Valencia 3-0 Celta match thread

 After a disappointing and poor performance last week, the pressure is on to get something from today against Celta. They're just above us in the standings following a mixed start. They began in disappointing style dropping 2 points to a 98th minute penalty equaliser at home to Espanyol. They also lost 1-4 at home to Real Madrid and by the same scoreline away to Atletico Madrid. However they beat relegation favourites Cadiz 3-0 at home and won 1-0 at Girona. Brais Mendes was a big loss for them in the summer, but they've retained Iago Aspas who has scored 5 goals in 5 games so far. His inexplicable omission from the Spain squad can only be down to personal disputes with Luis Enrique.

For Valencia, Jaume is out for many months and Yunus is an injury doubt for this game. On the plus side, Cavani has been training with the full squad and may make his debut tonight, though I'd expect him to come off the bench rather than start. Mamardashvili, Gaya and Thierry should all start. The biggest question is the defence. Diakhaby has been our best defender for a while now and it remains to be seen if Paulista will get another chance after being awful last week or if Comert will get the nod instead. If Yunus is unavailable then it most likely means a midfield of Guillamon and Nico, which means we may get to see Almeida start for the first time. I'd expect to see Duro or Andre start, flanked by Lino and Castillejo, with Cavani maybe coming on for last 20 minutes.

Our recent form against Celta has been good, 6-2-2 over the last five seasons, including winning both last season. Unfortunately, that counts for very little and if we have any hopes of a top half finish nevermind Europe, this is a must-win game.

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So, Cavani starts to my surprise. Comert plays instead of Paulista and Ilaix instead of Nico. Both changes totally justifiable benching 2 of the worst players from last week. Also good to see Almeida, who has shown brief flashes start instead of injury doubt Yunus.

Let's hope Cavani can find his best form!

26 minutes in and both teams have mostly cancelled each other out. Our best chance has actually come from Diakhaby hitting the post from a corner. We've been trying to get the ball in to Cavani but the accuracy just hasn't been there. Thierry and Moriba both had great bits of skill but nothing resulted. Celta have had a couple of half hearted penalty shouts. Their best chances were when Comert mishit a pass and Guillamon had to commit a tactical foul and take a yellow for the team Guillamon was the villain for the second, giving it away when we were trying to play it out from the back. We've been careless in posession.

HALF-TIME
We improved in the later part of the half and lead 1-0. It was a good goal. Great work from Lino on the left holding off two defenders. He tried to beat the keeper who parried and Castillejo was quickest to follow up and finish well. Didn't see much of Cavani but I think our midfield has handled them well. Moriba has been especially good. Diakhaby, Mamardashvili and Thierry have been solid. A bit disappointed with Gaya's passing. As in previous games we've dominated possession. The main issue is that while we've done better than last week against a high press, we don't look very comfortable. Giving the ball away in risky positions hasn't hurt us so far but it will if we keep doing it. Unfortunately our team still looks unbalanced and inexperienced and seems to have mistakes waiting to happen.

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49: A bit of humour. Lino's shot is blocked by the Celta player with his elbow. It was in a natural position so no foul. But the commentator says "it came off his elbow, it was beside his arm." Yes, that's where elbows usually are found.

54: Insane. Lino is clearly brought down in the box. One of the most obvious penalties you'll see this weekend and he's booked for non-existent simulation. Disgraceful decision. What's the point of VAR?

59: The referee balancing it out for his poor call? Cervi of Celta gets a straight red for a dirty challenge on Thierry.

63: Celta get a rare corner, on the break Moriba is elbowed off the ball. Nothing doing says the ref, who's been poor this half. Moriba has been constantly fouled.

68: Moriba goes off for Nico after a very solid game.

71: Cavani goes off to a round of applause. Castillejo too. Kluivert and Andre are on. Celta get a free kick in a dangerous position and Mamardashvili produces a point blank save to deny them.

74: Good few minutes for us, with Gaya's shot from range forcing a save. But we need to bury this.

79: Chance! A good break, excellent through ball from Andre, but from an angle, Kluivert just can't beat the keeper. He forces a save from a header a minute later too.

82: Marcos Andre! Another Valencia break and this time there's no mistake. With the ball played forward, Gaya is strong to challenge and the ball falls to Andre who beats the keeper with a low drive.

84: Gaya and Comert off for Lato and Paulista.

93: 3-0! Celta look tired, we've been threatening  and after our cross is cut out, Guillamon threads it through to Almeida in the box and he finishes well for his first goal.

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FULL-TIME: 3-0
After an even first 30 minutes Valencia grew into the game and got a deserved win to chase away the disappointment of last week. Win or lose the team is just far more enjoyable to watch this season. There are definitely areas to improve. The passing can be careless, the final ball often is too rushed. Playing out from the back is clearly the game plan but we struggle with presses and the players often make mistakes in these situations. It's hoped they'll improve with experience.

PLAYER RATINGS
Mamaradashvili 7.5: deserved clean sheet, only suffered with a couple of mistakes in distribution
Gaya 5.5: a little disappointed with his crossing and final balls, but he redeemed himself with a key role in the second goal.
Comert 6: much improved this season though can be a bit careless with passing under pressure
Diakhaby 7: enjoying a really good run in the team. Never misplaced a pass and his positioning is always correct.
Thierry 7: Had a good day. Strong in defence and in attack with even a few flashy moments.
Guillamon 6.5: helped the team well with a tactical foul and assist, but can be a bit too carefree on the ball in dangerous positions
Almeida 6.5: his first full game and it was a solid one with good passing and a goal
Ilaix 7.5: probably his best game for us, a commanding presence in midfield 
Lino 7: a flair player, good involvement in 2 of the goals. Can still be too selfish but given his contribution can be forgiven for that today.
Castillejo 6.5: a continual threat on their wing and moved well. Took his goal confidently. He's now the team's top scorer!
Cavani 5: a quiet, almost disappointing debut. He worked hard but had little of the ball to work with.

Nico 5: filled the hole in midfield but wasn't that productive 
Marcos Andre 6.5: good sub appearance, making their defenders work and taking his goal well
Kluivert 6.5: very lively presence. Didn't get a goal but it's coming, needs to maintain this level.
Paulista 5: late sub, didn't have much to do but looked better than last week
Lato 5.5: late sub but covered well 

Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Valencia match thread

Valencia come into this game after a morale boosting thumping win over Getafe. Prior to that game, many questions had been asked about whether the team could, for all the improved play and possession the previous game, actually get shots on target, let alone score goals and they answered in emphatic fashion. But in the end this is only one game and the team in fact still has 4 points less than Bordalas did after his first four games which included a 4-1 win at Osasuna, so we need to see this sustained across several games before we can get excited.

