Mas Valencia CF

SITE CLOSED

2011-06-18T12:50:00.001+01:00

I have replaced this with a proper web site. I hope you enjoy this.

www.loscheuk.com

Player of the season - my award goes to .....

2011-06-07T22:09:00.008+01:00

Well my aim of going for a points related (average score) player of the season pretty much went tits up as after the Barca game as I lost all of my data (computer crash). It didn't seem worth trawling through my posts and redoing it all as this site has been so badly promoted it has very few readers.

However, at the time of crashing their were 4 clear leaders:-

Tino Costa leading quite easily from a very close together pack of Soldado, Mata and Guaita.

So what I can do is look at what happened to their form after this game.

Guaita drops out of contention with nightmare games against Real Madrid and Zaragoza, conceding 10 goals in those 2 games alone. The tragic early death of his father and also injury saw him lose form and his place to Cesar Sanchez.

Fabulous form by Juan Mata and Roberto Soldado leap frog them both over Tino Costa, who struggled with injury and Emery's rotation system.

Roberto Soldado ended the season with an impressive 18 goals and 3 assists in 34 la liga games

Mata ended the la liga season on 8 goals and 13 assists in 33 games.

On that basis we kind of have a tie IE 21 goals due to each of the above in some way.But my PLAYER OF THE SEASON, first ever award goes to Roberto Soldado.

The reason is that you were left with the impression this season that he has grown into Spain's number one striker. Better than Torres and Villa and Llorente etc. Soldado has near perfect technique (his goals should be shown to children as a how to finish lesson - he never hits and hopes), he also has enough speed to stay ahead of a defender.

A special mention should also be made to Soldado the man. He did not celebrate a 4 goal haul versus his former club Getafe nor did he celebrate scoring the goal that put Deportivo down. In fact he looked sad. He also met 2 fans who had abused him during a game and made peace with them. This is a man that cares about people and their feelings.

Soldado to me is a proper hero on all levels. Amunt Soldado ! You have done us all proud.

Valencia 0 Barcelona 1

2011-03-02T23:47:00.004Z

It is not often that you are still smiling after a defeat but Valencia gave everything in this game and with a perfectly good goal disallowed in the first half (Alba for a level offside)they were unlucky to not get at least a point.

For a change I must single out Unai Emery for praise. His tactics through out were spot on. It started with the no striker approach adopted successfully in a 0-0 last season, a kind of 4-3-3 but the last wave all by trade wingers and then in the second half, with Barcelona a little more tired, Emery switched to to 4-4-1-1. Valencia probably shaded the second half despite the Messi goal that clinched Barcelona victory.

Pablo (twice)and Soldado came closest to scoring. Both having shots only jut wide with the keeper beaten.

But I'll leave a blow by blow review to other sites. So onto the ratings.

Guaita 7 - Great positioning and very commanding, unlucky with the goal but it was savable.

Stankevičius 6 - A much better right back than center back and better than Bruno any day !

Dealbert 4 - I expected worse, so pleasantly surprised infact he did little wrong but what he did do was nearly costly

R Costa 6 - Messi and Villa did command the center of defence but they are the best I can't be harsh, no unforced errors and you can't ask for any more than that.

Alba 9- His best game in a Valencia shirt, well any shirt probably, excellent in defence and in attack. Exceptional pace and ball control.

T Costa 8- Tackled well, passed well, player of the season elect.

Banega 10 - The first time I've ever given a ten but Ever dominated the midfield against the best midfield in the world. Did everything bar score and that isn't his job.

Mathieu 7 - Did well largely in front of Alba, got more crosses in than either Pablo or Joaquin managed, battled too.

Joaquin 5 - Nothing bad but a little lost with no target man to aim at.

Pablo 6 - Nearest to scoring, defended hard, got forward as much as he could.

Mata 6 - Very creative at times , defended well but lost at times.

Subs:-

Soldado 6 - An instant impact,allowed Valencia to build play by being strong on the ball.

Jonas 5.5 - Good control but lost in the action easily too.

Isco 3 - Gave the ball away constantly.

Athletic Bilbao 1 Valencia 2

2011-02-27T22:56:00.004Z

Athletic will look back this and wonder how the hell they lost this game, especially after being a goal up.

They will also be angry that Valencia should have been reduced to 10 men as David Navarro got away with 2 deliberate elbows on Fernando Llorente, the second time in the 47Th minute he then acted as if he had also been struck and lay there acting dead for a couple of minutes. It was bad sportsmanship of the highest order and an embarrassment to Valencia.

In all honestly after the 47Th minute Llorente seemed to concentrate on evening the score up rather than searching for a second and he too was then lucky to stay on the pitch. A forehand on Navarro got him a yellow and then already on that Stankevicius was elbowed in the head, the ref gave the free kick but issued no card, not sure how you can say it was deliberate and give the free kick but then ignore the fact that it was an elbow to the head !

Anyway I digress, the game itself saw Valencia's defence ripped to pieces especially by the very impressive Torquero, who murdered Bruno. You could say his substitution in the 75Th minute was decisive, for Valencia. Whilst it was 1-0, a 14th minute goal by Llorente,Valencia were always in this but good work in particular by Pablo came to nothing.

Late changes, Jonas for Pablo and Tino for Benega swung the game for Valencia with a lot of help from an inspired Joaquin and also Mata who ended the game well.

Late goals, this time from Mata and Jonas, are becoming a trade mark. All credit to our fitness coach.

Ratings as followed:-

Guaita 6 - played well for most of the game, though beaten a couple of times with ones that only just missed, could have easily let in 3 and may have got the blame for his positioning

Bruno 2 - Raped at times by Toquero who switched flanks at will to also perform sex acts on Matthieu

Navarro 0 - Shit defender, awful actor, bad sportsman

Stankevicius 5 - Not a great game but did his best

Matthieu 2 - lost battle on the wing

Joaquin 7.5 - Match winning second half showing, great dribble and cross for Mata equaliser

Topal 7 - Helped keep a shit defence from conceding bucket loads

Banega 5 - Not him at his best , neither great or poor

Pablo 6 - Unlucky to go off as most lively Valencia forward in the first half

Mata 6.5 - Ended the game well wide, looked unhappy playing behind Soldado

Soldado 4 - Had penalty claims but his anticipation is at times poor, missed a good rebound opportunity by being slow to react

Subs

Jonas 6 - Not that involved but reacted well to score when Tino fired one in and the keeper could only parry it

Tino 7 - Nearly scored twice, one ending in the net via Jonas. Valencia's star player this season.

Alba 5 - Quicker than Matthieu but really just a cameo appearance from Alba

Guaita

Valencia 0 Sporting Gijon 0

2011-02-20T01:30:00.005Z

Emery messed the side up again. No idea what the formation was meant to be as it just didn't work at any point. I know at one point we had one striker on the pitch then later 2 but what the rest of the side were doing was any ones guess and probably they don't know either. Well done Emery !

And nothing really happened, maybe the least incidents of any match I've seen for around 20 years.

Ratings:-

Guaita 5 - not a lot to do but Gijon were a few feet from scoring, unless I dreamt that, in the first half

Miguel 3 - totally shocking going forward, defensively sound

Stankevicius 4.5 - passing awful, not a lot of defending needed by either side though

R Costa 4.5 - ditto

Matthieu 5 - just average

Joaquin 4 - please give Harry Potter his invisibility cloak back !! Had to in part rely on Miguel's service so onto a loser anyway.

Topal 5.5 - Probably just 'Man Of The Match' but no one rely deserves that title, and let's be honest Emery should not be such a prick at home picking a defensive midfielder and leaving Ever out.

Tino Costa 5 - again just average

Mata 5 - ditto, probably not match fit

Chori 3 - not sure why he played or what he was meant to do, replaced by Soldado eventually.

Aduriz 2 - poor service but out of form

Subs

Soldado 4 - more in form but awful service

Pablo 5 - slightly dangerous at times

Jonas 5 - a few great touches, slightly improved service in last 10 minutes as Valencia again tried to nick it

Atletico Madrid 1 Valencia 2

2011-02-13T17:40:00.006Z

One question that has reoccurred recently for Los Che fans is why does everyone else seem to be able to beat Atletico (and for that matter Sevilla too) but not us ! We have almost nudged them into the Real Madrid / Barcelona category of quality maybe showing too much respect on the pitch, and they don't deserve that.

This time and with a bit of luck, a Forlan penalty miss and very close to the end a dodgy red for Godin that looked accidental use of arm rather than deliberate elbow, Valencia triumphed and at times showed some class.

Pablo set up 4 good goal scoring chances as he seemed to take on Atletico and then concentrate on laying off the ball for others to strike. Alba missed 2 good chances, Joaquin didn't miss his ( one with help from Alba).

So Valencia go 3rd and have started to play well and win. At the moment anything looks possible but we'll see. We've been here before when the season started.

So to the ratings:-

Vicente Guaita - 7 - I think Guaita has a presence about him that only top keepers have. His defence can relax knowing he will help rather than let them down. At this rate he has maybe 15 more years in goal for Los Che.

Bruno Saltor - 4 - At fault for their goal.I just think he is out of his depth in La Liga. Though he tries very hard.

Marius Stankevičius - 5.5 - A good game for him. Also largely out of his depth though.

Hedwiges Maduro - 4 - Gave away a very needless silly pen. Let down those who thought he would improve the defence.

Ricardo Costa - 5.5 - He can do better, not noticeably appreciated his rest.

Jordi Alba - 6.5 - Missed 2 good chances, one assist - though Pablo did the hard work. Looked more like the winger we hope he is rather than the not good enough to be a left back or left winger player some worry that he really could be.

Mehmet Topal - 6.5 - Did well and exceptional stuff ( won ball outside own penalty area ended up as winger for pass 4) in a 'goal of the season' style, 3 man 6 pass move for Joaquin's 2nd.

Tino Costa - 7 - Passed well. Looking like Valencia's 'Player Of The Season 2010/2011' in waiting.

Joaquín Sánchez - 8 - 2 good goals, the 2ND a classic. Maybe not as dangerous as Pablo but his 2 goals nudge him to 'Man Of The Match' for me. With the strikers not doing well, his ability to get into these positions was the difference between defeat and victory.

Pablo Hernández - 7.5 - As already said, made 4 goal scoring chances. Besides that was Valencia's most likely.

Roberto Soldado - 4.5 - Marked out of the game
Substitutes

Aritz Aduriz - 5 - Ran to channels better than Soldado but still of little threat.

Miguel Brito - 5 - Better than Bruno, surprise not.

David Navarro - 6 - Improved defence.

Valencia 2 Hercules 0

2011-02-07T01:55:00.005Z

A much improved show from Valencia, who at last dominated the game and they did this without ever having to go into top gear.

