[Sigma]

He will be in the team of the season at right back by the end of the season. Feel free to quote this at the end of the season.

Valencia can more than 'do a job' at right back.

Valencia's whoscored stats for the last 2 seasons (both played at right back)

• Played 32 premier league games with an average rating of 7.23 in the 2014/15 season. (Compare that to Ivanovic - who got in the team of the season that year in a title winning team - he got 7.25). Also compare that to Martial in the 2015/16 season who got the exact same score of 7.23. Everyone said he was brilliant, no such mention of how good Valencia was in 2014/15.
• Played 14 premier league games (due to a long injury) with an average rating of 7.05 in the 2015/16 season.

Darmian on the other hand:

• Played 33 games (for Torino) league games with an average rating of 6.98 in the 2014/15 season. And remember, we bought him after this season.
• Played 28 premier league games with an average rating of 6.91 in the 2015/16 season.

That's just using stats. But, using my eyes, there's an even clearer difference.

Valencia is laughably underrated on this forum just because he switched to right back fairly recently (and because his performances when he was a winger in his last season were not up to his usual standards).

@devilish you should probably read this too.

Why are you so convinced by whoscored.com's player ratings?

According to them Rooney, Rojo and Darmian were all in our top 10 performing players last season while De Gea was 22nd. Do you think that's accurate?

I finished of the post by saying I can judge with my eyes that Valencia is a very good right back. Obviously it isn't a fool proof system but it has a lot of data that it goes through and stats are a way of backing up your point.

Valencia is fast and strong yes. But he is also technically very good. His first touch, his link up play are all brilliant and his crossing is drastically underrated on this forum (yes isn't not as good as it used to be but I seem to remember him being involved in quite a few goals near the end of last season). No full back/winger hits 100% of their crosses. Most full backs/wingers don't even hit 50% of their crosses as they would want to.

One of the reasons we struggled so much last season was due to the lack of attacking influence our full backs had (which are a big thing under LVG). Darmian and Rojo just weren't good enough in the attacking sense and both were suspect at the back as outlined countless times.

Darmian got schooled against Arsenal and Tottenham and LVG even said he brought on Valencia at half time against southampton because Tadic had too much space and also said that he didn't see Tadic in the second half. Rojo is also rash and supect.

One on one Valencia is a beast - he uses his pace and strength to win the battle the vast majority of the time. Also I find it funny that people saying he's a liability positionally and then when TFM was all over the place positionally when he was playing at right back he was being lauded for the exact same thing Valencia was doing, using his pace to get back into position. And lets be honest, Valencia was nowhere near as much out of position as TFM was in the games he played there.

Anyway whoscored is simple. If you score goals you get big marks, if you're a defender you don't.
It's a very basic system which has no real value as a yardstick for performance. If you're a sub your average plunges because it takes no account of the fact that you only played 20 minutes or whatever.

And yet Valencia gets a big score.

Comparing Valencia, Darmian and Fabinho in the 2015/16 season:

Comparing Valencia, Walker, Bellerin, Sagna and Clyne in the 2015/16 season:

Comparing Valencia, Dani Alves, Marcelo, Lahm and Carvajal in the 2015/16 season:

Again, stats aren't the full story - sometimes they can be misleading. But I don't believe that his stats being consistently favourable to other top right backs is a coincidence. I have given my opinion backed up by stats as to why I think Valencia is severely underrated by Manchester United fans. I haven't only given stats.

WE HAVE THE BEST RIGHT BACK IN THE LEAGUE

 

[fishfingers15]

Wasn't there a PSG bid for him this summer? Or was that a rumor?

 

[Šjor Bepo]

He will be in the team of the season at right back by the end of the season. Feel free to quote this at the end of the season.

the quality of right backs in the league is pathetic so it wouldnt surprise me tbh

 

[m1y2]

I think Jose will use him a lot, still has something to offer, doesn't mean we don't need a new RB sooner rather than later

 

[Nobby style]

the quality of right backs in the league is pathetic so it wouldnt surprise me tbh

It´s not just the PL, did you see any right backs in the Euros or Copa America who are clearly better than Valencia???

Portugal?
France?
Germany?
Argentina?
Chile?
Kyle Fookin´Walker?
JuanFrShite?
Italy?
Brasil?
Colombia?
Wales?

Erm . . . no!

 

[James_42]

There is more chance of Gary Neville coming out of retirement and starting for us than there is of Valencia making the PL team of the season.

I expect this to be his final season at the club, and he should have been sold a long time ago.

 

[ChaddyP]

best right back last season. Solid and consistent.

 

[dichinero]

He will be in the team of the season at right back by the end of the season. Feel free to quote this at the end of the season.

yh sure!

 

[Mike09]

I doubt it will be his final season. Being 31 years old but he has stamina like 26 years old player. His pace and strength are still valuable and also he looked like a different player when he came back from that operation (I heard he removed the steel from his feet or something like that). There was a rumour PSG bid £26m for him, true or no he still offer something great to our team.

 

[Isotope]

Would he be good enough as RB for Arsenal, City, Spurs, or Leicester? yes, he is. So, he should be good enough for us.