Rayo's start has been patchy. They started well against the Barcelona teams, getting a draw in Nou Camp before winning at Espanyol, but then they lost at home to Mallorca, with Kangin Lee getting a goal and assist. The last game they lost to a 90th minute winner at Osasuna. It's been an unproductive ground for Valencia to play at, our last win there came in December 2014 in the Copa del Rey while the last league win was in May 2013. 

In team news, Jaume got a serious injury and may miss most of the season. The club is evaluating the option of signing ex-Bilbao keeper Iago Herrerin as cover for the season. As one of the only free agents with La Liga experience, he's the obvious choice. Diakhaby and Marcos Andre have recovered from their injuries and are available, while Paulista and Gaya are back. On the other hand, Ilaix is suspended after his sending off last week. 

Gaya and Paulista come back today replacing Lato and Comert. Cavani is still training and not involved yet.

4 min: And Valencia are behind already. We tried to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick but got dispossessed, we gave away a soft foul in a dangerous position and poor defending meant they scored.

10 min: we've struggled with Rayos' press and have given the ball away too cheaply leading to them having the better chances.

14 min: shambles at the back. We lose the ball easily in midfield, Trejo totally owns Paulista with a turn and has the whole goal to aim at. Mamardashvili parries, Rayo have the chance again but Thierry blocks on the line. So nearly 2 down.

17 min: Alvaro Garcia accelerates, beats Thierry and Paulista (who's had a terrible game so far) but his centre is cut out by Diakhaby.

18 min: Musah gives it away with a sloppy pass in midfield, they're in again all too easy, and Mamardashvili has to put it behind for a corner.

25 min: Valencia have a rare spell of possession, but for the second time, Gaya overhits his cross which sails out for a goal kick.

28 min: cooling break and Valencia need to work something out. Midfield non-existent, getting totally overrun, mentally slow and getting easily dispossessed and rarely able to break out of our first third.

32 min: no change. Rayo still have us pinned back. They get their 5th corner (we've had none) and Mamardashvili punches away.

34 min: the ball bounces over Paulista and Rayo are in. Thierry body charges the Rayo player over in the box. Correctly not a penalty though I've seen ones like that given.

36 min: Valencia's first corner, but Nico flicks well over.

37 min: Valencia move it about well, but yet again Gaya messes up with his cross. They've been awful today.

39 min: Lino needs to learn to pass the ball. He gets it in a good position but dribbles into trouble. Needs to be more of a team player.

40 min another good chance for Rayo. Dangerous free kick and they head just over.

42 min: Castillejo fouled. I nearly forgot he was playing as, like Duro, he's barely had a touch

45 min: better! Valencia's corner is pushed out, we keep possession, Nico's shot is well charged down. It falls to Duro who volleys over though it was probably offside.

HALFTIME: We're lucky to be only one down. There were few positives there with Mamardashvili and Diakhaby saving a couple of dangerous attacks. It's hard to believe we've had 56% possession as they've dominated us.

46: Lino loses it but Thierry is strong to cover.

47: Valencia with the best chance yet, good work by Castillejo in taking out 2 defenders, Musah's cutback gives Nico the whole goal to shoot at but he puts it over.

51: Terrible. Trejo gets past 3 of our players. Nico brings him down. We give away an unnecessary corner and with no danger, Nico slices it into his own net. Why isn't Almeida on instead? 0-2

54: Heart in mouth as Paulista gets owned yet again. Camello with a good chance blocked. We get the corner clear but after the ball spins across our area, luckily no Rayo player there to get a touch but they're pushing for a third.

57 Thierry is brought down in a dangerous position. Commentator thinks we'll be missing Soler. Why? He never hit a useful free kick that I remember. Gaya hits it and at least gets it on target but it's easy for the keeper. Marcos Andre has come on for Nico.

61: Valencia have a couple of corners without creating anything. Lino, as usual, dawdles on the ball, tries to dribble a bit and loses it, there's a dangerous counter on which Mamardashvili has to come way out to clear. Someone with the initials GG needs to have a word with Lino.

64: Good free kick put in which Paulista heads just over. Kluivert and Lato on for Duro and Gaya.

70: We move it up the field well, but Lato overhits his cross with Andre waiting in the centre.

72: Cooling break. It looks like we've switched to a 4-4-2 with Kluivert and Andre up front but nothing much happening. Rayo at least have run out of steam a bit but they should be ok with a 2-goal lead.

76: good interception and pass from Diakhaby finding Andre but a poor first touch lets him down and the danger passes.

78: Mamardashvili saves us again, that's Rayo's 6th shot on target, we've had 1. Almeida on for Guillamon.

82: A good run from Lino but again, instead of centring it, he selfishly takes a shot which the keeper easily covers.

92: DIAKHABY! A good few minutes from Valencia. Almeida centres from a free kick and Diakhaby knocks it in at the back post. Too little, too late.

FULL TIME.
A poor and really flat performance after the high of last week. The team showed their inexperience against a high press in the first half and got overrun. Really a 1-goal loss flatters us. Rayo hadn't won at home in 9 months but beat us so easily. The questions being asked before the previous game return.

PLAYER RATINGS
Mamardashvili 6: saved us on a couple of occasions. Without him it would have been more.
Thierry 4: mostly covered his side well, but also lost possession in some dangerous areas.
Paulista 1: awful return to the side, constantly out of position and failed when needed, hard to believe that Comert looked better.
Diakhaby 5: best of the defence, cut out a number of dangerous balls and grabbed a consolation at the end.
Gaya 3: sluggish return and his crossing was abysmal in this game, ruining some promising chances.
Guillamon 4: overrun with the rest of the midfield, needed more presence this game.
Nico 0: poor in midfield, missed one of our best chances and scored their winner. Can it get any worse?
Musah 4: was full of energy but his passing was off and never got a chance to link up in any meaningful way
Castillejo 3: had a couple of good link ups at the end after an invisible first half.
Lino 3: has ability and is a good dribbler but way too selfish. PASS THE BALL!
Duro 3: forgettable day, though he was starved of any service.

Andre 4: more lively than Duro and posed more of a threat but the final touch wasn't there.
Lato 4: an improvement on Gaya, especially in the passing sense.
Kluivert 4: limited time generated some moments of danger and forced a save from the keeper
Almeida 5: limited time but performed well in the brief period he was on and got a good assist.

Valencia 5-1 Getafe match thread

 It's half-time in the Mestalla as I write this. In terms of playing style Valencia had started the season much better, unfortunately only 1 win and 2 defeats were the results. A big question before this game was if Valencia could actually create anything, as we'd only created 3 shots on goal from open play. 

