La Liga Matchday #4: FC Barcelona 5 - 2 Valencia CF Match Thread

Fourth game of the season and a crucial time for the team. New coach, Albert Celades has a mission today, a mission he's only had 2 days to prepare for. It's hardly enough time for FC Barcelona. We're helped in the fact they are struggling as well, accumulating a similar number of points to us. They are also without Umtiti and Messi for this game, and Suarez is on the bench, surely a big help as well.

LINEUP

No indication of formation so far but assuming it is still 4-4-2 since the team didn't have much time to prepare anything else. The lineup is very similar to what would be under Marcelino. In the contested positions, we have Coquelin starting over Kondogbia, and both Ferran and Guedes given the nod over KangIn and Cheryshev. 

Jaume Costa is back in the squad list after returning from injury. Maxi Gomez is on the bench and Manu Vallejo out of the squad completely. KangIn, Cheryshev, and Kondogbia will be the subs for midfield, while for defense we have Jaume Costa and Diakhaby on the bench.

While the lineup is not that different, the tactics could still be but I wonder how much Celades has deviated the plan from what Marcelino had laid out. We'll wait and see.

MATCH

Game about to start and it is 4-4-2 as expected.

2' - It's already 1-0 for Barcelino. Ansu Fati scores after Frankie de Jong picks him out in the box. Very poor start.
3' - Guedes plays a great lob for Gameiro but it just ahead of the striker, who was clear on goal.
6' - Well, it's 2-0 now. Alba picks out Fati with a through-ball on the left, who then pulls it back for de Jong who hits the roof of the net, past Cillessen.
9' - Good counter from Valencia after dispossessing Barcelona. Coquelin drives the ball forward, picks out Gameiro, who wins a corner on the right. Corner punched away by Ter Stegen.
16' - Fati runs along the edge of the area past Garay and Coquelin, and fires but his shot is deflected for a corner which is cleared instantly.
17' - Busquets picks out Perez with a through ball but it wasn't taken well, he would've been through 1v1 against Cillissen.
18' - Good counterattack from Valencia after Parejo dispossessed Barcelona in midfield. Ferran picks out Gameiro, who then finds Rodrigo, returns it to Ferran but blocked by Barcelona.
19' - Ball played ahead of Gameiro, who runs on to the ball, drives it forward towards Ter Stegen but cannot hit the target.
22' - Barcelona content with passing the ball around, depriving us completely of possession and having Valencia chase the ball everywhere.
25' - Valencia completely overwhelmed and can only blast the ball away when given a chance.
27' - It's 2-1! Valencia manage to pull one back from one of our only chances in the game. Smooth, smart build up between Rodrigo and Parejo. Parejo picks out Rodrigo plays a great through-ball to find Gameiro's run who then calmly slots it past Ter Stegen. VAR reviewing the goal currently for offside...
28' - VAR gives the goal!
30' - De Jong draws a challenge from Rodrigo from behind. Yellow card for Rodrigo.
32' - Barcelona fans claim a handball, then a foul in the penalty area within a 2 minute span. Referee and VAR give nothing.
33' - Fati gives Wass more trouble, as he cuts inside and fires again from distance, wide again.
36' - Possession: Barcelona (75%) - Valencia (25%)
38' - Great run by Ferran to keep the ball in play in the Barcelona half. He picks out Gameiro whose shot is saved, the rebound falls to falls back to Gameiro who tried a bicycle kick. Rodrigo tries to get the rebound but play called back for a Valencia foul.
39' - When given space Gameiro, Ferran and Guedes are causing increasing trouble for Barcelona. Guedes wins a corner. Taken by Parejo but cleared for another. This one punched away by Ter Stegen.
42' - Guedes wins another corner. Parejo finds Rodrigo who heads it back towards the center but Ter Stegen catches it.
45'+2 - First half is done, started quite miserably and could've gotten worse. Becaome more of an even match towards the last 20 minutes.

SECOND HALF

46' - Quick start from Valencia. Ferran drives the ball forward finds Wass's overlapping run but Wass cannot find a good cross. First one was blocked, second one was too high for Rodrigo to control.
51' - Barcelona get another goal. Griezmann gets  a shot through even surrounded by so many players (Parejo, Paulista, Coquelin). Cillissen saves but the ball bounces back to Pique who just taps the ball lightly into the net from close range.
53' - Alba pulls Rodrigo down to stop a Valencia attack. Yellow card from the ref.
54' - Semedo drives the ball forward and tries a shot from the edge of the area but hits the post. Another dangerous chance.
59 ' - Luis Suarez comes on for Ansu Fati.
60' - Suarez takes on touch and shoots from the edge of the box, hits the posts and deflects in behind Cillissen. 4-1 and 30 minutes left to play.
63' - De Jong picks out Griezmann who gets a 1 v 1 but saved by Cillissen. Rebound saved by the goalkeeper for another rebound, again saved by Cillissen.
65' - Suarez with another shot from distance, saved by Cillissen. Valencia being pressured a lot.
67' - Celades bringing on Cheryshev and KangIn for Guedes and Ferran respectively.
69' - KangIn gets a yellow card for a late foul.
70' - Rakitic comes on for de Jong.
72' - Maxi Gomez is the last sub, coming on for Rodrigo. Vidal comes on for Artur.
74' - Another shot from distance, from Busquets this time, misses.
78' - Another yellow for Valencia goes to Maxi Gomez for a challenge on Lengelet
82' - Another goal for Suarez and Barcelona lead 5-1. Wass had just cleared an effort off the line but the ball finds it way to Suarez who kicks it from the edge of the box and in.
83' - Yellow for Cheryshev after a challenge on Semedo
92' - Goal for Valencia, 5-2! Cheryshev squares the ball into the box and Maxi Gomez reacts fastest to get his first goal.


FINAL THOUGHTS

Embarrassing, frustrating and demotivating but hardly unexpected. Barcelona and Chelsea are two tough games and it's a shame that the new coach has to start with those two games. Play has been sloppy for most of the game and the opposition had quite a comfortable game with many spaces and where they were rewarded even by difficult shots. Without Messi, Suarez and Rakitic for a lot of the game, and Dembele, would give the team hope initially to have a chance. But it didn't matter, Barcelona was too much even with their youth academy players starting.

Some people on Twitter wanted heavy losses to send a message to Lim. I wonder how he will take this result. It was quite painful to do this report live. I wanted to stop writing 10 minutes in.

Anyway, moving on. Next game is Champions League on Tuesday against Chelsea, away from home. Chelsea have also had inconsistent performances but won this weekend 5-2 away against Wolves.  It's definitely winnable if we play like we did before. After Chelsea, we get several simpler games where we can hopefully build momentum. Hopefully we get a positive result. 

Coach change

News are now emerging that Albert Celades will be replacing Marcelino as coach. A very big shock given that we are playing Barcelona and Chelsea in the next few days.

I have a few worries:
1. Morale of team and dressing room. This development is likely to leave many players shocked, especially Marcelino loyalists like Parejo. Given the proximity to the Barcelona game, I am worried that the team might crumble.

2. Pedigree of the new coach. If true, Celades comes in without prior experience as a first team coach. With La Liga and UCL matches coming in fast and furious. I am not sure how he will be able to prepare for the challenge of managing a big club like VCF.

3. Fans. I am sure all fans like me are likely to be rocked by this news. At a time when we have qualified for two consecutive UCL and also won the Copa del Rey, this seems like such a big dent in our team´s trajectory.

However, this is part and parcel of football and I hope I am proven wrong. This development has been brewing for quite awhile. After clashing with the owner, there was no way this could have ended as a fairytale. Sporting wise, his lack of a Plan B and refusal to use our hungry academy players, have left us vulnerable in this season. This probably made it easy for the owner to remove him. After supporting him with players like Guedes and Maxi, the failure to get the best out of them further reduced the confidence in him. Better to address this problem now than let it fester.

I hope this change brings about a few things:
1. Back to basics. Focus on our young players and maximise the potential from our Academy. That has been a steady source of players like Gaya and Soler in recent years. Academy graduates are also naturally more dedicated to the club and fight harder than prima donnas from elsewhere. I think we have one of the youngest squads in La Liga. Maybe Celades´experience in the Spanish youth teams can help to develop our Academy players.

