Rafael vs Valencia Rightback Debate

Van Gaal was consistently making mistake after mistake this season, freezing rafael is one of them but it can be overseen as Valencia's input is solid but surely we could be better with Rafael in the side. He's better defensively and offensively. Perhaps Van Gaal would like to see converted winger there to cause more threat to opponent. Unfortunately Valencia will never be better, he will play loads of solid games and from time to time he will have blinder or howler. Rafael can play consistently on high level which he showed over past three three seasons, always one of the best players on the pitch.(Even last season his level of performances was one of the best in the team, yeah, name players who were better in that dreadful season) Some stupid people will always claim he's rash and other trash.. It was only injuries which didn't help him to settle but this season his injury record isn't that bad, he was unlucky with the cheek bone fracture but other than that he's fit for a long time this season.

I don't want to dishonest Valencia but he's just solid man on that right hand side playing like robot, lacks any kind of intelligence, perhaps creative Rafael who plays with his head up would be too much of creativity to the side for LVG, no doubt he can adapt but he was not given proper chance in the team. Herrera had to wait for fecking long time to have a decent run of games and he finally had a look in after injuries to Van Gaal's favourite players..

I think there is absolutely no need to sell only 24 year old RB who doesn't struggle to have a good game even after long time sidelined. Next season is another season and this one was tough for many players, a lot of ridiculous decisions and not enough games which will obviously change next campaign.
 
I feel like if Rafael came back by the end of the game we'd be thinking "Yeah, that's why he wasn't starting before."
 
Carl said:
Ball to Fellaini only ok? Come on, what's the point in a reasoned debate if you can't give credit where it's due.

It was on a plate for Fellaini.
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It was a decent ball without being spectacular one which Fellaini should have scored from. It's not exactly hard to pick out Fellaini at the far post is it?

Ok was a bit harsh admittedly.
 
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m1y2 said:
Van Gaal was consistently making mistake after mistake this season, freezing rafael is one of them but it can be overseen as Valencia's input is solid but surely we could be better with Rafael in the side. He's better defensively and offensively. Perhaps Van Gaal would like to see converted winger there to cause more threat to opponent. Unfortunately Valencia will never be better, he will play loads of solid games and from time to time he will have blinder or howler. Rafael can play consistently on high level which he showed over past three three seasons, always one of the best players on the pitch.(Even last season his level of performances was one of the best in the team, yeah, name players who were better in that dreadful season) Some stupid people will always claim he's rash and other trash.. It was only injuries which didn't help him to settle but this season his injury record isn't that bad, he was unlucky with the cheek bone fracture but other than that he's fit for a long time this season.

I don't want to dishonest Valencia but he's just solid man on that right hand side playing like robot, lacks any kind of intelligence, perhaps creative Rafael who plays with his head up would be too much of creativity to the side for LVG, no doubt he can adapt but he was not given proper chance in the team. Herrera had to wait for fecking long time to have a decent run of games and he finally had a look in after injuries to Van Gaal's favourite players..

I think there is absolutely no need to sell only 24 year old RB who doesn't struggle to have a good game even after long time sidelined. Next season is another season and this one was tough for many players, a lot of ridiculous decisions and not enough games which will obviously change next campaign.
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By which you mean that, not having access to any of LvG's information on training performance, medical condition, etc., you would have made different decisions. And that means LvG made mistakes because even though you have no relevant information, any decision you would have made would have been correct so his must be incorrect. Must be amazing to have an ego bigger than LvG's - how do you keep it all inside your skull?
 
Walrus said:
Just to say, based on my rough calculations, Valencia hasnt scored or assisted a goal his last 11 hours of playing time (just looking at league apps).

In fact he has only got 1 assist (no goals) in his last 1135 minutes in the league.
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Rafael's stat's as our first choice RB for 6 seasons show just how mediocre he is going forward. They've been posted already in this thread.

Eugenius said:
Let's be frank about the fact that LvG has some very strong views on the way the team should play, and that this sometimes leads to decisions made to the detriment of the team. Stuff like insisting on playing Blackett because he needed a left footed centre back, or under playing Herrera because he was too adventurous for example.