The answer so far has been an emphatic yes. Valencia have dominated Getafe, blitzing them with 3 goals in the opening 16 minutes. Besides the good result so far, the team looks to be playing with bags of confidence, stringing passed together and generally looking very with it. Castillejo and Lino, 2 players who've been criticised so far in the season, have played well and contributed with goals. Whatever the result today, it's much better to watch this version of Valencia play.

FULL TIME
The match finished 5-1, a deserved result. Super performances from Lino and Musah and it was good to see the youngsters doing one touch and accurate passing rather than the "kick it upfield and hope" anti-football we saw last season. A few negatives, with both Marcos Andre and Diakhaby going off injured and Musah limping around a bit at the end, though in the case of him and Diakhaby it didn't look so serious. I only counted one Diakhaby mistake from a misplaced pass and he went off to a round of applause. Comert also made a couple of important interceptions. A run of mostly winnable games coming up. Let's hope we can maintain this level

Transfer window closes

It was a busy transfer window at Valencia, with 8 departures and 8 additions.

  

So to add to the previous post, Soler left. The fee was reported to be 18 million plus a possible four more in variables. Since he and Guedes contributed 22 goals and 11 assists last season so the pressure is on for the new additions to do that. A disappointing sum but as in so many cases, the club let contract renewal drag on too long and were forced to cash in for less than half of what he's worth.

Quite a few of our fans are disgruntled at the emotionless way that Soler left. Not a hint that the last game would be his last, no message to the fans and a shrug of the shoulders as he flew off to Paris. True, he's getting a lot more money, but it contrasts with the emotional exits of Cancelo and Parejo and the respectful one of Rodrigo.

In the end Tottenham refused to loan us Bryan Gil, who put a cryptic message of disappointment on his social media. Instead, the club added Justin Kluivert on loan with a 15 million buy option. He's said to be pacy and promising but not the finished article, with errors in his game. Hopefully he'll do better than his dad who managed 202 minutes played in a season where he was out injured almost the whole time.

In a surprise move, Valencia brought back Ilaix Moriba for another season's loan. His last season was a bit like Soler's recent form: utterly average and a lot of the time you simply forgot he was on the pitch. It's hard to be excited about his return, the only memorable thing I can think of was his assist in the cup final. 

3 other departures were confirmed. Maxi Gomez heads off to Trabzonspor. Again the fee is shockingly low. Valencia paid 17 million plus Santi Mina (valued at at least 15m) for him. Yet the asking price went from 12m to 9m to Valencia finally saying they were getting 6m, only for the Turks to leak that it was actually 3m. Meriton's negotiation stinks and then they complain we have no money? Maxi's transfer seemed a great idea at the time. Only 5 players had scored more than him in La Liga in the 2 seasons before he arrived: Messi, Suarez, Greizmann (who were all out of our price range) and Stuani and Aspas who were 33 and 32 respectively and also were penalty takers. Adding one of La Liga's young proven goalscorers should have worked out great, but he was mostly a flop.

Manu Vallejo, again a player we paid 5.5m for, was let go on a free to Girona. You'd think they could have at least got some cash for him, but nope. He was a player in the mould of people like De Paul, Bakkali etc, a fan favourite who never won the confidence of any manager and who had to make to with a bit part in the team as a late sub. Marcos Andre, who was linked with a departure, stayed in the end as Gattuso believes he's a player he can work with.

Racic has gone on loan to Portugal for the second time, this time joining Braga for the season. With all the new midfielders added he'll get more playing time there.

The day's most positive news is that Mamardashvili accepted the new contract, so is now part of the first team with an extension until 2027 and a release clause of 100 million, upped from the 20 million release clause that made us vulnerable to losing him.

Both Mata and James Rodriguez were linked. In the case of the latter I'd probably pass. Stories from Saudi are that he's not the player he was 5 years ago, is lazy and has increasing discipline problems. Having made his money at Real Madrid, motivation seems to be a big issue. Mata returning on a free would be a crowd pleaser and would add experience, though Meriton seem disinterested. So while it's still possible to add him, I'd be very surprised if it happened.

All in all, while it's good we made some additions, I'm not convinced the squad is stronger or in a position to challenge for top 7 and Europe let alone Champions League (out of the question for me barring a miracle.) The team did add in the 5 positions necessary: defence, defensive midfield, midfield, wing and forward but most of those players are young and inexperienced and we have to hope they step up to fill the shoes of the experienced departed. Andre Almeida and Cavani are the ones we most need to produce and in the latter's case, that means avoiding injury which is not a given, and getting service (also a longterm problem.)

Ultimately, while I hope I'm wrong I don't expect us to improve on last season's 9th place. I think the big three will be there as usual with Betis or Villarreal most likely to take 4th. I'd expect Bilbao and Sociedad ahead of us. Our main hope of Europe would rest on us or one of those teams winning Copa, Sevilla doing exceptionally poorly and some of the pretenders like Celta, Rayo, Osasuna etc not sustaining form across a season. In that scenario we could get 7th. Fingers crossed but with this ownership all I see is short term thinking and mediocrity.

Updates

 It's been a long time without updates as I've been on holiday or working. So here's a summary.

TRANSFERS OUT

Cheryshev's contract finished at the end of last season. While he had some quality moments, his time here was too inconsistent and marred with injuries. He has yet to find a new club.

All 4 players who'd been on loan (Helder Costa, Moriba, Alderete and Bryan Gil) returned to their parent clubs. The first two were no surprise but with Valencia's frailities at the back, there were calls for us to exercise the 7 million buy option for Alderete. In the end he joined Getafe instead and will probably be back at the Mestalla next game. Bryan Gil continues to be linked with a loan return for a year.

Koba was loaned out to Oviedo. He's shown flashes of potential but needs extended game time and with new additions in our midfield he clearly isn't going to get that this season.

Jesper Cillessen was also moved out, returning to his native Netherlands. Like Cheryshev, his time was us saw him injured and unavailable far too often. With Mamardashvili showing good quality after a shaky start he was not needed. The swap with Neto, which seemed a good idea at the time ultimately turned out to be a disaster for all parties as Neto spent his time at Barcelona on the bench before joining Bournemouth on a free earlier this month. 

Easily the biggest loss of the window was Guedes. While this was expected, it was still frustrating as he had finally started to show consistent form and was constantly a goal threat. The fee was also a bit on the disappointing side at 33 - 35 million plus around 4 million more in add ons. The problem was that PSG were due to get 25% of any fee above 40 million so the clubs settled for below that. It seems at best a sideways move for him, as Wolves are struggling and highly unlikely to make Europe this year.

At the time of writing, Soler's future is up in the air. This is another tough one. The club are offering a 5-season renewal but the problem is that mentally, the player seems to have been elsewhere the last few years. His performances have been inconsistent. Again, the issue is a disappointingly low transfer fee being offered by PSG: 15-17 million. It puts Valencia in a tricky position because if he refuses to renew, then the club may just have to take the cash rather than lose him for free next summer. Plus, Valencia allegedly still owe PSG from the Guedes signing. Great things were expected from Soler when he made his breakthrough. He's been a solid player but not the game changing one we hoped for.

