McNair should not be in the squad ahead of him (as a RB). It's ridiculous that Rafael is frozen out when he is the superior player.
2
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 11
- Clean sheets
- 4
- Goals
- 0
- Assists
- 1
- Yellow cards
- 2
- Status
"Hasn't put a foot wrong" as in hasn't contributed at all offensively and has done a decent job defensively? He's the sort of player we should be keeping at RB if we're aiming for mediocrity.
According to Transfermarkt, Shaw has missed the same amount of games as Rafael through injury, with Rafael missing another 6 games due to not being included in the squad. Rojo has only missed two less games than Rafael due to injury too.
The whole defence has been hit by injuries this season, and Rafael has actually not missed as many games as Jones. So why he's the one bearing the brunt of the "never fit" tag I don't know. He's a better player than McNair and Valencia, and when he's fit (like now) he should be playing. If Van Gaal really isn't playing him because he doesn't see him as a future RB at the club then he needs to be careful. Rafael is our best RB and if LVG doesn't meet his objectives and people point towards his right back choice as one of the reasons then it may not be Rafael who doesn't have a future at the club either next season or the season following that.
Hasn't put a foot wrong as in doesn't deserve to be dropped for a player that won't play more than three games anyway so why even bother? Just let him keep doing what he's doing...a good job.
LVG should be careful? This sounds nothing short of a rant coming from a staunch fan/follower of an individual player. Rafael will never be the future of any team with his appalling fitness record. If we do sell him in summer he's going to end up just like his brother Fabio. We'll never hear from him again at this elite level of football.
I used to be both Fabio and Rafael's biggest fans until I realised they'll never be good enough for United. Its not his fault, we just need to say thank you and move on.
Bet he starts the next match.....Such is LVG's warped mind
It is a real mystery to me anyway, rate him a-lot. Thought he'd be one that would have no issue under LVG. Be very sorry to see him sold, the inevitability of it is oncoming the more games he is absent. Miss his quality and passion, the latter is something so sorely missing in the robots of today's game. He links much better with the man in front, giving the team more fluidity. It doesn't matter who is in-front of him either.
Guys relax, we'll see Rafael soon.
I think I've figured this out. De Gea, Blind, Di Maria, Rojo and Rooney always start when fit. The rest of them we'll give them a run of a few games and then drop them for awhile like we did with Herrera, Smalling, Januzaj and Mata. It will come when you least expect it for Valencia and Rafael will start. Of course knowing his luck he'll probably get injured or sent off.
I think I've figured this out. De Gea, Blind, Di Maria, Rojo and Rooney always start when fit. The rest of them we'll give them a run of a few games and then drop them for awhile like we did with Herrera, Smalling, Januzaj and Mata. It will come when you least expect it for Valencia and Rafael will start. Of course knowing his luck he'll probably get injured or sent off.
I hope that Rafael's missing games means that his issues are fitness related. If LvG believes that Valencia or McNair are better RBs, he is mistaken. Rafa is prone to injuries that is for sure, however, out of fit trio, my first pick would be Rafa, then Tony and Paddy being the last.
Fabio - Rafa tearing teams apart from each wing is something that should have happened more. Such a shame to see them both so hampered by injuries.
Well, Rafa can still bounce back. He still has time to impress LVG, or maybe a loan wouldn't be too bad before considering selling him.
Well, Rafa can still bounce back. He still has time to impress LVG, or maybe a loan wouldn't be too bad before considering selling him.
Van Gaal clearly doesn't rate Rafael. The only reasons I can think of for him not playing are his lack of height and the fact that he plays more with his heart than his head.
On the other side of the coin though, he prefers Jones to Smalling. Jones is far weaker in the air and is probably the least intelligent footballer I have ever seen.
On the other side of the coin though, he prefers Jones to Smalling. Jones is far weaker in the air and is probably the least intelligent footballer I have ever seen.
He's not doing a good job though. Defensively he's improved a bit, but he's still no better than Rafael - both are prone to simply switching off. Offensively Valencia offers absolutely feck all. He gets the ball, spins around a bit and then either smashes it at a defender or passes it back. Look at other seasons (yeah, I'm bringing up other seasons because we've barely seen Rafael this season and Valencia is pretty much the same) and see the difference in our team when Rafael was playing compared to Valencia. Look at the game yesterday - how many chances came from the right? Herrera set up a couple of good attacks, but Valencia contributed feck all.
Rafael's injury history is certainly an issue and despite being a big fan, I don't have a problem if the club were to get a new right back who was more reliable. But as of this moment, we have Rafael, Valencia and now McNair competing for the right back position. Considering Valencia's form and the fact that McNair isn't a right back (looked ok there on occasion, but it's pretty clear that he doesn't have the attributes you want for a right back) I frankly don't understand why Rafael isn't getting a chance. We've always looked like a better team in the past when Rafael played.