2. Tactical nous. We have players who can play in a variety of tactics. We need someone who can get the best out of our current squad. We have a very strong team as well as squad depth. Hopefully Celades can be a breath of fresh air.

3. X-factor players. Maxi, Guedes and Rodrigo are clearly our most lethal attackers. The coach needs to be able to get them to deliver. It is sad that Guedes and Rodrigo are chipping in goals with their national teams but struggling to play decently for Valencia. Hopefully this is resolved sooner than later.

All the best to the lads for the next few games. Win or lose, we have to continue cheering on our team. Amunt!

Close of the transfer window near

The close of the transfer window is imminent. Barring any late surprises, it's a transfer window that went past without any major departures to annoy the fans. Neto left after an apparent fall-out with Marcelino, but was replaced by Cillessen, who most of us regard as an upgrade. Santi Mina left and was replaced by Maxi Gomez, who the jury is still out on, as it's too early to say. Valencia also picked up several young players: Jorge Saenz, Salva Ruiz, Manu Vallejo and Jason, as well as making Cheryshev's loan permanent and bringing in Costa and Mangala on loan. Other departures were limited to unwanted players: Abdennour, Vezo and Murillo.

There are 3 last day movements.

Thierry Correia joins from Sporting Lisbon, covering Piccini's 5-month injury lay-off. As recently as yesterday, there had been talk that no one would join to cover, which seemed a high risk, with no natural right back there. The question mark will be about the price, with Valencia paying 12 million (with another 3m in variables possible) and giving him a 100 million release clause.

The club had tried to sign Hysaj, a more established player, but Napoli played hardball and ultimately, Valencia was unwilling to go to 20 million or beyond. Correia has done well with Portugal youth teams, but has very few club starts. Labelled as the "new Cancelo" time will tell whether he lives up to his promise or proves to be an ill-advised panic buy. Valencia has, of course, been weak at right back for some time and none of the recent holders (Barragan, Montoya, Vezo, Nacho Vidal, Cancelo or Piccini) did that well there. 12 million represents a significant gamble and it remains to be seen whether he can step up to the challenge of La Liga and UEFA CL.

Next are two departures, both slightly surprising. Jason joins Getafe on a season's loan. With Valencia weakened on the right by the injuries to Piccini and Soler, I would have expected him to stay.

Even more surprisingly and a bit ruthlessly, Salva Ruiz' return to Valencia proved short-lived. Just 9 weeks and a day after he returned, the club cancelled his contract and he joins Deportivo Corunya, with Valencia having a percentage of any future sale.

Those departures mean that three of the four young players who joined us in the summer have left, with only Manu Vallejo remaining. It all seems badly planned and a bit of a scattergun approach.

***Update*** Having failed to find a club for him during the transfer window, Valencia cancelled Alvaro Medran's contract. It would have expired next summer anyway so either way the club wasn't going to get any transfer fee for him.

Overall, no major departures, and a net spend of 56 million euros, though 35 of that comes from Cillesen's buy, with the Neto money going into last season's account. Despite that, I think most of our fans will be fairly frustrated by this window. We were strongly linked with Rafinha and Denis Suarez, both of whom have joined Celta. Other names like Mariano Diaz, Hysaj, Angel Correa and Otamendi caused interest, but ultimately came to nothing, though many will be relieved that Mendes players like Andre Silva or Radamel Falcao didn't join.

Rodrigo, as always, will remain a divisive figure. Many of our support were happy that he was leaving, and 60 million seemed a good price. Yet, even though the deal seemed to be done it didn't happen. There was always the question of who would replace him and worry about the effect on the team if he left so late in the transfer window, after the season start.

The biggest issue is that all of our rivals, both the big three and the fourth placed contenders, have strengthened, and therefore, by staying still, Valencia slips behind in relative terms. The mini-civil war that the club had in the summer seems to have had its effects and they're not good for Valencia. We can only hope that players like Correia, Maxi Gomez and Manu Vallejo do fulfil their promise.

La Liga Matchday #3: Valencia CF 2 - 0 RCD Mallorca Match Thread

Third game of the season. Not the best start so far, one draw and one loss. We've failed to show our true potential in both games. We really need a win for confidence. It is a winnable game against a recently promoted team, especially at Mestalla.

LINEUP

Mostly the same lineup, with a few changes. Rodrigo returns to start after Maxi Gomez was given a chance last game. Ferran finally gets the start we've been asking for, given his potential. Marcelino opts for Coquelin, who was suspended last game, instead of Kondogbia.

After last week's knock against Celta, Diakhaby is given a start instead of Paulista. Finally, Wass get to play in right-back with Piccini out with a long term injury (4-5 months).

MATCH

Seven minutes into the first half and Mallorca get their first really good chance. The space left by Gaya is exploited by a Mallorca player who gets picked out by a teammate. He shoots the ball towards the opposite side. Cillissen parries but only to another Mallorca player who hits the post. The ball finds a third Mallorca player who fails to hit the target. Mallorca are reacting faster.

Crowd getting frustrated after another Mallorca chance.  A cross from their right just narrowly misses the run of their player who was in tons of space.

Nice one-two between Guedes and Gameiro, however the latter fails to make use of the space created by Guedes's run, curling the ball beyond the post.

Guedes earns a free kick after superbly dribbling past two players. We need more of this. Parejo wastes the resulting free kick, missing everybody and the goal.

Another close one from Mallorca, this time from their left side. Their players cuts inside given the space and takes a shot from distance to hit the opposite post.

It's 27 minutes in and Mallorca looking more like the home team than Valencia. Their players are getting all the time and space in the world to do whatever they want. Narrow margins separate them from a lead. The team needs to step it up. Crowd becoming increasingly edgy.

Parejo talks a shot from distance, 30 or so yards out, and the ball narrowly misses the post. Great effort which was applauded by the crowd. Cooling break follows.

Mallorca player also tries a shot from distance, narrowly sailing over the crossbar.

Valencia keep getting to the edge of the opposition penalty area and then run out of answers. No room to cross or shoot and often get dispossessed.

Brilliant move from Ferran tapping the ball past his marker and then blitzing past him with pure pace before quickly changing direction picks out out Coquelin, who was tripped up for a penalty. Parejo steps up. GOAL! Parejo cooly slots it past the keeper. 1-0 Valencia!

Second half. Gaya saves Valencia would an outstanding last-second tackle to deny a Mallorca player from taking a shot.

Corner for Valencia, shove in the box on Coquelin (again). Another penalty for Valencia. Parejo steps up yet again. GOAL! Parejo scores again. 2-0 Valencia. Game is going totally against us but somehow we get 2 chances out of nothing to score.

62 minutes in and Marcelino deciding to take out Rodrigo, who I don't remember touching the ball too often, for Maxi Gomez.

Second substitution at 72 minutes, Ferran off for Cheryshev. Guedes moves over to the right to make space. Ferran has played quite well in the second half. Some great dispossession, attacking moves and  done his defensive duties at the back as well. Looking forward to seeing more of him this season. Cherychev already getting involved in the first play since his substitution, but his cross was gathered by the keeper.

Gomez has an effort from close range stopped by the keeper and the play stops for the second cooling break.

Last sub from Marcelino at 82 minutes. Gameiro subbed off for Kang In Lee. The youngster gets involved in the first play, intercepting a pass, and driving the ball forward past 2 Mallorca players and picks out Maxi Gomez who failed to hold his run and gets flagged offside.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Misleading scoreline. Despite being on the back-end for huge portions of this game, we still led through 2 penalties. The penalties were deserved and fair, however, the performance in general was sub-par. It didn't feel like we were playing at home or against a recently promoted team. Valencia did step it up a bit in the second half but not nearly enough.

This win did give some confidence and a chance for Ferran and Kang In to shine and show some promise. Guedes also looked good at times and often needed 2 or 3 players to surround him, shut him down or bring him down. Coquelin also had some bright moments, earning 2 penalties. Parejo, Rodrigo and Gaya, were below their usual performance.

After this game, we go into international break for 2 weeks. September 14th we return for an away game against Barcelona at Nou Camp, who will probably have Messi back at that point. They will be out for revenge for last year's Copa defeat. We also find ourselves tied on points with them after 3 games. Then 3 days later, we're away again to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for the Champions League. Two huge games, with some time to prepare except for the few players who will be off for international duty.