LvG loves anyone who follows his instructions and I think the simple explanation here is that he likes Valencia's conservatism. He's very prudent in his overlapping runs and in his use of the ball (I imagine that exactly what LvG wants is for him to turn back and play the ball back infield if there's not a great option on). I think all LvG wants from the full back is to back up the play conservatively and play the percentage ball to Fellaini at the back post, or otherwise recycle possession. Valencia does that to a tee, and will do it 90 minutes no problem, whereas that's not Rafael's natural game.

I still think Rafael is head and shoulders a better right back, but just because LvG doesn't fancy him it doesn't make him crap. It was only two years ago that by caf consensus Rafael was one of the best RBs in Europe, probably a close second to Zabaleta in England. Most posters were also aware of his reputation to opposition fans who went by media stereotypes and old performances as not being able to defend/rash and thought it was nonsense, so it's odd to see the same arguments coming out again as a knock against him. To my mind, his biggest issue is not staying fit. Even then, his last injury was a broken cheekbone (i.e. not his fault) and he's been fit ever since. So he's been free of any muscle injuries for how long? 3-4 months? Can someone just clarify that for me?
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I post on 2 other boards which have fans from all over the world and the consensus is he's a pretty average footballer and a decent athlete, no one rates him as one of the best amongst Europe and fans of other sides wouldn't be fussed on trying to sign him. Valencia has been an upgrade on him this season and I see no reason to change.

Walrus said:
Perhaps, but Rafael hasnt been given any consistent gametime at all this season. Is it not worth at least giving him a try?
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Why would you give him a try when Valencia has been excellent? We have the 3rd best defence in the league and it would be 2nd if you take away the 5 goals conceded vs Leicester were Rafael started and was at fault for.
 
akash02 said:
You should watch the video yourself. There's absolutely no way Rooney can head that towards goal; the ball is quite plainly played behind him.
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It was perfectly good enough for him to head in; one of the reasons it's behind him is because Rooney has already taken the decision to attempt the over head, in which case, he angles himself away from the ball.

The debate shouldn't be about the cross, either, it should be about a stupid decision from our Captain at wasting a perfectly good chance. Had that been a certain Argentine, I'm sure he'd have been crucified for it...
 
I think one of the things we underestimate watching on TV is what a nightmare it must be to play against Valencia. We see the poor crossing, the positional mistakes leading to goals and so forth. But we're not watching him run up and down the flank at pace for 90 minutes, game in game out.

If you're a left-sided winger, you're used to being able to outpace people - Valencia is faster than you. He's also a f*cking truck, so each challenge hurts.
If you're the left-sided full back, he will overload your side. All match. Everytime we come forward. There is never respite. Fine, half his crosses are as useful as tits on a bull, but you still have to track the f*cker.

I think managers love him because he literally exhausts his side of the pitch. It's not exciting, but it's kind of effective. And you trade off his lack of skill and defensive nous for the fact that he will basically nullify his flank from the 60th minute on.
 
The main thing now at this point in the season is consistency. Valencia has been playing well and deserves his spot in the team. Throwing Rafael into the team at this point in the season would be pointless and would most likely cost us seeing he would have no match rhythm.

Never change a successful team.
 
Captain Hindsight said:
It was perfectly good enough for him to head in; one of the reasons it's behind him is because Rooney has already taken the decision to attempt the over head, in which case, he angles himself away from the ball.

The debate shouldn't be about the cross, either, it should be about a stupid decision from our Captain at wasting a perfectly good chance. Had that been a certain Argentine, I'm sure he'd have been crucified for it...
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Not really. In the very videos you posted, Rooney actually stops when he realizes the ball is going to go behind him rather than making the run to the near post and the ball is still behind him. If he'd tried to head the ball, he'd have been facing his own goal by the time he got his head to it.