Maxi Gomez looks all but gone with only the fee with Fenerbahce to be negotiated. Marcos Andre also continues to be linked. Another disappointment and would also free up a non-EU spot. Manu Vallejo lastly seems surplus to requirements as no coach has trusted him to play him enough.

TRANSFERS IN
For once, Valencia did most of their business in good time rather than scrambling around in the last hour on 31 August.

Samu Castillejo was the first player to join on a free from Milan. He did well in pre-season but has looked iffy in recent games with his crosses often overhit.

Samuel Lino and Nico have joined us on season loans from Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. The second has only made late sub appearances so far so it's hard to say. Lino has shown flashes of quality but also has shown a greedy streak so the jury is out.

In defence, Cenk Ozkacar joined us on loan from Lyon. He's supposed to have potential but hasn't played yet and with the injuries to Paulista and Diakhaby and Comert error-prone it's a real surprise this position wasn't reinforced more seriously.

Valencia's only money spent on a transfer was 7.5 million on Andre Almeida from Vitoria in Portugal courtesy of his Portuguese agent whose name needs not be spoken. He's highly rated but again hasn't played yet so we have to wait and see if he can be Soler's heir in midfield.

Lastly, Valencia finally made a marquee signing with Edinson Cavani arriving on a free transfer to great expectation from fans. His scoring rate speaks for itself but there are questions of whether he can repeat it after a disappointing final season at Manchester United and also if he can avoid injuries as he will be 36 in February.

Valencia continues to be linked with another attacker with Braithwaite linked from Barcelona or a return of Bryan Gil. There have been various suggestions of a "surprise addition/return" with both Mata's and Otamendi's names mentioned. 

THE GAMES
Valencia started with their customary 1-0 home win over a team that begins with G, beating Granada through a Soler penalty. A tight game at Bilbao followed with a disappointing 1-0 defeat. Last night Valencia put up a good showing against Atletico Madrid but unfortunately lost to a deflected goal after having a Musah wonder strike cancelled out. 

The positive that has to be said is that Valencia are playing much better football than we saw with BORE-dalas ball which had so many of us switching off last season. The team seem capable of stringing multiple passes together, maintaining possession and using a high press.

The negative lies in the following stats.
Against Granada we shared possession but aside from Soler's penalty we only had 1 shot on target the whole game.

At Bilbao we had 63% possession but managed no shots on target. Yep, ZERO!

Last night we went further, having 71% possession but only managing 2 shots on target, while for all their limited possession Atletico managed 7 on target.

So to sum up, 3 games, only 3 shots on target and no goals from open play. This is something that Gattuso urgently needs to fix. Our issue for several seasons has been producing little to nothing for our forwards to work with. It's partly why people like Gameiro and Maxi came and failed. The team needs to create something for Cavani or Duro to work with. As I said lots of times when the topic of replacing Marcelino with Setien came up, possession for its own sake is pointless, we need to create something.

I'll put at least a comment thread up for upcoming games. 


 

Borusia Dortmund 1-3 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia's first preseason match starts with a surprising win over a solid opponent in Borusia Dortmund, who finished second in last seasons Bundesliga just behind Bayern Munich. Of course it has to be said that this is just a preseason friendly match and doesn't mean anything, but its enough to entice me to write my first article since April. I was done with Valencia CF since then, but this little bright spot got me interested just slightly. 

Valencia CF were first on the scoresheet, getting the lead through Goncalo Guedes in the 40th minute, with Borusia Dortmund equalizing the score in the second half through a penalty. 

Just minutes after the equalizer Valencia CF would get in front again, this time through Marcos Andre after a good team play by Guedes and Soler. 

Finally Goncalo Guedes with a long range screamer in the 62nd minute would decide the match and give Valencia CF a 3-1 win over Dortmund.

Impressive first preseason performance, but I'll need to see similar performances and results the whole preseason to get excited about next season.

Valenica CF next preseason match is against FC Saint Gallen on Wednesday 20th of July at 19:00 O'clock

Valencia sign Castillejo

 It has been hard to write anything about Valencia recently as the team seems stuck in a downward spiral which won't change until the current owner goes.

I was tempted to put up a post saying "Valencia's transfer window so far" and leave the text blank. 😏

Generally, our recent summer transfer windows have followed a predictable pattern.

1) We get linked with every man and his dog. Often it's ex-players.
2) Anyone interesting from those linked gets bought by Sevilla, Villarreal or Sociedad instead.
3) Constant rumours about who's leaving and stories the club won't budge from its asking price.
4) August comes and we do budge and sell people way under value, as news stories about us rarely avoid mentioning "our difficult financial position." Other clubs take notice, wait us out them lowball us.
5) The additions are usually people we hadn't heard of, who emerge very late in the market. Often, we're scrambling around in the last hour or two trying to close signings.
6) The signings are almost always loans with possible buy options.
7) Exceptions to the above are when a Mendes client is involved and then suddenly we do have money.

So finally we can report a first signing. It's Samu Castillejo, formerly of Malaga and Villarreal, who joins us on a free with Milan reserving a percentage of a future sale plus some performance related bonuses (qualification for Europe etc.)

He is, inevitably, a less exciting signing than he would have been a few years ago when Milan bought him for nearly 25 million. Since then his star has fallen. He was seriously out of favour last season and played a grand total of 124 minutes! Let's hope he can recover. He usually plays as a winger but can be used as a second striker. His goalscoring rate is unimpressive, but then again, it's Valencia.

In other transfer news, the club is still trying to get offers for Guedes and Soler, with the fate of others like Gaya, Guillamon and Diakhaby up in the air. Surprisingly, there's been little news about Cillessen moving out.

The club was linked with Edison Cavani (hugely unlikely) and, more realistically with Mario Balotelli. The latter as a "past-it" star in the mould of people like Negredo or Nani seems realistic. It's hard to get exicted about it as his last 2 seasons have been in Serie B and the Turkish league, where he did at least score 18 times last season.

Official: Anil Murthy sacked

Valencia CF confirmed today that Anil Murthy will no longer serve as president of the club. The statement comes after the audio clips that were made public, from which the club is now distancing itself claiming that they do not reflect the opinions of anyone but himself.

Anil Murthy is a top contender for worst president of the club. He has made a habit of disrespecting fans and the club, shirking responsibility, and blaming everyone else for the misfortunes of the club. The sporting aspect of the club often took a backseat to the antics and mishaps brought about under his management. Of course, that's what he's been hired to do, otherwise why would Lim keep him for this long? The club has replaced coaches left and right, yet the president has stayed despite his shortcomings and failures. In the end, it took some leaks to get rid of him, not the consecutive years of poor performance, or the disrespect, or that coaches and players alike had disputes with him. That in itself says something.