 

[Roosney]

There is more chance of Gary Neville coming out of retirement and starting for us than there is of Valencia making the PL team of the season.

I expect this to be his final season at the club, and he should have been sold a long time ago.

Beeeep. You got zero points, better luck next time.

 

[snk123]

I hope he plays on the wing again - coming on from the bench

 

[Šjor Bepo]

It´s not just the PL, did you see any right backs in the Euros or Copa America who are clearly better than Valencia???

Portugal?
France?
Germany?
Argentina?
Chile?
Kyle Fookin´Walker?
JuanFrShite?
Italy?
Brasil?
Colombia?
Wales?

Erm . . . no!

Juanfran is different planet compared to Valencia, no need to go further....

 

[bosnian_red]

He was probably one of the best performers when fit while LvG was here. Especially last season when he came back. Consistent and beastly most games. Sure the odd defensive lapse happens, but considering pretty much all right backs are shite, its fine

 

[LuisNaniencia]

He will be in the team of the season at right back by the end of the season. Feel free to quote this at the end of the season.

He looked a different player for the few matches he came back from injury at the end of last season. I'm really looking forward to the Mhiki combination found the right. Hopefully it's Val over Darmian.

 

[Pexbo]

He's a monster at right back. The only question is whether Mourinho will want a right back who (instinctively) works collectively with the defensive unit. Valencia is excellent at both working with his winger and individually by shutting down their winger. The only place he really falls short is reading what is happening horizontally and working with his centre backs and defensive midfielders.

 

[top1whoisman]

It´s not just the PL, did you see any right backs in the Euros or Copa America who are clearly better than Valencia???

Portugal?
France?
Germany?
Argentina?
Chile?
Kyle Fookin´Walker?
JuanFrShite?
Italy?
Brasil?
Colombia?
Wales?

Erm . . . no!

Valencia is consistent and has improved his defensive side of the game, however he’s attacking/supporting output is pretty low, and that’s politely put. I’d say the players below are currently better than Valencia.

Lahm
Kimmich
Srna
Azpilicueta
Fabinho
Aurier
Piszczek
Carvajal
Lichtsteiner
Cedric
Hysaj

 

[James_42]

Beeeep. You got zero points, better luck next time.

Oh well, he isn't our best RB so I don't see how he is going to end up in the team of the season.
He still doesn't look like he can cross a ball properly, he either smashes it low or lofts it in the air which is easy to defend against.

Fosu-Mensah looked more comfortable at RB than Valencia did in the couple of appearances he had, I just don't see him improving under Mourinho and think he will stick to using either Darmian or Fosu-Mensah in the second half of the season once he works out his best team.

I must confess I may be biased and I'm definitely not a fan of his after watching him perform like shite for the last couple of seasons, while other players are given the boot.

 

[LuisNaniencia]

Oh well, he isn't our best RB so I don't see how he is going to end up in the team of the season.
He still doesn't look like he can cross a ball properly, he either smashes it low or lofts it in the air which is easy to defend against.

Fosu-Mensah looked more comfortable at RB than Valencia did in the couple of appearances he had, I just don't see him improving under Mourinho and think he will stick to using either Darmian or Fosu-Mensah in the second half of the season once he works out his best team.

I must confess I may be biased and I'm definitely not a fan of his after watching him perform like shite for the last couple of seasons, while other players are given the boot.

Other players have been given the boot as they haven't been as good as he has/don't have as good attitude/don't train as well, it's not a conspiracy. Managers like Valencia because he's a solid player and a good clubman.

 

[dichinero]

More like a solid player being shoehorned there than an actual RB. Not tactically sound enough and I hope that José can get the ACTUAL RBs in the club up to speed instead. Darmian first choice!

 

[Roosney]

Oh well, he isn't our best RB so I don't see how he is going to end up in the team of the season.
He still doesn't look like he can cross a ball properly, he either smashes it low or lofts it in the air which is easy to defend against.

Fosu-Mensah looked more comfortable at RB than Valencia did in the couple of appearances he had, I just don't see him improving under Mourinho and think he will stick to using either Darmian or Fosu-Mensah in the second half of the season once he works out his best team.

I must confess I may be biased and I'm definitely not a fan of his after watching him perform like shite for the last couple of seasons, while other players are given the boot.

Fair enough. Looking at all the crosses made these days it seems like they tend to be very poor 99% of the time so I'd give Big T some slack.
After all he's our most consistent performer after De Gea.

 

[Obiorahking_]

He is the perfect fit in Jose's counter attacking system. Watching him burst onto the scene on the counter is going to be great.

 

[devilish]

I just listened to his interview on MUTV. You'll expect that a player whose been in England since he was in his early 20s would know how to speak in English by now. A talent with 10 times his talent was shipped by SAF for refusing to learn English (ie Poborsky). There again, we all know that standards had slipped big time in the past years.

 

[Rossa]

I just listened to his interview on MUTV. You'll expect that a player whose been in England since he was in his early 20s would know how to speak in English by now. A talent with 10 times his talent was shipped by SAF for refusing to learn English (ie Poborsky). There again, we all know that standards had slipped big time in the past years.

