Pablo Piatti on his way out?

There are various reports in Spanish media that supposedly Pablo Piatti is on his way out of the club and the club is looking to add another player who can play on the left wing. The club has already officially singed Santi Mina who can play at both wings and reports are suggesting that Zakaria Bakkali a Belgian footballer who currently plays for PSV at right and left wing is very close to signing with Valencia CF.

He has played predominantly as right wing, and considering that Santi Mina also plays predominantly at right wing and as a forward doesn't make much sense, but perhaps Valencia CF coach Nuno thinks that he can convert him left wing or maybe even play Jose Luis Gaya as left wing and start with Lucas Ornan as left back, though that would mean we need to get another left back in case Lucas Orban is injured.

Anyways a lot of speculation going on right now, hopefully Pablo Piatti continues with Valencia CF though as he was one of the key players for the team last season and could build on a successful season. Also he is 26 years old and players peek around 25 to 27 years old, where they play the best football.

New Signing

SANTI  MINA

New Signing for Valencia is Santi Mina from Celta Vigo.  He is aged 19yrs and signed today for his buyout clause of 10 million euros.
He can play left or right attacking midfield and last season scored 9 goals in cup and league.
Despite his young age he is relatively experienced and hopefully will be a good future prospect. He is Spanish and fits the type of player we need, i.e. young with quick feet any very composed for his age. It is good to see the squad being increased even though our new man is a bit of an unknown I look forward to seeing what he can offer. You may remember him scoring 4 against Rayo Vallecano in April and also scoring against Real Madrid and Seville in April and May.        

                             
        



DANI PAREJO


      More good news is that at long last Dani Parejo has put pen to paper and signed until 2020.  The negotiations have been long but I am glad it has finally been sorted and he will remain our player now.
The clubs top scorer in La Liga last season is the second signing of Lay Hoon So in her first week in her new post she has been very busy and may she continue to be busy signing some more promising players.


                         




Other news is that a squad containing many of the  second string will be travelling to Austria for the first of the pre season warm up games while some of the more regular players are given more time off.  I think it will be great to see if we have any up coming stars amongst them,  another Gaya or Alcacer.  The first game is on Wednesday against Wiener SK from Austria.

  I really think we should all chill a little and not be too worried at this stage about the lack of top signings.  We have to see what happens to Otamendi.  We should not buy cheap now and then find we have the extra 50 million to spend later.  I am sure there are many enquiries going on that we don't know about and that is how it should be.  We must not listen to all the rubbish we read in the press about possible signings, they have to sell papers and do not worry whether there is any substance in their stories.

                                                       

Amadeo Salvo and Rufete Resign

Let us take a step back, look at, and analyse what has gone on in the past year. 2 years ago we were on the brink of  being bankrupt.  A half built stadium, an embarrassment really to the city and to the club. We had players ( who I won't mention here because we all have our own views ) who were, let's say, below the quality that this club deserves.... So what was needed ?   Somebody with money to come in and inject big bucks.  Not just anybody, we needed to get in the right man or group who could be trusted. It was always going to be a gamble but there was no choice at the time.
So how do we choose the right people to take over ?   The offer was sent out and I believe their were 5 or 6 potential offers made from different groups.  It was rightly believed that these offers should be looked at by experts and therefore a group was set up and to cut a very long story short after a long time of deliberations it was unanimously decided that Peter Lim was the man to take us forward.  So far so good I would suggest, despite the obvious differing opinions at the time.

One of the stipulations of the man taking over was that he would put in his own manager Nuno Espirito Santos an unknown from Rio Ave in the Portuguese League.  So an unknown man from a relatively unknown team.  Eyebrows were raised but he was put forward as the next Mourinho so not a bad comparison if it is true.  Unfortunately Juan Antonio Pizzi , the then manager and very popular was needed to step aside for the new project. I thought it tough on him at the time but the owner, having invested his money was entitled to put his own man in place.

New players were bought in and a lot of the old guard were moved on and a new era begins. Everybody has their own opinions on the players coming in and the ones that left and that is for another day or should I say has all been covered in previous blogs on here.  What has to be said though that with these news players and the new manager results started coming in. Of course the odd blip on the way where silly games were lost but all in all a really good season.  The aim was Champions League and despite the challenges of the much stronger top 3 teams and Seville we achieved the goal.  Whatever criticism anybody can make of the manager, and there has been a lot, It was a remarkable achievement with a new, exciting young team and La Liga virgin manager.

All clubs have internal politics with egos and differing opinions and we are certainly no different. All has come to a head this last week with Salvo and Rufete together with others resigning over the way the club is run. I think not just the debacle of the unfortunate Caoi from Brazil but the responsibilities of the people in the club.  It appears to me that Nuno wants to have the final say in who the club buys but  Salvo and Rufete want to carry on in the old way and bring in who they think should come in. Different clubs around Europe seem to have different methods. In the Premier Division in UK The team manager decides who comes in and who he wants, To me that is the way it should be because he decides who plays and he is the one to lose his job if they lose.  This is obviously what Mr Lim wants.

It appears that all came to a head and Mr Lim was put in a situation where he had to decide to back the manager who he brought in or support the Chairman and Rufete.  Not an easy decision perhaps but there was obviously going to be no compromise, much like the Greek debt.  Of course another actor in the drama Jorge Mendes keeps popping up and cannot be ignored.  What is his role in Valencia. The answer should be, he has no role in Valencia. However it cannot be ignored the influence he seems to have in the club politics. All I will say is that if he can get us top players at fair prices and get fair prices for anybody we sell well fine.  It just has to be made clear to him just where he stands with Valencia CF because the club is and always will be bigger than Mendes, Rufete, Salvo and all the other actors in this play and will still be here long after they have all gone.

Let's just hope that this is all sorted quick, we start getting a few new exciting payers and sort out the Otamendi saga either way.  I believe there is no big panic on signings.  We have 2 good keepers for the early warm up games and who knows we may have already got a decent keeper on the books. Also we need to give the fringe players an opportunity to shine. There is so much doom and gloom around, let's look forward to the new era and new successes.

We need to be patient with the new signings until we know what is happening to Otamendi ?  Do we have another 50 mil, do we need another central defender ?

AMUNT VALENCIA

Rodrigo Caio fails medical tests

Brazilian footballer Rodrigo Caio who Valencia CF surprisingly signed out of nowhere for 12.5 million euros has failed the medial tests. This means Valencia CF would not go through with the transfer and Rodrigo Caio will return to Sao Paulo and continue being their player!

It seems that the knee injury he's suffered has done permanent damage and the medical doctors worry that he will not be able to give 100% percent.

That is the official story, but we know there were a lot of politics for the arrival of this player, we know Salvo and the sporting director weren't pleased that they weren't consulted about it and this could simply be another political move to get rid of the player and calm the tensions at the club.