Another big point, is that the transfer window closes end of the day tomorrow. The club has recently back tracked on its statement and said that anything could happen, implying that even the Rodrigo deal is still on the table. Reports are Mendes is trying his best to facilitate this deal so he can get his pay-check. Also, the club is saying they might not sign a replacement for Piccini. Hopefully that's false as we absolutely need one. Finally, in terms of outputs, we still have Alvaro Medran, Ruben Sobrino and Salva Ruiz on the books still waiting to be offloaded. Possibly even Jason. Manu Vallejo seems to be staying.

UEFA Champions League: Group Stage Draw

The draw for the group stages for the Champions League were conducted today. The results of the draw are as follows:

Valencia find themselves in Group H alongside Chelsea, Ajax and Lille. Compared to some of the other groups, our group is quite decent actually. However, it's not easy still. Chelsea are the reigning Europa League champions and Ajax are the reigning Dutch League Champions as well as Champions League semi-finalists. Chelsea's performance this season will be turbulent as they find themselves with a new coach who has yet to achieve good results for his team. Ajax have lost 2 of their star players in de Jong and de Ligt, however they still remain a threat.

This group has a lot of wildcards and teams that could either perform really well or disappoint from week to week. It should be interesting to see how it turns out.

What are your thoughts on Group H in particular as well as all the other groups?

Piccini Injured

Cristiano Piccini has suffered an injury during training, fracturing his knee cap. This is a very serious injury and will take him out of the squad for at least 4 months but some estimates saying 5 months. This is the second major injury this season with Soler also out for 3-4 months. The season has barely even started.

This injury has forced Valencia to enter the transfer market seeking a right-back to supplement the position while Piccini is injured. We have three competitions to play and one right-back is not enough for rotations. Some would argue that the right-back position should have been reinforced anyways this transfer window. Now, it will be due to an emergency circumstance.

La Liga Matchday #2: Celta Vigo 1 - 0 Valencia CF Match Thread

The first away game of the season ends in defeat. Another disappointing result after the late draw last week against Real Sociedad. What was even more disappointing than the result though was the style of play, the lack of effort and passion, and the overall attitude of the team.

LINEUP

The lineup this week featured new signing Maxi Gomez, playing against his former team, alongside Kevin Gameiro. With Rodrigo reduced to a bench role, lots of speculation has risen that this could very well signal that he is on his way out.

In midfield, Parejo made his season debut after missing out last week via suspension. Kondogbia retained his spot in midfield with Coquelin being suspended due to last week's red card. Guedes played on the left and with Carlos Soler picking up a long injury, Marcelino opted for Wass to start. This to me showed a lack of confidence in Ferran. That's his spot, and he is the second choice already, this move showed us that he is actually third choice in Marcelino's eyes.

Gaya returned at left-back following suspension last week. Paulista and Garay are Marcelino's clear first choice center backs as they start for the second week in a row. Piccini gets a start after coming on as a late sub last game. And finally, Cillissen was in goal.

MATCH

The first half set the tone for the whole game. Celta were playing quick pass possession football and we were chasing the ball often. We barely had a chance all game. The stats show 6 Celta shots on-target with us getting 2. For shots off-target the stat was reversed with 6 for us and 2 for them. So that's 8 chances each and only 25% of ours were on-target.

Celta's goal came only 15 minutes in due to a series of defensive errors. Piccini was caught too deep into his own penalty box and Denis Suarez was able to exploit the space on the right. Iago Aspas picked him out and he in turn found Gabriel Fernandez who back-heeled the ball past Garay and past Cillissen into the goal. Aspas himself would get a chance a few minutes later after another defensive error but this shot was blocked by Garay.

The best chances that I remember in the first-half was when Gameiro curled the ball in from the right-edge of the box past the two Celta defenders. The ball passed in front of Maxi Gomez who misjudged the trajectory of the ball and missed it.  We also had a chance from Wass after a pull-back from Guedes to Maxi Gomez who hoped over the ball to leave it Daniel Wass only for him to hit the cross-bar.

In the second half, it was more of the same. Some changes were made mid-way with Rodrigo coming on for Maxi Gomez and Diakhaby coming in for Paulista. The odd thing here is Paulista came off and lashed out at Marcelino who presumably thought he was suffering a knock and it would be safer to pull him off. Paulista was not happy about that.

We also had Ferran come on in place of Piccini, with Wass moving to right-back to make room. Ferran immediately added more energy and vigor into this team.

Our best chance in the second half was a Parejo attempt following a low-cross from Ferran. Parejo scuffed the shot and it ended up as a pass instead with nothing resulting from it.

On the other hand, Celta had shots from Gabriel Fernandez and Denis Suarez both saved by Cillissen. They also had a late penalty from Denis Suarez saved by Cillissen for his first penalty save of the season.

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's clear that the off-the-field problems are translating to on-the-field problems and affecting our game. It's 1 week from the end of the transfer market and we still have a lot of uncertainty. If Rodrigo leaves, who will come to replace him? Will we bring in 1, 2 or 3 more players? What about the exit operations, there are players that would need to be loaned or sold if we bring in this many players. Marcelino said he will only let Rodrigo go if he gets another top striker to replace him. He also said that we would have to tone back our goals for the season if he leaves. Finally, he said that if the replacement striker is forced upon him, he will take a strong stance. This presumably means he might leave in that case. And if that case does occur, where will Alemany and Longoria end up cause that undermines their decision as well.

In addition to this, we still are struggling with some of the problems from last season. Last game was struggling without Parejo and Gaya. This game was being too predictable and reserved. Some people will say this is only our second game of the season and we shouldn't panic yet. That's fair. However, there are many question marks over this season already: on and off the field. The stability that we once hoped for with Marcelino is at risk due to problems with management.

Some positives to end off. Great performance by Cillissen who had some good saves, including a penalty. As for the goal, he really couldn't see the ball with Garay standing there and even if he did get a hand to it, he could at best deflect it for another Celta player to finish. Also, Ferran brought a lot of energy in the few minutes that he got.

Next week's game is against RCD Mallorca at the Mestalla. Let's hope that a game against the home crowd will be enough to revitalize this team in a very winnable match. Of course, between now and then a lot could happen.

Pre-match thoughts - Celta - Valencia

Celta Vigo will be a big test for several reasons. One, to bury the disappointment against Real Sociedad last week. Two, to demonstrate that our transfer activity had been better than Celta. Three, a personal test for Marcelino.

Against Real Sociedad, we failed to capitalise on a good opportunity to win three points, regardless of what the statistics showed. The Celta match will reveal whether our team has learned from the Sociedad lesson (as well as the many times we threw away our lead last season). While Parejo and Gaya are back, I will be watching closely our starting player on the right. Wass could potentially play with Piccini behind him. Alternatively, I am betting that Ferran will start with Wass behind him.

I hope Maxi starts this match. Mina and Suarez will be eager to make us regret losing them. Suarez, in particular, was a bright spot against Real Madrid last week. A strong performance from Maxi will provide much assurance that we are heading in the right direction. I have no doubt that he is a good player but he needs a good performance to kick off his career with us. This is the best opportunity for him.

Lastly, but also most importantly, how would Marcelino prepare for this game. We have a good team. It is up to him to make use of what he has. In the last game, Guedes played poorly while Maxi did not play. If he cannot get the best out of his two most expensive players, it will be a big problem this season. In addition, despite the rumours of Rodrigo´s sale, he is still available. Despite qualifying for UCL twice, it is up to Marcelino to prove that he has the level to get the best out of his current squad. Any additions thereafter, be it Rafinha or anyone else, would be extra firepower for us to challenge on four fronts. Right now, our team looks good on paper, including our young players. It will look even better if we add 1 or 2 more strong attackers. However, it is not enough to remain good on paper. While he has achieved much over the past two seasons, I will only rate Marcelino as a top manager if he can get the best out of Guedes, Maxi, Ferran, Kang-in.

I am not sure how this season is going to turn out but I really hope the crisis reaches a proper conclusion asap. It could be a resurgent Marcelino with much improved performances from the current squad, or a rollercoaster ride over the rest of the season with the drama continuing. I hope it is the former.