Better late than never, yes, but if his behavior was condoned by the owner for this long, the root of the problem still remains. The club is currently in search of a replacement and you can't help but fear that it will be more of the same. Ever since Lim took over, the club has been falling into the same mistakes over and over, with little learned. Why would this be any different?

Copa del Rey final thread

 It's probably a sign of how poorly Valencia have been doing in recent times and how low morale is that most of our fans expect us to lose this win, with some even hoping we do as they argue it will allow us to get rid of Bordalas quicker. I have strong doubts about that, as Meriton made their contempt for the cup clear.

A win tonight gets us Europa League group stage football, which does at least provide a little bit of funds. 

If I were to guess our line-up I'd expect a 3-man central defence with Paulista, Alderete and Diakhaby. Gaya will be left back, maybe playing a bit further forward. The right back depends on whether we play 5-3-2 or 5-4-1. If it's the first then either Foulquier or Thierry could start. The latter started the season well but has been off the boil in recent games. Soler, Guillamon and Bryan Gil will definitely make up the midfield and Guedes up front. The last spot depends on the formation, Duro is probably most likely but Racic, Musah or Maxi are other options.

Sadly I expect us to lose tonight, I'd predict 2-0 or 3-1 Betis, hopefully I'm wrong. 

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HALF TIME 1-1

We've actually held our own. A scrappy start saw Paulista booked and then they scored. Gaya got overloaded, Paulista missed the cross and Diakhaby, who was marking someone else couldn't get there in time to stop our former youth player Borja Iglesias powering a header past Mamardashvili who  could do nothing about it. The game was getting gritty with lots of fouls and stoppages but when Valencia actually tried to play football it produced results. Great through ball from Ilaix, Duro narrowly onside, could have tried for a pass to Guedes but instead neatly lobbed Bravo. Unfortunately in a later chance he did try to pass to Guedes but the ball got cut out. Betis have been restricted to a shot from Canales which hit the post, though it looked like the keeper had it covered. All to play for in the second half.

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End of 105 minutes. While we've held our own  there've been periods of good and bad luck. Guillamon really should have had a second yellow. Duro had a chance but on his weaker foot and Betis have squandered a few chances with Mamaradashvili making an important stop with his legs from Fekir. Please not penalties or a last minute loss.

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PENALTIES: Betis win 5-4 with Musah trying to place it in the top corner but putting it over. And there ends another disappointing season with Valencia yet again missing out on European football.

Valencia CF vs Cadiz CF Match Preview

After a short break due to international football, club football returns to action this weekend. Valencia CF will be hosting Cadiz CF at home at the Mestalla in the hopes of securing another win and furthering its position on the table with the slight hope and possibility of maybe reaching a position that will lead them to European football next season.

Of course Cadiz CF might have something to say about that and will be looking for a win themselves against a weak and unpredictable Valencia CF and escape the relegation grip even if only temporarily. Cadiz CF are 17th on the table with 27 points, just one more than RCD Mallorca who are in the relegation zone along with Levante and Deportivo Alaves. They've only scored 25 goals, yet have conceded 41 goals which is in line with what Valencia CF have conceded this season. 

Valencia CF on the other hand are currently sitting at 9th place on the table with 42 goals scored and 43 goals conceded which is one of the highest conceded goals in the league and way more than the top 10 teams currently on the table. Only four teams have conceded more goals than Valencia CF this season and all four are in a relegation battle at the bottom of the table. 

Good thing is that since the return of Gabriel Paulista the defense has been rejuvenated a little bit and Valencia CF has been conceding a lot less goals with several matches resulting in clean sheets. Hopefully this trend will continue till the end of this season and we can hopefully move few position up the table. Of course our midfield is still completely broken and our attack relies on individual brilliances for goals, but somehow we are scoring goals this season. 

Jose Bordalas has had great success with an updated 3-5-2 formation or a 5-3-2 essentially when in defense with three central defenders securing the back and two more wide defenders in midfield to further help in defense when needed. Interestingly this formation was used last season by Voro when he took over the temporary coach role and he also had great success with it.  Essentially a very defensive formation overall designed to soak attacks and then be able to quickly do counter attacks through the wings and try and score goals that way. 

I expect pretty much the same team from previous matches with Giorgi on goal, Paulista, Alderete and Diakhaby in defense with Foulquier and the returning Gaya on the wings, Soler, Hugo and Gil in midfield and then the attacking duo of Guedes and Hugo Duro. Some of the variations he can and has used are Musah, Racic and Maxi Gomez. 

ELCHE CF 0 v VALENCIA CF 1

 A much improved performance to last week and played a bit more football for a change. A good start saw Guillamon score with a header from a Maxi headed cross in the 7th minute but the VAR came in and suggested that Foulquier was in an offside position when he impeded a defender. Harsh decision but we have to accept it. In 39 minutes Guedes gets put through on goal but his shot on the run goes slightly wide. Not much between the 2 teams in the first half but Valencia have more possession.

The second half starts and we see Diakhaby having to go off suffering from severe pain in his wrist straight after the restart. I think Bordalàs was a bit puzzled why he didn't come off at half time. Hugo drops back to replace him.

In minute 49 a pinpoint pass from Soler finds Guedes running in on goal and as he is knocked off balance he somehow manages to fumble the ball over the line to put us bizarrely in front. That will not be featured on goal of the week but very valuable to us.

Soon after Vasquez made a great last minute tackle after Milla was put through all on his own to keep us in the game. Then in minute 65 Elche had a goal disallowed when they were offside from a free kick.

It was now very open with both sides making chances. Cheryshev missed a simple header when all alone in front of goal then Maxi and Racic messed up another easy chance to put us 2 in front. 10 minutes from time and Maxi then had a well worked goal annulled after slipping the ball home from a Guedes pass.

All in all a decent performance with the defence playing especially well with only one goal conceded in the last five games

Elche CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Elche CF are hosting Valencia CF at the Martinez Valero stadium later today in a clash between the midtable combatants and have a chance to jump several positions if they manage to beat Valencia CF. Valencia CF on the other hand sit at 37 points and even a win wouldn't budge them off of the 9th position at the table. Even reaching 8th place would a challenge and everyone from 7th and higher is too many points ahead of us at this point. 

So we know where Valencia CF is going to place this season, its going to be between 8th or 14th place, I'm hoping a victory today would push us towards the upper half of the table, but unfortunately this is our reality as of right now. We have great individual players like Soler, Gaya, Guedes, Paulista who I'm sure will thrive in any other team, but they just aren't leading this team to better results and the rest are all looking to make an individual name for themselves as well to hopefully play at a bigger club. 

