Rafael da Silva | 2010-14 Performances

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BarneyLFC said:
Last year he was excellent. This year he's made very little difference to your team's results. He was excellent yesterday, but the idea that he's been a massive miss this year isn't true and the results back this up.
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He has been a massive miss, but mostly due to injuries and being out of form and then having an injury again. If he stays fit for the remainder of the season, you will notice how good and important he is. Do you rate Johnson higher?
 
Rossa said:
He has been a massive miss, but mostly due to injuries and being out of form and then having an injury again. If he stays fit for the remainder of the season, you will notice how good and important he is. Do you rate Johnson higher?
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No
 
BarneyLFC said:
Last year he was excellent. This year he's made very little difference to your team's results. He was excellent yesterday, but the idea that he's been a massive miss this year isn't true and the results back this up.
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He really has been a big miss. We looks a completely different team when he's there because we rely so much on wide play and overlapping fullbacks. Having Smalling/Jones at RB makes our right flank completely nullified as an attack force.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
He really has been a big miss. We looks a completely different team when he's there because we rely so much on wide play and overlapping fullbacks. Having Smalling/Jones at RB makes our right flank completely nullified as an attack force.
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Rafael has been doing his best to nullify it himself a lot of the time this season.
 
He's been a massive miss for us. Jones and Smalling are not full backs. They can't cross to save their lives. He's very important to us. Moyes probably should have gave his brother more of a chance but Rafael is nailed on. Injury free there are very few better full backs in the league.

Our problems haven't been totally as a result of the games he's missed but he provides a more natural balance. Unfortunately when you keep picking up knocks, you will struggle for consistency.
 
Striker10 said:
He's been a massive miss for us. I'm sorry but Jones and Smalling are not full backs. They can't cross to save their lives. He's very important to us. Moyes probably should have gave his brother more of a chance but Rafael is nailed on. Injury free there are very few better full backs in the league.
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Him and Evra are in fact our most effective crossers in the team. For Rooney's goal, I could easily imagine the likes of Young and Valencia missing that easy pass through, but Rafa made it textbook. Makes our game so much more threatening when the wingbacks make good runs and crosses, and accurate ones at that.

Excellent game overall. Him smalling and Fellaini were the standouts for me.
 
Kag said:
Incorrect. He had a couple of shit games in January/February. Other than that, injuries have been the problem.
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He's been poor most times I've seen him. Yesterday was his best game that I've seen from his in a while.
 
Kag said:
Incorrect. He had a couple of shit games in January/February. Other than that, injuries have been the problem.
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True.

A lot of exaggeration with regards to his poor form on this thread. Not been as good as last season but that does not equate to him being poor.
 
Steven Seagull said:
Look if you don't think playing Smalling at fullback has been a hinderance in the vast majority of games, there's no help for you.
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In normal circumstances it would make a difference, but this season Rafael's form has been poor so it isn't a significant one at all.
 
BarneyLFC said:
In normal circumstances it would make a difference, but this season Rafael's form has been poor so it isn't a significant one at all.
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What utter garbage. To anyone with functioning eyes it's been fairly obvious that Rafael's been a huge miss.

And he's not been poor at all. Had a couple of iffy games here and there but that's about it. The idea that he's been poor this season is just plain wrong.

BarneyLFC said:
Eh? You've lost or drawn all those games while he's played. He's only played about half of your games as well.
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And we've also lost when he hasn't played i.e it proves feck all. He did well against both Everton and Newcastle from what I can remember as well.
 
BarneyLFC said:
In normal circumstances it would make a difference, but this season Rafael's form has been poor so it isn't a significant one at all.
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Like I said, a few games since the turn of the year. Prior to that, every time he came back from injury we looked a lot better - the 3-0 against Villa being one example. He had a shitty game against Sunderland, which was on tele hence you seen it, and his crossing was inconsistent against Fulham, which, guess what? It was on tele, so you probably seen it.

His presence improves our play, certainly.
 
BarneyLFC said:
Not every. I do watch most though.
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I would argue the Rafael point. He needs games to get fit, and has been constantly injured. Him in the team over Smalling transforms our attacking play. If you have seen us enough, you must know this.
 
Motm for me. He injects so much pace and aggression into our team it almost embarrasses those casually jogging around him.

I still feel he has been one of our better performers this season overall, despite injuries interrupting his season. I could count his poor performances on one hand and although he hasn't been as great as last season it's clear that he's a top class full back when fit.

I'm still baffled by the Coleman talk.
 
finneh said:
I'm still baffled by the Coleman talk.
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Why? At this moment in time, they're of a similar ability. Coleman is only 2 years older which isn't much. There is still doubt over his fitness, and if he does keep getting these recurring injuries it's not going to be useful to have a player who is excellent when he plays but can only play in half of the games in a season.
 