Perfectly good chance:wenger: Good lord. You talk about people crucifying Di Maria and then proceed to crucify Rooney. Well done.
 
ravelston said:
By which you mean that, not having access to any of LvG's information on training performance, medical condition, etc., you would have made different decisions. And that means LvG made mistakes because even though you have no relevant information, any decision you would have made would have been correct so his must be incorrect. Must be amazing to have an ego bigger than LvG's - how do you keep it all inside your skull?
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yeah if you agree with playing rooney in midfield, playing RVP up front after horrific performances every week, dysfunctional two striker system, sticking to 5-3-2 for too long, playing Jones ahead of Smalling, diMaria upfront, Herrera on the bench. Felalini all over the pitch etc.. if you think after all this we've seen this season it's not a relevant sign gaffer could be wrong also in this case than amen with you...

And I don't mean it's a blatant mistake to play Valencia ahead of Rafael as Valencia's solid this year but we can surely get better, and we will see next season there will be enough games for players to prove themselves, this pretty hectic finish to the season means that Van Gaal doesn't risk that much and stick to things which work so I don't think Van Gaal will change it but next season competition for places will start again and I believe Rafael will set the bar high as he always used to do.. higher than Valencia as RB
 
m1y2 said:
yeah if you agree with playing rooney in midfield, playing RVP up front after horrific performances every week, dysfunctional two striker system, sticking to 5-3-2 for too long, playing Jones ahead of Smalling, diMaria upfront, Herrera on the bench. Felalini all over the pitch etc.. if you think after all this we've seen this season it's not a relevant sign gaffer could be wrong also in this case than amen with you...

And I don't mean it's a blatant mistake to play Valencia ahead of Rafael as Valencia's solid this year but we can surely get better, and we will see next season there will be enough games for players to prove themselves, this pretty hectic finish to the season means that Van Gaal doesn't risk that much and stick to things which work so I don't think Van Gaal will change it but next season competition for places will start again and I believe Rafael will set the bar high as he always used to do.. higher than Valencia as RB
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Again, you have no knowledge of how the players trained, whether they were showing signs of understanding their roles in the system LvG was installing - essentially whether or not he could trust them on the pitch. You also have no information about the physical condition of the players. And that's for starters. You also don't know the specific tactical niceties of playing particular opponents. In fact, your ignorance is as profound as pretty much everyone else on the Caf - and that is very profound. And despite this you are convinced that you are right and the guy with all the information and a worldwide reputation as a coach is wrong. As I said, it's amazing your ego fits inside your skull.
 
ravelston said:
Again, you have no knowledge of how the players trained, whether they were showing signs of understanding their roles in the system LvG was installing - essentially whether or not he could trust them on the pitch. You also have no information about the physical condition of the players. And that's for starters. You also don't know the specific tactical niceties of playing particular opponents. In fact, your ignorance is as profound as pretty much everyone else on the Caf - and that is very profound. And despite this you are convinced that you are right and the guy with all the information and a worldwide reputation as a coach is wrong. As I said, it's amazing your ego fits inside your skull.
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such alibistic comment... It's all about debate and opinions. I expressed mine. You and other people may disagree with me and that's completely right but saying you can't judge because you don't see what's behind the scenes it's pathetic. Then we can close whole redcafé...

Off course there are things you can't see but there are things you can assume from, you can expect some things to happen again with the manager's decision making already been explored to some extent... I based my opinion on some facts we witnessed this season and then comes you with this. It's laughable man.

And answer to your picks: I don't think that Rafael lacks intelligence to pick what manager says, he looks more intelligent than Valencia by what he shows on the pitch. He's definitely a hardworking player so I don't see why he would be loafer during training. Rafael's physical condition is one of the best in the team so is Valencia's. He's long time back from injury, played several times for u21, fitness wise he's completely okay.


And I for one think that he will stay here despite Valencia will finish season as RB to me for obvious reasons. Next season it will start all again..
 