At this point this is speculation on my part, but I'm 99% sure this is a political move to save face. I don't think the decision is medical, I think he probably had some minor health issue, but I think that is used as an excuse not to sign him, similar in the way AC Milan didn't sign a player due to his teeth, like how do teeth have to do with his ability to play football?

I think its a similar situation, where it was decided that he was a mistake and the medical decision is just an excuse to get rid of him!

Phil Neville appointed as Valencia CF's assistant coach!

I had mentioned in one of my recent posts that Ian Cathro, Nuno's assistant coach at the time, had resigned for personal reasons. He was homesick and wanted to coach in England, and is now close to Newcastle United. Valencia CF has made official today that his replacement is former Manchester United and Everton player Phil Neville. He had partaken in BBC's Match of the Day segment, for those who watch that. Apparently, he's a good friend of Lim's and Nuno has said that his experience will benefit the club a lot. Keep an eye out to see him on the bench beside Nuno this year!

Barcelona and Real Madrid want Mustafi

Shkodran Mustafi's agent has revealed that Real Madrid and Barcelona are interested in the player, but also insisted that his client is very happy at Valencia CF and isn't thinking about it.

Mustafi has impressed with his performances from last season and had formed a great defensive partnership with Nicolas Otamendi, so its no surprise that other top clubs are interested in the player!

"There has been an inquiry from Real Madrid," he told Bild. "But there have not been any further talks."

Valencia CF 2015-16 Preseason Schedule!

Yes, it is already almost time for preseason. Lots of chances to try out new tactics, get the new players and those return from loan a chance to adapt to team, and test out the squad before the Champions League play-offs. This pre-season consists of tours to Austria, China and finally Germany before returning to Spain for the annual Orange Trophy. The schedule for the pre-season games is below.

July 1st -- Transfer Window officially opens 

Austria Tour:
July 8th -- Wiener SK (Austria) -- Sportclub-Platz Stadium in Vienna
July 11th -- Red Bull Salzburg Tournament begins, opponents: Red Bull Salzburg (Austria), Southampton (England) and Werder Bremen (Germany) -- Red Bull Arena in Salzburg

China Tour:
July 18th -- Bayern Munich (Germany) -- National Stadium of China in Beijing

July 23rd -- Spanish FA announce La Liga 2015-16 fixtures

Germany Tour:
August 1-2 -- Colonia Cup 2015, opponents: FC Porto (Portugal), Stoke City (England) and FC Koln (Germany) -- RhienEnergieStadion in Cologne

Oranje Trophy and Team Presentation
August 8th -- AS Roma (Italy) -- Mestalla Stadium in Spain

August 15th -- La Liga 2015-16 begins

Champions League Play-offs
August 18/19 -- first leg, opponent: unknown
August 25/26 -- second leg, opponent: unknown

September 1st -- Transfer Window Officially closes

Alright guys/gals, that's all the important dates you need to know for this summer. Let us know what fixtures you look forward to and which teams you think would be a challenge or interesting to play against. Also, we can discuss what formations/tactics, player positions you would like to see tested in the preseason.

Amunt Valencia!

Transfer Market Update

Alright there are a lot of transfer market happenings to discuss in this update. Incoming long text:

First off, Brazilian youngster Vinicius Araujo has been returned back to Brazilian club Cruzeiro after an unconvincing loan spell at Standard Liege where he failed to make an impression and secure a first team sport. Cruzeiro still owns 50% of his rights and were more than happy to take him back.

In other news, Valencia CF captain Dani Parejo is very close to agreeing a contract renewal with the club till 2020. The negotiations have hit a stumbling block for a period of time and there were many rumours that he would leave. Regardless of how he performed this past season, it's good to see the captain renew as he is one of the cores of the team and a leader in the dressing room. His reported release clause is about 50 million euros.

Then we have this issue with Otamendi. I don't know about you guys but I'm not going to believe any of the rumours until he himself says the words "I want to leave" and I see him in another jersey. So far, he's dodged the issue and said things along the lines of "Valencia know what I want" and "my agent doesn't speak without my authorization". But every time I remember that a few months ago the news said that Gaya was already signed for Madrid and that it was all over, I start to doubt all of this. Then Gaya signs an extension and says that he can't believe all the lies the media said was completely shocked that they had said that he had signed elsewhere. So far, Valencia's stance has been 50 million euros or no deal, same approach that was taken with Mathieu last year. It's nice to see that the club doesn't back down, but then you get other reports saying Mendes is trying to lower the price. You never know what to believe anymore. Now apparently, both Manchester clubs and Real Madrid all want Otamendi. Not surprising to say the least, considering his outstanding form this past year. Other reports say Manchester United is willing to offer Chicarito or another player, I think Nani, to lower the price. So many different rumours around Otamendi but he says he wants to remian focused on Copa America, that's fair, let's see what happens after.

As for the goalkeeping issue, the reports have been saying Mandana, Weidenfeller, Navas, Casilla, Casillas and some even Valdes for a while. Yet now, Valencia CF have opted for a prodigy in the goalkeeping world in Real Sociedad's Geronimo Rulli. Quite a young goalkeeper but will lots of promise and being an Argentine, Ayala has had him scouted for a while. His signature is apparently really close and some reports say to expect it very soon. I know experience is one factor that comes into question here, can this young goalkeeper really hold the weight of a Champions League team along with Yoel or is he just one of two goalkeepers that could be signed. The other issue here is that he doesn't want to leave Real Sociedad but is being forced to move. His ownership is a third party ownership and the third party wants him to play at a bigger club - a Champions League club - but he insists on Real Sociedad. The profile for any player that the management said they wanted to bring was one who really wanted to be in Valencia CF. This goes against that and while I think Rulli is a real talent, I question how that will affect this move. Some reports even say that Manchester City is buying him and is loaning him to Valencia CF. What do you guys think of Rulli? Which deal do you guys think is better?

Another player who's signing is soon to come is 19 year old Belgian youngster Zakaria Bakkali of PSV. He has apparently fallen out with the management there and has been branded a rebel and has not partaken in team activities for a while. He's really a great talent and the best part is he comes at 0, yes zero, cost since his contract has come to an end. Both Valencia CF and Sevilla are interested in him and the choice is still up but it seems Belgian media see him going to Valencia. Reports also say that he will be tried out by Nuno and if he deems it fit he will be immediately loaned to another club for experience.

The first new player Valencia CF have added to thier ranks this transfer window, is CDM/CB Rodrigo Caio. He will be officially signed and presented tomorrow (Friday). His agent, you guessed it, Jorge Mendes. As for Gian Imbula, Valencia CF seems to have lost interest in the player.