Emery went with a 4-3-1-2 formation with Chori having a very free role. This is how they finished the Racing game. Without Chori being the star this time, this system again worked.

One little moan though. Emery again used all his subs when the game was still in the balance, IE 2-0 to me can soon become 2-2, and it did indeed give Hercules a last bit of hope. The subbing of Ever with Joaquin ranks right up there with the stupidest substitutions of all time. Aduriz for Alba is close to that as well.

The key moments were Aduriz's hooked in goal just before half time, assist Soldado. Tino Costa curling a 25 yard free kick in after 53 minutes( my opinion is that if Tino is on the pitch and any other player attempts a free kick and misses they should be fined 2 weeks wages publicly spanked and the entire Tomato throwing festival should be aimed purely at them !).

Lastly Guaita produced a save of the season contender when he had no right to get to a well hit curling shot by Matias Fritzler. Basically to even touch the ball looked an achievement ! To hook it out at that speed on the stretch of every inch of Guaita's large frame was miraculous. He will gain many admirers with this headline grabber.

So ratings time:-

Guaita - 7 - Little to do, no chance with Fritzler shot (82mins), still saved it !

Bruno - 6 - Did job well, this was a team performance for once.

Navarro - 6 - Ditto

Stankevicius - 5 - 81st minute slip up should have resulted in a goal Drenthe though failed to make the most of it. Would have been a better mark otherwise.

Mathieu - 6 - Ditto Bruno - Navarro - all sound.

Ever - 7 - Class performance by Ever, playing simple passing well.

Topal - 6.5 - Probably helped the defence perform. Much underused player.

Tino Costa - 7.5 - Best player on the pitch again.

Aduriz - 7 - Very hardworking performance inc goal and should have had clear penalty too.

Soldado - 6.5 - The in your face threat that makes Valencia so dangerous, an assist but sadly not the goal he deserved.

Subs -

Alba - 5 - Not a lot he could do in this time.

Joaquin - 3 - Maybe harsh rating him at all with so few minutes left but he was awful, his main contribution being stopping Soldado from heading in after Soldado charged down he keeper and the ball hung in the air for a while.

Isco - 5 - nice control but no end product

Racing Santander 1 Valencia 1

2011-01-31T21:57:00.008Z

Valencia started 4-5-1 or 4-3-3 depending where you feel Pablo and Joaquin were meant to be. Racing dominated, missed an absolute sitter and eventually scored when Guaita sliced under no pressure to concede a corner and from the resulting pressure Nahuelpan had an easy header to score, several Valencia defenders and Guaita all could have done better, basically he went for the cross and they didn't.

Second half after the successful comeback, common sense said Los Che would switch to 4-4-2. They didn't, Soldado and Chori came on, both wingers were sacrificed and Valencia went 4-3-1-2.

The result was gradual pressure. By the end Valencia were well on top mainly thanks to Chori and Tino but it took a while and in truth they still hardly had a shot and were rescued only by another Tino wonder strike, nothing to do with tactics. Miguel and Soldado had late chances to nick it, they didn't. The ref produced 3 reds as he lost the plot Navarro who was not even playing, Ricardo Costa after Nahuelpan (who was definitely caught) produced a delayed reaction like he'd been shot in the head, it didn't make look a cheat at all,and then finally Lacen was then sent off for whatever, answers on a postcard, I don't actually know but I think it was for criticising the ref?

This week Emery definitely threw points away; Racing are not very good. Maybe the arrival of the Brazillian striker Jonas will give Emery more belief in 4-4-2 ? It is clear this is the best style for this side.

So to the marks :-

Guaita - 3 - Bad positioning / poor slice
Bruno - 3 - Offered nothing
Stankevicius -3 - Ditto
R Costa - 4 - Not his best game, dodgy red
Matthieu - 3 - Looked kanckered, poor in every aspect of his game
Joaquin - 4 - One nice run, not in game
Ever - 5 - Better when formation switched
Maduro - 4.5 - OK but nothing better
Tino -5.5 - Ditto plus brilliant goal
Pablo - 5 - Probably VCF most threatening of first half / put ball in net but had handled
Aduriz - 2.5 - Like having no striker upfront, again looked tired

Subs

Soldado - 4.5 - Much better than Aduriz but one awful dive, had last chance to win game but saved well
Chori - 6.5 - Best Los Che player, looked classy. We know he is though. That is not the problem.
Miguel - 6 - Seemed a daft sub, as an attcking change (for Bruno) but he was quite a threat, nearly scored with a fluke cross/shot.

Birmingham City v Valencia 1959-60

2011-01-30T12:49:00.014Z

It appears that Birmingham City and Valencia played twice in friendlies during the 1959-60 period. A home victory 3-0 to Valencia was followed by this game.To date I can not find the result of this match.

Until the recent Nikola Žigić transfer it appears that there are no further links between these clubs. Not even indirect ex players appearing for the other party.

So to date there is very little conflict between supporting/following/taking an interest (call it what you may)in both clubs. Not that I care !!!

From a fantasy point of view I can't help thinking that the likes of Blues favourite Roger Johnson would solve Valencia's weak central defence just as Pablo Hernandez would destroy Premiership defences for fun and be Birmingham's much needed left winger. Swap maybe ?

Before Valencia's interest I would debate that Roberto Soldado was the answer to Birmingham's striking problems. He still would be but he is too important to Valencia now.

So onto the 1959/60 program. What is different to today is that it is nearly all about the away side. The rest, no change, is full of adverts plus a forthcoming fixture list. I hope it is of interest to fans of both sides. Incidentally this was not a classic season for Valencia, they finished 9Th in La Liga and their top scorer was Paraguayan José Aveiro (not involved here)with just 10 goals. Uruguayan Héctor Núñez (pictured) was top scorer the following season with 15, he later won the Fairs Cup twice as a player (1962/63 + 1963/64) and returned very briefly to manage Los Che many years after (1994).

Birmingham City finished 19Th escaping relegation from the top flight by just 1 point. At least they had that whole season free of local rivals Aston Villa though who were in the second flight, albeit as champions.

One last point is that it is interesting that both sides have went with a formation of 2-3-3-2 or maybe it is meant to be 5-3-2 ? Either way, today it would be quite unusual.

Interview Roberto Soldado

2011-01-30T00:55:00.000Z

Valencia attacker Roberto Soldado feels that Barcelona are superior to all in La Liga, including Real Madrid.

He remarked: “[Pep] Guardiola’s team are at a level that is above the rest, including that of Real Madrid. They [Madrid] are the ones that will have to make do, but I care little about the problem, only about Valencia.”

Soldado also discussed his feeling that his team are picking up victories without playing well, but the points are currently more important.

He continued: “We are not producing great games, although we are getting wins. By having more possession and showing more patience with the ball, the team will have more balance.”

The 25-year-old also stressed that from a personal point of view, he feels he should be scoring more often, saying: “Being selfish, I would like to get more goals. I am not achieving my targets, although I am effective, and that is what is important when the team are getting victories.”

Valencia 4 Málaga 3

2011-01-23T00:33:00.014Z

Probably the best game of the season, from a neutrals point of view, saw Valencia score another late winner.

The game will be noted for 2 Málaga sending offs, the first for central defender Demichelis (15 min), a professional foul on Mata by which lead to a penalty and equaliser, and then Helder Rosario was sent off (66 min)for an obscene gesture at the linesmanwith the score 2-2.

It stopped what may have been a Málaga win as they ran rings around the Valencia central defence. Rondón scored 2 missed 3 and was very impressive as were Duda and Baptista.

If any game highlights the difference between the quality of Valencia's defence and their attack though this was it. Dealbert and Stankevicius were slow badly positioned and Dealbert simply looked very out of his depth. Yet more offensive players like Soldado, Banega , Tino Costa, Mata and Pablo looked very bright.

It also has to be said that Emery was also to blame for a chaotic night. To his credit at half time he largely corrected his errors by subbing Alba and Dealbert for Soldado and Banega but his starting line up again made no sense. Maduro is a better central defender than either Dealbert or Stankevicius. Banega is a class above Maduro. Mata at this stage of his career is a class above Alba. Soldado is our best striker. Even his substitution of Pablo spoilt the flow of the game when Valencia were all over Málaga. This win was in spite of Emery not because of him.

Rating time as follows :-

Guaita - 7 - No chance with goals, good saves , needs to come and claim crosses more often though, making a real case to be number one for a long time.

Miguel - 7 - A good game through out, when he plays like this you think Valencia have no problem at right back.

Stankevicius - 4 - Again his decent ability to pass gives him some credit. He can't defend though which is a shame as that's his job.

Dealbert - 1 - So fed up with him, one of the worst defenders to wear a VCF shirt. No positives. Ironically he has played in a decent winning run, points wise.

Matthieu - 5 - Woke up 2ND half. Kind of a 4 + 6 performance averaging a 5.

Pablo - 7.5 - Responsible for first 2 Valencia goals. Intelligent play, why was he subbed ?

Maduro - 4.5 - Not a great protector of a shabby central defence and a silly yellow, one of several who allowed a 9 man side to score.

Tino Costa 7 - Beautiful passing

Alba - 4 - Not in the game at all, had one great chance but missed an easy header.

Mata - 7 - Different player when switched to normal position.Had already scored penalty after being the player fouled.

Aduriz - 6 - Worked hard, lacked sharpness infront of goal though but set up on a plate for the 90TH minute winner by Soldado.

Subs -

Soldado - 9 - Not sure what else he could do so a very high 9 for him despite being a sub, brilliant forward play, aggressive, intelligent and effective. Scored and made an assist.

Banega - 8.5 - Banega's best game in ages, albeit against 10 then 9 men. Total class and should start every week with Tino Costa. Well taken goal,also kept ball flowing well to keep pressure on.

Joaquin - 4 - A shocker, not a player you want in a fight and this is what this was. If Pablo wasn't injured Emery needs shooting.

Valencia 2 Deportivo La Coruña 0

2011-01-16T17:53:00.005Z

Valencia stay 4Th with an easy-ish 2-0 victory. Both goals came in the last 23 minutes but neither flattered Valencia's dominance. Sadly that was as much down to Deportivo looking awful as it did to Valencia looking brilliant.

Even then Los Che still nearly chucked it away with Guiata having to make saves, one world class from Lassad Nouioui, to deny Deportivo. Dealbert also clearly handled a cross too, however, the ref seemed to more than even up not giving pens which left Vicente and Soldado in particular livid.

So onto the ratings:-

Guiata - 7.5 - not over busy but one world class save and a clean sheet behind one of the worse defence line ups he will ever suffer is not to be sniffed at.