I know I've been quite negative on the team this season, more so than the few previous ones, but in the past I just blamed Peter Lim and the management, now I also put a decent amount of the blame on the team as well. I think the coach, the players are also to blame for our results. Bad management is ultimately the key issue, but the team has to look past that and do their thing, play and win games. 

Looking at Elche CF they are of similar quality to Valencia CF, they play various type of football depending on who their opponents are, they have a rather leaky defense, but not the worst in the league, they are only average in terms of goals scored and they have about 50% overall possession rate. So basically average stats, not good, not terrible either and its going to be interesting to see if Valencia CF is going to be able to bring the game to them or will we still defend and only attack on the counter like most of our matches? 

In terms of lineup I expect to see the strongest squad selected, with Guedes and Hugo Duro in attack, Bryal Gil a bit further back behind them, a midfield of 3 with Soler, Racic and Foulquier and a 5 man defense with the wide players acting as wingers when we attack, which is likely to be rarely! 

Jose Luis Gaya, Lato, Thierry Correia and Jasper Cillessen are still out, though the last two should be available next week if everything goes well. 

The New cheap Mestalla

We've reported several times on the progress of the new stadium or lack thereof and with each consecutive presentation the project seems to have become worse and worse. 

The latest was Peter Lim going to court against the local government over the ATE and its specifics. Peter Lim latest presentation was one of a stadium with a capacity of 40k seats that is smaller and less feature rich than the current old Mestalla. Just click the above link if you want to see the comparison pictures of the New Mestalla and the new new Mestalla, its night and day. The original design was grandiose and slick and amazing and the new design is cheap, terrible and pathetic. 

Peter Lim has a small club mindset, the way he is running Valencia CF like a small club and doing stuff just to stay afloat and just to barely get by. You don't buy a football club to then run it like a merchandise store, he has no clue how to build a successful club and how to grow Valencia CF. 

Fortunately the government is not buying the Kool-Aid he is selling, the snake oil he is selling and they are demanding the new Mestalla not be under 70k seats and stripped down barebones. 

Getafe CF 0-0 Valencia CF Match Report

Leading up to this match we knew what to expect and we got exactly that, a match with two fairly equal sides who play similar football and not a lot of goals or goal chances for that matter. Getafe CF started the match in a more dominant fashion and generally were the more attacking team on the night, but Valencia CF defended well and on occasions hit them on the counter attack. 

Jose Bordalas chose pretty much the same team that has been getting decent results in the last few matches with the only real big difference being Hugo Guillamon in midfield over Uros Racic or Illaix Moriba. I think if we had Uros Racic in midfield from the start we might have been more attack oriented, but I guess Jose Bordalas just wanted another stable game with no surprised even if it meant we played for a dry draw. 

This is a decent result in the grand scheme of things, though obviously a win here would have been amazing, but considering how the match played out I think Valencia CF should be happy with a draw here. Getafe CF managed to score a goal in the 70th minute, but it was overruled by VAR and the match ultimately ended in a scoreless draw. 

With the return of Gabriel Paulista our defense has been much better, which shows how an experienced leader at the back can change things around and I think this is our 3rd game out of the last 4 where we haven't conceded a goal. Hopefully this solidity at the back is here to stay and Bordalas can now focus on improving the midfield and making our game play more dynamic. We still need to improve immensely and matches like this one we have to win 9 out of 10 times if we are to battle for European football again. We are having pretty much the same issues we've been having all season, with our midfield still being almost non existent and our play still feels disjointed and too individualistic. 

Getafe CF vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Getafe CF is hosting Valencia CF at the Alfonso Perez stadium in what is an exciting bottom half table clash between two teams playing similar style of football and teams which Jose Bordalas coached these past two years! As you know Jose Bordalas left Getafe CF to join Valencia CF in the summer and go on a new adventure, since his departure Getafe CF have done worse, but Valencia CF had not done much better than Getafe did under Jose Bordalas last season.

Valencia CF have been on the up ever since the return of Gabriel Paulista back to the squad and have won the last 3 matches, two wins in the league and a win against Athletic Bilbao in the cup to move to the final. Decent results and the team needs to build on those and achieve a win tonight against Getafe CF, though every time we start doing well we get hit by a negative result to ruin things, so I'm hoping we avoid that pattern and are able to secure a win, but anything is possible in this match.

Both teams are playing similar football, Valencia CF has way more scored goals, but also way more conceded goals, while Getafe CF has less of scored and conceded goals with their difference being -6 and Valencia's being -2. So relatively evenly matched sides on paper and in practice, so it is going to be an interesting match to watch from that perspective. 

I'm hoping that with Gabriel Paulista's presence in the squad we are able to hold off Getafe's attack and are able to score one more than they score and we win that way. So yeah, final prediction is 2-1 for Valencia CF, though any score and result is possible. We could just as easily lose to Getafe, so all of the options are on the table. 

Valencia CF 1-0 Athletic Bilbao Match Report

Valencia CF goes to the Copa del Rey final after beating Athletic Bilbal 1-0 at home and will await the result between Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano to see who is the second finalist. Real Betis has an advantage leading up to the match and they are the favorites to go to the final, they are also realistically the stronger team so Valencia CF is cheering that Rayo Vallecano manages to surprise Betis.

We saw Jose Bordalas start with pretty much the same formation from the previous match in the league, with the difference being Jose Luis Gaya starting the match, but as is often the case we force these early recoveries and we end up getting the players injured for worse and longer. Even Lato was available for selection and he was the fitter of the two, but Bordalas risked it and played Gaya, only for it to backfire as Gaya got injured in the 33rd minute and was replaced by Toni Lato.

The other change for the match was Goncalo Guedes for Maxi Gomez and he was the one who scored the only goal in this match, leading to Valencia's victory. Gabriel Paulista was also in the lineup and we have another clean sheet with him in the squad in back to back games! 

Valencia CF was contesting the match much more in the first half and trying to get something going, fighting for midfield control and having few chances created on goal. This would pay off in the 43rd minute when Goncalo Guedes scored a goal from a long range effort and gave Valencia CF the lead. 

The second half would have Athletic Bilbao controlling the match for long periods of time with Valencia CF mostly sitting back and defending and occasionally hitting on the counter attack. They had several long range efforts, but we were fortunate enough to not concede.

Ultimately its a mixed bag game, some positives, some negatives, Valencia CF falling into their standard play to sit back and defend in the second half, but we were lucky enough to win this time. So yeah, a good result, but there is a lot of work needed to be done. 