A lot of us here in the blog criticized the over-imposing role of Mendes in the clubs transfers. We've ended up with a lot of players from Benfica and are continuously linked with Benfica players and other players in the Portugeuse Liga. Now we are linked with the supposedly talented youngster in Danilo Barbosa of Sporting. Apparently another high skilled Brazilian prodigee but with all these youngsters being signed can we really afford to play them all? Or are they going to be loaned out in the end. We'll see.

 
One thing that we haven't really talked about is that Nuno's assistant coach, Ian Cathro has resigned due to a personal reasons. Nuno has often praised the Scot and branded him as a genius. We don't really know the degree of influence he had in training and coaching or how this will affect Nuno but I felt it should be mentioned. It happened a while back but I didn't get to mentioning it until I saw him being linked with Newcastle United as thier assistant manager.








Finally, I'm sure many of you have heard of the supposed conflict between Nuno, Rufete and Salvo as to who has the say in transfer dealings. The three met earlier at a date close to opening date of the transfer window to discuss signings and they had all agreed on Imbula. Then, reports say Nuno went and requested Rodrigo Caio behind their backs and caused them to get upset. Lim's assistant, Lay Hoon, was in Valencia CF, to sort out the issue and communicate to them what Lim says their role in the club is. From what I understood, he wants Rufete to focus more on the youth aspect - that's the academy and the promising youth while Nuno is ultimately in charge of signings as he is the coach and sees what the team really need. I'm not really too sure of further details of or the truth behind the conflict as there wasn't too much written on it.

Anyways, lots to talk about, I look forward to seeing a great discussion below.

Valencia CF to sign Augusto Fernandez

Augusto Fernandez is an Argentinian footballer who currently plays for Spanish team Celta Vigo. He is 29 years of age and his primary position is central midfielder, he is the type of box to box player, similar to Andre Gomes who he is supposed to compete with and play in that position while Andre Gomes is injured with a long term injury!

He's also played as a right winger and more of a defensive player, so a versatile player who can play on several positions and can be cover for midfield and the right wing as well.

Celta Vigo are demanding 6 million euros for the player in order to sell him, while Valencia CF are willing to pay around 5 million at most to acquire the player. He is a versatile player and had a great season with Celta Vigo, so obviously a player that fits the profile and someone who can compete with Andre Gomes, but not someone who will just be automatic first team player.

I think out of all the players we've been linked and even signed, this is a good, smart signing that isn't due to politics and could be a great reinforcement for Valencia CF.

Nicolas Otamendi reaffirms his intention of leaving

Nicolas Otamendi reaffirmed his intentions of leaving Valencia CF by stating that everything his agent has said and done has been on his accordance and with his approval.

He was asked about Valencia CF and his agent comments while he is with Argentina and was featured in a media conference and he basically said that all of his agents comments are true and that he gave his blessing to it and reaffirmed his position that he wants to leave!

I don't know where he wants to leave to, since Manchester United are the only serious party that has tried and is trying to get him, but unless they are willing to dish out 50 million to reach his buyout clause and they are not, they won't be able to get him!

Maybe if they offer really close to 50 million, something like 45 million Valencia CF can agree to sell him, since we as a club don't want any player that isn't 100% Valencianista, that isn't appreciative of the club, we get rid of those players and in most cases they fail miserably because their move was motivated by money!

So Valencia CF could get rid of him if Manchester United offered very close to 50 million, I'm thinking 45 million or even more, or maybe Juan Mata or Ander Herrera plus additional 25 million euros.

Valencia CF news

So every one of the last year arrivals through Meriton, which is Peter's Lim company, have signed officially with Valencia CF. This includes Rodrigo Moreno, Andre Gomes and additionally Joao Cancelo who came on a normal loan deal. You can go to the 'Transfers' page and see all of the transfers that happened this season.

To recap it quickly, Felipe Augusto loan deal ended and Valencia CF decided not to purchase him, instead the club bought Rodrigo Caio a defensive midfielder from Sao Paulo.

Federico Cartabia and Robert Ibanez returned from their loan deals, while Andres Guardado was sold to PSV Endhoven after he had a very successful season with them, but was already written out by Valencia CF.

Victor Ruiz is back from loan, but Villarreal are interested in acquiring him, with reports suggesting an offer in the region of 2 million euros being sent to Valencia CF. Valencia CF is looking to sell him, but they want a higher fee for him and are still searching for additional clubs that may want him.

Alvaro Negredo also needs to be purchased per the agreement with Manchester City and expect the official announcement to come soon, no big deal here, everyone knows from last year what the terms of the deal were. So its just a matter of time that this is made public.

Official: Valencia CF sign Rodrigo Caio

Valencia CF have signed Brazilian defensive midfielder Rodrigo Caio for 12 million euros from Sao Paulo. His natural position is defensive midfielder, but he has also been playing as a central defender for a significant amount of time and is really proficient at both positions.

This news comes out of nowhere and Valencia CF have been linked with several players for the central defender and defensive midfield position, but this is really a surprise signing.

Rodrigo Caio is a Sao Paulo youth product and he's played his whole career for them, he hasn't featured much overall though and he was injured for over 5 months, from August 2014 to March 2015, so I don't know on what basis he was judged on.

Who knows with these signings, the reported fee is over 12 million euros, very steep price for a complete unknown and a player who hasn't played that many matches. Do we have any South  American VCF supporters reading this blog to enlighten me on his qualities?

Transfer Market Update: Andre signs, Imbulla soon

Andre Gomes has now signed his contract making him a full-fledged Valencia CF. After a great season where he showed a lot of promise, it was no surprise that Valencia CF capitalized on the purchase option for 15 million euros. The deal sees Gomes stay at the club till 2020 with a release clause of a whopping 150 million euros. Benfica will get 25% of any future sale of the player. We discussed this before on the blog and many of you have been a bit hesitant on giving Gomes such a massive release clause mainly due to the pressure and expectation in would put on him. I'm curious to see what you guys/gals think now that the season is done. Still too much? Or deserved?

In other news, Gian Imbulla seems to be the chosen midfielder for Valencia CF. A lot of reports from reliable and non-reliable sources alike say the 22 year old French midfielder will be here very soon. Some say he's already landed in the city of Valencia. His father has already came out and said his son wants this move to Valencia CF. The monetary amount is rumoured to be around 15-20 million euros and it would be a five year deal. If this move happens, it would mean that Valencia CF would have convinced Imbulla more than Spurs and Atletico Madrid who were also vying for his signature. This would also means that Nuno can scratch off "midfielder" as one of the 4-5 positions he wanted to reinforce this summer. Can we get some thoughts on Imbulla? What do you guys think of him? Is it the profile of player Valencia CF needs?

Nuno asked for 4 to 5 reinforcements

Few days ago the whole Valencia CF top staff had a meeting in which it was discussed upcoming reinforcements for the new season and the future of some of the players who were on load this season.