SilentWitness said:
Why? At this moment in time, they're of a similar ability. Coleman is only 2 years older which isn't much. There is still doubt over his fitness, and if he does keep getting these recurring injuries it's not going to be useful to have a player who is excellent when he plays but can only play in half of the games in a season.
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I agree with that but at the same time I'd still much rather stick with Rafael. He's shown last season what he's capable of if he can stay fit which he did manage to do. We could definitely use a proper right back to cover Rafael but with the other glaring issues at United currently we don't need to be spending 20mil+ on a right back to replace Rafael. Plus Rafael is one of my favorite players, and I imagine a lot of fans feel the same.
 
gza the genius said:
I agree with that but at the same time I'd still much rather stick with Rafael. He's shown last season what he's capable of if he can stay fit which he did manage to do. We could definitely use a proper right back to cover Rafael but with the other glaring issues at United currently we don't need to be spending 20mil+ on a right back to replace Rafael. Plus Rafael is one of my favorite players, and I imagine a lot of fans feel the same.
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No doubt, if i was the United manager i would stick with Rafael too. I just don't think it's a ludicrous view to see Coleman/any other very good RB of similar age as an option.
 
SilentWitness said:
No doubt, if i was the United manager i would stick with Rafael too. I just don't think it's a ludicrous view to see Coleman/any other very good RB of similar age as an option.
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I don't think it's a slight on Coleman that United fans don't want him, not too many people seem to be doubting his ability. It's basically the reasons I stated above that people are baffled by the talk. It'd be a little like us being linked to a quality goal keeper, it's just not an area we should be addressing currently.
 
gza the genius said:
I don't think it's a slight on Coleman that United fans don't want him, not too many people seem to be doubting his ability. It's basically the reasons I stated above that people are baffled by the talk. It'd be a little like us being linked to a quality goal keeper, it's just not an area we should be addressing currently.
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Not unusual for a signing to improve us even if it's not an area that obviously needs addressing. Evra and Vidic being obvious examples.
 
Striker10 said:
He's been a massive miss for us. Jones and Smalling are not full backs. They can't cross to save their lives. He's very important to us. Moyes probably should have gave his brother more of a chance but Rafael is nailed on. Injury free there are very few better full backs in the league.

Our problems haven't been totally as a result of the games he's missed but he provides a more natural balance. Unfortunately when you keep picking up knocks, you will struggle for consistency.
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I don't want to let facts get in the way of a good polemic but, while Jones' crossing is no great shakes, Smalling has a better than 1 in 3 success rate (8/23) - Rafael's is worse than 1 in 6 (8/49).
Smalling is, in fact, our most accurate crosser of the ball.
 
If he could stay fit and reliably be our RB for 40+ games a season, great. But as it is his fitness somewhat negates his excellent performances.

Has there been a successful team in the prem in recent memory without stability at full back? Neville was obviously ours for aeons, Zabaleta at City, Ivanovic basically doesn't miss a match all year, Brown managed the whole season in the double-year...

Full backs are absolutely crucial to modern football, and a good part of the reason we've been so poor this year has been sticking a non-footballer out there.
 
Beachryan said:
If he could stay fit and reliably be our RB for 40+ games a season, great. But as it is his fitness somewhat negates his excellent performances.

Has there been a successful team in the prem in recent memory without stability at full back? Neville was obviously ours for aeons, Zabaleta at City, Ivanovic basically doesn't miss a match all year, Brown managed the whole season in the double-year...

Full backs are absolutely crucial to modern football, and a good part of the reason we've been so poor this year has been sticking a non-footballer out there.
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Evra too. Has Evra ever been injured? I remember one game where he was ill, and he went to the sidelines to vomit, and then carried on playing. Then there's the stories of him playing through that foot injury by putting a chicken fillet in his boot. He'd probably play with a broken neck.

Rafael's injuries are often similar to Phil Jones. He seems to injure himself by going in full-blooded. Hopefully he'll just compose himself a bit better as he matures. On ability and desire alone, I can't think of a full back I'd want over Rafael, but the injuries are a shame. Michael Owen said on BT Sport that Rafa has problem with cramp, and has done for years. More bananas will sort that.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
Not unusual for a signing to improve us even if it's not an area that obviously needs addressing. Evra and Vidic being obvious examples.
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Also a few seasons ago we thought we were completely sorted for wingers and then Fergie went after Moura and Hazard. I doubt anyone would have said that was the area that most needed surgery, other than the one bloke who got to make the decision.
 