::sonny:: said:
Rafael wouldn't be a regular starter at Qpr
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What exactly do you base this on? He has been a regular starter for United since he was eligible to play. He was first pick whenever he was fit and has played over 30 games a season for us. Why has he suddenly deteriorated to the point that he wouldn't even start at QPR? Do you know something that I don't? He is still fairly young and yet to hit his peak and I'm sure he has many successful years ahead of him, I just hope its with United.

I've said in other threads that I would really like to find out why he is out of the team as he has been fit since late January. One rumour has been the ongoing rift between van Gaal and Brazilians and I really really hope this is not the case. We may not find out until Rafael moves away and I hope that does not happen. His contract runs out next years so there will either be an extension in the summer or a sale.

Valencia has done well as a right back but it is not his natural position. He struggles with defending despite his physicality and a lot of the goals we have conceded have come from down that side. Two crucial ones against Arsenal that knocked us out of the cup. He is nearly 30 so even thought he might have a few years left, It is too late for him to start working on his defending.

I would like a natural fullback to be played in that position, preferably Rafael but if not him, someone who can defend well at least.
 
Beachryan said:
I think one of the things we underestimate watching on TV is what a nightmare it must be to play against Valencia. We see the poor crossing, the positional mistakes leading to goals and so forth. But we're not watching him run up and down the flank at pace for 90 minutes, game in game out.

If you're a left-sided winger, you're used to being able to outpace people - Valencia is faster than you. He's also a f*cking truck, so each challenge hurts.
If you're the left-sided full back, he will overload your side. All match. Everytime we come forward. There is never respite. Fine, half his crosses are as useful as tits on a bull, but you still have to track the f*cker.

I think managers love him because he literally exhausts his side of the pitch. It's not exciting, but it's kind of effective. And you trade off his lack of skill and defensive nous for the fact that he will basically nullify his flank from the 60th minute on.
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Aye, these are fair points, actually.

Now, if Valencia had an actual talent for pure defending (reading the game as a defender, being one step ahead of his man, etc.) in addition to this, I'd be very happy to have him as a starting RB for us.

He doesn't have that, though. Perhaps I demand too much – perhaps he makes up for both his offensive and defensive shortcomings with his physical qualities. I personally don't think he does this to a sufficient degree, though. Enough for a very decent squad player to have around – not enough for a starting man at a club like United.

Problem is, of course, that Rafael doesn't look like a much better alternative at the moment. Here and now, there's no contest for me. We look half decent at the moment, with Valencia in the team. And Rafael isn't Cafu – very far from it. He's a player with undoubtedly greater potential than Valencia in the RB role, but injury prone and possibly out in the cold for a reason. And that's it. Hopefully this season is just a write-off for him – and that he'll be back fighting for a place in the XI come next season. But I'm not holding my breath – nor am I of the opinion that LVG would be mad to simply replace him with someone who can stay fit.
 
Beachryan said:
I think one of the things we underestimate watching on TV is what a nightmare it must be to play against Valencia. We see the poor crossing, the positional mistakes leading to goals and so forth. But we're not watching him run up and down the flank at pace for 90 minutes, game in game out.

If you're a left-sided winger, you're used to being able to outpace people - Valencia is faster than you. He's also a f*cking truck, so each challenge hurts.
If you're the left-sided full back, he will overload your side. All match. Everytime we come forward. There is never respite. Fine, half his crosses are as useful as tits on a bull, but you still have to track the f*cker.

I think managers love him because he literally exhausts his side of the pitch. It's not exciting, but it's kind of effective. And you trade off his lack of skill and defensive nous for the fact that he will basically nullify his flank from the 60th minute on.
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Where are the positional mistakes leading to goals?
 
I looked on a Cardiff forum. Fabio appears to be very much liked by the fans but has been marginalized since a mistake he made after a run of good performances at the beginning of the season.

Sounds familiar. What a shame.
 