As expected the number one priority for the team is getting a goalkeeper that is experienced and capable, but that would not be a long term investment. The important thing is the new goalkeeper to be relatively cheap or possibly even a loan deal.

The second priority is a defensive midfielder that is going to compete with Javi Fuego. The coach is satisfied with Javi Fuego, but thinks having a direct competition would improve him and have more options to chose from. This is a field that the club could invest heavily in and spend up to 20 million euros to bring in a quality player.

With Andre Gomes also being injured for another 3 months, this position is seen as crucial for the upcoming season.

Another addition Nuno asked is for a versatile winger who can play at both wings, but is primarily for the right wing as he wasn't completely convinced by Feghouli or De Paul. Since De Paul is also more of a left winger and we already have Pablo Piatti who really impressed last season, that wing is not as crucial.

Important thing here would be if Fede impresses the coach and gets in the squad for the next season or if he is going to be loaned out again and a new right winger bought to compete with Feghouli.

Another reinforcement he would like to see is a new central defender, in addition to the three he already has available. He's made it clear that he would like 4 central defenders in order to be able to compete on 3 fronts next season and be able to get results. In the case that Nicolas Otamendi leaving, then the club would go after 2 central defenders.

Victor Ruiz who was on loan at Villarreal was deemed surplus to requirements at Valencia CF and the club would look to sell him to Villarreal who have shown interest trying to buy him, but are only willing to pay 1.5 million euros seeing as Ruiz contract with Valencia CF expires next year.

Finally the club is looking at another striker, the coach is not impressed with Negredo's performance and he is also not fully convinced by Paco either and he is looking for a new striker that is going to be able to score 20+ goals per season. He would also like the option to play more with 2 strikers and rotate players more between the Champions league and Spanish cup.

Petr Čech on Valencia CF radar

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech is on Valencia CF radar and right now the first option to become the newest reinforcement.

Petr Cech lost his starting eleven position with the arrival of Thibaut Courtois last summer at Chelsea and has been contemplating his exit ever since. Jose Mourinho has said that he would sell the player, because he wanted to leave and with the situation being as it is Cech transfer fee will be very low, which is important for Valencia CF.

The replacement has to be a great goalkeeper, has to come on loan or very cheap and isn't a long term addition, since when Diego Alves comes back the team are not in a situation with 3 goalkeepers vying for a spot. Diego Alves recovery will be very long, so he will miss the next season definitely, but he would then have time to recover for the 2016 season and use the summer to get into fitness.

Reports from England were suggesting that he will only move to another Premier league club, but he was recently interviewed and said that he is looking at all of his options:"I look at all the options, regardless of the country. I will decide based on what for me and my family is the best. It does not matter whether it is England, Germany, France or Spain."

Valencia CF interested in Jackson Martinez

Valencia CF are interested in Porto's striker Jackson Martinez, if you remember he was linked heavily with Valencia CF last summer as well, but ultimately the club decided that his asking price was too much for him at that time and settled for Negredo who came in for 25 million euros.

Jackson Martinez is the club's and league's top goal scorer with 21 goals in the Portuguese league, which has attracted interest from other clubs as well, namely Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.

Jackson Martinez is represented by super agent Jorge Mendes who is very close friends with Valencia's owner Peter Lim and the club has already done several deals with the agent's players. So it only makes sense that Jackson Martinez finds himself as one of the potential reinforcements for Valencia CF.

The search for goalkeeper

With Diego Alves getting injured in that last match of the season and most likely being out for 8 months, Valencia CF are in desperate search for a new goalkeeper to replace Diego Alves.

The club is said to be looking at loan options, so that they can avoid paying a transfer fee and can return the player at the end of the season with Diego Alves coming back, potentially having a buyout clause if it turns out to be a really amazing addition.

With all that said if Valencia CF can't find a proper replacement on loan, they will look to acquire a quality goalkeeper, but it has to be relatively cheap and less than 8 million euros.

One of the mentioned names earlier was Keylor Navas the Real Madrid goalkeeper, but he won't leave Real Madrid, not unless they get De Gea. If they get De Gea he is not going to have any choice basically he is going to be forced out, unless he wants to sit another year on the bench.

So he is an open option, but don't think he wants to come here, not unless he is forced too.

Another option that has been mentioned is Kiko Casilla the RCD Espanyol goalkeeper, he is valued at around 7 million euros and would fit in the transfer fee of Valencia CF, but he is only 3rd or 4th choice since he is not the best and certainly has quite a hefty price tag.

Another player that has been mentioned is former Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes who's been training at Manchester United for the past season, but hasn't really gotten a chance to goalkeep and if they do not sell De Gea he is gong to be looking for a new club to play for.

Reports suggest that he would love to return back to Spain and he wouldn't mind Valencia as a destination. I don't know the contract situation with him and Manchester United, he used to be a free agent, but I think they signed him officially, but who knows what the contract is. The important thing is that he will likely come on the cheap side.

Valencia CF transfer news

I haven't written for a long time, but I'm free from now on and will be writing news and stuff every day, I'll try to post few times a day as well, with wild speculations and everything, since I know there is interest for that and it opens up discussions.

So I had a poll posted two weeks ago "Who is the best player this season?" and with over 300 votes the undisputed winner with 55% of the votes is Nicolas Otamendi, second place Diego Alves with 18% percent of the votes and the other votes scattered around between the rest of the players on the list.

Good news is that Manchester United have backed off of Nicolas Otamendi and this is something I knew would happen, they spend over 200 million last summer and recuperated 50 million in sales back, so 150 millions expenditure and they can't throw that kind of cash around once again, especially since they are going to hit up with FFP rules.

So no matter how much Otamendi possibly wanted to leave if a club doesn't want to dish out 50 million euros they can't have him and he has a long contract with Valencia CF, its not like he can refuse to play or anything and force a way out, he has 4 more years left and is tied up to Valencia CF.

I also don't think he was too keen on leaving, especially since the only good teams with money to spear and wanting a CD were Manchester United, maybe Liverpool, but Liverpool are not better than Valencia CF.

In other news Fede Cartabia is going to return to Valencia CF, he played for the now demoted Cordoba and he had a solid season in my opinion, he was definitely one of their best players and their top assistor and in the top 3 goalscorers. He did have a weaker several closing weekends, but he was injured as well and no once can be 100% for a whole season.

I personally think we can use him, I think he is good enough to compete with Feghouli and instead of buying some expensive right winger that might be say 10% better than Fede, but with less potential, we can use Fede and have him grow in the club.

I know what I'm talking about, said it about Alba, said it about Bernat, said it about Gaya, said it about Paco, about Gomes, etc... I can easily spot a talent and Fede is a major talent. With proper guidance and development and decent playing time in Valencia CF he can become really great player. We really need to keep him, he is a major talent, as big as Paco.