Miguel - 4.5 - one of the fore mentioned defenders, does better going froward

Stankevičius - 4.5 - ditto

Dealbert - 3.5 - ditto, obvious handball could have been costly

Mathieu - 6 - scored well taken goal, best defender

Pablo - 6 - scored late 2ND, did OK, made the odd bad choice maybe a pass to Vicente when shoting in 2ND half for instance

Maduro - 6 - there to nanny the defence, did not leave it that exposed too much which was just as good

Banega - 7 - quality all round play from Ever who looked back up for it, I'm sure if we had a proper defence he would play with Tino and they'd rip reams apart. But we haven't.

Vicente - 7.5 - very dangerous though no goals/assists to show for efforts

Mata - 8 - very dangerous , 1 assist

Soldado - 3 -invisible - then missed 2 sitters near the end. Argues to much with assistants. Needs more focus and less aggression.

Subs

Tino Costa - 7 - instant impact and fresh legs
Topal - 5 - no time to make impact
Alba - 5 - less time to make impact, Emery just had to bring his 3rd sub on !!!!

La Liga Player Of The Season Update

2011-01-11T00:59:00.004Z

To qualify the player must play in half of Valencia's La Liga games or more. The rest is an average of marks which I hope are unbiased.

Leaders as Followed:-

1/ Tino Costa - 10 appearances - average score 6.45

2/ Joaquin - 13 appearances - average score 6.08

3/ Soldado - 15 appearances - average score 6.07

4/ Aduriz - 17 appearances - average score 5.94

5/ Mata - 16 appearances - average score 5.91

So La Liga 'Player Of The Season' is likely to be an attacker and almost certainly one of these 5 players.

If there is a surprise candidate apart from these, there is Guaita who after 6 appearances averages 5.5 and with gradual improvement and a run in the side you never know. I think he will only get better.

Valencia 1 Levante 0

2011-01-10T23:57:00.005Z

Valencia are on an important mini run of wins all of which have one thing in common and that is Valencia have been dreadful.

Having just been knocked out of the Copa Del Rey in huimiliating style by local rivals,Valencia, looked quite capable of screwing things up once more in their derby match v Levante. At times Levante dominated. So again it was hard to pick a man of the match in such a poor display.

The key moments ended up as Mata missing a pen in the first half which was never a pen anyway, so justice done I guess. Then after 82 minutes Pablo threading a lovely ball through the Levante defence who had pushed up too far for a, just by the skin of his teeth onside ,Mata. Mata this time scored and Levante were not happy as it was a very close onside call.

So the ratings are as follows :-

Vicente Guaita - 6 - I am impressed by his maturity. Quiet game for him but part of that is down to good positioning.

Miguel Brito - 5 - OK in defence but his link up to attack largely sucked.

Marius Stankevičius - 5.5 - Looked beatable all night and a bit clumsy but on the positive a better passer out of defence than Dealbert.

Ángel Dealbert - 5 - Looked beatable but got away with it.

Jordi Alba - 5 - Should have done better in attack and defence with his speed and ability. Lost his battle with Xisco Nadal.

Hedwiges Maduro - 6 - Best of the defence/defensive midfield.Won penalty though not sure how.

Mehmet Topal - 5.5 - Put everything on the line tonight for his club (ouch !).

Pablo Hernández - 6 - The only creativity in the side.Created goal and at least 2 more goal scoring chances.

Juan Mata - 6.5 - Probably the most dangerous player, and scored the only goal.

Aritz Aduriz - 4.5 - Not his best game, did not get involved enough.

Roberto Soldado - 3 - Almost invisible.

Substitutes

Vicente Rodríguez - 5.5 - 'When Vicente came on, the formation changed to a more familiar 4-2-3-1, and the team's performance improved.' Quote Kyle - Loco4LosChe and bang on too.

Sofiane Feghouli - 5 - Came on late - I have a habit of marking everything so 5 it is !

Éver Banega - 5 - Ditto Feghouli.

Valencia 2 Espanyol 1

2011-01-03T02:19:00.005Z

A bad weekend for referees in the Premiership was continued with one of the most inept displays by the officials at tonight's La Liga game I have ever seen. Their only saving grace was that there was no bias, they got virtually every decision in the match wrong for both sides. Too many mistakes to list but it was a mixture of inconsistancy IE a yellow for one side was not balanced when a similar incident occurred, not seeing who the ball came off last, a dodgy red card for Aduriz whilst keeper Carlos Kameni had earlier clearly brought Aduriz down in the box and escaped entirely as a with a corner (even though Aduriz touched the ball last. It ended with total farce as Mata scored with one of the most offside headers of all time to win the game in the 92ND minute.

You can only hope one day we will see a 4Th official sitting by the telly with the power to over rule rubbish like this.

The game was also strange as Valencia largely dominated without anyone looking very good.Picking a man of the match seems almost impossible no one deserved it but as tradition dicatates and after a lot of thought I decided Stankevičius just deseved it. So why did they largely dominate ? I'm baffled !

So to the ratings:-

Vicente Guaita - 6 - One top draw save but largely untroubled.

Miguel Brito - 6 - No real comments from here on in, I guess I am saying a team performance but no one stood out.

Marius Stankevičius - 6.5 - I just gave him man of the match for his link up play between defence and midfield.

Ricardo Costa - 4 - Gave a goal away with a ridiculous own goal, I can't ignore that despite otherwise he may well have got a ditto to Miguel.

Jérémy Mathieu - 6 - Ditto Miguel

Hedwiges Maduro - 6 - Ditto Miguel

Mehmet Topal - 5.5 - Ditto Miguel, half a mark taken off for daft handball

Joaquín Sánchez - 5.5 - Typical Joaquin final balls.

Juan Mata - 6 - Ditto Miguel, nice offside header.

Pablo Hernández - 6 - Ditto Miguel.

Aritz Aduriz - 6 - Ditto Miguel, unjustly sent off, great goal.

Substitutes:-

Vicente Rodríguez - 5.5 - Similar to Joaquin, OK until final ball.

Éver Banega - 6 - Ditto Miguel, maybe added a little class, maybe I'm being kind. I'm sure Banega only came on to save Topal a possible red anyway.

Bruno Saltor - 5 - Emery has to use all his subs doesn't he, so he replaced Miguel for no reason with Bruno. Would serve Emery right if we got a real injury after he has tarted around with our team swapping fit players for the sake of it.

Happy New Year

2011-01-02T08:42:00.002Z

Valencia are at home to 5th place Espanyol today. If we are to push on we need to win this.

Having updated the 'Player Of The Season' leaderboard, there is a clear leader at the moment and that is Tino Costa. I hope to see him picked more often this year and ALL free kicks given to him, within shooting range of course !

Lastly I have just noticed that Emery has used all 14 players in every La Liga game so far. He needs to learn to leave things as they are a bit this year.

It is ok to not use subs !!!

Real Sociedad 1-2 Valencia

2011-01-02T07:49:00.004Z

In the previous La Liga game Valencia were mugged by an Emery/César inspired fuck up.

After a bright opening by Valencia, until a dodgy penalty decision left them 1-0 down, Real Socieddad dominated this game and should have won it easily. It ended up Valencia's opponents this time were mugged, as last kick of the first half Tino scored a brilliant free kick and with Valencia doing very liitle else Aduriz with one of the last kicks of the game scored out of nowhere, when Real keeper Claudio Bravo passed to him around 30m yards out leaving a defender to beat before slamming in a well taken winner.

César Sánchez 4 - heart not in it anymore, moans constantly, went off at half time

Bruno Saltor 5 - attacks mostly aimed at left wing

David Navarro 5 - unlucky on pen but these do get given occasionally

Ricardo Costa 6 - best of the defence again

Jérémy Mathieu 3.5 - struggled badly

Hedwiges Maduro 6 - did ok

Tino Costa 7.5 - Great goal, Valencia's best player by a mile

Joaquín Sánchez 5 - unlucky with early free lick but after that was non influencial.

Juan Mata - 5 - let his own standards drop again.

Aritz Aduriz 6.5 - important goal

Roberto Soldado 5 - not effective but had to tone aggression down after a yellow which could have seen him shown a red.

Substitutes

Vicente Guaita 6 - did ok and did not whinge
Marius Stankevičius 5 - straight Navarro replacement to prevent a red card
Vicente Rodríguez 4.5 - I'm worried that Vicente is losing his form and is unloved by Emery

Ratings Catch Up

2011-01-02T07:11:00.006Z

For the purposes of the 'Player Of The Season' I will catch up with the La Liga ratings.

Valencia 3-3 CA Osasuna 14/12/10

Sadly I did see this game. This was the game I realsied that it was Emery who should have been rated this season. His performance deserved a 1 out of 10. 3 very easy points on paper, Osasuna do not travel well, and Valencia so comfortable the question was how many would they score. Until Emery started messing.

César 1 - one of his worst games ever, please retire now, what the fuck was he doing? Came and got nowhere near things and looked half arsed about everything !
Miguel 6 - more use in attack but until Emery messed was doing OK
Stankevicius 6.5 - goal and ditto
Ricardo Costa 6 - solidish but César caused panic making whole defence look
Alba 6 - ditto Miguel
Joaquín 6.5 - should not have been subbed
Maduro 5.5 - nothing wrong, just a tad ordinary
Banega 6.5 - Did job well, looked tired but better than Dealbert any day
Mata 7.5 - his energy and form is returning all the time (well most of it)
Soldado 7 - A good partnership until Emery interfered - scored
Aduriz 7 - should not have been subbed - scored

Substitutes:-
Pablo 3.5 - poor, no need to replace Joaquin
Isco 4 - no impact, again no need to replace Aduriz
Dealbert 2 - not his fault played as a central midfielder

Real Madrid 2-0 Valencia 4/12/10

I'll be honest this is the first game I have missed. My Internet connection was piss poor and so for the purposes of continuing the whole'Player Of The Season'idea I had to rip off Kyle's far better http://loco4losche.com site. Sorry Kyle, if you read this !!!!

Vicente Guaita - 6
Bruno Saltor - 5.5
Marius Stankevičius - 4.5
Ricardo Costa - 5
Jordi Alba - 5.5
David Albelda - 5
Hedwiges Maduro - 5
Tino Costa - 6.5
Joaquín Sánchez - 4.5
Juan Mata - 4
Roberto Soldado - 4.5
Substitutes

Miguel Brito - 3
Éver Banega - 5
Aritz Aduriz - 5

Valencia 2 Almeria 1

2010-11-29T00:11:00.005Z

Unai Emery keeps the same outfield players and Valencia win, almost impressively. I say almost as a game that should have ended something like 4-0 ended 2-1 after Emery completely took the pressure off his old club by subbing the games best 2 players; Mata with nearly half an hour left and Soldado with 15 minutes (inc stoppages).