Valencia CF vs Athletic Bilbao Cup Semi Final

On March 2nd Valencia CF is going to welcome Athletic Bilbao at the Mestalla for the second leg of the Spanish cup semi final. Valencia CF got a great result in the first leg, a 1-1 draw against Athletic Bilbao which puts us in pole position for the second leg, but we still have to prove it and get a result at home. With how Valencia CF has been playing recently in the league its going to be very hard to get a good result, but who knows, I expected a loss in the first leg, but Valencia CF surprised me and got a draw against an in form Bilbao who defeated Real Madrid and Barcelona previously to reach the semi final, so there is still hope left.

Even though we've had several terrible results in the league recently, last match was a much needed win, even if it was a lucky one and maybe even an undeserved one. Hopefully that win gives us a boost leading up to this match and brings back some confidence into the players. 

Valencia CF is boosted by the presence of Gabriel Paulista who returned from injury last weekend and immediately featured against RCD Mallorca, helping guild Valencia CF to a clean sheet, one in a long time. So we'd be relatively more secure at the back, though I'm still worried about Gabriel Paulista's fitness as he just returned from injury and is immediately playing two matches in a span of several days. Hopefully he is able to recoup enough to give 100% performance, we are going to need it.

Correia, Gaya are still out injured and won't feature in this match, so it seems likely that Jose Bordalas is going to use the same defensive trio he used against RCD Mallorca, especially since it brought us a positive result and a clean sheet. We are likely to see Goncalo Guedes back in the lineup, starting over Maxi Gomez, apart from that we might see Hugo back in the midfield over Yunus, though who knows. 

Say what you will about our play and results, but I fancy our chances in the cup. Its a different competition and we've had more luck and better results in the cup, so I'm giving Valencia CF more credit in the cup and therefore I think we have a good chance to win and place in the final. Valencia CF fans certainly need something to cheer for, something to lift our spirits and placing in the final will do that. So with that said I'm thinking a small win for Valencia CF over Athletic Bilbao, something like 1-0 or 2-1. I don't think there is going to be a lot of goals, I think its mostly going to be a scrappy game like the first one, though I'm hoping Valencia CF is more dominant in midfield and perform like they did in the second half against Bilbao. 

So yeah, I'm predicting and hoping for a win, what do you guys and gals think? Do we stand a chance against Bilbao, tell us in the comments section! 

RCD Mallorca 0-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF achieved a much needed win, but its a bitter one as there was nothing in this match to be happy about except for the lucky result. Valencia CF continued to play terrible and ineffective football and its a miracle how we won this match, considering RCD Mallorca made us look like relegation team or rather I should say Valencia CF made Mallorca look like Barcelona of old. 

Its just inconceivable how we have no midfield and how we can't string more than few passes together, its mind boggling. Why can't we retain possession, why can't we string couple dozen passes together, why is no one passing backwards or sideways to retain the ball in our possession? Its aimless crosses and passes forward and 99% of these don't result in anything. 

The one good thing from this match is Gabriel Paulista as even when returning from back from a long hiatus after a repeated long term injury he seemed fit and relatively in good form to get back right into the action. Again this is RCD Mallorca so we shouldn't take too much from it, but he seemed solid and he also scored the goal and gave Valencia CF the victory. 

RCD Mallorca vs Valencia CF Match Preview

After the outright shocking and devastating loss at the Mestalla against the weakest FC Barcelona in decades I'm not too sure what to expect from this match. Normally I would say Valencia CF will have a tough match, but we are likely to score a win here, we should have that much talent and ability, but this team seems to be weaker than the team who started this season's campaign. So in 9 months we've become weaker as a team rather than becoming stronger.

Last match Jose Bordalas fielded the strongest team on paper, excluding the absence of Thierry Correia due to injury, so what can he change now to improve upon last match? Yeah, Mallorca is no Barcelona, but neither was Deportivo Alaves and they managed to beat Valencia CF and make us look like the relegation battling team. 

I think Uros Racic did so well last match that he secured himself a spot for this match, I think he deserves a chance here, I'd exclude Illaix Moriba from the starting lineup as I don't see what he brings to the game, between him and Hugo Guillamon I'd include Hugo as a more defensive midfielder. 

In defense we are weak all over the place, even that left flank which Gaya had covered so well for so many years, even that is now shattered as Gaya seems to have a hard time blocking some of the crosses and passes from his flank. 

Valencia CF 1-4 FC Barcelona Match Report

Excitement turned to dread just 37 minutes into the game as Valencia CF undid itself and allowed an impotent Barcelona to score 3 goals in just over 30 minutes. FC Barcelona's big issue this season has been creating opportunities and scoring goals, but Valencia CF made sure to fix those issues for them! 

I listened to the commentators say how Barcelona played well in the first half, but they didn't, they played rather poorly and their attack was terrible, but it was Valencia's defense that was even worse and it allowed ridiculous goals. Looking at the stats Barcelona had just 4 shots on goal in the first half and 3 of those ended up being goals, that is a conversion rate of 75% which is insane, if everyone scored goals like that pretty much all games would have over 5 goals all the time. Just shows you how an impotent Barcelona attack can be so potent against piss poor defending. 

Not to berate the defense too much, the midfield was terrible in covering as well, Hugo Guillamon and Illaix failed to cover properly so many times and allowed so many crosses, but the last line of defense was also terrible. Foulquier, Alderete, Diakhaby, Gaya were all caught napping time and time again. 

Jose Bordalas took off Hugo Guillamon and brought Maxi Gomez at the start of the second half in a bid to chase the game, and it paid off almost immidiatelly as Valencia CF started attacking and one of the attacks from the left side resulted in a goal. Bryan Gil got the ball wide, ran a bit forward, positioned himself well and provided a dangerous cross into the penalty area to which Soler was the fasters to react and headed the ball past Ter Stegen and into the net.

Valencia CF vs FC Barcelona Match Preview

After last weekends disaster its good to have an exciting opponent to forget about the club's issues and just focus on the match at hand and hope for the best. Valencia CF will play against FC Barcelona this Sunday at 16:15 CET at home at the Mestalla in what is going to be an exciting and interesting match to watch. Neither team are doing great in the league, with FC Barcelona being the slightly better team, but struggling significantly this season. They just bought former Valencia CF player Ferran Torres from Manchester City in a bid to bolster their attack and would be hoping to have Ferran himself be the downfall of Valencia CF in tomorrow's match.

I'm excited about this match, both teams are equally matched with Valencia CF being overall the worse team, though it can step up its game on special occasions and FC Barcelona has been one such occasion historically for our team. We are coming to this match after a devastating and humiliating loss against Deportivo Alaves, but lets hope that that match is behind us and the team does well against FC Barca. 

There are some bad news for Valencia CF as Thierry Correia injury is quite serious and he is likely to be out from any competition for at least two weeks, possibly 3 weeks before he is able to return to playing. He's had terrible luck this season as he's suffered injury after injury this season and it has really stumped his progress and Valencia's results. 