La Liga Matchday #1: Valencia CF 1 - 1 Real Sociedad Match Thread

Here we are, first game of the season! We start off at the Mestalla in front of our own fans in a very winnable game. Our opponents shouldn't be underestimated but for the ambitions we have this season and this being a home, a win is expected.


LINEUP:

With all the transfer rumors in the past week over Rodrigo's future, he still makes into the starting lineup alongside Gameiro. Marcelino boldly claimed that without Rodrigo we would have to tone down our expectations for the season.

In midfield, Guedes and Soler start wide on either side of Coquelin and Kondogbia. The surprise here being the absence of Dani Parejo. This is probably due to the very late ruling been passed that Parejo and Gaya are eligible for this game. They technically should have been suspended due to yellow card count carrying over from the previous season but that rule changed. As such, Marcelino probably worked submitted his squad with that uncertainty. Both Gaya and Parejo aren't on the squad list (not even on the bench).

In defense, Jaume Costa starts over Gaya and Wass over Piccini. In the center Paulista and Garay is the expected pairing. In goal, we see Cillissen start which is probably the indication that he will be the La Liga goalkeeper barring injuries and Jaume will get his minutes in the Champions League and Copa del Rey.

On the bench we have: Jaume, Diakhaby, Piccini, Ferran, Cheryshev, Vallejo and Maxi Gomez.

PREDICTION

I would like to be optimistic and say 2-0 if it was our regular lineup with Parejo and Gaya, especially if in front of our own fans. However, with some of these changes I would say 1-0.


MATCH

That was a strange game. The problems that Valencia had last season seem to have carried over, at least into this first game of the season.

The first half was a shared game. Real Sociedad had the upper hand in the first part, really hammering away through the right side (our left) where Jaume Costa was trying to adapt. There were many loose passes and they often found the space in behind him. Paulista, Coquelin and Kondogbia were hard at work to keep the game level. When Valencia picked up the pace most of their efforts were from distance and not very troubling. The best chance came at the dying minutes of the first half with a Real Sociedad attempt inside the box following a squared ball. However, the striker sent it wide.

The second half was more of the same from Valencia. Some combination play, some dribbling but no end product. This was until the 57 minute mark where Gameiro started an attack, passed to Soler who controlled the ball beautifully in the air and found Wass out wide. Wass return the ball with a great cross to Gameiro who poked it past the keeper. The VAR technology would review the goal for quite a while until they finally award the goal to Valencia.

Valencia would have many chances to extend the lead but the finishing again wasn't there. Piccini would come on for Jaume Costa after he received a knock, with Wass moving over to left-back. Rodrigo would be replaced by Cheryshev with Guedes moving over to a striker role. Finally, Ferran would come on for Carlos Soler. The game seemed to be over but the total added minutes from the VAR check, stoppages and cooling break amounted to 8 minutes. In those 8 minutes, Valencia would get a penalty and Gameiro would step up to take. However, he went for the top corner and the effort would be too high. Kondogbia would have another effort a few minutes later only to miss again. In the final part of the 8 minutes, Real Socieded would move on the counter attack and get taken down by Garay at the very edge of the box for a free kick.

The free kick was taken and strikes the wall before bouncing out of play for a corner. However, the ball had struck Coquelin and on the arm resulting in a penalty call and a second yellow for Coquelin. Oyarzabal steps up to take the penalty and calmly slots it past Cillissen. The game was brought to an end right after that.

We really missed Parejo and Gaya today. The problems of last season that repeated in this game weren't just that Valencia couldn't put the game away with the chances they had. It was also the struggle they had whenever Parejo and Gaya were missing. Especially when Parejo was missing. The control and calm in midfield was gone. Marcelino was urging players to keep the ball at the opposing end of the field in the final minute. However, they lost the ball and the play resulting from the counter attack would lose us 2 points.

Next game is away to Celta Vigo.

Thoughts for season 19/20

The summer break has been anything but a break. I am sure everyone cannot wait to see how we would kick off season 19/20, particularly with all the ongoings on and off the field.

Transfers
Defence wise, Cillessen is a solid buy and Jaume Costa and Mangala gives us good cover.
Midfield wise, we have an excess of players on the right: Soler, Jason, Wass, Ferran, Kang-in. Looks like Wass will stay in right back, Jason might get loaned/sold. Ferran and Kang-in will get limited play time.
Lastly, Maxi brings along potential and physicality. But with Rodrigo´s pending move, will we be able to get an adequate replacement?

I am actually surprisingly optimistic about this. Guedes can potentially play in Rodrigo´s position, especially since he does not provide much defensive cover on the left. That frees up another spot on the left that Ferran or Kang-in could gain some precious minutes from. Alternatively, if we manage to get any of the rumoured replacements and sell Sobrino, I think our squad will still remain very competitive.

The Club Saga
The Mateu saga and our transfer activity point to an important issue that is worth further discussion. Is the Academy and promising VCF youth players still a priority for us?

A move for Rafinha could essentially spell the end for Kang-in. As highlighted earlier, Kang-in and Ferran are already facing stiff competition. I suspect both are actually inclined to move on to get more playing minutes and continue their development. If Marcelino continues to leave them on the bench this season, their development will definitely be curtailed. This has trickle down repercussions on our club´s global marketing, as well as on our youth players aspiring to break into the first team.

Until the day we are financially rich (hopefully), we might need to continue with our proven policy of promoting youths, and investing carefully in other players that can add to the squad. This has been low risk yet high in returns for the club. To do this, there has to be faith in the academy players. VCF fans seem genuinely excited when Kang-in and Ferran are brought on. If the club management is sincere about growing the club academy, it is aligned with the fans, and can only be positive for the club.

Concerns
On the sporting side, our performance against Inter showed that our team could be slick in attack when they click. There were still moments of concentration lapses and loss in tempo but I remain optimistic.

However, I fear the saga is far from over as both sides will possibly continue to clash over subsequent sporting decisions. Lim is definitely going to stamp his authority given the money he invested while the sporting team will expect more mandate and freedom given their achievements over the past two seasons. In short, we might need to brace ourselves for a rocky season. Hopefully we have a much stronger start this season, which would help to ease the tension between all parties.

Any thoughts?

Official: Valencia CF loan Jaume Costa from Villareal CF

Valencia CF have officially announced a loan deal for Villareal CF left-back Jaume Costa. The 31-year old will be the back-up left-back for Gaya this season. This loan deal is 1-year deal spanning until June 30, 2020.

There were some reports that Didac-Vila would be the chosen left-back, however, this seems to have fallen through with Marcelino presumed to have pushed for Jaume Costa instead. Jaume Costa started his career with the Valencia B team. He has played in Spain throughout his careers with a loan for Cadiz before joining Villareal B in 2010 and then made the jump to the first team in 2012 where he has played since.

Expecting some announcement with respect to Rodrigo soon with the player reportedly having said goodbye to the teammates and staff already.

Official: Valencia CF loan Eliaquim Mangala from Manchester City

Valencia CF just released an official statement announcing the return of Manchester City defender Eliaquim to Valencia. This will be the defender's second loan spell at Valencia having featured beside Garay in the 2016-17 season where he scored 2 goals.

The deal is a loan deal spanning 2-years, taking us to June 2021. Mangala will complete Marcelino's 4-man defense alongside Garay, Paulista and Diakhaby. This puts Javi Jiminez in a situation where he has to either agree to stay sidelined or be loaned elsewhere to get some minutes.

Mangala's contract with Manchester City was until June 2020 so this effectively means we have the option of signing the 28-year old defender for free. In addition, he has taken a pay-cut in wages to facilitate the move.

There was concern of an injury for Mangala since he struggled with it at Everton where he was loaned last season. As such, the signing was contingent on the medical check-up which Mangala has now successfully completed.

Expecting left-back Jaume Costa signing from Villareal coming up soon with deal reportedly finalized also.

Alemany goodbye?

I promised to put this post up and hoped for something a bit more substantial, but we're still stuck with rumours and gossip. I won't be around for most of next month, so won't have internet a few hours from now.

As all of you will know there are strong rumours that Alemany is on his way out. Lim basically gave him a free hand with transfers in the first two summers but now wants to be more involved. That's his prerogative as the owner and the person who, ultimately, is paying for these transfers. Alemany, feeling that this makes him redundant looks to be out.

