On ESPN here they were talking about how this week it emerged that after all the injuries one of his legs was now shorter, so he was using some orthopaedic cushion in one of his shoes. What's that all about? Anyone know more about this?
Antonio Valencia... | Will wear #25 shirt from this point onwards by request
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There was an article about it further back in the thread, it also said something about a back injury. This doesn't feel like a confidence issue as he seems genuinely hampered by something.
I don't think it's his leg injury though because he was great after he came back. He's been truly awful for a while now though.
That concept of football is non existent to him.It would open up so many things but Valencia is too stubborn to try to diversify his game
At the moment I'd rather have Rafa playing RW than him.
I think this is about right. He seems like a top-quality person, and he's shown admirable courage in overcoming a particularly gruesome injury (and some other niggling ones,) but I think he's just too limited to be a consistently excellent performer, which is what we need given how much we base our approach around wing-play.
I think Young on the right and Giggs on the left would be an upgrade. Say what you want about Giggs, but I've never seen him look as bad as Valencia has looked for most of this season.
Garbage.
Ever since Nani started to get injured (open to interpretation), Valencia has really hit a rough patch. I say drop him for the next game, play Rooney on the left wing, Hernandez and Van Persie up front and Young on the right. Make him feel that his place in the squad isn't that guaranteed after Nani's absence. You never know, perhaps a bit of a rest can help him as well.
How can he be tired when the last few matches have been on once/week period ? Things are about to get more tiring now
I should have been clearer, I meant mentally. Sometimes someone can be mentally tired of it all and his confidence may take a dent as a result. Give him a break, make him come back stronger.
You have a point tbh.Like pressing a 'reset' button
Was fair comment before these last few months.
Fans being ridiculously knee jerk as they are suddenly think he's utter toilet.
Classic hero to zero.
But in these last few months he has been garbage, nobody is dismissing how good he used to be, and the reason people are so frustrated about the situation is because we know that when he's playing well he's generally putting in 7 or 8/10 performances on a constant basis.
The main thing Valencia fans said he had over players like Nani and Young is consistency, the only thing he's consistent at anymore is being shite. He better find form soon, there's no way Fergie should put up with this much longer, especially when Kagawa returns.
He seems to have changed in the way he plays for sure.
It's almost like he's been told that zooming up the wing and smashing crosses in is an inefficient outcome as so many crosses result in a loss of possession. Almost like we've overdone the scouting of Barcelona who never seem to cross blindly.
However, it just seems to have resulted in him zooming into a position, and then just standing still on the ball, looking for a pass to feet.
VP can head it, so i hope Valencia plays his old style soon.
The pursuit of Hazard and Moura would surely have led to us trying to change the style of winger we play, to the kind of Silva/Nasri style of wide player. As we didn't get them, we're trying to mould Valencia to play that way, and it doesn't suit him. He's as old fashioned a winger as there is.
I said it in the match day thread and I'll say it here, the fact he uses the outside of his right boot and a 270 degree turn to cut in field is the most ridiculous thing in football.
That's completely wrong, he looks more one dimensional and uncreative then he ever was, if that' even possible. All he does is crossing, he doesn't cut at all. Yes, he isn't hugging the touchline as he used to,but it's not big difference, he is still playing his old style, in 19 times out of 20 he does the same trick(if you could call it trick) to get past the defender and after that he tries to cross the ball, and in lot of times defender blocks him. Only difference is that he looks like he lost some pace in him, se he rarely gets any space to cross properly.
Messi also uses the outside of his boot to dribble.
Not being able to use his left foot to this degree is bad but I could let it go if he was better with his right foot but you wouldn't say he's a top dribbler which is his real problem atm. He keeps getting in to situations where he needs to use control and dribbling ability to create a yard of space instead of his pace and he's failing consistently, that or he really has no confidence in himself to do so.
