Anyone who doesn't think Valencia is poor positionally from a defensive standpoint doesn't know what they are talking about. In my opinion.
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This
Exactly
It's his weakest point and I agree - heck I think the same thing about Shaw but, he is still learning. However, 4 managers seem to think it's not as a big an issue that you are trying to make it out to be and do think at least as a collective, they know what they are talking about.
I'm not making it a big issue at all, highly valuable squad player.
To be fair to date only one of those 4 managers considered him a fullback and played him there regularly. Lets see if Mourinho does the same long term before we talk about a collective.
Id rather sell Darmian and buy a young up and coming full back. hes a monster on the right side and will be vital to how we play if he can keep the crossing even semi accurate
Bit of a random bump but not worthy of a new thread. Can anyone think of an example of another player who started out as a winger before establishing himself as a full-back? I'm struggling.
Not quite performance related but, happy birthday to him. Watching the game yesterday - can't tell he has aged. Absolute tank/beast !
Chris Brunt played at leftback quite a bit last season. Although I'm not entirely convinced he's established himself as a footballer yet.
He's been one of our better players in the short preseason. I've never disliked Valencia tbh I would prefer a specialist RB but I don't mind him at all
Coentrao and Alba started out as wingers i think. I think Alba was even a striker in the Barca youth team, then was a winger for Valencia at the beginning, then a LB.
Pretty sure Martin Olsson played most of his Blackburn career on the left wing.
Jordi Alba? I think Roberto Carlos started as a striker as well, he wasn't a bad oul left back..
Yuri Zhirkov as well.
Can you tell I love these type of pointless pieces of football trivia.
Evra.
Kieron Richardson
They can/were never be good full backs. They're not 'proper' right backs
Eh?
Many posters who say Valencia isn't a good right back use as evidence that he was a winger so he can never be a good right back and only 'proper' right backs can ever play that position.
It's like something a Donald Trump supporter (obvisouly with different topics) would say
Wasn't Evra a striker? I'm sure I read that was his first position as a pro.
Some good examples above but did any of them play a few seasons as a winger for a top flight club before switching to RB? Or was it the kind of switches you often hear about during the early part of a young player's development?
This isn't having a go at AV by the way. Just struck me as a surprisingly unusual move. You'd think it would happen fairly regularly.
Some good examples above but did any of them play a few seasons as a winger for a top flight club before switching to RB? Or was it the kind of switches you often hear about during the early part of a young player's development?
This isn't having a go at AV by the way. Just struck me as a surprisingly unusual move. You'd think it would happen fairly regularly.
Correct. As Evra, Marcelo and Alba are left backs.
I remember Evra played as a winger in the CL season that Monaco got to the final. Alves was Navas like at Sevilla, he was rapid. Marcelo was defo and established winger and played there for prolonged periods at Real a couple of years ago in a 433 and was pretty good there. Coleman started as a winger in his debut season at Everton. Alba was also established in his time at Valencia.
These are the top ones off the top of my head. There are so many players that have transformed from being established wingers like Eliseu, Vereihna(sp) etc.
The common factor is that this guys were really good as wingers and were dropped deeper by adventurous managers that preferred attacking football.
Ok, cool. There's a whole bunch of them, so.
IMO, the difference between AV and this lot is that he was failed attacking winger turned into a full back, which is why many still consider him shoehorned in the full back position.
As a wingback in a 5-3-2 but he started his career as a left midfielder/winger.
None of these players should be compared with Tony as the conditions are totally different. Each player mentioned began their time at full back in the very early stages of their career. Not one of them played out wide long enough to become "failed wingers" and by result end up getting shuffled back to right back in their late 20s like Tony.
Vierinha and Eliseu are probably more like Valencia.
Leicester 1:2 Man Utd
Another assist. Looks good going forward. Added a bit more acceleration after he removed the metal from his foot it seems.
Lovely assist, we need to get a lot more balls into the box like that.
He was smiling wide when he got that armband.
8 Valencia assists since he came back from injury in April; 4 of them in friendlies.
Beast mode
Can you say 'creative' ?
Great form in this preseason, really enjoying watching him, hope he can keep this up.
He was so happy when he got the armband! 
Very good game from him again.
Very good game from him again.
He honestly looks like he could be the right back for another 10 years. He's in unreal shape.
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