From the rumours on Twitter and other sites it seems that a few things led to this. Alemany (and Marcelino) wanted to bring in Rafinha from Barcelona. Lim, concerned about his injury history, vetoed this. In contrast, Lim wanted to bring Otamendi back, but Alemany opposed this, feeling that even after a wage cut, Otamendi would be by far the highest earner at the club, and this would affect squad harmony. Lastly, Alemany allegedly wanted to give Marcelino a longer contract. After all, it was him who brought Marcelino in when Alexanko was arguing for Setien instead and it was Alemany who defended Marcelino when he seemed to be on the verge of being sacked in January. Lim, maybe mindful of the lack of continuity of some of Valencia's other managers, didn't want to commit to a longer contract which could lead to a large compensation payment in the event of a sacking. All this could explain why Valencia's progress in the transfer market has been painfully slow: aside from the young players already signed and the swap of goalkeepers, only Maxi Gomez has joined.

Obviously the question this raises is, if Alemany goes, who follows? Both Longoria and Marcelino were close to Alemany and may follow him in resigning. It all sounds a bit of a disaster. Just when the club finally looked to have gained some long overdue stability, is it going to collapse in internal fighting again?

Fans have been quick to draw parallels with the summer of 2015, when Salva and Rufete were forced out. Those analogies are worrying, but don't quite work. For a start, there isn't a manager at the helm closely tied to Lim for fans to focus their anger on. (Yet. Worrying rumours of Mourinho as the next manager are swirling.) Secondly, the situation with Mendes is different. Mendes is now closely associated with Wolves and the FA Premier League gives him a much better vehicle to market his prospects.

Ultimately, we just have to hope for the best in this and see how it pans out.

Valencia sign Maxi Gomez / Mina and Abdennour leave

Valencia have made official the signing of Maxi Gómez. 

He joins on a 5-year contract with a 140 million release clause. Valencia identified the player as a signing back in April and hoped to get the deal done in time for the transfer window opening, but Celta delayed in order to see if he did anything at Copa America and then strong competition from West Ham, who were offering at least double the salary that we were, led to a drawn out transfer saga which has thankfully been resolved in our favour. As part of the deal Santi Mina leaves and rejoins Celta with Jorge Saenz also going there on loan and Valencia paying 14.5m, with a possible 1.5m more performance related. 

I called last year for Maxi to be signed, 

so I'm really happy about this signing.

There are a surprising number of our fans who seem to be against this. The main arguments seem to be

•  Mina has better stats
• The cost is too much, we'd have been better signing Borja Iglesias
• Gomez doesn't do so well without Aspas

I think the cost is a fair price and as for Mina vs Maxi comparisons, those need to be seen in the context of Celta being fairly rubbish the last few seasons. Apart from Aspas, Pione Sisto and Wass were the only players capable of supplying chances. At Valencia he will have Guedes, Parejo, Soler etc providing chances. Time will tell, but after the Batshuayi fiasco the club has gone for a player proven in La Liga and the only players who have scored more in the last two seasons are Messi, Luis Suarez, Griezmann, Aspas and Stuani, all of whom are too old or unattainable. The fact that he has turned down a much bigger wage in England is a positive sign and already wins him points in my book.

The slight negative in this is the loss of Santi Mina, who'd proved himself a useful third option up front in recent times. Mina joined us at the start of July 2015 having impressed with Celta, leading Valencia to pay his buy-out clause of 10 million, with Mina refusing a new contract in order to sign for us, something which annoyed Celta fans as much as Alcacer's exit annoyed ours. Mina's early times at Valencia were really disappointing. Used up front either on the right or left of a 4-3-3 he struggled to make an impact and it wasn't until his 14th game that he scored, hitting a late equaliser against Barcelona. He repeated the feat later that season, scoring the winner at Barcelona, capping off a 22-pass move. (Incidentally, it got lost in the euphoria, but Valencia's first in the Copa final came after a 16-pass move, when it comes to tika-taka, Valencia can beat Barcelona at their own game.) That season also saw his best game in a Valencia shirt, scoring two and assisting three in a 6-0 rout of Vienna in Europe. He also scored what I think was one of his best, sprinting the length of the pitch to score the winner at Granada.   

Despite that, his stats and performances remained disappointing until the arrival of Marcelino. Like Rodrigo, he benefitted from playing more central, improving his performances and scoring more frequently, even overtaking Zaza in the pecking order at the end of 2017-18. However, last season saw him behind either Batshuayi or Gameiro to partner Rodrigo and ultimately it's understandable that he wants to head back to his boyhood club where he'll be guaranteed starter.

Lastly, the week just gone saw the departure of Aymen Abdennour. He arrived at Valencia on the back of strong performances with Monaco for 21.8 million as the replacement of Otamendi. It quickly became apparent that he was nowhere near that level as a series of horror shows gifted goals to opposition teams. It didn't help that his defensive partner was often the equally useless Aderllan Santos and together they made up what was probably Valencia's worst defensive duo this century. After 29 appearances in his first season, he saw injuries in his second but was gradually phased out under Voro. The only time he ever looked remotely useful was under Prandelli, but that was because there was a back three with Garay cleaning up after him. Valencia loaned him out to Marseilles, hoping to get back at least half of what we paid, but he also flopped there and in the end the club has just cut its losses and let him go to Kayerispor of Turkey on a free. Thus ends one of the worst signings of recent years. I think the signing of players like Gomez instead of such costly flops shows the progress the club has made. 

Murillo leaves / Maxi Gomez deal close

Jeison Murillo's time at Valencia is at an end. We signed him as one of the centre backs for the 2017/18 campaign and he had a fair few starts in the early months, playing 8 of the 12 games after he signed before getting injured for 3 months.

When he returned he got a few games, but that was because Garay was injured and by that point, Garay and Gabriel were Marcelino's main choices. In 2018/19 he was mostly sidelined, playing in the home games against Juventus and Celta before playing his final game in the Copa at Ebro. He then joined Barcelona on loan as part of a joke with his agent. Sadly, it also didn't work out for him as he played just 1 full league game, another as a late sub and a couple of games in the Copa. The deal takes him to Sampdoria on loan, with them paying 2 million, which will mostly cover his wages. They then have an obligatory buy of 13.5 million. Many of us wanted him to stay as one of four defenders but given that Marcelino clearly doesn't count on him, this is for the best and at least Valencia make a small profit of 1.5 million on the deal.

The other news is that the long drawn out saga of Maxi Gomez seems to be over. Valencia first expressed their interest in late May but Celta understandably decided to wait until Copa America was over on the off-chance that his value would rise. It didn't as he didn't play but when the tournament finished, West Ham had renewed their interest in signing a player that they first tried to get in January. While Valencia seemed the obvious choice, due to language and Champions league football, West Ham were able to put a much higher salary on the table. That a club that finished 10th, never gets near Champions league football nor challenges for anything is able to do that is a serious indictment of La Liga's lousy financial model in the last decade that has allowed C-list English clubs to outbid us.

Just yesterday, it seemed that West Ham had won the race but, credit to Celta, they were more interested in honouring their agreement with us and maintaining good relations than chasing the money. Of course, their motives are not all altruistic, they regain Santi Mina and get Jorge Saenz on loan for 2 years as part of the expected deal. I think this will be good business for Valencia when confirmed.

There are still many questions to be answered. Will Rodrigo and Piccini stay? If not, who replaces? Who will be the fourth defender? Who will Valencia sign as Parejo's understudy, if anyone? Who will take remaining unwanted players (Abdennour, Medran, Nacho Gil, Sobrino etc) off Valencia's hands? Plenty to do, but I think the Murillo and Gomez deals would be a good step forward.

Valencia CF Preseason 2019

The preseason will start in 2 weeks. Those two weeks will be spent hopefully finishing all the transfer dealings so that as many of the players can participate in it as possible. One of the criticisms for last seasons transfers were the long delays and many players didn't participate in Marcelino's preseason sessions.

Of course, a similar criticism could be leveled at this season with only Cheryshev and Jason brought in so far. We are still lacking any concrete movement for our forwards. Maxi Gomez's signing is being contested by West Ham with a 3 million euro margin (commission for agents) being the point of contention. Rodrigo is still in limbo. Santi Mina looks certain to be on his way out regardless of what happens with Maxi Gomez. Sobrino will likely follow and Gameiro is uncertain.