So to the ratings:-

Guaita 5 - almost completely protected and little to do, no chance with very late header by Ulloa
Bruno 5 - got forward well, defending not so good though and lucky to stay on after a bad 65th minute foul (already on a yellow)
Maduro 5 - relied largely on his team mate Costa
R Costa 7 - did most of the decisive defensive work
Alba 7 - best defensive game for the club and got forward too
Joaquin 8 - great second half, when appeared unplayable
T Costa 6.5 - starts moves off quickly and carries ball well
Albelda 6.5 - saved certain goal, a few important tackles
Mata 8.5 - at his best, everywhere and very creative. Shockingly subbed early.
Aduriz 5.5 - a couple of nice touches but fairly quiet
Soldado 9 - 2 fabulous goals, great save stopped a 3rd plus an assist on next best chance. Apart from that very dangerous and hard working, world class. Emery let him get his hat trick next time!

Subs:-

Vicente 4 - replacing Mata was no win for him but he really was awful
Chori 4.5 - one run apart, it was also a shocking substitution for Soldado
Benega 5 - late sub, again not that great, on for T Costa

Player Of The Season So Far

2010-11-27T15:52:00.003Z

To qualify on this short list I have only included players who have made 5 or more appearances:-

Player Rating Played

Cesar 6.56 8
T Costa 6.29 7
Soldado 6.25 10
Fernandes6.21 7
Joaquin 6.19 8
Aduriz 6.05 11
Benega 5.92 6
Topal 5.90 5
Albelda 5.83 6
Alba 5.81 8
Vicente 5.71 7
Chori 5.70 5
Mata 5.70 10
Mathieu 5.70 10
R Costa 5.68 11
Pablo 5.65 10
Navarro 5.39 9
Miguel 5.38 8
Maduro 5.30 5
Bruno 5.10 5

I have tried to show no bias and have tried to award consistently eg. Fernandes surprised me with his rating when I have just worked it out. I would generally say I am not a fan. Yet I am a huge Pablo fan and he is near the bottom. Only 6 players get over 6 out of 10. Not a good sign.

I have been impressed with Soldado's work rate, he is a nuisance. Had he got more goals he probably would be leading but I feel he has worn defences down often for others to gain rewards.

The missing player ratings.

2010-11-27T15:07:00.002Z

In my quest to find a player of the season I need to rate the Villareal 1-1 draw.

So here goes:-

Miguel Ángel Moyà - 6

Bruno Saltor - 4

Marius Stankevičius - 4.5

David Navarro - 4

Ricardo Costa - 6.5

Miguel Brito - 6

Hedwiges Maduro - 5

Tino Costa - 5

Joaquín Sánchez - 6

Pablo Hernández - 3

Aritz Aduriz 6

Substitutes

Éver Banega - 5.5

Ángel Dealbert - 4.5

Roberto Soldado - 5

A Catch Up

2010-11-27T14:34:00.006Z

I haven't posted on here for a while. On the positive Valencia battered the Turkish champions Bursaspor 6-1 to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The league form though has not improved and Moya my tip to retain his place is out injured for long enough for Cesar to get his shirt back and keep it once more.

At the moment Valencia are heading for 5th or 6th place in La Liga. They just can't beat the top teams and under Emery their record is dreadful against them. Villareal are back among the top this year and they can be added to Barca, Real and Atletico Madrid plus Sevilla in the mini league of sides Valencia struggle against.

I know this is negative but unless something drastic happens this could be a bad season.

In short Unai Emery has 4 problems

1/ The defence is shocking and losing Marchena and Alexis has made it worse

2/ The loss of Silva. Silva is badly missed and only one player can play this unusual role of a central play maker in front of the midfield but behind a solo striker. That player is Isco, however, Emery is trying to introduce Isco gradually as he is so young and thus with Mata/Chori and Pablo all failing in this position Emery has been forced to go mainly 4-4-2 which brings problem 3.

3/ We only have 2 center forwards plus a 16 year old Paco. Paco has not been trusted in La Liga and at his age that is fair enough. What it means though is that if we start with 2 strikers, a good defence can see them off knowing that we will be forced to either keep 2 tired strikers on or switch formation to something with less strikers and thus a bit more opposition friendly. In short to play 2 up front you need at least 3 or 4 strikers to keep that formation going.

4/ Valencia made a brilliant start to this season, leading for a few games. With this early success many pundits said Valencia may actually be contenders for La Liga and we all dreamt they were correct. Looking for a reason why Los Che could lose their best 2 players but improve Unai put it down to the fact that with players all at roughly the same level rotation was easier and thus consistency easier. Unfortunately he has then decided to rotate so much that you get the feeling he is drawing names out of a hat rather than selecting a team.

It is the latter that I feel threatens Emery's job and Valencia's season. It has looked clueless. The best player from one game is often dropped for the next. My hope is that he will decide who his best players are and then stick with them unless injuries or suspensions intervene.

You could add a 5 I guess and say that suspensions and indeed yellow/red cards are again far too common. Sort that out too Emery !

Valencia 2 Getafe 0

2010-11-15T20:20:00.002Z

Getafe had good chances to get something out of this game. Moya in for the injured Cesar had one of his best games yet for Valencia. I think it would make no sense to bring back Cesar now (age + injuries). Moya should now be number one.

The rest of the game was largely forgettable apart from a Tino Costa 1-2 volley wonder strike that gave Los Che the lead. Navarro getting the 2nd following his own header up on the rebound from a Tino corner.

Until the introduction of Isco the game was very poor. After Getafe were cut to pieces and Valencia should have got at least 2 more.

Ratings:-

Moya 7.5 - kept Valencia in it
Miguel 5 - out of position often
Navarro 6 - good goal done for pace in defence though
R Costa 6.5 - helped save one goal
Matthieu 6 - decent until injury
Joaquin 7.5 - too much for Getafe
Albelda 6 - miraculously stayed card less for around 80 minutes, ref must love him
T Costa 8 - fabulous goal, set pieces were as good as they get
Mata 5.5 - ran a lot, mostly away from the left wing
Soldado 6.5 - dropped too deep to get the ball but passed well ran hard
Aduriz 5.5 - not short of effort but not very dangerous

Subs -

Alba 6 - similar job to Matthieu
Isco 7 - livened game up with well thought one touch passing, should have scored
Vicente 5 - no real impact

Sevilla 2 Valencia 0 (Mon 9th Nov)

2010-11-10T23:42:00.004Z

Lately you can tell how Valencia will do just by watching the opening 10 minutes. The only surprise after 90 minutes was that the defeat was not more heavy.

Emery is changing the side too often and it is costing us consistency. Rumour has it is he could well get the push. I'd be very sad at that but right now the squad has no idea what formation or who will play and it shows.

The game saw a harsh sending off for Topal after opponent Caceres managed a triple Salko , quadruple Lutz and a back flip when he basically ran full pelt into a Topal challenge. It also saw Cesar limp off and Vicente Guaita make a rare appearance, not a great one too.

But this is not meant as a review and so lets get on with the ratings:-

Cesar 5 - Went off at half time, I think that could be it from him. I think Moya may be number 1 now.

Miguel - 4 - like all the defence, he lost the battle

Navarro - 4 - decent first half, bad second

Costa - 3.5 - dreadful

Matthieu 2 - slaughtered

Fernandes 5 - imposiible task once Topal went

Topal 5 - ref conned for red card, unlucky

Joaquin 3.5 - hardly in it

Mata 4 - impostor back on show

Soldado 5 - tried best, but never really in it

Aduriz 5 - ditto

Subs

Guaita 4 - At fault for 1st goal, I'm sure though this experience will help him

Alba 4.5 - made little difference

Pablo 4.5 - ditto

So no MOTM from me or score over 5. Sevilla deserved a 5-0 win. Painful to watch. If I caught it right the TV said Emery has not won an away against any of the top sides for Valencia. I must admit I tend to feel sides like this will beat us and that predictability may be the final nail in Emery's coffin.

Oh and please play ISCO !!!!!

Save Our Season

2010-10-31T13:00:00.005Z

After a very bright start to our campaign it is now clear that have not coped losing David Silva. His replacement Chori Dominguez has not settled and worse still doesn't look like he ever will.

Mata can not play there. It is time to give that one up too.

Other formations have been tried but players like Vicente have complained that they are not used to them and results have suffered.

Unai Emery now has to be very brave and pick 18 year old Isco to rescue our season. Isco is in great form for the reserves and for Spain U19's and apart from Chori he is the only player we have who naturally plays where Silva did. He is probably one of Spains best young players and his time is now. Whispers have it that he is actually better than Silva ie stronger and more likely to score. He is considered that good.

Here is a nice article on him.(click here)

Valencia 1 Real Zaragoza 1

2010-10-31T01:40:00.003+01:00

Valencia continue their poor form. Pablo, Banega and Mata are nowhere near their best and no one else has stepped up to fill that void. The defence is shaky and in short Valencia are in danger of a quick Euro exit and non qualification by some margin.

How things change !

The game itself saw Zaragoza get an early lead and them waste several chances to kill the game off. Lanzaro who had given Real an early lead then headed in to equalise for Valencia just before half time.

Valencia had the best of the rest of the game but lacked a cutting edge. Navarro if awake would have scored when Topal headed a cross back across goal, straight to him, however Navarro, had his back turned thinking that particular move was over but it wasn't !!!

A ridiculous Ander Herrera sending off (straight red for stopping Mata 60yards out with a lot of cover in front of Mata) gave Valencia around 20 minutes versus 10 men but it stayed 1-1 and without much more incident.

Ratings:-

Moya 5 - Nothing that wrong but every time he plays the defence look nervous
Miguel 6 - did his best to get forward
Navarro 4 - Silly yellow and silly miss, shaky throughout
Costa 5 - slightly better than Navarro
Matthieu 4 - gave the ball away a lot, worse game I've seen him have
Banega 6.5 - flashes of form/quality but only flashes but best of bad bunch IMO
Topal 6 - covered a lot of ground but needs to work on his final ball
Pablo 5 - had 10 minutes where he looked up for it and did well, for 10 minutes
Mata 6 - best attacking player but not the Mata of old yet
Vicente 5.5 - well held by defence
Aduriz 5.5 - ditto

Subs:-
Joquin 6 - brighter than Pablo but his end ball is still usually crap !
Fernandes 5.5 - almost no impact
Soldado 5.5 - ditto

Valencia 1 Mallorca 2

2010-10-27T19:01:00.004+01:00

This is a very belated report on Saturday's game. I suppose there are very few who actually read this and I did not want to remind myself of the game by reviewing it, even in my shortened manor.

You could say that the game hinged on 2 referee cock ups. One Mallorca's Webo through on goal when he was tripped blatantly by a blade of grass. Mallorca gained a penalty and the blade of grass was pulled out to stop that kind of behavior. Then with Mallorca already 2-0 up, Vicente was fouled by Mallorca defender Ratinho for a pen and despite being on a yellow and it being a fairly bad yet needless foul Ratinho stayed on.