He's finished at United, not sure why he's not being picked but he must've done something pretty wrong for McNair to be ahead of him.
McNair ahead of him is madness. Looks like he's been frozen out now. Bad injury records don't stop the likes of jones and smalling from getting back into the side. It seems like LVG has something against him. McNair is no way good enough to be playing there, or at all.
His crosses, well first of all, hit or miss, at least he has a cross. Giving a defender a dead shin isn't crossing. I say that as a fan of Valencia and appreciate his effort and output.
In terms of his fitness, I agree, it's an issue but when he is fit, like he has been, he can't help the team if he isn't in the team. There is no reason from what we can see for him not to be playing. He is fit, so he should be in the squad at least. Anytime we have the chance to field our strongest side, we should. If Rafael is fit, he makes us a better side, he should play. If he is injured next week, then yes, deal with it then but cross that hurdle when it comes.
He's hasn't looked himself this season when he played, and I guess we can put this down to him not having a full pre-season (because of injury again). He hasn't had a chance to really impress Van Gaal, and unfortunately this will be his undoing. He'll be very lucky to still be a United player by the start of next season.
I think the combination of his injury record and his height has cost him a place as first choice, and McNair/Valencia will cost him his place as second choice if we do buy another player in the summer. It's a shame, I like him, but I can't imagine him making the right back place his own again.
You say he'll never be the future as if he hasn't made significant contributions every season he's been here?
He's made 20 prem appearances every season, its not ideal but it isn't a problem if we have decent backup. We need that backup of someone taller for tactical and more defensive anyway.
Really hope LvG begins to give Rafael starts and uses McNair as that option.
I said years ago that we had to get a reliable RB, but given how poor McNair was at RB and the fact Valencia is not our long term solution then I can't understand why Rafael can't get a game. Valencia's attempt at a left-footed cross yesterday should be enough for any manager to rethink whether Rafael should be frozen out of the team.
He hasn't made significant enough contributions worthy of real world recognition except for 2012/13 when he played over 30 games in a season for the first and only time.
Serious question, where would you see him going if we sold him? The only way is down. I could see Arsenal being the only 'elite' team being possibly interested, but he'd struggle even worse with injuries there and fade to obscurity.
Valencia should be our starting RB....been much more reliable than Rafael this year
as for McNair he looked like a CB playing RB yesterday - was infuriating how slow he was to react and when a pass was played to encourage McNair to come forward he let the ball run out of play at times due to his lack of pace
don't get why Rafael wasn't in the side if he wanted to rotate Valencia
as for McNair he looked like a CB playing RB yesterday - was infuriating how slow he was to react and when a pass was played to encourage McNair to come forward he let the ball run out of play at times due to his lack of pace
don't get why Rafael wasn't in the side if he wanted to rotate Valencia
Burnley away and City away to name a couple and that's not including performances where he may have been 'solid' but offered absolutely feck all in attack despite that being part of a full backs job.
Valencia can be relied on to do a job, I'm not disputing that, but Rafael is a much better player and it really shouldn't be difficult to see that. When Rafael came in after that Burnley game our right side looked so much better because he provides an attacking threat down that side that Valencia just simply doesn't. Makes a lot of difference especially when we play with no proper wingers and there is so much space there to exploit.
When he came back we beat QPR 4-0 and he played well and he wasn't tested at all. After that we lost to Leicester and he gave away a soft penalty. Vardy had the beating of him in that game. Next two were West Ham and Everton.
He played well against West Ham and struggled against Everton. So thats only two games where he played well (next two were West brom 2-2, poor game from him and 1-1 Chelsea. He got bad ratings for those games before getting injured again) Also, when I watched him play this season I saw a player who doesn't even look up when he crosses. Evra was a bigger threat in attack.
The folly of it all, is that once LVG's new right-back gets injured, the style of play down the right flank shall have to revert to what we are seeing at present. Were we to keep Rafael there would at least be the potential for some consistency in the role.
He is doing a good job by the standards of his ability as a fullback, that isn't the same as actually being what the team requires during a crucial run-in. To persevere with Tony would certainly epitomise an Gaal's tenure though, erring on the side of caution when the moment calls for his team to be instinctive and bold about its football. Valencia can be relied upon to provide some defensive solidity when compared to McNair, but neither are a patch on Rafael when fulfilling their offensive responsibilities.
Considering the amount of time that Rafael has spent on the sidelines free from injury, i shouldn't wonder if the half the squad have a worse rate of ailments this season.
Now i'm not saying that Rafael should have waltzed back into the team easy as you please, however the best natural right-back on the books isn't even being given the opportunity to compete for the place.
