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Full marks.
The mask
I'm not proud of how long it took me to get this, but I got there in the endWhen has Rafael played at wing back? Slightly in pre-season, then a post-injury 100 minutes split against Spurs, Newcastle and Yeovil?
Correct.
Plus the Evra stuff. Rafael's no winger. He shouldn't be expected to play like one.
Rafael has been quite poor for 2 seasons. This might be his last at United unless something changes.
I'm not sure what Evra has to do with it, there are examples of full backs who have made good wing backs too. I agree, an attacking full back can't necessarily translate that into the wing position but since I feel Valencia himself is massively lacking in the departments I would claim are generally at issue here it's not much I put huge stock into. Rafael is as likely to beat a man, as likely to put in a good ball, has better distribution; control and link-up play. Plus, he's better at defending.
That may not transpire to the pitch, but 2 halves of football in tough away games where the team has massively struggled in general is hardly fair in comparison to a player who has 12 (?) starts in the position, especially since there has been mistakes in defending and timidness in attack aplenty during those 12 games.
The big thing is that LVG will have seen little to impress him. I couldn't blame LVG for selling him at this point. Rafael has played excellently at times in his United career, but the manager must always go on what he sees. All LVG will see is an average RB who's injured more than he plays.
At this point, an honest assessment of how is playing now is probably more important than some idea of how promising he was (and not yet there) 2 years ago.
My concern is the basics. His passing lets him down too often, he is still not smart about when to hold and when to run, and he still has a rash tackle in him. In short he hasn't improved.
My concern is the basics. His passing lets him down too often, he is still not smart about when to hold and when to run, and he still has a rash tackle in him. In short he hasn't improved.
He wouldn't be the only struggling with Van Gaal's training regime this season [indeed LVG probably needs to find a better balance], January-May could be an important time in analysing
Does that nto run contrary to Van Gaal's remarks following the Yeovil match, and more importantly Rafael's form earlier in the season?
In any event, if the club were to sell him in the summer they'd only end up needing to buy two RBs, no?
I thought he just said he was impressed that Rafael managed to continue to play despite having a broken cheekbone?
Besides Im not sure what good form Rafael has shown this season. He was decent against QPR, West Ham and Everton, poor against Leicester and otherwise very mediocre. None of them were close to his form circa 2012-13. I'm not sure those performances were nearly enough to prove his worth to a manager who relies so heavily on getting attacking width from his full backs.
Its true he'd need two RBs in the summer, but LVG still needs to think he can trust his back up right back.
that is it! if only he could fit in all himself
And Moyes training regime in 2013/14. And Fergie's training regime in three out of the four seasons before that one. Granted he was young when he joined us but he's been starting PL games since his debut season - 6 years ago - and only once managed to play more than 20 league games in a season. Average 16 league games/season. Less than one in two.
I would suggest the manager's training regime isn't the issue here.
except he wasn't, last season he was at least on par with all players(we can say the same about Van Persie and lots of others), he actually had a good standard imo, but the perception of him from last season is clouded with injuries and maybe one red card if I remember correctly which always gives people who don't rate him a lot of gun powder but he was quite consistent apart that and that can happen to everyone. Rooney, Smalling and other top players around the world are sent off for rush challenges...
..and the season before he was the best right back in the league on par with Zabaleta who eventually got into the EPL's best XI so what the hell are you talking about?
But maybe that is because perception of south american players in our team/league England overall is somehow stupid.. If he was English he would have been already taken as one of the best full backs in the world of football which he is when fit.. I think he is doing very well but needs this crucial thing in professional sport - luck for injuries. Hopefully he will have that because I can see people like you making him new Anderson...
Nah, the second half of 12/13 he was brilliant.
Exactly. If he didn't hesitate to sell a normally healthy Welbeck because of his record then he wouldn't/shouldn't have a problem selling Rafael based on his injury record
LVG needs to stop Varela signing permanently for RM. We need him back and im still pissed we let him leave.
Is this the same Guillermo Varela who has made a grand total of 8 league appearances in the Spanish second division?
Aye, we really dropped a bollock there.
I assumed by 2 seasons he meant this season and last season.
Fixed that for you.
Yes we did, because we're stuck with an injury prone player and a converted RWB. Also, Varela has made 13 appearances not 8. He's a great prospect. Looks a better defender than Rafael at the same age and he has stronger bones. In addition he has better positional sense, better timing of tackles and better crossing going forward. All he needed was to get a chance to show his worth in the first team.
You've always been a fan of his, if i remember correctly, the several games I've watched him in the reserves he's not made the same impression on me, compared to some other first team prospects over the years, I'm aware it's harder to judge a position such as fullback from the youth but I don't understand how you rate him so, so highly based on his gametime so far.