But Mallorca were miles the better side and the result was fair even if 2 decisions weren't. Vicente has publicly blamed the system but in fairness the players let themselves and Emery down with an inept display.

Ratings:-

Moya 5 - Should have saved one of the worst pens ever
Stankevičius 5 - No worse than anyone else, decent throw ins
Maduro 4 - Webo slaughtered him and Costa
Costa 4.5 - Done for pace and strength
Alba 6 - Best of a bad bunch
Albelda 4 - Rubbish
Fernandes 4 - A perfect partner for Albelda, rubbish too
Pablo 4 - Joaquin must have enjoyed watching the lack of competition he faces
Benega 3.5 - lost, subbed at half time
Vicente 5.5 - won penalty, tried harder than Pablo
Soldado 5.5 - poor service too him, tried though

Subs:-
Aduriz 5 - again poor service
Bruno 5 - made not one jot of difference, infact we lost the long throw ins
Costa 5 - little difference

Barcelona 2 Valencia 1

2010-10-17T00:35:00.002+01:00

A quite special first half performance by Valencia left them 1-0 up at half time, it could have been 2-0 and Los Che looked like title contenders maybe even favourites. Sadly Barcelona got a very quick equaliser in the second half and a mixture of poor defending by Valencia and great play by the current La Liga champions left Valencia hanging on rather than pressing for an equaliser.

A couple of uses of the arm by Puyol went uncarded and Keita escaped yellow in the first half which was lucky for him as he would not have lasted long in the second.

Valencia do not get these decisions going for them. All the same Barcelona did over all deserve the win and to be honest Puyol , scorer of the winner, is a player I admire greatly despite the indiscretions tonight.

Ratings:-

Cesar 9 - kept Valencia in it

Bruno 4 - so out of position all the time Villa must have thought it was his birthday

Navarro 5 - largely asleep saved many times by his defensive partner

R Costa 8 - saved Valencia at least 3 times

Alba 6.5 - did well but could not cope at times more down to Barca brilliance than his short comings

Pablo 7 - brilliant first half, scored should have had 2, disappeared in the second half as Bruno went AWOL

Fernandes 8 - even better first half but largely lost the battle in the second

Albelda 5 - ineffective just fouled people, game cried out for Topal

Benega 6.5 - Los Che were miles better before he was subbed

Matthieu 7 - Alba and Matthieu swapped but largely Matthieu was wide left midfield and he did very well

Soldado 6.5 - attacking threat ended with his substitution, this came after Puyol had smacked him a few times

Subs

Mata 5 - Not his fault, was played so out of position in a central midfield role it was awful management. Tino would have done the same role very well and maybe would have put Barcelona on the back foot.

Aduriz 5 - no impact at all

Vicente 5.5 - a slight spark but without any effect

Valencia 2 Athletico Bilbao 1

2010-10-03T01:22:00.003+01:00

After a disappointing late goal defeat to Manchester United in the Champions League it was good to see Valencia stay top of La Liga.

Valencia were excellent in attack in the first half but had to defend for most of the second. The win was still just about deserved.

Ratings as follows:-

Cesar 5 - Punched and caught well but with no actual saves to make Cesar did not concentrate and let a last minute free kick in.

Bruno 6.5 - Solid

Navarro 6.5 - Ditto

R Costa 7.5 - Brilliant goal saving headed clearnce in first half, encouraging game.

Matthieu 7.5 - Very good game in defence.

Topal 6.5 - One good 35 yard shot, covered well but silly handball yellow left him vunerable.

Fernandes 8 - Classy display dictated first half,battled second

Pablo 7.5 - Almost unplayable first half but faded in the second

Mata 7 - Good first half, faded second

Soldado 7.5 - Attacker who faded least, pace agression but maybe too much of the latter as I think Emery subbed him to protect him after a bad foul on Soldado left him both in agony and also fuming !

Aduriz 7 - Ditto Mata but did score the opener from a Soldado cross (put through by a Pablo back heel).

Subs:-

Chori 6.5 - on for Soldado, hot and cold, passing at times was awful but 2 very good runs - the second setting up Vicente for number 2 more than made up for that.

Vicente 7 - on for Mata, well taken goal, added threat. That goal was his first for 18months and maybe just maybe Vicente of old is close to resurfacing.

Feghouli 6 - on for Pablo late on, lots of energy but no big impact in the short time he had.

Sporting Gijon 0 - Valencia 2

2010-09-26T15:13:00.010+01:00

A very impressive first half by Valencia was almost spoilt by a dreadful second. Thankfully early goals by Topal and Soldado have sent Valencia clear top in La Liga.

I will take this moment to congratulate Unai Emery on his summer signings. Quite often new players struggle to settle. Chori Dominguez for instance is still more miss than hit, however, out of the 6 bought in the summer Aduriz, Tino Costa, Soldado and Topal have not only been big successes but have 7 goals between them in 6 competitive games. Ricardo Costa is struggling though and may need a rest in defence.

So onto the ratings:-

Cesar 7 - usual calm performance when under pressure

Bruno 6 - sound but did not link the attack up

Navarro 6 - did ok but no better

R Costa 4 - poor needs resting, Maduro is playing much better

Alba 5.5 - as usual offers more on the break than in defence, Costa and Alba is not a safe pairing on the left

Pablo 6 - good first half gradually disappeared

Fernandes 6.5 - quality at times but left a huge hole between the attack and midfield

Topal 6 - goal and did ok in his deep defensive duties but as above probably dropped too deep almost inviting Sporting forward

Mata 6 - regaining form but less effective in the second half

Aduriz 5.5 - service to him gradually dried up and he became a spectator

Soldado 7.5 - Goal and the most dangerous player

Subs -

Chori 5.5 - on and off quickly after a bang on the hip

Feghouli 6.5 - bright debut, pace and good passing

Mathieu 6 - short appearance to help defence

Valencia 1 Atletico Madrid 1

2010-09-22T22:58:00.005+01:00

A game dominated by Valencia was nearly lost as early as the 18th minute with a swift counter attack finished off by Simao after R Costa had missed a chance to clear, infact he missed the ball totally.

Early in the second half Chori came off Soldado came on and Atletico were battered for the rest of the game with relentless pressure. De Gea made 3 world class saves and Godin looked more than useful in central defence but eventually Aduriz got on the end of an Albelda cross and buried his header.

A moment of controversy came in the 75th minute when Mata was clearly fouled by De Gea in the area as he tried to go around him but instead of gaining a penalty Mata was booked for a dive.

So onto the ratings:-

Cesar 6 - No chance with goal, nothing else to do

Miguel 6 - Did ok, linked with Pablo late on

Maduro 6 - One goal saving tackle on Forlan saved a sorry showing

R Costa 4 - Missed tackle cost a goal, awful

Matthieu 5.5 - Hard work but done for pace by Reyes early on, attacking end product not great

Albelda 8 - An assist and had to do a lot of work to save the central defence

T Costa 7.5 - Tireless running and quality passing

Joaquin 6 - No end product, yet again

Chori 5 - Started to play well before subbed for maybe 10 minutes but before that was useless

Mata 7 - Tried hard and dangerous, looked for the ball deep in midfield, on wings, just lacked a killer ball

Aduriz 7.5 - quality goal, looked much better with Soldado on too

Subs -

Soldado 8.5 - changed the game, forced 2 world class saves and was very up for the action battling and scraping for the ball showing great determination

Pablo 6.5 - livened the left side back up but mainly with fresh legs than his usual trickery

Alba 6 - not on for very long but his pace gave Atletico problems

Referee 1 Valencia 2

2010-09-19T18:03:00.006+01:00

Valencia played beautiful football and dominated a first half going 2-0 up within 25 minutes with great goals from Mata and Pablo.The referee began to get in the game though with a joke booking against Miguel. Then after ignoring a two foot challenge on Costa he managed to get a goal back before half time giving a penalty for a ball kicked at a hand from half a foot away. A yellow was shown to Navarro for being too close to ball kicked at him and that was to be crucial as it allowed the ref the chance to book Navarro again and send him off, this time for being badly fouled.

Thankfully despite some desperate efforts the ref could not find and equaliser and so Valencia go to 9 pts after 3 games.

Match scores as usual:-

Cesar 9 - Faultless, took pressure off a shakey defence with superb handling
Miguel 5.5 - Under unnecessary pressure after a non yellow did well to stay on pitch
Navarro 6 - Did nothing wrong
Maduro 5 - Trezeguet beat him to most things
Matthieu 8 - Very calm, one slip apart was faultless and gave Drenthe a good kicking close to the end, who fully deserved it for constant acting !
Topal 6 - Doing well until 10 played 12, then could not hold ball up
Costa 5.5 - see Topal/Miguel - though Costa deserved his yellow
Joaquin 6.5 - Job became pointless when Soldado was taken off, did best
Mata 7 - Did very well, great goal, without ref's showing probably would have dominated
Pablo 7- Ditto
Soldado 5 - missed chance after 50seconds and then looked like a stranger, poor link up work

Subs -
Dealbert 6.5 - Did very well when he came on
Chori 5 - substitution did not work, Emery should have brought Aduriz on
Fernandez 6.5 - improved on Costa(who on a yellow had to back off challenges)

Valencia CF 1 Racing Santander 0

2010-09-11T21:13:00.003+01:00

Valencia stay 100% on a weekend that saw Barcelona humbled by Hercules. A dull first half finished with Valencia scoring in the 47th minute of a 46 minute half with a Maduro set piece header.

The 2nd half saw Valencia grow and they should have made it 2 or 3,however, Racing always threatened that they could grab one back so it was nervy stuff.

So to my ratings, as per usual I will let others better at it review the match in more detail.

Cesar 6.5 - picking up a back pass apart Cesar was faultless and still one of the best keepers in the world

Miguel 4.5 - out of position for most of the game and succesfully attacked by Racing

Maduro 6.5 - a decent game and got the winner too

R Costa 6 - steady

J Alba 5.5 - ripped apart first half but 2nd half turned things around well

Albelda 6 - good cover for the defence

Benega 5.5 - injured early, never looked comfortable, should have been rested

Joaquin 6.5 - best player of first half, faded 2nd until late on when Valencia dominated

Mata 5.5 - Blow par again but more promise than last week, should have scored

Vicente 6.5 - awful first half, exceptional second half

Aduriz 7 - At the heart of everything good, a handful for defenders, should have scored

Subs

T Costa 6 - Grew as game went on

Chori 6.5 - very lively, great pace

Matthieu 6 - little time to do anything but sound

Most Competitive League In Europe

2010-08-29T08:26:00.004+01:00

There have been a few swipes at La Liga recently in the media. It is the lack of competition that is in question. The idea is that the Premier League is far more competitive according to some English journalists. I have even heard La Liga compared to the Scottish Premier League.