On the transfer speculations we are reported to be close to signing Giannelli Imbula from Olympique de Marseille, according to Spanish media the player has reached a personal agreement with Valencia CF, with only negotiations with his club left to be finished.

He is said to be in the region of about 15 million euros, but recent interest for the player from several clubs like Arsenal, Atletico Madrid, Wolfsburg and others might increase his asking price. The club are willing to pay up to 16 million euros for the player, but don't want to break the bank for him and are unlikely to pursue him if his price keeps on rising.

So What's Happening........ ?

Where are you Senor Van Gaal ?

The latest saga with Otamendi seems to be at a bit of a stalemate.
The problem for the player is that he seems to have not put in an official request for a transfer as is required. He knows that if he does then he will miss out on a massive payout as part of his transfer fee.
The club have made two stipulations.  1.  He makes this formal request for a transfer.  2.  Whoever wants him has to pay the buy-out clause of 50 mill. euros.  Manchester United seem, at this point unwilling to pay the full amount.  They also have made it clear they want to get their new signings early to prevent the situation that David Moyes was in when he left it all too late to bring in new players.  Otamendi is in a difficult situation because if he asks, formally for a transfer and Man Utd refuse to pay what is demanded, he could be left on the shelf somewhat and the has to return to Valencia with all the supporters knowing he asked to be released. Where would that leave him after being in all of our hearts this last season. If Man Utd decide to give up on him and sign Hummels who, it is rumoured may be willing to go, it may be that we will keep him.  Unless of course our club see that a big fee for him would assist us in purchasing other players that we need and we might just drop his fee a little to tempt them, after all, do we want a player here who's heart is not in the club.


Hector Moreno  A possible replacement for Otamendi has been mentioned as the  Mexican international,  Hector Moreno who plays at Espanol.  I am not sure that he is anywhere near the same class as Otamendi and I think we could do a lot better than that if the worst happens and he does go.




KEEPERS.

Jaume Domenech  Perhaps a bit surprising, the news coming out is that Jaume  from Mestalla B is to be loaned out.  I would have thought that he would be sitting on the bench this season but he obviously hasn't impressed as much as I thought he would.  Does that mean that Yoel will be kept on as backup to our new keeper. I think we could do worse.

Keylor Navas.  I think he would be my favourite to come in if a deal could be made with whoever takes over Real Madrid.  Rafael Benitez looks to be the number one choice at the moment so I guess we will have to wait and see if he is prepared to release him or if he sees him as number one for Real Madrid. and with the recovery time now of Alves estimated at 6 to 8 months. we have to make a big signing.









Kiko Casilla  has also been mentioned from Espanol.  At 20 million it is a bit of a hefty price to pay and it may seem too much to pay. The problem is Real Madrid are entitled to half what Espanol get for him and therefore it seems unlikely they will part with him,





Other rumours of players who may be on the radar are  Jackson Martinez, Chicarito, and Falcao.  But aren't these players always in the news as possible Valencia signings. I think very unlikely we will see them play at the Mestalla.

Cancelo signs

Joao Cancelo officially to become a Valencia player.  It was announced today that he will definitely be signed by Valencia. It is not sure whether Valencia will pay the 15 million euro buy-out clause or whether there will be a reduction.  However I believe he is a good buy and even if we do have to pay the maximum, in a year or two we may look back and say we got him for a good price.  I just don't understand why he hasn't played more or was that in the hope that we got him cheaper.  I look forward to seeing him taking the place of Barragan soon.



The club has also announced today that a new top quality goalkeeper is to be purchased to replace Alves, which is not really a surprise but now we know for sure.  But where does that leave Yoel and Jaume.  Will they both stay on in the same situation or does Jaume get promoted to reserve keeper.

Also announced is the fact that Felipe Augusto will not be retained by the club for the following season and presumably will return to Rio Ave in Portugal from where he has been on loan to us for the season. I wish him luck as he didn't seem to have much in the few part games he played for us,     I am sure if he was going to make the grade they would have seen it in training.

Who was Valencia's best player this season?

Now that the season is over lets take a look back and discuss who the best player is for this season.

I've set up a poll with couple dozen of choices and of course an 'other' option where you can write someone else who isn't on the poll.

Also post in the comments who you think is the best player and explain why.

Who was Valencia CF best player for the 2014/15 season?

Diego Alves

Skhodran Mustafi

Nicolas Otamendi

Jose Luis Gaya

Daniel Parejo

Andre Gomes

Sofiane Feghouli

Pablo Piatti

Paco Alcacer

Other

Please Specify:

Diego Alves out for 6 months

With the joy of the making the playoffs for the Champions League, we also have a bit of bad news as Diego Alves' injury was a serious one. Reports say he will be out for as long as 6 months. This means that he will miss most if not all of the first half of next season. This is a big loss since he's been one of our top performers this season and we said time and time again that he's saved the team countless times. He also has some of the top statistics in La Liga and broke some records this year for penalty saves and number of minutes without conceding. Of course, this injury means that his well-deserved call-up to the Brazil National Team to particpate in this year's Copa America can't be fulfilled.

What this means now is that one of our transfer targets for next season will most definetly be a goalkeeper and a good one at that. Yoel hasn't really proven himself and Jaume, although promising, is too inexperienced to be given a a chance. Even if Yoel steps up and suddenly proves to be a top goalkeeper, we still need a third goalkeeper to have a complete squad.

We wish Alves the best of luck in his road to recovery. We also wish Andre Gomes luck on his 3 month recovery period for his injury.

Animo Alves! Animo Gomes! Amunt Valencia!

Champions league here we come!

I don't even know how I have a hearth anymore, that was just torture of a match. I was like siting in one position and couldn't even move in the last 10 minutes of the match and then the referee decides to add 5 minutes added time like its nothing and if that isn't enough to sabotage Valencia CF and appease his corrupt masters he is getting paid by he gave Parejo a dubious red card which clearly there was no intention to catch the ball.

Oh and not to forget, but Alves got injured and had to be replaced and so at 2-2 we are substituting a goalkeeper, instead of having an option for another player. So talk about terrible luck, this was it.

Thankfully all of that is over and Valencia CF have qualified for the champions league. The team will have to qualify for the group stages, so a bit of work to do there, but the team does have the quality to go through that and I'd say with one or two more crucial reinforcements in the summer we should be competitive in the group stages as well.

Andre Gomes is injured for 3 to 4 months, but good news is that he is going to have all of the summer to recuperate and can start playing fairly soon when the next season starts.