He adjusted to English football very quickly. The kid is clearly talented and I was impressed with his tenacity and his overall workrate. Definitely stood out for me. In fact, his game was very similar to Rafael's without the rash challenges. He's more talented than Blackett and McNair and those two have done well. I feel he has the mentality to handle being in the first team.
Its a shame we got kicked out so early in the league cup because I think Janko is a good prospect as well who would've benefited from some first team action.
His first season he had a few injuries.
The season you mention was probably the 2010/2011 season which he had a good season(fewer injuries) however his injuries have been more consistent since then.
I like Rafael but he along with others fitness is a concern.
I was actually raving about this kid constantly last season. I remember I once said that he could go into first team straight away and no one would spot the difference as as you said he is very similar to Rafa with his playing style and good point with him not being too rush. He had got this calmness about him and maturity. It was only first few games he kinda struggled but since that he always was one of the best players on the pitch and the most solid, so it was really a shame that he didn't get a chance to impress in the first team especially when we had nothing to play for at the end of the last season and we let him go.
Remember that he played a couple of times as a left back and didn't do bad either as his balance always provide him good turn and he dribbled past players really easily. I didn't obviously see him this year but I think he has got better dribbling than Rafael and could be his natural successor but who knows who decides what will happen to some players. Sometimes it looks like we don't care about some youngsters. I can see us letting him go and Henriquez and maybe Keane. Obviously not every young palyer turn into world class or the class sufficient for our level but I think in this case Varela could come very handy if he stayed. Don't know what's he doing in la Castilla tbh..
I am sure he will turn out to be a great player whenever he ends up eventually.
I bet he will play in it as if it's given him super powers!Rafael in a mask
Great post. I agree with everything. Varela is a much better dribbler than Rafael (this part of Rafael's game is not every impressive tbh). He would've been the breakthrough kid this season if he stayed and was given a chance. IMO he's going to be better than Rafael. Real Madrid obviously wanted him as part of the Di Maria deal and we collapsed. Should've held on to him, because this 'loan' is really an audition for a permanent deal at Real.
Thought he could play with a mask on?
The philosophy precludes the use of masks; Van Gaal has already cancelled the club's charity masquerade ball.
It was not possible for me to follow the match in its entirety or the post-match proceedings, so further to @Bojan11 's point, was Rafael's situation clarified at all afterwards? Is he incapable of playing football or is LVG being risk averse?
A training picture just uploaded by Herrera
Feck knows what's going on here. Rafael has been training for weeks on end now, even before the injury in the FA cup game, and he hasn't even been seeing the bench, let alone the starting XI. Is he being frozen out?
Feck knows what's going on here. Rafael has been training for weeks on end now, even before the injury in the FA cup game, and he hasn't even been seeing the bench, let alone the starting XI. Is he being frozen out?
People can't even use the 'philosophy' as an excuse - other players, like Blind, have come straight in after long injury lay offs.
LvG may not fancy Rafael, but he's a damn sight better than Valencia.
The strangest thing is he is our only actual RB too. So maybe LvG just wants to continue the 3-5-2? Claim Rafael lacks match rhythm and keep going with that dreaded formation?
Herrera was probably regaling them with tales of what it's like to actually make the bench as all 3 dream of what a start feels like.
The whole philosophy regarding players returning from injury has been exposed as nonsense in the last 2 games with Blind and Rojo coming straight back into the team and playing 90 minutes.
As much as I love Rafa, I think its understandable why any manager would avoid building a team with him as a starter. He's just too regularly injured for it to be worth the hassle.
time to brick it. never healthy , never got much better positionally.
If that's the case, the manager should rectify the issue by buying a proper right back.
Make no mistake though, playing Rafael is an infinitely better option than pissing around with 352.
LvG has a thing about playing injured players. If he doesn't think he can handle it, he won't play him. He's played Shaw a couple of times now with the strict guideline of taking him off after 60 minutes. He's done it numerous times this season, taking off players to prevent them from ending up with a knock. Now that he doesn't need to play Rafael, he doesn't have to take that chance and thus possibly waste a substitution.
Oh yeah, that makes no sense seeing as Blind and Rojo have come back at numerous times and played 90 minutes instantly. It's pretty contrary having these 'guidelines' that some are forced to adhere to and others aren't.
The strangest thing is he is our only actual RB too. So maybe LvG just wants to continue the 3-5-2? Claim Rafael lacks match rhythm and keep going with that dreaded formation?
That is certainly one conclusion that one might draw, which is particularly unfortunately for those of us who haven't been converted to the philosophy.
What would Fergie do? Call it overly simplistic perhaps, however he certainly wouldn't be wasting such a talent. Rafael has spent the majority of 2014/15 free from injury yet yo could be mistaken for thinking otherwise.
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