I really think with mata and herrera , Rafael would complement them really well in the final third,plus hes good defensively, I remember well in SAF last season we used to feel a match would be difficult for us to win if Rafael was injured, such was his importance to the team in that season

But for last 2 seasons, hes either been unlucky with injuries, or frozen out. And hes one of those few players, when things where going bad, he was never scared to take the ball, and drive forward, and make something happen. To me he has all the ethos of a United player, absolutely loves the club, just a real pity with injuries, even though hes been injury free for a while now

But with Valencia I`d say one word for him would be "Reliable", he`ll always give an 6-7 out of 10 performance every match, and as already stated by others, hes built like a beast, and opposition players must hate to be marked by him, as hes fast, and takes no prisoners, no nonsense style

But whats really puzzling how his attacking play deteriorated so fast after being voted Fans player of the year, ever since that season, he just went utter braindead in the final third
 
If you have ever read LVG's press conferences, you would notice that he focuses heavily on match fitness. Rafael probably gets injured too much to get back to full fitness, but I believe if he is fit for an extended period and AV's form drops, he would get his chance. That being said, AV is incredibly consistent week in week out and hardly gets injured, so I don't really know when will Rafael ever have a chance.
 
akash02 said:
Not really. In the very videos you posted, Rooney actually stops when he realizes the ball is going to go behind him rather than making the run to the near post and the ball is still behind him. If he'd tried to head the ball, he'd have been facing his own goal by the time he got his head to it.

Perfectly good chance:wenger: Good lord. You talk about people crucifying Di Maria and then proceed to crucify Rooney. Well done.
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Spec savers are doing 2 for 1 these days...

It's ironic that Rooney scuffed the chance as the ball was to close for him to attempt an over head, hence why the ball hits higher up on his foot and misses the goal by a mile. Wasted opportunity, the initial cross was not even a foot behind, he quite easily could have arched his body back and used his neck muscles to head the ball goal wards. It's insane how you're critical of Valencia more so than Rooney missing the chance... Shows that people quite clearly have an agenda with Valencia, that they won't even acknowledge any good he does.

How does calling Rooneys decision to overhead equate to crucifying him? It's a justifiable critique of a very precarious choice.
 
Captain Hindsight said:
Spec savers are doing 2 for 1 these days...

It's ironic that Rooney scuffed the chance as the ball was to close for him to attempt an over head, hence why the ball hits higher up on his foot and misses the goal by a mile. Wasted opportunity, the initial cross was not even a foot behind, he quite easily could have arched his body back and used his neck muscles to head the ball goal wards. It's insane how you're critical of Valencia more so than Rooney missing the chance... Shows that people quite clearly have an agenda with Valencia, that they won't even acknowledge any good he does.

How does calling Rooneys decision to overhead equate to crucifying him? It's a justifiable critique of a very precarious choice.
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Get a grip. Arch his neck? Rooney is not a fecking giraffe. He's making his run to the near post where he's expecting the ball to go. At that point you're asking him to stop, go back (because the ball is so blatantly behind him; something you keep on ignoring), arch his neck around the ball and then somehow direct it towards the goal with the necessary power. And this constitutes an easy chance....jesus. What Rooney could have done was probably not make the run at all and step back right from the off (In which case it would have been a tap in) but given Valencia's propensity for smashing the ball across the goal the run made sense.

And criticize Valencia? Strawman. I've said it wasn't the excellent cross you made it out to be and how it was not an 'easy chance'. That's not being critical; not even slightly.
 
akash02 said:
Get a grip. Arch his neck? Rooney is not a fecking giraffe. He's making his run to the near post where he's expecting the ball to go. At that point you're asking him to stop, go back (because the ball is so blatantly behind him; something you keep on ignoring), arch his neck around the ball and then somehow direct it towards the goal with the necessary power. And this constitutes an easy chance....jesus. What Rooney could have done was probably not make the run at all and step back right from the off (In which case it would have been a tap in) but given Valencia's propensity for smashing the ball across the goal the run made sense.