Almeria vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Tonight is going to be the last match of the season and Valencia CF needs to beat UD Almeria to secure a champions league spot. The team has added pressure this time around as they failed to secure the 4th spot last week, which not only would have guaranteed the 4th spot, but it would have made it possible to achieve 3rd place as well.

Now now though its possible to get 3rd place if Atletico Madrid loses and Valencia CF wins, then due to having same points, but better head to head Valencia CF would take over the 3rd spot from Atletico Madrid.

The bigger issue here is that 4th place is not secured. Valencia CF could get 4th place even with a draw, but Sevilla would have to draw as well. In fact if Sevilla loses then Valencia CF can lose too and still maintain 4th place. So suffice to say the future, the destiny is in Valencia's hands.

The team is playing away from home, something that has been problematic for the team as winning away from home has been very difficult. Good thing is that Sevilla is also playing away from home and they are facing Malaga who are a very strong team.

I had hoped that Sevilla would fizzle out as the season gets into the latter stages, since they are playing in the Europe league as well, so I thought more tired legs and more focus there would hurt them, but it turned out that their squad has depth and rose to the occasion. Hopefully Valencia CF would rise to the occasion tonight as well and win this match as the team has only had the league to focus on and has had full 6 days of training every week for over 4 months now.

All but the injured Gomes are available for selection and Nuno has even included the midfielder Tropi from the B team.

Since the premise is on a win tonight and Gomes is injured, Nuno might start with two attackers this time around and hope to score some early goals.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Diego; Barragan, Mustafi, Otamendi, Gaya; Fuego, Enzo, Parejo; Paco, Negredo, Piatti.
Tactics: High defensive line, own half pressure, mixed passing, counter attacks.

Valencia CF 1-1 Celta Vigo La Liga 17th May 2015

This was supposed to be the last meaningful game of the season but it now means we will have to wait another week to know our fate for next season.
It all started so well with Valencia on the attack and looking good in possession taking the game to Celta.
But as we all know football can be a cruel game and in the 7th  minute Celta won a corner.  Nolito puts in a dangerous cross for Pablo Hernandez to out jump and out wit the home defence to power a header past Alves in off a post. This was a major blow to Valencia and suddenly Champions League football seemed a little bit further away.  The goal boosted Celta and understandably rattled the Valencia players.  We seemed to ease off the pressure with the concern that if they got another goal it would be a mountain to climb to get the 3 goals we would have required for a win.  It really was nail biting stuff  and the atmosphere in the stadium was electric.  With Celta having nothing to play for other than their pride and win bonus they seemed far more relaxed than us.
There were chances at both ends with Feghouli, Fuego and Gomes having chances to put us back on the level but they were unable to finish. Otamendi was unlucky when his header crashed against the crossbar from a freekick. It wasn't all one way either as Celta could have made it even harder for us on a number of occasions.  Gomes had to retire before the break with a thigh muscle injury to be replaced by Enzo Perez and the teams went in at the break with the solitary goal separating them.
The news was filtering through that Sevilla were also losing at home, to Almeria but it was scant consolation really as we needed the win. De Paul replaced Piatti on 58 minutes and not before time and then Mustafi went off for Negredo for us to revert to 3 at the back. This gave an immediate boost to the team and it was not long before we were back in the game.  A free kick a long way out by Parejo was fumbled by the keeper and that man Otamendi was there to stab it home. Game on.
So all we need to do now is get another goal and Champions League is secured. Unfortunately this is the real world and news from Seville of them getting 2 goals back and our inability to finish chances mean the we have to sweat it out now for 6 more days for our trip to Almeria.

Conclusion.   Their early goal really unnerved us tonight but we played well to try to fight back for the equaliser.  I still believe we will win next week to secure our place in the Champions League. It should be an amazing tense game with Almeria needing to win to remain in the La Liga but we should prove too strong for them. Football is about tension and drama and Valencia are certainly giving us our fair share this season.  It has been a great season for us and with all the new young players still gaining experience and the new manager we have done amazing.  Lets just hope we can finish off on a high with a good win.

Player Ratings

Alves 6.5   Not much to do and unlucky with the goal coming off the post but made some good saves when called upon.
Barragan 6.0  Too many mistakes but saved the day on one occasion getting back to prevent a good scoring opportunity.
Mustafi 6.5 Did his usual job without fuss but was replaced to make way for Negredo to add more punch up front.
Otamendi 8.0  M.O.M   Another outstanding performance, scoring one goal and could have had 2 more with a bit more luck. The real star of the show today.
Gaya 7.0  Got forward well and got some good crosses in but nobody in the right places to finish them off.
Fuego  6.5  Has a chance in the first half and apart from that played his usual average game.
Parejo  6.5.  Frustrating player sometimes.  At times he looks world class and other times gives away too many silly balls and gets caught in possession too much. Is he our main man next season or is he replaced. When he plays well we play well but when not, neither do we.
Gomes  6.0  Very skillful player but still lacks the killer final ball and the finishing instincts that we need
Piatti  5.5   We didn't see too much of him and it was no surprise when he was withdrawn for De Paul. The only surprise was it took so long. Definitely not one of his better games.
Feghouli 6.0  Flashes of brilliance but missed good chances and put over some poor crosses at times.
Alcacer 6.0   A player who needs the early ball put in to him but is not making his own chances at all. Also wins nothing much in the air from our goal kicks and when Gomes and Negredo are not there the ball just keeps coming back.

Subs

De Paul  7.0   Really livened things up when he came on and always links well with Negredo. Surely he and Negredo have to start against Almeria. Come on Nuno be brave.
 Perez  7.0    Also looked more lively when he came on and put some bite into the play but just needs to curb his aggression a little bit as he always looks like he is going to foul.
Negredo 7.0   Has to start next week.  He gets too much criticism  for his mistakes and misses but I would rather he play for us than against us.

  Valencia:  Alves, Barragán, Mustafi (Negredo, m.69), Otamendi, Gayà, Javi Fuego, Parejo, André Gomes (Enzo Pérez, m.34), Feghouli, Piatti (De Paul, m.58) y Paco Alcácer.

Celta Vigo: Sergio, Hugo Mallo, Cabral, Fontás, Jonny, Álex López (Sergi Gómez, m.80), Krohn-Dehli, Orellana, Hernández (Borja Fernández, m.60), Nolito y Larrivey (Charles, m.86).

Goals  Pablo Hernadez 7 mins                                                                                                                               Otamendi         71 mins 

IF YOU READ IT PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VIEWS.  IT MAKES IT MORE INTERESTING.

Real Madrid 2-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Wow what a match. This was an extremely exciting and nerve racking match at the same time, with both teams coming close to winning, but ultimately ending in a 2-2 draw.

Valencia CF had the first big chance of the match, Paco Alcacer was released by a through pass alone on goal, but unfortunately he missed the shot and headed the ball wide off goal, this could have easily been 1-0 for Valencia CF had he had a little bit more composure and perhaps a bit more experience.

