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| Antonio Valencia |
Its
no secret that Luis Antonio Valencia, one of Manchester United’s best and most
consistent performer last season, hasn’t been able to replicate his form of
last season in the current campaign. Valencia himself has admitted to the same
and agreed that his performances this season have been below par.
‘It’s not been quite the season I would
have hoped on a personal front, the injuries I’ve had have held me back a bit.
I still get the odd twinge from the last injury I had to my leg and that
perhaps affected my progress slightly.’
This is what Valencia was quoted to be
saying recently.
Here’s why I think he has been suffering from such poor form
lately...
INJURIES
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| Valencia in Liverpool game |
Valencia has been
having a torrid time with injuries especially since he broke his ankle against
Rangers in 2010. He’s had quite a few injuries after that particularly horrific
one and had suffered another one in Sept. last year when he injured his foot
against Liverpool. His inconsistent form could be partly attributed to his
injuries and subsequent irregular appearances.
CONFIDENCE
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| Valencia against former Red, O'She |
With his injuries
its also his confidence that has suffered. He hasn’t looked comfortable on the
ball, and always seems like he’s out of ideas of what to do with it. He has
lost the confidence of taking on a full back – he just simply gives the ball
away. It will need a consistent run of games for him to get his confidence
back.
PRESSURE
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| Valencia now wearing the iconic 7 |
At the beginning of this season,
Valencia was handed the number ‘7’ jersey which was vacated by the outgoing
Michael Owen. Its possible that the pressure of matching up to the standards set
by legends such as George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and
Cristiano Ronaldo has got to him. Maybe this is one of the reasons he hasn’t
been able to perform.
ONE FOOTED-NESS
& STYLE OF PLAY
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| Valencia so rare to use his weaker foot |
Its clear to all those who’ve ever
watched him play. His right foot is terrific. Brilliant. But his ability to do
things with the weaker foot are limited. Its almost as if he as the style of
play programmed into him. He will go to the by-line and put in a cross or pass
with his right. His style has become predictable and so it becomes easier for
the defenders to close him down accordingly.
Now
even though he hasn’t been very good of late, lets hope he has a stronger
finish to the season. We’ve all heard this ‘Form is temporary, class is
permanent’. He has the ability, just needs to re-discover his form. He could still be a vital player
for United in the coming months and also the next few seasons. We just need to
keep the faith in him to come good!
Feel free to share your thoughts on
him in the comments below or on twitter. [@DjK_MUFC: https://twitter.com/DjK_MUFC]
Thanks a lot for the reads!
__________________________________________________________________________-
An Article by DjK_MUFC
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