Appreciating Antonio Valencia

Based Adnan said:
Young was the type of signing that caused United to regress. You don't win any serious trophies with him in the team hence why I consider him a failure.

He had some decent spells but that's to be expected over a 9 year stint. Even Fred has had good spells. Overall though he was a poor signing and should have been moved on a lot sooner.
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Nah Young was a solid player with good workrate, good technical ability and well liked around the dressing room. Loads of sides winning things have similar players to him. I mean he's won the Premier League and the Serie A. He's much like Delph at City or Countless players under Sir Alex.

The issue was that we made him captain because we have been such a shambles elsewhere. He was one of the few who could have been a decent player in a winning team. As was Valencia to be fair, it shows that they were both signed by Sir Alex.
 
Solid player. Did a good job
 
OverratedOpinion said:
Nah Young was a solid player with good workrate, good technical ability and well liked around the dressing room. Loads of sides winning things have similar players to him. I mean he's won the Premier League and the Serie A. He's much like Delph at City or Countless players under Sir Alex.

The issue was that we made him captain because we have been such a shambles elsewhere. He was one of the few who could have been a decent player in a winning team. As was Valencia to be fair, it shows that they were both signed by Sir Alex.
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Imo Young wasn't good enough as a winger or full back during his time at United. He showed the potential to be a top class winger at Villa but it just never happened for him at United outside of a few months in his first season.

We can agree to disagree.
 
I was a big fan of Valencia, think he was under appreciated for majority of his time here. Sure he was a bit limited, and it showed a lot more as the players around him got worse too, but under SAF he was very good. Immaculate first touch, barely give away possession, fast, strong as an ox and a very good out-ball and ball carrier for the team, which was a massive help for players like Scholes and Carrick. Also seemed hard as nails and completely unfazed by our opponents.
 
Tony was great for us. In fact, he did as well you could've hoped coming in after Ronaldo on the right.

The tragedy of that summer transfer window was that, rather than strengthen the team elsewhere we just used the money to replace Ronaldo and left the rest of the team to become worse. With that £80m we should've got a RB, at least one more MF (Sneijder) and another CB.

That team might have then been enough to get past Bayern in the CL and also sneak the title in front of Chelsea that season. As well, as maybe having enough to win the title in 11/12 as well.
 
My favourite player at his peak, loved his drilled crosses.
 
Another one of those who got undeserved shit from a large section of the fan base despite always being nothing but a model professional.
 
He’s was an absolute beast his first couple of seasons then didn’t seem the same player after that bad injury. He was so direct and fast. Was still a great pro and never let us down.
 
Good call changing the title of this thread. I thought the man was dead.
 
How would people rank Nani, young and Valencia?

I would probably go Nani first, then it's a toss up between the other two really.
 
Loved him. Down to earth and seemed completely committed to us from the moment he joined to the moment he left.

Greatly undervalued by a lot of fans I feel - simply because he had the unfortunate task of stepping into the position Ronaldo vacated when he facked off to Madrid.
 
Hard working, productivity, humble, handsome. I can totally understand why we gave him number 7
 
Smashing player.

Loved him being at the club, nothing but a hard worker, willing runner and a superb player.

We need more players of Valencia's ilk.
 
Loved him as a player. Defenders were scared of him. Blackburn put both Olsson brothers on him tryibg to stop him, but the manager said even that wasn’t enough.

One of the fastest in the league alongside Walker and Bale at the time. Didn’t see him outpaced once as a right back.

Came off as a really humble guy. And he had great teeth.
 
A quality player for us. I remember seeing him arguing with his misses outside a restaurant in town one night and this is always the 1st thing I remember whenever he is mentioned.

I often wonder what the argument was about.
 
He was everything people thought Adama Traore is, but better.

Shame he had that injury as it definitely set him back in progressing. Despite that, he came back and did a job for us in two positions.
 
very good player and servant for the club

scored a really crucial goal in a title winning season against Blackburn as I remember.

not technically good enough to ever become a great player in all honesty

killed a few fullbacks with his pace and strength - then killed them again with his hit the first man crosses.....

his one footed-ness became the more apparent when he went to full back

overall a good player for us and perhaps the first symbol of 'no value in the market' United, replacing Ronaldo
 
Skills said:
Tony was great for us. In fact, he did as well you could've hoped coming in after Ronaldo on the right.