After some battle in the midfield Valencia CF would go on to score the first goal of the game, with Gaya running down the left flank, going past his marker and heading a cross towards the oncoming Paco who jumped to the ball and headed it past Cassilas and into the net. Valencia CF had taken the lead in what was a solid performance all the way building up to the goal.

Real Madrid would try to stage a comeback, but an injury to Toni Kroos would have him leave the field, with Valencia CF winning a free kick on the left side. Parejo took the free kick and crossed deep into the penalty area with Javi Fuego finding himself at the right place and heading the ball into the net, making the score 2-0 for Valencia CF.

After the two goals Real Madrid tried to come into the game, managing to hit the post and bar once and getting a few saves off of Diego Alves. Just before the final whistle though, Gaya brought down Bale into the penalty area and the referee immidiately called to the spot, giving Real Madrid an easy way in to get them going.

Ronaldo took to take the penalty, but he stutter stepped before taking the shot and heading his shot in the direction Diego Alves jumped, Diego punched the ball away, but the rebound felt to Ronaldo again, but once again he missed the shot.

The second half was really bad for Valencia CF, Carlo Anceloti made two changes with replacement of the two full backs, opting for more offensive power and it worked. Valencia CF were shut down on the flank, mostly due to Real Madrid constant attacks and Gaya and Barragan having to sit most of the time deep in defense.

Real Madrid would have several big chances, but fortunately Diego Alves had one of his best matches in a Valencia CF shirt and was able to save Valencia CF several times with astounding goalkeeping.

Unfortunately the good luck and amazing skill of Diego Alves wouldn't be enough and after a barrage of constant attacks by the Madrid side they scored a goal in the 56th minute, with Pepe outjumping the Valencia CF defense and heading the ball into the net, giving Real Madrid a lifeline.

I think Nuno needed to make a change about this time, I think Piatti was quite ineffective, Feghouli wasn't doing much better either, remove one of those and bring in Enzo Perez, establish more control in the midfield as Real Madrid were dominating possession and were able to use and abuse their possession dominance to create constant chances.

Unfortunately he waited until the 70th minute to bring in Negredo for Paco, which made sense, but didn't change the dynamic of the match. Before that though, Paco had one more chance to score, again on a cross from Gaya, Parejo and Gaya both had a shot on goal as well and Mustafi did come close as well from corners to scoring.

Real Madrid would score again unfortunately in the 84th minute as Isco was dribbling around the 25th meter mark, he escaped Barragan for a second there and decided to shoot, releasing a powerful shot that went into the top corner of the net, with Diego Alves having no chance of reaching it.

Until the end Negredo actually had two wonderful chances to score, both times alone against the keeper, one was a failed shot and the other a failed header, he really seems terrible, lacks confidence, lacks practice, he should have scored twice, possibly even scoring a hat-trick.

He had one more good chance, but he decided to pass to De Paul, who was in a good position as well, but his shot was terrible and basically just passed the ball to Casillas who had no problems scooping it in easily.

Exciting match, both teams could have won it, for Valencia CF Diego Alves was man of the match and the reason why Real Madrid didn't win, but Negredo, Paco and De Paul will be kicking themselves for their huge missed opportunities.

Technical Details:
Real Madrid: Casillas; Arbeloa (Carvajal, m.46), Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Coentrao (Marcelon, m.46); Kroos (Illarramendi, m.26), Isco, James; Cristiano Ronaldo, Bale y 'Chicharito'.

Valencia: Diego Alves, Barragán, Mustafi, Otamendi, Gayà, Javi Fuego, Parejo, André Gomes (De Paul, m.77), Feghouli, Piatti (Orbán, m.89) y Alcácer (Negredo, m.69).

Goals:
Paco Alcacer 1-0, 20 min. Assist Jose Luis Gaya
Javi Fuego 2-0, 26 min. Assist Daniel Parejo
Pepe 2-1, 56 min. Assist James Rodriguez
Isco 2-2, 84 min.

Player Ratings:
Diego Alves 10 - One of the best games in a Valencia CF shirt, made couple dozen astounding saves. Goalkeeping of the year.
Barragan 6 - Was okay in defense, its expected to lose some battles, but he gave the ball away one too many times and his forward contribution was severely lacking.
Mustafi 7 - Solid defending, good headed clearances, was a threat going forward on set pieces and one of the better players tonight for Valencia.
Otamendi 6 - Some good defending, some not so good. Went down way too easily in few challenges, leaving the Valencia defense vulnerable,  was not that strong in the air as he was beaten by Pepe and Ramos several times.
Gaya 7 - Average defending, had way easier time in the first half against Arbeloam found it way more challenging in the second half. Provided an assist though and was dangerous going forward.
Fuego 6 - Did well enough defensively, organized the midfield pretty good and tracked back fine, but was lacking when going forward, missing several passes under pressure.
Parejo 6.5 - Overrun in midfield, had some decent passed in midfield and involved in one or two chance, but overall didn't contribute too much in midfield and mostly relegated to defending. Did provide the assist to the second goal though.
Gomes 5.5 - Ran a lot and covered defensively, had some counter attacking moves initiated, but his final ball was lacking.
Feghouli 6 - Non threatening in attack, slow on the ball and his major contribution is his defensive cover. He needed to do more though and provide some threat going forward.
Piatti 5.5 - Again mostly defensive play, the few times he did get forward his final ball was lacking and he wasn't his usual speedy, fighting self.
Paco 6 - Scored the first goal, was generally in decent positions, had several opportunities, unfortunately he missed two great chances to score.
Subs:
Negredo 3 - Wat a miserable performance. He could have had a hat-trick if he wasn't afraid to shoot, but he seems to lack confidence and doesn't seem sharp at all in front of goal. On this performance he is worth more like 2.5 million, rather than 25 million.
De Paul N/A - Didn't have enough time to influence the match, though he did have an amazing miss to give Valencia the victory.
Lucas Orban N/A - Not enough time.

Real Madrid vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Real Madrid vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu

Date: 09.05.2015, 20:00 CET

36th matchday, La Liga

Coaches: Carlo Ancelotti and Nuno Santo

Valencia CF will be facing Real Madrid tonight at the Santiago Bernabeu in what is a crucial match for both clubs, with only several more matches to go before the end of the season. Valencia CF is currently 4th place on the table, 4 points behind Atletico Madrid and 3 points ahead of Sevilla. Right now the club is in a good position, but losing to Real Madrid could threaten all of that, with the club's hopes for 3rd place tarnished and possibly dropping to same points as Sevilla, meaning even Champions League football is in question.