This is something I have touched on before but this time I thought it needed doing properly. I have taken a range of 20 years, then asked 3 questions:-

1/ How many different sides have won during this period?
2/ How much has one side dominated?
3/ If you make it a 'big 2' as in the case of Celtic / Rangers , how much have they then dominated?

The countries looked at were:- England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlnds, Portugal, Scotland, Spain.

The conclusion is as follows:-

Most Competitive League Placings.

1 - France
2 - Italy
3 - Germany
4 - Netherlands
4 - Spain
6 - England
7 - Portugal
8 - Scotland

Malaga 1 Valencia 3

2010-08-28T21:55:00.008+01:00

Always pleased to fail my correct score when the result is pro Valencia.

Valencia started and finished brightly. In between I felt Malaga only got back into the game due to some poor reffing and a lucky goal. Eliseu seemed immune from bookings and dived like an Olympic pro.Valencia collected deliberate handball bookings on Benega and Vicente(even though Mata did the handball)for balls kicked at them from very close range. Albelda was booked when he won the ball cleanly.

So onto the ratings:-

Cesar 5 - One excellent save, one silly push so close to giving a way a penalty (hightened by a bit over over acting). I took a point off for that as he would have gifted the game to Malaga or at least made the game very difficult to win.

Miguel 6 - Largely in control.

Navarro 7 - Sound and commanding

R Costa 7 - Ditto

Mathieu 5 - Out of position often and one bad mistake, collected a knock and was replaced soon after

Albelda 6 - Did ok

Banega 8 - He may have improved again, his ability to go past players for instance, dominant and very impressive

Joaquin 7.5 - One fabulous strike and the all important second albeit as fortunate as Malaga's equalliser.Sadly as is Joaquins way, some great runs ruined by crosses into the crowd. Though one first half pass to Mata was the ball of the day.

Mata 4 - Very poor indeed, wasted good chances tamely, did nothing else

Vicente 5- Good opening and then faded badly

Aduriz 7.5 - Great opening header and one assist, fabulous debut

Subs:-

Pablo 6 - One brilliant pass that Mata buggered up - improved upon Vicente.

Alba 6.5 - Again helped change the game, with pace and one great cross which led to goal no/ 3.

T Costa 7 - maybe a bit over the top for a 13 minute cameo but he was that impressive. Should start over Mata next game.

La Liga Season Betting

2010-08-24T00:41:00.003+01:00

I think it's always interesting to see how the major bookies rate the teams. La Liga betting outright is (Paddy Power):-

Barcelona 8/11
Real Madrid 6/5
Sevilla 25/1
Atletico Madrid 33/1
Valencia 33/1
Villareal 50/1
250/1 Bar

And without the big 2:-

Sevilla 11/5
Atletico Madrid 9/4
Valencia 9/2
Villareal 6/1
25/1 Bar

Not sure why Sevilla are consitently 3rd favourites among the bookies. To me Atletico should be clear 3rd favourites. They are the only side to build on last season and last year their cup form was excellent. More consistancy and they will sadly take 3rd off Valencia.

I still rate Valencia far superior to Sevilla. Bookies rate our old striker David Villa as favourite to be top scorer in La Liga 4-1 and his replacement Roberto Soldado as a mere 25-1 shot. I don't think there will be many goals between them if Villa is to play wide for Barca. Ronaldo at 11/2 looks much better value.

I am going to tip Real Madrid to win La Liga. Jose Mourinho is a genius and will outwit Barca with his mind games.

Just over one week to kick off time !

2010-08-20T20:48:00.004+01:00

The most interesting thing about game one v Malaga is to see what formation Unai Emery will choose and who will be first choice within that team.

Vicente now looks fit and was the star of a recent friendly. Aduriz and Soldado have also shown that they could play as a straight 4-4-2 if needed. Add to that the facts that Valencia have failed to sell or loan Fernandes (who will now challenge to play) and the club have deliberately kept Mata, even though his position is the easiest to cover with who we have available. It kind of makes Mata look like a banker to start when we could have easily cashed in but didn't.

So confusion reigns. Well just a bit. Emery gets to choose and some players will probably be a bit pissed of when he does. I'll do my first scoreline prediction as soon as. From this season I will put a straight pound on that prediction and keep a running total of my success. It would be nice to put more on but it is not a commitment I can afford !

I will also try and come up with a running total on player ratings to get a genuine 'Player of the Season'.

Valencia in England

2010-08-08T00:36:00.006+01:00

Well I guess the important bit is to say that the English Premiership season starts 2 weeks a head of La Liga and thus you would expect the Spanish teams to be less advanced.

The results Aston Villa 0 - Valencia 0 and Manchester City 2 - Valencia 0 will not have done much though for the hopes of Los Che supporters.

We all worry about our fragile defence but so far and maybe more worrying than that is we look toothless upfront. That doesn't mean the players look bad but so our the system or chemistry is not right.

Infact Soldado v Man City was one of the few bright spots and against Aston Villa Aduriz had a decent game but with no service.

We lack leaders out there so far and my answer is Albelda has to play and needs to be given the captain's job. Probably unpopular in some quarters as it is a backward step but someone has to understand the club inside out and pass that knowledge on. He is that man.

............Cesar
..Miguel Navarro Costa Mathieu
.....Topal Albelda Banega
......Pablo Soldado Mata

On a more positive note I really enjoyed seeing Valencia even though the game on reflection was reasonably dull and Valencia played almost a second eleven.I got a big thrill out of seeing legends like Albelda, Vicente and Cesar and the next generation like Isco and Rubío.

Here is a non event of a clip just to show the view I had of this match.

Following this game on the Friday I went to see another friendly, Birmingham City v Real Mallorca. 2 La Liga sides in 2 days, can't be bad ! Mallorca won 1-0 and if I was honest look better at this stage than Valencia do. They wil be around 6th this season I think with Valencia 4th or 5th with Sevilla ( no idea which way round) and sadly I see Atletico Madrid getting 3rd spot maybe easily.

Interesting that poor old Zigic, now at Blues, is still man handled at will.

The New Season Approaches

2010-07-17T20:09:00.003+01:00

I have my ticket to watch VCF play Aston Villa. It is actually on the 6th August which makes more sense.

Sadly the Man City game is a 7pm KO and as a non driver I have 4 choices.

1/ Try and get the 9.30pm last train home. Ground 30mins walk away if you know what you are doing. May possibly have to leave early. Make that best to leave early.

2/ National Express offer a near midnight service back that gets into Birmingham 2.30am.

3/ Stop over around £60 per room.

4/ Don't go !

Sadly option 4 is favourite. I am determined to get to a home game season which will be very much against the odds so any expense like an unplanned hotel will definitely bugger that hope up.

Option 2 looks a bit lonely. Option 1 looks a bit pointless.

The new season looks quite exciting. For a start I may get to a game but also this season promises much as we have new strikers Soldado + Aduriz and a possible promotion of our top 3 attacking youngsters Paco, Isco and Niguez. Add to that attacking midfielders Tino Costa + Feghouli, holding midfielder Topal and central defender Ricardo Costa and I think this is a decent side.

Having kept Mata,Pablo and Ever we had a good base to build on and with Vicente still fit and Alba maybe last seasons biggest success story I am rather optimistic that this side will score lots of goals and hopefully get at least 3rd and a cup run.

The fact that our new signings and also Paco in particular wanted to be at Valencia over better offers is fabulous. This side really wants it, it is hungry. I like it !

Actually Seeing Valencia

2010-06-18T22:52:00.003+01:00

I may actually start calling myself a supporter rather than a follower of Valencia from August as I hopefully will get 2 chances to see them. 7th August they play Aston Villa and the next day Manchester City (as mentioned below)- not totally sure how to get back from the latter yet.

Hopefully I'll get to both and find somewhere that I won't get battered for shouting the odd Amunt !

Latest

2010-06-18T22:30:00.005+01:00

Well I have neglected this blog, mainly because the transfer rumours have driven me around the bend. To sum up everyone has their price and everyone will go if that price is met. The only consolation is that some good names are being monitored to replace any leavers.

Zigic did leave and to my home town club of Birmingham City. I may pop down and have a look at some point.

Bigger news was the arrival of Soldado, as hoped for. Probably the most popular signing VCF could have made.

Probably the rest of the summers activity will rest around Manchester City. It is looking more and more like they will sign either or both of Silva and Pablo. The press have in unison suggested via an unknown source that Silva has changed his mind and after the World Cup will speak to them, thus making this possible. Pablo is being linked with everyone. His agent must be very busy.

Why do I believe this now ? A lot of small pointers the last being a friendly on August 8th that VCF have announced yet Man City have yet to, and they have kept their web sight up to date with fixtures and rumours.

I expect an announcement that will kill 2 birds with one stone and we will lose another star.

Transfers so far - Soldado latest - plus Zigic/Miguel rumour

2010-05-23T11:12:00.004+01:00

As expected the non appearance of David Villa in the last 2 games did mean that he was going to be sold ASAP. I wish him well at Barcalona, at least he should win a few things, which he deserves.

If you believe Marca (a Spanish newspaper)David Silva is not far off going to Real Madrid. As he was also mysteriously dropped I think the only delay is maybe if he wants to see who their manager will be/see if Manchester United really want him. I think that would tempt him more.

So far then it is 3 ( Ricardo Coata,Sofiane Feghouli, Mehmet Topal)in and 2 out at the Mestalla. César Sánchez has also signed a one year extension. Expected in according to gossip are 2 strikers and one midfielder. Expected out at the very least are David Silva and Manuel Fernandes. I could see Joaquin joining the exits, he is surplus to requirements.

Mata, Pablo and Ever have all given small indications that they will still be here next year.

So onto the Soldado latest. Basically he is first choice to replace Villa by both the board and the fans, however, Getafe want 6 million Euros plus player/s worth at least 4 million Euros (or maybe less money and more valuable players). This is not great news.

A fixed fee would have meant a deal could be tied up quickly. A player deal means that Getafe will choose who is the best player/s offered from opposition like Atltetico Madrid, Sevilla, Everton and Blackburn.

I think Soldado will sign for us but Getafe may take a player off us we did not want to lose.

ASTON VILLA fancy Valencia pair Nikola Zigic and Miguel.

Boss Martin O'Neill is ready to bid £9.5million for the duo as the Spanish club need to pay debts by June 30.

Serbian striker Zigic and Portuguese defender Miguel have deals until next summer but O'Neill hopes to get them on the cheap.

Valencia will be willing to negotiate if the full fee is paid up front and in cash.

Zigic, 29 and 6ft 7in, was loaned to former club Racing Santander in 2009 and regained form with 13 goals in 19 games.

Villa look certain to lose either John Carew or Emile Heskey - or possibly both hitmen.

Miguel, 30, has 52 caps for Portugal and Villa want a right-back replacement for Luke Young, who is set to leave.