And criticize Valencia? Strawman. I've said it wasn't the excellent cross you made it out to be and how it was not an 'easy chance'. That's not being critical; not even slightly.
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Come on Akash it was such an easy chance, why else do you think the club spent all that money on Rooneys ground breaking spinal surgery?
 
akash02 said:
Get a grip. Arch his neck? Rooney is not a fecking giraffe. He's making his run to the near post where he's expecting the ball to go. At that point you're asking him to stop, go back (because the ball is so blatantly behind him; something you keep on ignoring), arch his neck around the ball and then somehow direct it towards the goal with the necessary power. And this constitutes an easy chance....jesus. What Rooney could have done was probably not make the run at all and step back right from the off (In which case it would have been a tap in) but given Valencia's propensity for smashing the ball across the goal the run made sense.
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I'm going to assume the Villa game was your first football game.

I'll leave you with this:



Somehow a footballer managed to arch his body and neck, and score a goal from a cross that was behind him! My god, how is it even possible, right?
 
Yes, a header from a corner with a ball that's hung up in the air for a long time allowing Vidic to take a step back and then measure his header on target. None of that holds true for the goal you were actually talking about. And another strawman. I never said you couldn't score from a cross that was behind you. Just that in this particular case, there's a whole list of reason why it was very difficult to do so and it most certainly was not an easy chance.

I'm going to go ahead and assume you're thick.
 
akash02 said:
Yes, a header from a corner with a ball that's hung up in the air for a long time allowing Vidic to take a step back and then measure his header on target. None of that holds true for the goal you were actually talking about. And another strawman. I never said you couldn't score from a cross that was behind you. Just that in this particular case, there's a whole list of reason why it was very difficult to do so and it most certainly was not an easy chance.

I'm going to go ahead and assume you're thick.
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Cause Valencia's cross was blasted at Rooney? So, Rooney had no time to react? Rooney isn't an OAP with slow reaction times, there was plenty of time for to assess the cross. In case you forgot, as you seem to have the memory span of a toddler, Rooney had enough time to make the decision to attempt and fail an over head kick, yet you're saying he couldn't have used his head. Boy, you're taking stupidity to a whole new level.

The last part is hilarious. A whole list of reasons as to why he couldn't head the ball. In what world is a header more difficult to execute than an over head kick? Please quote where I say it was an easy chance? I called it a good chance which in your world might be a synonym for easy, but, here in the real world, they're different. Must be your memory giving way, again.
 
Captain Hindsight said:
Cause Valencia's cross was blasted at Rooney? So, Rooney had no time to react? Rooney isn't an OAP with slow reaction times, there was plenty of time for to assess the cross. In case you forgot, as you seem to have the memory span of a toddler, Rooney had enough time to make the decision to attempt and fail an over head kick, yet you're saying he couldn't have used his head. Boy, you're taking stupidity to a whole new level.

The last part is hilarious. A whole list of reasons as to why he couldn't head the ball. In what world is a header more difficult to execute than an over head kick? Please quote where I say it was an easy chance? I called it a good chance which in your world might be a synonym for easy, but, here in the real world, they're different. Must be your memory giving way, again.
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As the ball is played to his momentum is in the opposite direction i.e he's making a run to the near post while the ball has been pulled back. Rooney judges that as seen by him immediately stopping his run but the ball but the ball is still behind him. At that point if he's to head the ball with any degree effectiveness he not only has to stop but actually move backwards. Anything else and he's almost facing his goal trying to head the ball in opposite direction. I've only seen Hernandez do that and even that was from a corner. Also, another variable that makes it difficult is that ball is still rising which makes it that bit tougher if the ball is behind you which it was.
 
I dont recall it being quite such an easy chance as you are making out, but the fact that Valencia has a reputation for crosses hitting the first man, I dont think giving one example of a good cross really affects the discussion in the slightest. Crossing is Valencia's bread and butter (or should be) - he is one footed, he cant cut inside, he does one of two things every time - passes back to Mata/Herrera, or runs down the outside and attempts a cross. Really, he should be creating chances like the one you described with far more frequency, especially with a target like Fellaini to aim for.[/QUOTE]

Valencia is doing a good job and the fact Rafael is not getting a game says more about Rafael than it does about Valencia.
 