For outgoing players, Neto, Vezo and Lato have been settled to Barcelona, Levante and PSV respectively. The first two are sales, the latter a loan deal. Roncaglia is uncertain, Murillo could very well be on his way out. Abdennour is being picky about clubs. We know require 2 center backs, a right back (really important) and a replacement left-back. Furthermore if Piccini leaves, we need another right back still.

I expect lots of movement in the next two weeks. With this many changes, the players need quite some time to gel and establish chemistry with the coach, tactics and fellow players. It is really important that they be there for the preseason. A good preseason is crucial to a healthy squad and to bring fitness to the required standard, avoiding injuries latter on. We had quite a few of those in the last season.

Some players have already started training. The remaining players, who were away on international duty, will join on the 15th of July. The preseason schedule is as follows:

It's a 6 game preseason, culminating with the annual Trofeo Naranja at Mestalla. The earlier games are relatively easy, and the last two especially challenging. Both Bayer Leverkusen and Inter Milan are around our level based on league standings last year as they both finished 4th in their respective leagues. We can build up confidence in the earlier games and get ready for them. The games are mostly in Europe, which will get us used to the Champions League travels. Some games are a short distance apart which will be challenging but again useful to prepare for the tight schedule of 3 competitions. Our first game of the season in La Liga, will be on the 18th, eight days after our last preseason match.

Valencia CF sign Jason

Valencia CF announced the official signing of 'Jason', who joins Valencia CF as a free player, having had his contract with Levante end this summer.

David Remeseiro Salgueiro or better known as 'Jason' signed a 3 year deal with Valencia CF with a transfer clause of 35 million euros. He is a right winger, though can also play as a right back as well, so a cheap cover for Soler with the option to play him as a right back if a need arises.

Valencia CF also signed Cheryshev, so we have two options on the wings now, assuming players like Kang in Lee and Ferran Torres are loaned out somewhere, otherwise their playing options might be very limited and will stifle their growth.

Cheryshev in ; Vezo out

With the Neto/Cillessen swap deal done and solving Valencia's financial fair play problem, we are starting to see some movement in the transfer market.

While pending official confirmation, the first two deals are Cheryshev joining permanently and Vezo joining Levante permanently.

Cheryshev completed his second loan spell with us last season, netting 4 goals with 5 assists on top. Valencia's buy option rose from 7.5 to 10 million as a result of Champions league being achieved, but we'd been clever enough not to make it compulsory. As a result, with the player wanting to continue with us and Villarreal wanting him off the books for FFP reasons, it looks like the amount will be around 6 million.

He was a solid alternative to Guedes and is a back-up option for the forward line, as he showed in the game against Celtic. He also led the way in "key passes" being second only to Messi among the top 6.

Of course, the elephant in the room is his injury record, which affected both his loans with us. He was unavailable for 17 of the 61 games last season, so it will be ok, if he stays fit.

The second piece of business is the departure of Ruben Vezo. As he's only 25, it's hard to believe he's a grizzled veteran of Valencia. Only Parejo, Jaume and Gaya have been with the team longer. Djukic signed him in the autumn of 2013, with the transfer going through the start of the following year. His opportunities at Valencia were always limited and he remained a back-up player. He did get more playing time in Marcelino's first season, as the coach used him as a right back in the away games, but he featured less and less this season, with Marcelino using Wass instead at right back. Following a successful loan at Levante, it looks like they'll pay us 5m plus a possible 1m more for the permanent transfer. His previous club gets 25% of that.

The signing of Cheryshev almost certainly means that Denis Suarez won't be joining and it looks like he'll join Celta instead. Rafinha, however looks likely to be coming and that's similar to Cheryshev: a good player but dogged with injury issues.

Valencia are still negotiating with Celta for Maxi Gomez, with West Ham still offering competition. There are reports that a deal could be struck but the figures seem unacceptable. 15 million plus Mina, Jorge Saenz (with a buyback option) and another player (Racic or Villalba) on loan. I've said many times that I think Gomez would be an excellent signing, but he's not worth that much. Maybe a swap of Mina and 10 million absolute maximum.

The curious case of Norberto Neto (starring Jasper Cillessen)

Various sites are now reporting what has been clear for a week. Jasper Cillessen has signed for Valencia after passing a medical, with Neto going the other way to Barcelona, where he will earn up to three times more.

For Cillessen, the move makes perfect sense. He will earn the same as he did at Barcelona and get a lot more game time than he would as second choice to Ter Stegen, one of the best keepers in the world.

The mystery remains, though, what went through Neto's head to prompt this change? Sure, he will get more money, but the whole point of him joining us in the first place was because he was fed up getting little game time at Juventus. Going to Barcelona seems a bit like Alcacer going there, a backward step in his career.

Neto was the first signing of the Marcelino era and, predictably, it led to a lot of grumbling from our fans, just see the post and the subsequent comments here. His early period didn't dispel that, as he seemed too static with some goals he conceded. but he improved greatly over time to the point of being a key player. If I ever get around to writing player ratings for the season just gone, Neto would certainly have been one of my top three, along with Parejo and Gaya. Some of our fans seem to have an obsession with bringing back past players and coaches, but the name of Diego Alves was quickly forgotten.

The stories doing the rounds are that it all blew up over the Copa del Rey. Marcelino confirmed that Jaume would play the final, as he had every game in the tournament. Having made that call, Marcelino then decided that Jaume should get the last two league games of the season to sharpen him up and get him ready for the cup final. It could all have backfired, with Jaume producing a ropey performance, like the questionable one away at Betis, but it didn't. Good decision from the coach.

It all seems to have gone down badly with Neto, though. There are various stories. One that he was annoyed because that meant that he was not in goal to celebrate either the league 4th place or cup successes. Another that he felt that this cost him a place in the Brazil squad for the Copa America. The last is that he had a fall-out with Marcelino. The last seems plausible. Neto's last game for us saw him concede four goals at home to Arsenal, a bit of a sad way to go out. It's entirely possible that Marcelino, annoyed by that coming after Neto had conceded nine goals in the 4 previous games, decided to bench Neto anyway.

So while it's sad it's ended this way, good luck to Neto. He'll get three times as much money for doing a quarter of the work. Who wouldn't say yes to that?

Unlike in previous cases, the replacement seems perfectly fine.

Cillessen is the same age and actually does better on most metrics than Neto. Does better in the air and better at playing the ball out from his feet. Some of our fans are grumbling as usual and I don't see why. I'd have preferred to keep Neto for continuity reasons but if he wants to go, the club has found a very good replacement.

Another big advantage of the deal is that Valencia gets the cash to clear their accounts by 30 June. If we hadn't done this, we'd have been forced into a big sale, probably of Rodrigo and for a lesser price than the club hoped for. As it is, we can play hardball on Rodrigo until the end of the transfer window.

What do you think of this deal?

Valencia v Barcelona (15 June 2003)

Today is a special anniversary for me. It was exactly 16 years ago that I finally got to visit Mestalla. Valencia at that time had been on a roll. Two unsuccessful Champions league finals in a row in 2000 and 2001 had been followed by the first league title in over 30 years. After all that excitement, the 2002-2003 season was a let down.  In the Champions league, after negotiating the two group stages (this was the last to feature two group stages) Valencia went out in the quarters to Inter Milan on away goals. In the Copa, Valencia's rotations didn't work and after a 3-3 draw at now defunct third level Alicante CF, we lost on penalties in the round of 32.

In La Liga, Valencia had struggled, dropping from third to the fringes of the Champions league places in spring. The biggest problem was one that had been clear the previous season. Even when we won the title, Ruben Baraja had been our top scorer with a risible 7 goals. Strong defence had saved us. (Sound familiar?) This season had been the same, with the team really struggling for goals. At the time of this game, John Carew was the leading scorer, with a disappointing 8 goals.

A 1-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the previous game at Mestalla in the 35th round of games had allowed Celta to overtake us for fourth. So this game, the 37th of the season, was crucial to our Champions league hopes.

