin, but that doesn't mean much. Even Darmian can look better than Moses tbh.
You are exaggerating. Last season was not Valencia's best by any account. The season before that he was arguably the best RB in the league alongside Walker. Both have amazing speed, but Walker runs around more. Wasn't it Walker who said he now had to be more consistent, like Valencia? Walker has so many brainfarts in defensive it's not even funny. He cost England in the WC. Valencia rarely makes those mistakes, and although Walker is busier going forwards, his stats are no better than Valencia - and he doesn't even use his left foot more. Hopefully, Valencia improves next season as he looked out of form at times last season. If he can get back to form, I'd say he and Walker are the best RBs in the league. Trippier has far better delivery, but he struggles a bit in defense one on one - also saw that for England, and seen it many times for Tottenham.
"The season before that" That was one year ago. We are talking currently and currently being poor for a whole year isn't just a dip in form. He declined massively and now doesn't even run or dribble anymore. Previously Valencia used to take the ball and challenge the defender for a run then makes a ground cross. No whenever he gets the ball he dances over it a little bit then pass it backward, killing any attacking momentum.
It's not just about stats of assists or goals..etc. Valencia slows everything down and is a big part of our very slow build up in the attack with him doing nothing more than passing backwards. He wasn't like this 2 years ago, but here we are. Currently Walker and Trippier offer more than him.
To be honest, if Valencia didn't have to handle the whole right wing by himself he wouldn't be so reluctant to take on his man. It is so mechanical that it has to be because he doesn't want to leave the right side completely open.
This is quite common for top teams; where the RW tucks in for defensive cover to allow him to overlap.
Ashley Young has absolutely no problem attacking, and it's not a coincedence because we always have an attacker on the left side to give him passing options and defensive insurance.
This is quite common for top teams; where the RW tucks in for defensive cover to allow him to overlap.
Ashley Young has absolutely no problem attacking, and it's not a coincedence because we always have an attacker on the left side to give him passing options and defensive insurance.
So one year defines a player? Even Messi was a little poor for one year - did you write him off as well? Hazard was rubbish for about 12 months. Are you rather jumping on the bandwagon that Valencia is too old? He could just as easily have been carrying a bit of an injury. Looking at Darmian play right back for us, he also stops, turns and plays the ball square. We just don't have enough movement in attack. Besides, how do you measure "currently" in football?
Last year, Walker and Trippier were better. If Valencia can regain his form, he will be up there. It's silly writing off a player due to age. I think Ronaldo has busted that myth far too many times, and Valencia seems to be in his category for physical fitness.
Agree completely. There is no cover for Valencia if he does decide to take on his man. Besides, I've tried to watch closely now for fullbacks who take on and dribble past their player, like so many suggest Valencia should do. Marcelo does it well, Carvajal is decent at it, but that's about it. There are overlaps etc, and then Walker can go on one of his monstrous runs from time to time, but very seldom does a fullback actually take on his man one on one, which makes perfect sense. If there is no cover, that side is wide open for a counter attack.
If that was one whole year at the age of 32, it's hard to think anything except it's signs of decline.
Darmian is crap and don't understand the point of pointing to him here. He's getting slaughtered whenever he plays for his poor attacking.
You have just referenced 2 of the best players in the world, who have played at the very highest level.
Valencia is a failed winger, who has never been anywhere near a world class player. He’s done ok as a full back, and would be fine as a squad option, but he’s nowhere near good eounny to be our staring FB.
I’ve never seen a player stifle our attack like turn back Tony does.
This.
I think people should get to grips over the fact that Valencia doesnt take on his man because of the way United are set up under Mourinho and the instructions Valencia has been given. He is following them and its why he keeps on playing and we have chosen to buy a young player to groom for his position instead of a replacement.
I can fully understand that fans want United to play with offensive fullbacks that takes on their opponents and gets in crosses from the touchline. What I dont quite understand is the projection of that opinion on Mourinho. And arguments like we need to buy new players to achieve this, etc, when its quite obviously not something that is important to Mourinho. And it never has been in any of his teams. It will not change with new players.
United as of now is using our FBs first and foremost to stretch the play and to circulate the play to find space between the lines (in front of the penalty area) or the space between FB and CB. When one sees Valencia stop for a a few seconds and wiggle right and wiggle left, he is doing that to invite pressure from the opponents midfield, preferrably to tie up two players and then quickly circulate the ball to Matic or whomever. He doesnt act like this because he sucks or that he does not dare to take on his opponents. Its obviously what he is supposed to do.
Mourinho and most other managers today does not play a crossing game. Its a low percentage way of attacking. You could even argue that crossing the ball against an established defense might be the most prone way to give up possession. Or even risk a transition or a turnover which Mourinho hates as well as many other managers.
People should let up on Valencia. He is easily top-three of the RBs in the PL. He would not do worse than Walker (they are very similar players) in the City team given the same freedom there.
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