akash02 said:
As the ball is played to his momentum is in the opposite direction i.e he's making a run to the near post while the ball has been pulled back. Rooney judges that as seen by him immediately stopping his run but the ball but the ball is still behind him. At that point if he's to head the ball with any degree effectiveness he not only has to stop but actually move backwards. Anything else and he's almost facing his goal trying to head the ball in opposite direction. I've only seen Hernandez do that and even that was from a corner. Also, another variable that makes it difficult is that ball is still rising which makes it that bit tougher if the ball is behind you which it was.
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Why would Rooney need to walk backwards to head the ball? It's not even that far behind him. You keep exaggerating the distance at which the ball is behind Rooney. If you've every played football and attempted a header from a ball behind, you'd know that that header isn't difficult, at all. We're talking about athletic, flexible and relatively young professionals, not elders. I've watched the video multiple times, and it's not that far behind. Your excuses would be reasonable for yourself, maybe, but for a professional football, they're pathetic. There's hardly any momentum generated from a 1 yard sprint, he recognises the flight and direction immediately, the ball is not as far as you keep making it out to be, and is on the way down and not rising, but he made the wrong choice, why that's so incredibly hard for you to comprehend is beyond me.
 
Captain Hindsight said:
Why would Rooney need to walk backwards to head the ball? It's not even that far behind him. You keep exaggerating the distance at which the ball is behind Rooney. If you've every played football and attempted a header from a ball behind, you'd know that that header isn't difficult, at all. We're talking about athletic, flexible and relatively young professionals, not elders. I've watched the video multiple times, and it's not that far behind. Your excuses would be reasonable for yourself, maybe, but for a professional football, they're pathetic. There's hardly any momentum generated from a 1 yard sprint, he recognises the flight and direction immediately, the ball is not as far as you keep making it out to be, and is on the way down and not rising, but he made the wrong choice, why that's so incredibly hard for you to comprehend is beyond me.
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Completely wrong on the bold especially when the margins are so small. Even a step is enough as seen with keepers.

As for the rest, agree to disagree. The initial run, the fact that ball is behind him and then rising even as it reaches him are enough to discourage a header.
 
akash02 said:
Completely wrong on the bold especially when the margins are so small. Even a step is enough as seen with keepers.

As for the rest, agree to disagree. The initial run, the fact that ball is behind him and then rising even as it reaches him are enough to discourage a header.
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Yeah, the only way forward.
 
goin4glory said:
I post on 2 other boards which have fans from all over the world and the consensus is he's a pretty average footballer and a decent athlete, no one rates him as one of the best amongst Europe and fans of other sides wouldn't be fussed on trying to sign him. Valencia has been an upgrade on him this season and I see no reason to change.
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Probably the same people who think that Carrick only passes sideways, that Rooney is overrated, think all of our defenders are shit, that we are the worst Utd team in X years every year, that as soon as one player starts playing well we're a one man team etc. I wouldn't spend a second listening to many of these people as probably half of their opinions are based on media narratives and random games.

You should read his performances threads from two years ago. I absolutely guarantee you no one on the caf was doubting his ability.
 
Eugenius said:
Probably the same people who think that Carrick only passes sideways, that Rooney is overrated, think all of our defenders are shit, that we are the worst Utd team in X years every year, that as soon as one player starts playing well we're a one man team etc. I wouldn't spend a second listening to many of these people as probably half of their opinions are based on media narratives and random games.

You should read his performances threads from two years ago. I absolutely guarantee you no one on the caf was doubting his ability.
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Actually no the consensus is that Carrick is massively underrated and should have been a huge part of the England team over the past 5 years ahead of Gerrard, and our defenders bar Evans are decent/good but very injury prone. Rooney is overrated.
 
How about trying Blind out at right back with Shaw on the left? He's no more a stranger to the position as Valencia is having played there for Gronigen.
 
Señor said:
How about trying Blind out at right back with Shaw on the left? He's no more a stranger to the position as Valencia is having played there for Gronigen.
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Awful idea. Our full backs are a big part of our attack. Blind is the best crosser in the team and he's left footed. Taking that away from him and he's a pretty useless full back.
 
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