I wonder how true those reports last week about him having one leg shorter than the other and it's causing problems and injuries that SAF is worried about were? I wonder if that's having any impact because the way he is hesitating to cross the ball is baffling. He does all of the work then just stands still in front of the left back deciding what to do next before passing back to Carrick. Jones playing RB in the last couple of games has highlighted his deficiencies imo because its clear now to see that Rafa was actually doubling up as the right winger as well.
That story came up last season, and he was named as our best player last season, so that's not definetely his problem.
Ignore the Zaha bit completely but this was the article I was talking about:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/manchester-united-transfer-news-antonio-1492388
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/manchester-united-transfer-news-antonio-1492388
Aye. This notion is baffling, considering some of the criticism that is directed at the likes of Nani, et el.
Valencia has been far and away from an '8 out of 10' player this season. I don't see why he should be exempt from criticism.
Actually it's exactly the other way round. Nani has always 'just come back from injury' in turmoil' etc. Valencia on the other hand is a garbage who can't beat his man to save his life. Despite beating his full-backs with such ease that you'll do well to find elsewhere just last season.
Look at the criticism when he had just come back from an injury this season. Whereas now it is justified, it wasn't then, and wouldn't have beed directed at Nani if he was in Valencia's shoes.
EDIT Valencia has been diabolical in some games but that's his first slump since he got here. Hence that's one poor period per over 3 years. Could you say the same about Nani?
Valencia was 25 when he arrived, Nani was 20, bit of a difference.
Nani was destined to greater things, Valencia was playing in Villarreal's reserves and Wigan bloody Athletic before he came here. Massive step it was and he's lived up to that. Now we're seeing him playing badly, ok, but it doesn't change the fact he was one of the most consistent players in our recent history.
That and Nani has had slumps not only when he was 20 but also 22/23 etc.
I'm afraid most people aren't that interested in that an injury might be cause. It's cuz he's not really United quality if you think about it innit.
Pressure of wearing the legendary no.7 jersey getting into him? Maybe we should take it off from him and give it to someone else.
Nah, he's wearing it but noone really gives a shit about him wearing it to be honest. He was never a number 7 for me. Then again, neither was Michael Owen. Either way, I don't think people have attached any significance to him getting the number 7 jersey.
He's just in terrible form is all. It's not a huge deal because he started last season in a similar vain but what is a bit of a problem is that we don't really have anyone to step in instead of him, what with Nani's future in doubt and all.
Also don't we have some young wide players coming through the ranks who we can give a shot?
I don't think that anyone is saying that Valencia is a bad player, at least I hope not. He is a good player but, his poor form should be acknowledged.
People claiming that he is an '8 out of 10' player every week need to realise that these statements get tiring and it just plain, isn't true.
People claiming that he is an '8 out of 10' player every week need to realise that these statements get tiring and it just plain, isn't true.
Are you a Valencia fanboi? You sure sound like one.
Yeah, why don't you get on the crucifixion bandwagon.
That was only one poster and everyone is aware of his poor form but the amount OOT posts criticising his ability far exceeds the OOT posts in defense of him.
Frustrating. He needs to find some form urgently, as our play down the right is dysfunctional, at best.
Maybe SAF should play Kagawa left and Young right for a few matches?
Maybe SAF should play Kagawa left and Young right for a few matches?
Thank God we have no Nani fanbois.
The thing is, he is playing shit for most of this season and people wrote about 10 pages about it, while Nani for single game usually gets 10 pages of cricizm.
That's because Valencia isn't seen as a messiah, a martyr and one of the greatest players in the world by many posters on here.
Of course he isn't, it would be ridiculous if someone sees him like that.
I'm probably (in most posters eyes) Nani's biggest defender on here and I hold none of those opinions about him.
There's a lot of people who thought Nani is our best player iirc? Better than Rooney they said. Not sure what they think of him in comparison to RVP though.
If the rumours are true it's a damn shame that our club don't value him as highly as he values himself regardless of who is right or wrong.
He's a bloody good player when he's focused and on his game.
He's a bloody good player when he's focused and on his game.
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