27 Feb 2015 08:58:16
Why is it Rafael that is supposedly on the way out when Valencia has been rubbish for some time. Rafael all day long for me. Support lvg but this to me would be another strange decision. Rafael should start ahead of Valencia.
27 Feb 2015 09:15:00
Yes he should start ahead of Valencia but he's always injured.
27 Feb 2015 09:24:46
When fit he is much better than Valencia even going forward, Valencia must be one of the poorest wingers in the world when it comes to delivering a ball in the box and really has zero end product and just smashes the ball.
Rafael like most offensive minded fullbacks will always have a lapse in concentration defensively and not great in the air. Unfortunately he is unable to stay free of injuries and undependable, if retained is a back up squad player.
27 Feb 2015 10:32:58
2 years ago we could have named our price for Rafael, he was one of my favourite players. It's horrible to see how he can't even get a game ahead of Valencia or McNair.
Maybe his brother leaving had something to do with it. I appreciate he is injury prone, but no more so than half the rest of the team.
27 Feb 2015 10:55:01
I think it is because as we all know, although Rafael is great going forward, he can be a red card waiting to happen when he is defending. Whereas Valencia is average going forward these days, he gives a steady performance defensively, mainly because of his size.
We all used to have a go at Moyes for being captain defensive, but it is becoming apparent that the hailed LVG philosphy is all about being defensively strong, before scoring lots of goals. Hence three at the back, Rooney in midfield ahead of Herrera etc etc
27 Feb 2015 12:55:22
I have forgotten we had Rafael, he's ALWAYS injured. You could be Messi, but if you only play 5 matches a season, then I'm afraid it is just not good enough. Every time he's injured (which is most of the time) he's out for two months, then he comes back, makes some rash tackles and he's out again.
I really like him, but I think we've had 5 years of him being injured mostly. So he has to be replaced I'm afraid.