He's not the only one. Januzaj has more or less grown up in England, but his English is rubbish. It's quite ridiculous really. I agree with you though.

 

[Nobby style]

I just listened to his interview on MUTV. You'll expect that a player whose been in England since he was in his early 20s would know how to speak in English by now. A talent with 10 times his talent was shipped by SAF for refusing to learn English (ie Poborsky). There again, we all know that standards had slipped big time in the past years.

I´d invite you to Colombia to meet some ex pat British english teachers here who after years and years can barely string together a comprehensible sentence of Spanish. Some of the most pathetic gibberish I´ve ever heard . . . and they are teachers, lol. This one alcoholic Simon, still can´t even pronounce correctly the national beer he downs everyday, and he´s a science teacher.

And I think Pobersky was shipped out for being crap, not for his language skills. Brilliant observation.

 

[DWelbz19]

I´d invite you to Colombia to meet some ex pat British teachers here who after years and years can barely string together a comprehensible sentence of Spanish. Some of the most pathetic gibberish I´ve ever heard . . . and they are teachers, lol. This one alcoholic Simon, still can´t even pronounce correctly the national beer he downs everyday, and he´s a science teacher.

And I think Pobersky was shipped out for being crap, not for his language skills. Brilliant observation.

Ignore it. He has to get his daily dose of Sir Alex/Class of 92 digs where he can.

 

[Stobzilla]

So, in terms of actual performance, I thought he did well today. Nice little run out for him.

 

[acnumber9]

I just listened to his interview on MUTV. You'll expect that a player whose been in England since he was in his early 20s would know how to speak in English by now. A talent with 10 times his talent was shipped by SAF for refusing to learn English (ie Poborsky). There again, we all know that standards had slipped big time in the past years.

Poborsky never came close to performing at the level Valencia has.

 

[Nighteyes]

Given our current choices, I'd be disappointed if he wasn't first choice RB.

 

[devilish]

I´d invite you to Colombia to meet some ex pat British english teachers here who after years and years can barely string together a comprehensible sentence of Spanish. Some of the most pathetic gibberish I´ve ever heard . . . and they are teachers, lol. This one alcoholic Simon, still can´t even pronounce correctly the national beer he downs everyday, and he´s a science teacher.

And I think Pobersky was shipped out for being crap, not for his language skills. Brilliant observation.

Poborsky was sold because he couldn't learn the language. SAF said that. He was much better then Valencia ever was but that shouldn't be surprising isn't it? I think its pretty stupid to live in a country and not learn the language especially when taking in consideration the job they do (which rely heavily on communication) and the salaries they are being paid

 

[Nobby style]

Ignore it. He has to get his daily dose of Sir Alex/Class of 92 digs where he can.

If he really knew what he was talking about, he´s know it was Poborsky´s hair that really got Fergie´s goat.

 

[devilish]

Poborsky never came close to performing at the level Valencia has.

You haven't followed him in Italy didn't you?

 

[acnumber9]

You haven't followed him in Italy didn't you?

How relevant is that to his Manchester United career? He was shite for Utd. Were you watching him?

 

[Nighteyes]

He was much better then Valencia ever was but that shouldn't be surprising isn't it?

No, he wasn't. You don't half talk some complete shit at times.

 

[Stobzilla]

You haven't followed him in Italy didn't you?

Yes, his 5 Goals in a little over 40 appearances over 2 seasons for Lazio is truly one of Serie A's shining lights of a career.

 

[devilish]

How relevant is that to his Manchester United career? He was shite for Utd. Were you watching him?

He struggled against Beckham which is not surprising considering that Beckham was a quality player, he knew United inside out and he actually know English (sort of). Valencia wouldn't have a sniff to first team if Beckham was there. FFS he lost his right winger place against the likes of Lingard.

 

[acnumber9]

He struggled against Beckham which is not surprising considering that Beckham was a quality player, he knew United inside out and he actually know English (sort of). Valencia wouldn't have a sniff to first team if Beckham was there. FFS he lost his right winger place against the likes of Lingard.

Did you actually watch him? He was shite when he played. That had nothing to do with being able to speak English. And Valencia did not lose his right wing spot to Jesse Lingard. At least try and deal in facts.

 

[Gavin2012]

Poborsky was sold because he couldn't learn the language. SAF said that. He was much better then Valencia ever was but that shouldn't be surprising isn't it? I think its pretty stupid to live in a country and not learn the language especially when taking in consideration the job they do (which rely heavily on communication) and the salaries they are being paid

Like paul scholes? Seriously up until 2013 i thought Scholes was brazilian.

 

[devilish]

Yes, his 5 Goals in a little over 40 appearances over 2 seasons for Lazio is truly one of Serie A's shining lights of a career.

Did you follow him while at Lazio?

Ryan Giggs had similar stats in 2005-2006

 

[devilish]

Like paul scholes? Seriously up until 2013 i thought Scholes was brazilian.

I believe that Paul Scholes know how to speak in English