The tragedy of that summer transfer window was that, rather than strengthen the team elsewhere we just used the money to replace Ronaldo and left the rest of the team to become worse. With that £80m we should've got a RB, at least one more MF (Sneijder) and another CB.

That team might have then been enough to get past Bayern in the CL and also sneak the title in front of Chelsea that season. As well, as maybe having enough to win the title in 11/12 as well.
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Funny thing is we were never actually in for him despite all the links. The player we really wanted that summer and missed out on was Benzema.
 
Very likeable. Decent player but very frustrating. Perfect filler player but one of those that could have been upgraded.
 
It was the player I realized that SAF was getting old.

You just can’t replace that Ronaldo with Valencia.

Nice player but his weakness and strengths could be seen before he was bought.
 
Bebestation said:
It was the player I realized that SAF was getting old.

You just can’t replace that Ronaldo with Valencia.

Nice player but his weakness and strengths could be seen before he was bought.
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Who could you replace Ronaldo with though, to be fair. Ferguson just got the best right winger he could buy for the money. Valencia was absolutely fantastic to be fair to him, he was never going to be a patch on Ronaldo - but that Valencia on the right and Nani on the left combination feeding Rooney + Berbatov was still an incredible sight and to be honest that team would absolutely trash our current best 11 to this day. I don't think there're many players as strong or quick in modern football today, excepting maybe Adama Traore (who I think Ferguson would have almost certainly brought to our club, he's that sort of player Ferguson loves.)
 
Wasn't really a winger, that was the initial problem. You can't have wingers who's main move is to kick and run, then twat it into a defenders shins hoping for a ricochet or favourable bounce.

As a right back I liked him. Good work rate, incredible engine, could tackle, technically decent on his one foot.
 
Abraxas said:
Wasn't really a winger, that was the initial problem. You can't have wingers who's main move is to kick and run, then twat it into a defenders shins hoping for a ricochet or favourable bounce.

As a right back I liked him. Good work rate, incredible engine, could tackle, technically decent on his one foot.
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You're forgetting his first seasons here. Yes, he regressed as a winger and was converted into an RB but his sheer pace and power were enough to terrorize defences for a couple of seasons.
 
Bebestation said:
It was the player I realized that SAF was getting old.

You just can’t replace that Ronaldo with Valencia.

Nice player but his weakness and strengths could be seen before he was bought.
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Completely agree. Hard to knock him as he was a solid player, even at right back for me and a loyal servsnt and professional....but some looking thorugh rose tinted glasses at a few past players for me.

He wasnt a top quality player and signing him as a replacement for Ronaldo, especially along with the other signings, it was the same window as a near finished Owen and an unknown Obertan wasnt it?.....Ronaldo alomost impossible to replace, but we were obviously taking several steps backwards that summer
 
GazTheLegend said:
Who could you replace Ronaldo with though, to be fair. Ferguson just got the best right winger he could buy for the money. Valencia was absolutely fantastic to be fair to him, he was never going to be a patch on Ronaldo - but that Valencia on the right and Nani on the left combination feeding Rooney + Berbatov was still an incredible sight and to be honest that team would absolutely trash our current best 11 to this day. I don't think there're many players as strong or quick in modern football today, excepting maybe Adama Traore (who I think Ferguson would have almost certainly brought to our club, he's that sort of player Ferguson loves.)
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Criticisms against Valencia usually are fuelled by muppet fantasies of what could have been with a Sneidjer or Robben
 
An excellent player who fell off the cliff rather hard in his final years for us.
 
Valencia was a good enough winger though obviously lacking a bit of magic - at the very least, he was an extremely useful wide man for a top side as a compliment to more imaginative and less stable and defensively diligent attackers.

I always feel like I watched a different full back to everyone else though. Valencia was great there - while he was never going to be an elite wide midfielder or winger as a right back he was among the best in the world at the time. Expectations were completely unrealistic in my opinion, so many people seemed to demand a skillset and level of quality only really seen in those who go down as some of the best in history in that position.
 
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