Story from News Of The World - UK paper

Valencia 1 Tenerife 0

2010-05-17T03:04:00.006+01:00

Valencia dominated their final game with their best performance in quite a while. Tenerife fought hard as they tried to stay in La Liga and had a few decent chances thanks to the central defence of Los Che looking a little sloppy at times. However, Tenerife had keeper Rorys Aragon to thank for being still in the game until Alexis scored in the 91st minute. Rorys was exceptionally good.

Team news was dominated by the absence of Villa and Silva. They are surely both off now. Emery said their minds were not right. The more sentimental fans of VCF would also be disappointed to see Albelda left out as Baraja(captain for the day on his farewell appearace) and he were such a brilliant double act for many years.

So onto the ratings:-

Moya 7 - Was called into action and did well
Miguel 7 - Linked well with Chori
Alexis 7 - Scored winner defended ok
Maduro 5 - Tried hard, not good enough
Alba 6 - typical Alba showing
Fernandes 6 - nothing wrong
Baraja 8 - Close to scoring twice, great distribution
Chori 8 - Best right wing performance in weeks
Pablo 8 - Gave both wings plenty of the ball in Silva's roll, a big success.
Vicente 9 - Awesome wing display, Spain will regret not taking their best winger to the World cup
Zigic 6 - Unlucky twice but not a lot else. I could be being a bit harsh but I felt taht with Villa playing the VCF dominance may well have led to a lot of goals. Zigic is simply not fast enough to keep up with a very quick Vicente/Pablo/Chori trio.

Subs:-

Marchena 6 - Solid
Mathieu 7 - A top comeback from a bad injury, pacey and unafraid
Banega N/A - On for 3 minutes, a very lively 3 minutes though as he showed tricks off beating many Tenerife players for fun

Today Sucks

2010-05-16T15:29:00.004+01:00

And I mean it purely in football terms. Last day of season leaves a gap in my life that the World Cup won't fill. True I am not worlds best fan by any means but football does take my mind off work, bills and all the other things that stress, worry, irritate in some way.

Today even sucks more than most end of seasons as I fear what VCF will look like come the new season. According to the press, everyone wants our players and we are desperate to sell. I am not that stupid to believe most of the rumours but would find it hard to lose Silva and Pablo and these reports/gossip seem feasible unlike the daft Ever Benega rumour to Liverpool.

Most managers well more likely their chairmen, however, will be after world cup stars and strangely we won't have many players there. Most fringe players have been left out of various squads.

Mata is the big danger to be lost because of The World Cup. I am tipping Argentina to win though and Spain to disappoint, so hopefully we are safe there. Spain have too many players half fit (maybe even worse than that) or losing their form and also Spain were not that impressive in the last Confederation Cup held in South Africa. Ivory Coast could be the surprise package, if only as Chelsea's Didier Drogba plays for them and at times he is unplayable.

Lastly today sucks as Ruben Baraja plays his last game for Los Che. I have no idea why he has not been offered a new contract with the club. It is a dumb ass decision. You need experience, his form has been good of late and we will need many players to take Champions League and La Liga seriously. He was not too old to get another 12 months and is a club legend. Doesn't that count for something ?

Fingers crossed he will be involved with Valencia once more in the future and that he finds a club meanwhile to have a good couple of years with. To me he is far from finished as a player and is an obvious future coach.

Villareal 2 Valencia 0

2010-05-09T00:32:00.006+01:00

Supposedly 'THE' local derby comes along so you field your best side and that side tries very hard to gain pride for the fans of that local community.

Or you could rest most of your best players and hypnotise your first 11 to think they were on the beach sipping cocktails during the first half.

Shocking stuff. The score should have been 4 maybe 6 by half time. The second saw Valencia come out with more intent, Villareal losing their discipline going down to 9 men and maybe displaying one of the worst dives in history.

Valencia lacked intelligence getting caught offside consistantly. Poor timing of runs may have cost 3 goals (1 unlucky). So no goals from Los Che just a performance to worry those who say no Silva/Villa + Valencia will fall apart.

Anyway I don't do reports so onto the ratings :-

Moya 4 - fucking useless

Miguel 4 - Beaten easily / poor discipline

Navarro 4 - see Moya

Marchena 4 - Ditto

Alba 5 - Shocking first half improved in second

Joaquin 4 - Hard to notice on the pitch

Albelda 5 - Noticable but half asleep

Ever 6 - Tried harder than most

Fernandes 6 - Again actually had a go

Vicente 4 - Looked mortified as he went off, this won't get him a contract

Zigic 4 - Not mobile enough unless service is great

Subs

Mata 5 - Better than Vicente but not by loads

Pablo 5 - Better than Miguel but not by loads

Chori 5 - Probably only on as Fernandes may well have took retribution on a diving cheating twat. Not as good as Fernandes.

Silly Season

2010-05-08T14:56:00.002+01:00

Tottenham are keen on outbidding Liverpool for Valencia forward Juan Mata.

The 22-year-old, who can play on the wing or up front, has long been rumoured to be on his way to Anfield in summer.

But reports now claim the former Real Madrid kid could be headed for White Hart Lane as Harry Redknapp attempts to bolster his squad ahead of their Champions League challenge.

Redknapp has targeted one marquee signing in the £30m-plus range but will be backed to sign Mata.

Daily Mirror

Tottenham are interested in netting impressive Spanish Intenational Juan Mata. Harry Redknapp has set his sights on the Valencia man and is ready to test the waters with a bid for the £14m rated 22 year old. The La Liga club may well be forced to sell a player or two this summer to allay financial concerns and could opt to lose the speedy attacker instead of accepting deals for the likes of David Villa and David Silva.

Whilst the White Hart Lane club have managed to secure a top four finish and the resultant Champions League berth the north London side appear to want to further strengthen an already highly talented squad.

Mata’s ability to play in a number of roles, from out and out winger to playing behind the strikers to playing as part of a strike pair, is said to greatly interest Redknapp who is looking to use a cash injection set to be given to him by the club’s chairman Daniel Levy.

The former Real Madrid youth player has become a crucial member of the Mestalla side and has been most effective out wide where his speed and trickery have helped develop him into something of an assist machine. Mata is now also a regular part of the Spanish national team set up and will no doubt be part of Vicente del Bosque’s World Cup squad.

Caught Offside

I almost decided not to put this up as I think it is probably nonsense but the comments that follow these articles seem to add to the rumour of Mata and Liverpool. £14m my arse though, very funny if anyone thinks we are that hard up ! Also who wants to leave a Champions Leagues side like Valencia for a dodgy Europa League place ? Tottenham are a bigger threat but rumour has it that Mata is one of the last players Valencia re willing to sell, even though we have better cover than for the likes of Silva or Villa.

Rumours and News

2010-05-07T03:16:00.002+01:00

Two top Spanish clubs Valencia and Sevilla are locked in a US$10m battle to sign Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng from rivals Getafe.

The 27-year-old has rediscovered himself in the La Liga with impressive performances for the struggling Spanish side.

Sevilla are planning the Boateng raid on Getafe this summer but will face a serious contender in Valencia who have already started talks for the midfielder.

Joe Maria del Nido, the Sevilla president, wants an overhaul of the current squad after a disappointing season.

Del Nido has instructed sports chief Monchi to sound out Getafe about the availability of midfielder Boateng but the Ghanaian insists he is calm over the offers.

“I know the two clubs are keen on me and have even held talks with my club president,” Boateng told Ghanasoccernet on Tuesday.

“In this moment I want to leave it to the club and my agent to deal with the issue because the league has not ended and the World Cup is also in the corner.

“I have gone through difficult times in the past so I want to be very careful of my next moves. I always want to play regular football and excel.

“That is why things have been good for me in Getafe because I am enjoying the matches and regular playing time.”

Portuguese defender Ricardo Costa is due to finalise his move to Valencia over the weekend, according to reports. The player is expected in Spain over the next 48 hours, and will sign for Los Ches on Monday provided there are no problems.

Costa is currently with French outfit Lille, having joined from Wolfsburg on a short-term deal in January. The former Porto stopper was allowed to rescind his contract with the Bundesliga side during the last transfer window, and signed a five-month contract at Lille with a view to assessing his options in full this summer.

Valencia have long been suspected to be Costa’s most likely destination ahead of next season. The player himself hinted back in February that a switch to the Mestalla was on the cards, and now Maisfutebol claims that Costa will undergo medical examinations in Spain on Friday and Saturday.

Should the 28-year-old come through the formalities, he will put pen to paper with Valencia on Monday. Costa will become the third Portuguese on the club’s squad list, with internationals Miguel and Manuel Fernandes already at the club.

portugoal.net

Chelsea are tracking Gimnasia La Plata holding midfielder Fabian Rinaudo.

However, the Blues are not alone in coveting the 22-year-old, who has been compared to fellow combative Argentine Javier Mascherano.

Valencia are believed to have tabled a £5million bid for the 5ft 8in terrier, while Galatasaray plus Italian sides Catania, Napoli and Juventus have also shown interest.

Catching the eye: Rinaudo (left) has plenty of admirers in the European leagues
Everton were also linked with Rinaudo last year and cash-strapped Gimnasia are ready to sell one of their star performers.

Diego Maradona handed the player his international debut during a friendly against Panama 12 months ago.

Daily Mail

Valencia 3 Xerez 1

2010-05-04T22:54:00.002+01:00

Valencia make the Champions League qualification with an easy win versus bottom side Xerez. This is so important for Los Che, infact it saves Valencia from having to sell all of their big stars. Now it is their choice.

For a brief spell in the first half Xerez took the lead against the run of play and had they held till half time the game may have been different. A superb Mata freekick on the stroke of half time stopped that. After that it was all Valencia.

Ratings as follows :-

Cesar 6 - Little to do

Miguel 6 - Easy game

Maduro 5 - Again a bit shakey

Marchena 6 - Some quality passing

Alba 7 - Better use of ball, has so much energy

Pablo 6 - Lots of imagination , a nearly game

Baraja 7 - Quality passing and movement, too good to retire yet

Ever 9 - Dominant, won ball all the time, linked play well

Mata 8 - Showed his qualities well, runs into the box and 2 great goals

Silva 7 - fabulous second half after quiet first

Zigic 5 - Poor movement but service not great either

Subs -

Villa 6 - Missed easy chance but streched Xerez with good movement

Albelda 5 - Booked quickly , ok after

Vicente 6 - Little time but showed pace

Espanyol 0 Valencia 2

2010-05-02T20:22:00.002+01:00

Emery will be very happy after an inspired 59th minute substitution, Zigic for for Villa, paid off big time. Not only did Zigic get 2 but the whole balance of the game changed. In all from that moment on, Valencia won in a canter.