Tonight Valencia CF has to overcome all odds and win against Real Madrid at their stadium and end once again their win streak, this time a smaller win streak, but a streak nonetheless.  Good thing is that Real Madrid just lost to Juventus in the Champions League so Nuno Santo has the blueprint of how to beat Real Madrid, he's already done it before and could do it again.

Valencia CF is weakened by the vacancy of Rodrigo Moreno, he has recieved a 3 match suspension for an altercation with another player in the previous game and thus won't feature against Real Madrid. Other than him the squad is at full force, with all the key players available for selection, with Nuno Santo having to make an important decision to play Pablo Piatti who's not in the best form after his second long term injury this season or the in form De Paul who is in good form, but hasn't been consistent.

Another interesting decision will be if he starts with 2 attackers this match, with Paco and Negredo both playing from start, that could be another possibility or will he put in an extra midfielder and possibly try to control the game and don't give Real Madrid any space to operate.

Valencia CF Squad:
Goalkeepers: Alves, Yoel
Defenders: Cancelo, Barragan, Vezo, Otamendi, Mustafi, Gaya, Orban
Midfielders: Parejo, Enzo, Felipe, Fuego, Gomes, Feghouli, Piatti, De Paul
Forwards: Negredo, Paco

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-3-3
Line-up: Diego; Barragan, Mustafi, Otamendi, Gaya; Fuego, Gomes, Parejo; Enzo, Paco, Piatti.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own third pressure, mixed passing, counter attacks.

Gaya Signs....Rodrigo Out For the Season

Jose GAYA today officially signed a 5 year deal with Valencia the week before his 20th birthday keeping him at the club until 2020.
After much doubt and worry for the fans the player put pen to paper to complete the deal.
Good news for the players and fans and let's hope he does not get bothered by other teams now with a buyout clause of between 40 and 50 million euros. Let's hope all players are signed soon the we will not have all the close season speculation on who is going or not.




Not such good news for Rodrigo Moreno who's appeal against his 3 match ban for kicking out at the goalkeeper last week was turned down.  Seems a rather harsh ban to say the least after other players have been treated far less harshly for what seems much worse.

This ban means that his season is over as he will not be able to participate in any more matches now until next season. Therefore he misses the games with Real Madrid, Celta Vigo and Almeria. Not all bad news though as we have all other players fit and it will give Rodrigo De Paul a chance to show what he can do.                                                                    

Valencia CF 3-1 SD Eibar La Liga 3rd May 2015

Possibly not as exciting as last weeks game against Rayo Vallecano but at this stage of the season it's the points that come before the entertainment most would agree.
Valencia started like they meant business raiding the Eibar goal but the visitors were getting men behind the ball in numbers and making it difficult for us to break through.  Patience is what Nuno had asked from the players and it also applied to the fans. With Rodrigo De Paul getting a start at last and his namesake sitting this one out, it was time for him to show what he could do. It wasn't long before a rasping long range shot skimmed the Eibar bar to show that he was up to take his opportunity. Soon after Feghouli dispossessed a defender to set up Paco Alcacer but his shot was just wide of the far post. On 25 minutes a corner led to the ball falling to Gaya on the left after a nice touch from Alcacer. His pinpoint cross was met by Otamendi, who had stayed up to power a header past the hapless Irutera in the away goal.  Half time came round with the crowd becoming restless with the single goal against very poor opponents.
The second goal though was soon coming and in the 56th minute  Feghouli found Parejo who's deflected shot gave the keeper no chance to make the score 2.0 after De Paul had rattled the cross bar. Gaya then seemed to pick up a problem and had to limp off to be replaced by Orban.  Another goal was inevitable Paco  had a goal disallowed for offside before finally sealing it with a goal after a great freekick from Parejo from outside the area, hits a post and he was able to tap it home to make it a more respectable 3-0.
Unfortunately as is often the case in football there was to be a final twist. Andre Gomes plays a lazy ball to Mustafi which he had no real chance of reaching. However it was seized upon by the Eibar player and with three players running to close him down he slides it in the middle to Arruabarrena to easily beat Alves to make it 3-1.  It has to be said that it could easily have been avoided. Firstly an obvious poor ball from Gomes. Then Otamendi,  who I do not like to criticize,  does what he sometimes does and charges to the ball without looking around him.  I would suggest, had he had stood back he could easily have cut out the cross, or maybe he was expecting Orban to have got back but unfortunately he was still on the halfway line.   The only threat Eibar gave was in crosses and corners which caused a worrying amount of problems for our defenders. A thing that will need to be worked on for next weeks visit to Real Madrid.

Conclusion    

Not the most entertaining game of the season and at times really frustrating but 3 points is what matters at this stage of the season.  Too many balls given away by the midfield but with such poor opponents we got away with it. Also the danger from crosses. Two wins from the final 3 games will seal it therefore it is in our own hands now.  We should not be finding fault when we win 3.1 but I guess we are all expecting a lot now as the team has shown what we are capable of.


Player ratings

Alves 6.5  Looked a bit shaky on a couple of crosses but we got away with it and he had no real chance with the goal
Barragan  6.5  Did Ok had a steady game.
Otamendi  7.5  Maybe could have been more aware on the away goal but another solid performance as expected and a great goal
Mustafi  7.0  Usual solid performance and was not really responsible for the goal against but sometimes loses a bit of concentration
 Gaya 6.5  Had a good game again but had to go off. Maybe he is not quite back to his best yet after his layoff
Gomes 6.5  Terrible mistake at the end and gave the ball away a couple of times but had some good touches and showed his class
Fuego  6.5  Did a good job but was not called upon too much
Parejo  7.5  Had a really good game and always involved in the positive things up front but gave the ball away a few times when a pass was on.
De Paul  7.5  Surely he has now convinced Nuno that he should be starting games every week. Just needs to get over his shots a bit and will be getting some important goals.
Alcacer 7.0  Took his goal well in a position where he seems to sniff out which is the mark of a good goalscorer
Feghouli 7.0   A good game this week but needs to find the consistency to do it regularly. Put some good dangerous balls over to make the chances.

Substitutes
Orban 6.0  Covered well in the absence of Gaya but possibly should have been able to have got back to prevent the goal.
Piatti   6.0  Didn't really show much while he was on.
Negredo N/A  One chance but not enough time

Goals
Otamendi 25 mins
Parejo 56 mins
Alcacer 71 mins
Arruabarrena 85 mins



. Valencia: Alves, Barragan, Otamendi, Mustafi, Gayà (Orbán, M.60)Fuego (Negredo, m.78), André Gomes, Parejo; Feghouli, De Paul (Piatti, m.67)  Alcácer. 

. Eibar: Irureta, Vault, Borja, Añibarro, Didac; Boateng, Dani Garcia (Errasti, m.78), Cape, Manu (Angel, m.68), Saul Berjón and Piovaccari (Arruabarrena, m.46).