Our rivals, Barcelona, had their own issues. The arrival of a certain little Argentinian guy was a few seasons in the future and they had missed out on the top three in the previous three seasons and were languishing in seventh place. With both cup finalists not in the top six, Barca were in serious danger of missing out on Europe altogether. They came into this game hoping to avenge Valencia's 4-2 win at the Camp Nou in January.

The positions at the time of the game were:

1. Sociedad 73 pts
2. R. Madrid 72
3. D. Corunya 69
4. Celta Vigo 58
5. Valencia 57
6. A. Bilbao 52
7. Barcelona 50

Real Sociedad were chasing their first title since 1982 and would ultimately be unsuccessful.

The day of the game itself had been baking hot, the season started a bit later then and went on a month longer, finishing on 22 June with the cup final a week after that. I was looking for work in Valencia at the time so had to settle for the cheaper seats "in the clouds" at 42 euro a go.

Valencia lined up with a 4-2-3-1. Canizares and a defence of Carboni, Marchena, Pellegrino and the on-loan Reveillere. Screening them were Baraja and De Los Santos. The attacking midfield was made up of Kily Gonzalez, Aimar and Rufete, supporting the lone striker, Carew.

Barcelona's line-up was Valdes ; Gabri, Puyol, De Boer, Reiziger ; Enrique, Mendieta, Cocu, Overmars ; Kluivert, Javier Saviola.

Luis Enrique, of course, would go on to manage Barcelona and Spain, while Gaizka Mendieta was making his first return to the Mestalla since his transfer two years earlier.

The game itself proved a baptism of fire for me. Strangely enough, despite it being a relatively unimportant league game in the pre-YouTube era, the full game is online. I only recommend it if any of you are feeling masochistic, though.

The first half saw Barcelona have the better chances and Canizares had to make a couple of saves. The dynamic changed just before half-time. Marchena brought down Mendieta and then Carew lost it a bit, body checking the referee and then getting in his face to get a debatable straight red card. Mendieta scored to make it 1-0.

Those events put Valencia on the back foot for the second half. Juan Sanchez came on for Rufete, with youth player Borja Criado later coming on to make his third and final appearance for the first team. Those attacking changes failed to produce the equaliser and, in the 73rd minute, the first half repeated. Barcelona countered, Luis Enrique dribbled past two of our guys and was brought down by Carboni just before he could shoot. A clear penalty, but the double punishment of a red card for Carboni seemed harsh. 0-2 down, with 9 men and news coming in that Celta were 2 goals up against Sociedad spelled the end of Valencia's Champions league hopes. Marc Overmars added a third for Barcelona before Juan Sanchez gave us a late consolation goal.

Sociedad's defeat at Celta cost them the title. Carew's season had ended on a low note, he was loaned out the following season and never kicked a ball for Valencia again. Mista took over as main forward and produced a better following season.

Valencia went on to finish fifth, qualifying for the UEFA Cup which we won as part of a league and European double. For me, it was a sign of things to come: harsh and dubious refereeing decisions favouring Barcelona and disappointing seasons would feature quite a bit in the next 16 years but those just make the wins even sweeter.

How was your first game at Mestalla?

Valencia's future in European competitions

In this post last year I looked at how Valencia would benefit from European competition financially. The figures for that are almost in. Valencia have so far earned €40.75m from the Champions league (15.25m participation fee, 17.7m from the ten-year ranking, 3m per win and 0.9m per draw.) On top of that, the club gets 5.5m from the Europa league. TV money is yet to come on top of that, I'd guess around 8m, though the figures aren't usually released until mid-October. When you add gate receipts, merchandising and so on, our windfall from European competitions easily passes 60 million.

When you look at the breakdown, it's obvious that the Champions league (CL) is where it's at: we got over seven times as much money from that as the Europa league. Does that mean we should ignore the Europa league altogether? Not at all, without the ranking points from that we would be in pot 4, instead of pot 3, in next August's draw and would also receive 3.4m less in CL money next season.

Ensuring that that money keeps coming in and making progress in Europe are the big challenges ahead.

SEEDING
The news here isn't good. You would think that Valencia reaching the semi-finals of the Europa league would boost our ranking, maybe even putting us in with a chance of pot 2, but in reality we are almost unchanged from last season. This website (look under the CL tab) assumes that seeded teams win in each round. Valencia are guaranteed pot 3, but are much closer to pot 4 than pot 2. That's down to the fact that seeding is based on the last 5 years in European competition and Valencia was absent in 14/15, 16/17 and 17/18.

For ranking points, teams get 2 points for a win and 1 for a draw in European competitions. There is 1 bonus point for reaching quarters, another for the semis and another for the final. Those points are the same for either Europa league or CL. For CL, teams also get 4 bonus points for playing group stage and 5 bonus points for last 16.

Looking at the CL tab in the link above shows the problem. Valencia are 33.5 points behind the last ranked team in pot 2, Ajax. We could catch up this season but not enough. The ranking points from 15/16 then expire after next season which means that we are basically stuck in pot 3 of the CL until at least the 2022-23 season, that's the next three seasons at least playing groups of death, unless we get pot 1 by winning a European tournament. Missing a single season in Europe or failing to reach at least CL last 16 or EL quarters will prolong that. We must qualify for Europe and take whatever competition we're in seriously.

CONFIRMED CHANGES AHEAD
The problem with the current European competitions is that no one is happy with them. UEFA's tendency to give increasing numbers of guaranteed places in the group stages to a handful of top countries has forced most federations to play a ridiculous number of qualifying rounds, up to 6 for the smallest federations and 4 for most. For clubs in The Baltics, for example, that means that usually 2 or 3 of 4 entrants fall at the first hurdle, with any survivors usually culled off a round or two after that and facing unsexy ties against clubs from Scandinavia, Poland, Czechia, Belarus or The Balkans. It's hardly a way to promote interest in football in countries where ice hockey seems more interesting.

To cater for the concerns of smaller clubs, UEFA is establishing a new third-level competition, provisionally called Europa league 2 until they can think of a better title. That will start in the 2021-22 season and will feature the last qualifier from Spain, could be us if we finish 7th. The winners of that only qualify for the Europa league and the money is likely to be even worse than that so it's one for us to avoid.

SUPER LEAGUE?
Of far more interest to us are the proposed changes to the CL for 2024. Richer clubs like Manchester United are annoyed at missing out on the CL and UEFA themselves recognise the $$$ that they can earn by having them in. UEFA has suggested a more closed arrangement for the CL. Under that, there would be four groups of 8 teams instead of eight groups of 4. The bottom 8 teams would be relegated to the Europa league, with the other 24 continuing for the next season. After the inaugural season, the only way to get into the CL would be by winning the domestic league then being one of 4 teams winning play-offs between 40+ champions or finishing in the last 4 of Europa league, which would likely be a tougher prospect as all teams would take that far more seriously.

With a guaranteed 14 games instead of 6 in that, CL prize money would more than double. Valencia could potentially be looking at 100+ million a season for participating in that. A few seasons of that would more than wipe out the club's debts and leave us solvent for the first time in 30 years. But only if we get in. It's not yet been confirmed how the teams will be selected for that but the general thinking is that it would be done on the basis of UEFA's 10-year ranking, with maybe the top 32 from that or top 30 and the Europa league and CL winners from the season before. Valencia are currently 23rd in it, but more recent lists start to put us lower: 27th in the last one I can find.

It has to be said that the changes are only proposed and due to be discussed in August. Valencia and other clubs have already expressed opposition and there's a good chance the changes will be rejected, but I really think some change like that is inevitable. The idea of a European super league has been around since the late 1980s and you only have to look at recent developments to see this. Winning the domestic league is now usually not enough. In recent times, PSG have parted company with Emery and Juventus with Allegri despite domestic league success, while Valverde is under heavy pressure at Barcelona. In all cases, it's because of failings in the CL. Among major leagues, England is the only exception to this. All that suggests that a super league will happen, likely through reform of the CL and Valencia has to be in that.

Interesting and challenging years ahead.

How changes to domestic cups will affect Valencia

There are some major changes coming up in domestic cups, with more confirmed and proposed for Europe. Here I want to look at how the changes to domestic cups will affect us.

COPA DEL REY

The old format which has been used for about 15 years was seen as boring, so the Spanish Football Federation decided to make some changes, inspired by the German and English domestic cups. The number of teams has been expanded slightly, from 83 to 126. For the first time since the early 1980s, teams from the Regional Preferente, the fifth level of Spanish football, will gain entry.