Ratings as follows:-

Cesar 6 - Again my standard did nothing wrong mark

Miguel 7 - We look so much better with him in the side

Marchena 6 - Solid

Maduro 5 - The weakest of the defence

Alba 6 - Lively but his final ball is starting to get to me, as he is essentially a winger he needs to do better

Joaquin 4 - His final ball is at the moment rubbish, drop please now, if he gives it away so often it makes any other work of his irrelevant

Albelda 6 - Did all required as the Los Che midfield gradually dominated

Fernandez 6 - Ditto

Ever 7 - Linked midfield and attack well

Vicente 7 - Best passer on the pitch, late Spain call up maybe ?

Villa 4 - Has not been self of late. I think he has a bad shoulder injury ie worse than is made out

Subs

Zigic 9 - Great movement and finishing, unlucky not to get hat trick

Pablo N/A - Too late to make an impact

Mata N/A - Time wasating sub only

Who is off at Valencia ?

2010-04-30T23:30:00.002+01:00

Interesting that Superdeporte are running with a Mata to Barcelona story but rival spanish news site go with Villa to Barcelona, strangely to fill the same roll. One has to be wrong. For the roll Barcelona want him for (Thierry Henry's replacement), I think Mata is more suited, cheaper and younger and thus favourite.

There are not many clubs who can afford David Villa's fee and wages. Should Barcelona not make an offer, Valencia have a good chance of keeping him.

You may say huge deals like this are already sorted out, we just await the news. Thus maybe Roberto Soldado's Atletico rumoured move is an indication of Villa staying ? Maybe Villa's only real hope of leaving this season is to have a great world cup, which is the real reason he wants the subject left alone until then?

Valencia CF 1 Deportivo La Coruña 0

2010-04-24T23:52:00.003+01:00

To me this was a worse showing than the Real defeat. The difference was the quality of the opposition. The ref stole the show with moments of pure comedy, an early half time and a a one yellow sending off.

Player ratings as follows:-

Cesar 6 - Nothing to do - this is my standard nothing to do score

Pablo 6 - Not a right back but actually had a good second half (though not a great 1st) passed well, stopped one good attack and overlapped constantly (though invisible to Joaquin)

Maduro 6 - Nothing to do

Alexis 6 - Ditto

Alba 7 - If he had a final ball he would be dangerous but his energy is a huge plus

Joaquin 3 - Dreadful, selfish, couldn't pass/cross etc. Beat a few people near the half way line a few times.

Albelda 6 - You get the picture , nothing happened

Ever 6 - Nothing to see here either

Vicente 8 - Most likely player on the pitch, won the pen that won the game

Silva 4 - Poor game, gave ball away, no energy, no creativity, silly booking, fluffed easy chance etc.

Villa 7 - Better timing of runs, scored pen, had to leave striking position to get the ball too often then found noone had moved into the box ( Silva most guilty )

Subs:

Baraja 5 - one yellow sending off , very silly whatever, nearly scored though probably increased creativity - marked down for daft card

Mata 5 - Small cameo, showed ability to get into the box and support Villa that had been missing but missed good chance.

Fernandes 5 - looked uneasy defending but confident going forward

So in a game where the result was most most important of all, let's be happy and move on. I expect Joaquin will not play next time. It has been a bad week for him.

Valencia CF v Deportivo La Coruña

2010-04-24T19:13:00.002+01:00

This is the last chance Valencia have to restore some calm into the season. To drop points tonight would leave a real chance that they could blow Champions League football.

Unai Emery has recently faced a lot of criticism. In opinion polls like Superdeporte's where 66 % of fans did not want his contract renewed even if he gets 3rd place in La Liga, from the president Manuel Llorente who has publicly questioned the tactics v Real and maybe worst of all from Joaquin who complained Emery is for halming Pablo and his own form by constantly changing them around rather than letting a player in form stay as 1st choice.

Despite this I am confident everyone will rally to the cause and so for a 3-1 win for Los Che.

From a favourite quotes column on the BBC

2010-04-20T20:25:00.002+01:00

"Next year, I won't bring my watch - in case they steal that as well."
Valencia goalkeeper Cesar after the officials failed to award his side a late penalty as they crashed out of the Europa League to Atlético Madrid.

They may indeed be out to steal more than Cesar's watch as fresh press reports suggest that Valencia summer target Roberto Soldado has been in talks with Atlético to discuss a possible move. Soldado will only come To Los Che if David Villa exits for pastures new, and maybe he wants a more assured deal than that.

Villa will leave though, if he is fit and able to I would have thought? This is the last chance to get £35-£40m for him and sadly the club needs this money.

Novelty of 2 Full Backs

2010-04-19T20:33:00.006+01:00

Miguel looks likely to be fit for Saturdays match v Deportivo. With Bruno able to switch flanks Valencia may actually get to field a full defence at last ! Though not our first choice one yet.

Alba, the emergency left back, to me deserves to keep his place over Mata in his more natural left wing role. Though I doubt Emery will upset Mata by doing this, it must at least cross his mind.

Tonight I see Mallorca are already 1-0 up v Osasuna which is a pity but looking at the remaining fixtures, our 4 point lead over them should be enough to see us through.

Real Madrid 2 Valencia 0

2010-04-18T23:19:00.004+01:00

Goals from Higuain 25 + Ronaldo 78 gave the home side a deserved win. In truth it could have been a heavier defeat. Though 2 Mata misses and a Silva wonder strike both when 1-0 may have changed the whole game.

There will be no attempt to review matches any further than this, other sites do this as well as can be done already.

However, here are my player ratings:-

Cesar 9 - As good a keeper as there is in the world on form

Bruno 6 - Unlucky when one forward run was called offside when clearly on, would have been close to a goal. Defensively struggled at times.

Alexis 6 - As with the whole of defence struggled without being totally shot to pieces by some class Real play.

Maduro 7 - Our best defender on the night. Stopped quite a lot of good moves.

Alba 5 - Lots of energy but did little to stop Real and final ball poor.

Pablo 5 - Drifted off the wing all the time,no attempt to beat full back. However, a couple of killer passes to Villa only just offside. As close as Villa had to service.

Ever 6 - Not able to impose himself but mainly as the attack let the ball come back all the time very quickly.

Albelda 7 - Helped stop the score line being a heavier defeat.

Mata 5 - Poor yet could have scored twice. Should have scored at least one. No supply to Villa.

Silva 6 - One moment of genius hit the woodwork from out of nowhere. Otherwise could not keep the ball at the right end.

Villa 4 - Little service but offside too often. So heavily strapped (if you saw him shirt off at the end) I am not sure how fit he is ? Possibly he has big problems.

Subs used :-

Vicente 5 - made no difference

Joaquin 6 - kept possession better than other wingers but never looked like scoring or supplying an assist

Baraja 6 - keeps ball well but was never going to be the player to make a bigger impact

Remaining games

2010-04-18T00:38:00.001+01:00

April 2010

Sunday, April 18 2010

20.00 Real Madrid - Valencia

Monday, April 19 2010
20.00 Mallorca - Osasuna

Saturday, April 24 2010
21.00 Valencia - Deportivo de La Coruña

Sunday, April 25 2010
16.00 Mallorca - Málaga
20.00 Getafe - Sevilla

May 2010

Sunday, May 2 2010
16.00 Athletic de Bilbao - Mallorca
16.00 Espanyol - Valencia
16.00 Sevilla - Atlético de Madrid

Wednesday, May 5 2010
19.00 Mallorca - Real Madrid
19.00 Valencia - Xerez
19.00 Racing - Sevilla

Sunday, May 9 2010
16.00 Deportivo de La Coruña - Mallorca
16.00 Villarreal - Valencia
16.00 Sevilla - Barcelona

Sunday, May 16 2010
16.00 Mallorca - Espanyol
16.00 Valencia - Tenerife
16.00 Almeria - Sevilla

Sevilla put pressure on Los Che

2010-04-17T18:59:00.002+01:00

An easy 3-0 win v Sporting reduces Valencia's third place lead to 5 points. It would have been nice to Sevilla drop points as tomorrow Valencia go to Real Madrid.

Despite the recent clean sheet there is no doubt that Valencia are far from being able to field a first choice defence and with David Villa not really firing at all in his last starts it is not exactly the time you'ld choose to go to the Bernabeu.

On a positive, Vicente is back and maybe has slotted back to his best straight away. Also Albelda's return has given time to the more creative players like Benega and Silva to express their ability once more. With Pablo and Mata rested there is no doubt we will have a go at the Real defence.

Scoreline prediction:- I think Ronaldo is too hot for our makeshift defence but we do offer plenty back so I see a repeat of the game at the Mestalla and thus go 3-2 to Real. To stop that from happening we will have to dominate the wings so Ronaldo is pushed back to defend. It could happen so here's hoping !

Reasons to hate Arsene Wenger

2010-04-17T06:22:00.003+01:00

Wenger to me represents all that is bad in the English Premier League. For a start he rarely ever picks an English player, which is a trend that leaves the national team struggling to find players who are good enough. Compare this to Valencia and Barcelona who could probably field a Spanish squad of 22 between them that would beat England's best and you see the difference in the development of local talent.

Add to that his spiteful post match interviews where he thinks the whole world hates Arsenal and either tries to cheat them or go all out to deliberately hurt them. Then the interviews where Arsene was never looking when his player is the guilty party in an incident, and you form an impression of the sort of person he is ie. a bitter, at times paranoid, grumpy, twisted old git.

This time he takes a swipe at Spanish football in a bid to tempt Cesc Fabregas to stay at Arsenal. 'I can't see anybody with a competitive edge wanting to go to Spain, said Wenger. They have two good teams and the number three is 27 points behind.' , actually wrong Wenger- then he says 'I can't understand the persistent campaign to get English players to Spain'.

Maybe Arsene thinks of Cesc as English? Maybe he thinks Arsenal are competitive and staying with them will bring more trophies like they have won in the last 5 years ? Maybe he has forgot what Messi did to Arsenal ? Maybe the English Premier League is more competitive - let's see, in the last 17 years Manchester United have won it 11 times, oh there goes that theory. Maybe Wenger or even Arsenal has a great head to head record v Valencia - no.

Maybe Wenger should shut the fuck up ? Yes !

Backing Emery

2010-04-16T20:11:00.001+01:00

It was nice to see Carlos Marchena talking to the press today, after last nights comfortable 2-0 win at home to Atletic Bilbao, to support Unai Emery in his quest for a new contract.

To me I think the board are waiting to see what happens to Rafa Benitez before making a decision. Sadly I think that Liverpool's involvement in the Europa League will make this a long wait. Rafa will leave I feel but would he come back ?

Unai has to be one of the best young managers in football, yet he still has much to learn. I would like to see him carrying on learning at Valencia, Certainly until the club becomes debt free again, and able to play the transfer market, I doubt many managers better than Unai will throw their CV's into the mix anyway. So without hesitation it is a large flashing neon 'AMUNT UNAI' from me.