Antonio Valencia

[Kenneth]

He's scored 5 goals, created loads and a constant threat down the right.

It was also his cross that created the winner in the league cup final.

Plus he's about to win the title and possibly the CL in his first season at a new club. I'd say he's done pretty well overall.
Or he's a lucky cunt playing in a **** team of **** players that has been carried to glory by that other **** player, rooney.

They can't all be **** however much we hate them.

So is Michael Owen.

Anyway, he's been distinctly average when I have watched him. All pace nowt else pretty much sums him up. 16 million quid he cost. 16 millions of pounds

[red g]

he is like a better version of Pennant.

He is a good quality player with a good end product.

He isnt a world beater.....in fact i would liken him to riera when he played well for us ( both games )

[Shaggy]

So is Michael Owen.

Anyway, he's been distinctly average when I have watched him. All pace nowt else pretty much sums him up. 16 million quid he cost. 16 millions of pounds

Yep, average. He's got pace and can cross a ball (albeit very inconsistently), but he's too timid, too one-dimensional. Most United fans I know - I know too ****ing many - tend to respond with "hmm, meh, he's okay" whenever Valencia is up for discussion.

[ronanm]

So if Owen wins the PL and CL, he'll have won every domestic and european honour - FAC, CShield, UEFA Cup, Super Cup, League Cup

[dww]

Yep, average. He's got pace and can cross a ball (albeit very inconsistently), but he's too timid, too one-dimensional. Most United fans I know - I know too ****ing many - tend to respond with "hmm, meh, he's okay" whenever Valencia is up for discussion.

I think he is exactly what you would expect for that sort of money (in response to the part of the post you quoted which was highlighted) - he balances the side very well in a way similar to what Riera did for us last season but also has pace. He's not a world beater but he is one of the reasons Rooney has been so effective this season - he drags defences wide and has a decent cross (one which seems almost perfect for a smallish forward like Rooney actually).

The difference between say him and Owen is that Valencia has played pretty much every match and has been integral to the way that United set up their team. He is a very good example of the fact that it is often as much about the suitability of groups of players in a team to get the best out of one another as it is individual quality.

That said I think he is a better player in his own right than many on here are prone to give him credit for. In some ways I think he suffers from comparisons with Ronaldo, he patently isn't at that level but realistically the list of those that are starts with Messi and ends with Rooney this season.

[Exiled_red]

It's a good point dww, like I've been saying for a while, when people comment about certain players not being good enough, you don't have to have 11 world class players. If you compare our first 11 with the scum's first; on paper there aren't that many of our players I'd swap like for like with them, I'd say that on paper at least I'd rather have our 11 than theirs. They are doing so much better than us because they play more effectively as a team; the unit is greater than the sum of it's parts, ours IMO the opposite is true, we have good individuals who don't play together as well as they should.

[lickedlollipop]

valencia is (very?) good player. nice crosses