The other big changes are that only the four clubs playing the Super Cup will start in the last 32. The other La Liga clubs will start two rounds earlier. Instead of two-legged games, as we've seen up to now, all ties, except the semi-finals, will now be one game only. No replays, just extra time and penalties if needed. Games will be played at the ground of the team that is in a lower division.

If two teams from the same division are drawn against each other, the first team drawn will have home advantage. After preliminary rounds reduce the Regional Preferente teams down to 10, the Regional Preferente and Tercera division teams, along with 4 Segunda B teams, will be drawn at home to the La Liga teams. This round will be regionalised, though how regional we will have to wait and see.

Effects for Valencia are

• Fewer games. Winning the cup next year would only require playing 6 games rather than 9. If we are not in the Super Cup, it's still 8 games instead of 9. 
• Shorter first round trips. Valencia have headed to Vigo in the first round in recent times. If we're not in the super cup, we shouldn't have so far to travel.
• Loss of revenue. Fewer cup games at Mestalla, as lower league teams get home advantage.
• The cup gets a bit more open. In the past, Barcelona and Real Madrid could lose their first leg against La Liga opposition and win the return: that happened this season with Barcelona losing 0-2 at Sevilla but battering them at Camp Nou. I think it's more likely that clubs outside the big two can win now.
• Less chance to blood young players. The two-legged format suited La Liga clubs well. We could experiment with the team and include some promising reserve team players in the starting line-up in the first leg, safe in the knowledge that, if we screwed up and lost, we could put out a stronger line-up in the second leg at Mestalla and overturn the loss. That's exactly what happened this season against Gijon. This allowed us to try out players like Gaya, Kang-In and Alcacer in the past. Now, we won't be able to gamble too much with a weaker squad in the first leg.

Overall, the changes are better for the neutral, but mixed for us, especially from the development point of view.

SPANISH SUPER CUP

Similar to the Copa del Rey, the Super Cup expands next season to four teams. Instead of the league champions against the cup winners (or runners-up if a team won the double) over two legs it will be the cup finalists and the two highest placed teams in La Liga playing single leg games outside Spain. Saudi Arabia is the likely venue for this. Valencia were very angry about this, arguing that forcing us to play a semi-final, when we had qualified by right for the final, was unfair. The club said it supported the expansion for future seasons, but not for next. The changes have gone ahead anyway. Valencia made noises about legal action but this hasn't happened.

The draw has already been made, Valencia will face Atletico Madrid on 8 January, with Barcelona - Real Madrid the following day and the final on 12 January. There are conflicting stories about the division of revenue. Some sources suggested we would get 1 million, Atletico 2m and the big two 6m each, which sounded blatantly unfair. Later, Goal.com reported that the losing semi-finalists will get 800,000 each, the runner-up 2m and the winner 2.8m. 

Effects for Valencia

• More chance of qualifying. 4th in La Liga will probably be there about a third of the time.
• More money. Foreign cities will pay more to host it.
• The neutral games often won't be neutral. Barcelona and Real Madrid have far more international fans than we do. Barcelona vs Valencia played in Miami, for example, would be virtually the same as Barcelona playing at home.
• Less disadvantage in La Liga when playing the Super Cup. Under the old format, we would have had 2 extra games next season while other La Liga clubs have a nice break. This time, we'll be playing at the same time that they play Copa del Rey games. 

So, apart from next season, and assuming that the money will be performance based, these changes are better for us.

In a future post, I'll look at how changes to European competitions could affect us.

Manchester City interested in Jose Luis Gaya

Manchester City are set to redesign their defense this season as they are looking to offload their older players and bring in young and talented players that are going to last them for the next decade. Guardiola is a keen follower of Valencia CF left backs, having worked with Juan Bernat in Bayern Munich and closely followed Jordi Alba in VCF and Barcelona, at one point he was also interested in Jose Gaya, but had other priority positions.

Jose Luis Gaya has been one of our best players this season though and probably for the past several seasons as well, so Valencia CF is not going to let him go on the cheap, with the club supposedly only willing to release Gaya if an offer of 70+ million euros arrives.

Manchester City don't really have a problem with money and even FFP hasn't seem to have affected their transfers, so they have the monetary ability to facilitate the transfer. Other clubs that are following the situation and might potentially make a play for Gaya are Real Madrid, who've been chasing the player for quite a while now, but have always prioritized other positions. Manchester United are also redesigning their squad this season and Solskjaer is set to start with the defense, bringing in high quality players in the defense.

Ruben Sobrino to be sold

Valencia CF is looking to offload Ruben Sobrino this summer transfer window even though the player only arrived in January this year. Truth of the matter is that Ruben Sobrino didn't impose himself on the coach and failed to displace Rodrigo or Gameiro or Mina out of their position even though they were all struggling for goals in the first half of the season.

This is why he is not surplus to requirements, as he was only brought in to displace any of our misfiring forwards in January and having failed to do that he is now our 4th striker and one which Valencia CF don't have a need of.

Facundo Roncaglia to return to Celta Vigo

Facundo Roncaglia will return to Celta Vigo after the expiration of his loan deal and Valencia CF won't be purchasing the player. As you all remember he was brought in January as a defensive cover, after Valencia CF loaned out Murillo to FC Barcelona, though Roncaglia barely ended up featuring as the trio of Gabriel, Garay and Diakhaby covered the CB role and Wass ended up being cover and even a starter at rear back. 

Right now it seems that Murillo will complete the central defense, unless Valencia CF has an interesting offer for him, in which case the club might sell and have Ruben Vezo as the fourth player in central defense. 

Denis Suarez to join Valencia CF?

Valencia CF is looking to build upon the success of this season and strengthen the squad for next season, and Valencia CF administration believes Denis Suarez from Barcelona CF is the ideal man to do so. The player has had limited time on the pitch for Barcelona CF and is aware that his playing minutes are going to be even more limited next season and is looking for a way out himself.

Reports suggest that Denis Suarez would love to join Valencia CF and that he is willing to take a certain pay cut to facilitate the move. Barcelona CF have a rather large squad these days and is likely to offload some of the redundant and periphery players in order to make room for few more specific signings.

Nemanja Maksimovic to stay in Getafe

Valencia CF and Getafe CF have reached an agreement to end the 'purchase clause' in Nemanja Maksimovic's sale contract. As most of you know Valencia CF built in a sort of buy-back option for Nemanja Maksimovic when they sold him to Getafe CF for the 3 years after his sale, with each year the transfer fee increasing. Thus Valencia CF this year has the option to purchase Maksimovic from Getafe for around 9 million euros.

Valencia CF would get an additional 5.5 million euros, on top of the 5.5 million euros Getafe CF already paid for a total of 11 million euros. Valencia CF gets to have a 'future sales fee' in the new contract though and are said to receive up to 30% of the transfer fees if Getafe CF choose to sell the player in the future. 

Rodrigo Moreno to move to SSC Napoli

Rodrigo Moreno to Napoli

The season has ended and every Valencianista can celebrate and enjoy in the achievement our team has accomplished. With that said the transfer market is about to open and with it creating the new team for next season.

Rodrigo Moreno seems to be the first of our players that is going to leave, with him penning a farewell type social media post after the cup win, and several sources have confirmed that SSC Napoli have been negotiating with Valencia CF for a while now on bringing Rodrigo Moreno to SSC Napoli. The transfer talks are supposedly in an advanced state with the current price offered to Valencia CF being 40 million euros, but demanding around 50 million euros to release Rodrigo Moreno.

He's been a player of contention amongst our community and has always churned out big discussions on the comment sections, due to the nature of his spell here at Valencia CF, with him having very inconsistent seasons. He's never really convinced with his performances and has truly had only one breakout season and that was last one's.

So if we can get 50 million euros for him, I'd be willing to let him go. Yeah he is an important player for us and has been basically the undisputed started for most of his time here, partnering different players, but he's never really achieved many goals, he's been hit and miss.

So 40 to 50 million euros for him is plenty and I think we can probably use 20 million of that to get a proper replacement for him. I'd be willing to bring in Simeone Zaza again, don't know about Marcelino, but I'd take him back in a heartbeat.