He is doing a good job by the standards of his ability as a fullback, that isn't the same as actually being what the team requires during a crucial run-in. To persevere with Tony would certainly epitomise an Gaal's tenure though, erring on the side of caution when the moment calls for his team to be instinctive and bold about its football. Valencia can be relied upon to provide some defensive solidity when compared to McNair, but neither are a patch on Rafael when fulfilling their offensive responsibilities.
Considering the amount of time that Rafael has spent on the sidelines free from injury, i shouldn't wonder if the half the squad have a worse rate of ailments this season.
Now i'm not saying that Rafael should have waltzed back into the team easy as you please, however the best natural right-back on the books isn't even being given the opportunity to compete for the place.
I really can't understand any "footballing" reasons why Rafael should be frozen out considering our alternatives are Valencia and McNair.
It was no penalty at all, soft or otherwise. If you can't recognise even that, and hold him culpable irrespective of hindsight, how objective are you judgements on the matter in general?
He actually offered a threat down the right against QPR. He may not have had to do much defensive work but going forward he was good. Valencia actually came on that game and pretty much stifled the attack every time he got the ball. And it's pretty desperate to hold the penalty at Leicester against him seeing as it wasn't a penalty. Also most of Vardy's threat came down the left side. As for the West Brom and Chelsea games, where he was decent/good, if you are using those ratings as a sign of being poor then Valencia has been poor since the Liverpool game.
Maybe you should watch a bit more closely. And Evra is not longer here, he is irrelevant.
Is he that much shorter than Valencia? I have always had the impression he was decent in the air for his height anyway.
Yes if we want to be fighting for the Europa league places
Look at this vid, I know highlights make anyone look good, but to question his football intelligence is very strange. That pass at 0:18, how he sets up Rooney in the City game and the way he waits for it with that through ball to RVP, what a player he was for us that season 
Great technique, great vision, exactly what we've been lacking.
Great technique, great vision, exactly what we've been lacking.
Except Fergie's last year, Rafa has rarely been top. I don't miss him defensively to be honest. This season he has been average, and last year awful. In a club like Madrid / Bayern / Barca he would have never stayed 8 years
And that is the point!!!!
It's nice to see where are a club where the players can have a long career...but that goes for player like for example Carrick. But players like Rafael, Anderson, Nani or Valencia would never be 6 and more seasons at other top top clubs with too many average seasons.
that's not true at all. he was quite good last season till november, then got injured, came back, was hardly played, got bitten by the Moyes bug. Overall, in his early season appearances he did well.
This season, he played well when he got a chance, giving a new dimension to our attack.
Carrick could also have gone in 2011 or even 2012, when he was mediocre from around 2009 with some absolutely cowardly displays.
Rafael is better than almost anyone you can get in the market, and if Fergie was here he was continued to build on that making him a key focus of our attack like how Evra was.
Nani had contract issues in Fergie's last season and that played havoc.
Anderson - yes
Valencia - should have gone in the summer of 2013, but that was only one year of poor performances after being voted the player of the year the previous season. He is still rated high because of his physique and pace, so still playing around and contributing to our poor play keeping out the likes of Nani and Rafael
Surely after McNair's performance Rafael will get a chance in the squad at least.
Rafael did not play for the U21s yesterday, so hopefully he will play on Saturday.
Consistency?
I love the little fella but I really don't see the point in picking him for a couple of games coming back from fitness (which he lasts 65-70mins) only for him to get injured and miss another 5 weeks. It's a waste of a substitution.
It's his last season, time to move on from these fragile players who screw up the match rythum of the 1stXI
Rafael should leave for his own good and make a fresh start somewhere else. He isn't going to make much of an impact while LVG is here.
Rhythm?
LvG has hardly been consistent in picking a settled team. I'm not sure why point fingers at Rafael. He is the best player in his position at the club, and when fit should be playing.
We have won 3 Premier League titles with him playing RB and were unlucky to lose on goal difference on another. The guy is excellent, the best fullback at the club. We need him back in the team he's a great attacking outlet and has a great delivery. He's one of few players who seem to genuinely love the club and play with his heart.
The way he's been treated the club will lose a class player on a free.
Shame but it looks like curtains for Raf.
Good riddance
Oh give me a break. We won 3 EPL titles because we had Rio-Vidic-Evra in defense, 3 quality and DEPENDABLE defenders who wouldn't vanish in the treatment room every 4 games. The Da Silva injury record was well known and forced SAF to move young CBs in the RB role which may have had a negative impact on their career progression.
I can't blame LVG for giving up hope on Rafael. He's good but he's not for the long haul here and its more appropriate to give match experience to players who represent United's future. What I do blame LVG is his reluctance in buying a RB during the January sales. We need one.
- Status