SilentWitness said:
Why? At this moment in time, they're of a similar ability. Coleman is only 2 years older which isn't much. There is still doubt over his fitness, and if he does keep getting these recurring injuries it's not going to be useful to have a player who is excellent when he plays but can only play in half of the games in a season.
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In my opinion Rafael is a better player currently and has the potential to be one of the best in the world, a potential that I don't think Coleman has. If the latter were available at around £10m and would be happy to only play when Rafael is out then I'd jump at the chance, but neither of these factors is even slightly likely.

There is a doubt over his fitness, but I'd find it quite abhorrent to replace him because of this, given his commitment, age, potential and the fact that he's home grown. In my opinion it'd be like buying Jagielka to replace Jones.

Coleman is a very good full back but he's not what we need.
 
Brophs said:
Also a few seasons ago we thought we were completely sorted for wingers and then Fergie went after Moura and Hazard. I doubt anyone would have said that was the area that most needed surgery, other than the one bloke who got to make the decision.
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Well, he successfully managed to overlook the center of the midfield, and it's an area where we are lacking too. So him going for Moura and Hazard would have left us unbalanced as well. Signing another Right back would be welcome, but the need to sell Rafael and get Coleman was ridiculed by a lot of posters here. To be fair, they were only rumours.
 
finneh said:
In my opinion Rafael is a better player currently and has the potential to be one of the best in the world, a potential that I don't think Coleman has. If the latter were available at around £10m and would be happy to only play when Rafael is out then I'd jump at the chance, but neither of these factors is even slightly likely.

There is a doubt over his fitness, but I'd find it quite abhorrent to replace him because of this, given his commitment, age, potential and the fact that he's home grown. In my opinion it'd be like buying Jagielka to replace Jones.

Coleman is a very good full back but he's not what we need.
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Correct. All this 'Rafael is always injured' is a sad excuse though, none of them are calling for Phil Jones to be immediately transferred yet. He's not really a backup as he's slotted into the team whenever he's available.
 
finneh said:
In my opinion Rafael is a better player currently and has the potential to be one of the best in the world, a potential that I don't think Coleman has. If the latter were available at around £10m and would be happy to only play when Rafael is out then I'd jump at the chance, but neither of these factors is even slightly likely.

There is a doubt over his fitness, but I'd find it quite abhorrent to replace him because of this, given his commitment, age, potential and the fact that he's home grown. In my opinion it'd be like buying Jagielka to replace Jones.

Coleman is a very good full back but he's not what we need.
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Rafael has one major failing - he is one of the least accurate crossers of the ball in the squad - only Jones, Cleverly and Mata have worse completion statistics. Of course, every now and then, one works beautifully as on Saturday but, in general, they don't. It's possible that the problem lies in the absence of targets in the box or in a lack of work in training on the coordination of crossing with attackers' runs. Whatever the cause, without improvement, there is a case for a replacement. I really hope this can be turned around - Rafael is one of my favourite players in the squad.
 
Like getting Jagielka to replace Jones? What? Jagielka is on the decline. Coleman is only 25, he will only get better if he continues developing, and he has been getting better and better. Baines played his best at the age of 28, Filipe Luis is playing his best at the age of 28, Alves was playing his best stuff from the age of 24-28. The next few years are going to be big for Rafael and will be the ones when we see if he is going to live up to his promise or not.
 
ravelston said:
Rafael has one major failing - he is one of the least accurate crossers of the ball in the squad - only Jones, Cleverly and Mata have worse completion statistics. Of course, every now and then, one works beautifully as on Saturday but, in general, they don't. It's possible that the problem lies in the absence of targets in the box or in a lack of work in training on the coordination of crossing with attackers' runs. Whatever the cause, without improvement, there is a case for a replacement. I really hope this can be turned around - Rafael is one of my favourite players in the squad.
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Not sure where you got this stats from, because it doesn't sound right at all. So Valencia, Smalling, Young, Evra et al have better crossing completion than Rafael? I doubt that. And Mata has been here what, 3 games? Did he have like 4 crosses since he joined? Some stats is not even worth the efforts to type it out.

Anyway, even assuming that your stats are right, using crossing completion as a stick to beat a RB (and a young one at that) is just plain wrong. What matters is the fact that fullbacks are smart in being additional attacking outlets, providing more width, and supporting the wingers. That way full-backs can help break teams down, not just to cross. So what if Rafael's crosses couldn't find a target say, half of the time? It doesn't stop Evra being one of the best left-backs this club has seen.
 
SilentWitness said:
Like getting Jagielka to replace Jones? What? Jagielka is on the decline. Coleman is only 25, he will only get better if he continues developing, and he has been getting better and better. Baines played his best at the age of 28, Filipe Luis is playing his best at the age of 28, Alves was playing his best stuff from the age of 24-28. The next few years are going to be big for Rafael and will be the ones when we see if he is going to live up to his promise or not.
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What are you rambling about man?
 
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