FC Barcelona's biggest issue this season appears to be their inability to create good chances and convert those that they do create into goals. They've been generally good in defense, though nothing special of course, but their main problem appears to be their link between midfield and attack and creating good goal scoring opportunities that they can convert. 

For Valencia CF we've had multitude of problems and at times it has been the attack, at times it has been the defense, at times it has been the midfield, but generally speaking we have problems all over the field and don't have a solid footing anywhere. I think our best asset is our attacks due to individual brilliance that can and has made a difference, but we are not systemically good at attacking and rely mostly on counter attacks and sheer individual brilliance to score goals. 

I don't know what to expect from tomorrow's match, if we had won our last match against Alaves I would have probably predicted a draw with a good chance for a victory, but now I'm not so sure. I think a draw at this point would be a decent result, a win seems unrealistic and far fetched and I'm hoping we avoid another disastrous loss. 

So I'm going to say 1-1 draw against Barca, I'm hoping for a win, but I'll take a draw as long as its not a loss. 

Why is Valencia CF underprerforming?

Why is Valencia CF underperforming or is this the maximum this squad can give? I was shocked when Valencia CF lost last match against Deportivo Alaves the second worst team in La Liga currently. A team that has conceded 38 goals and can't even score 1 goal per game, but against Valencia CF they scored two goals and made Valencia CF look like the relegation team. 

I was very pleased with the way Valencia played against Athletic Bilbao in the cup, it was a scrappy match for big parts, but we saw an attacking Valencia CF side that seemed capable of scoring goals at any given moment and we gave Bilbao a big scare, losing at home to a Valencia side that is struggling in the league, when they beat Real Madrid and Barcelona before us to reach the semi final. 

Little did I know none of that fighting spirit and attacking quality would transfer over to the league match. Jose Bordalas fielded a very strong team, we had Guedes in attack, Soler in midfield, Thierry in defense, Yunus had done well in central midfield in the previous matches he started, so it was all good, this was 95% the strongest team, we missed Bryan Gil, Hugo Duro and Gaya, but apart from Gil who is world class, I don't see how Hugo or Gaya would have made a difference and truth is they didn't when they were introduced on half time. In fact it took a penalty for Valencia CF to equalize the score, but then Alaves were awarded one as well and they clinched the match. 

Deportivo Alaves vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Valencia CF is coming to this match after a tough game against Athletic Bilbao in midweek in which Valencia CF managed to secure a draw, which puts the team in great position leading up to the second leg of the semi final which will be played at the Mestalla. 

There were a lot of positives from last match with Valencia looking more secure at the back as our players quickly covered Bilbao players and didn't allow them much space, midfield was still miss and hit, but there was at least a fighting spirit for every ball and every inch of grass and in the second half Valencia CF actually dominated the match for the most part. It was overall a scrappy match, but we did play a lot better than previous matches. Bryan Gil was a standout performer as he looks to be the real deal, very high quality player in a long while in our squad. 

So looking at tomorrow's match everything looks positive and I'm expecting a secure win. There are no new injuries, the team has been training well and it should be a good match. Deportivo Alaves are at the bottom of the table and fighting to avoid relegation, they have a very leaky defense with 38 conceded goals, second only to Levante who are in last place with 46 conceded goals. Even though this seems like an assured win, you can never write off anyone and team with nothing to lose can go all out to try and clench a win. So Valencia CF should approach this match somewhat cautiously and try to keep everything solid, keep everything tight and slowly but surely try to chip off their defense which we know is leaky and should concede a goal or two. 

So yeah, I'm expecting overall a comfortable win, I'm thinking 2-0 to Valencia CF, but even a small 1-0 win is enough, we just need to get 3 points no matter the result so that we maintain theoretical chances for a European League spot. Valencia's biggest issue has been the defense this season as we've conceded 36 goals, just two less than Alaves, but fortunately we've been decent in attack and have managed to rescue few points through our attack, otherwise we could have been fighting relegation as well. 

The last few matches give me hope that our defense has been improved, though once again we need more solid midfield so that we don't have to rely too much on our defense, as they say a good offense is the best defense. 

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Valencia CF Match Report

That was a positive surprise, I came into this match thinking that it was all but lost from the start, with Valencia looking to take its chances at home, but this was really surprising. Not only did we manage a draw against a very tough and solid opponent, but at least in the second half Valencia CF showed up to play football and were the better team with several chances to actually win the match. 

As I mentioned due to work I missed the first half, but was able to catch the second half and I liked what I saw. It was an attacking Valencia CF who wanted to compete and fight for every ball, run every channel. This is the type of Valencia CF I want to see all the time no matter what, and what luck that we managed to land Bryan Gil he is a class act. The guy has lightning pace, incredible dribbling skills and absurd ball control. We should pull all strings to try and purchase him in the summer, though its going to be extremely hard as these types of performances are sure to raise his price or convince Tottenham to keep him.

Anyways Athletic Bilbao took the lead in the first half thanks to R. Garcia who scored the goal after I believe it was a free kick. Valencia CF dominated the second half and went on the hunt for a goal of their own and it would come in the 65th minute after an attack from the right flank. I think it was Soler who crossed the ball into the penalty area, Bryan Gil intercepted the ball and sent a shot towards goal, but his effort was blocked and the rebound found its way to Hugo Duro who slotted the ball into the net to equalize the score. 

Valencia CF would have several more chances after that and a decent claim at a penalty from Hugo Duro, but ultimately the game ended in a draw. With this result Valencia CF now has a great chance to go to the final of the cup. 

Tell us your thoughts of the match in the comments section!

Athletic Bilbao vs Valencia CF Cup semifinal

It wasn't an easy road but here is Valencia CF facing Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish cup semi final. Unlike Athletic Bilbao who had to face FC Barcelona and Real Madrid on their way to the semi final, Valencia CF had much easier opponents, but even so we didn't always have an easy path to victory and it took luck to beat some of the opponents. This is Valencia's first big challenge in the cup and its against Valencia's former coach Marcelino leading a solid team who beat Barca and Real Madrid to reach this position.

There is no question that this is going to be the toughest opponent yet and it would require much better play in order to overcome. Good news is that Valencia CF showed that they can play good football in the second half of last match as the team went on the offensive and tried to win the match against Real Sociedad, creating several good opportunities on goal and coming close to scoring on a few.

Everyone is available apart from Gabriel Paulista who is sidelined with a long term injury, while Jasper Cillessen and Alderete were both training normally before this match, though they might be lacking proper fitness just yet, so its questionable if we'll see them featured in the squad for tonight. 

Unfortunately I won't be able to catch the first half of the match due to work, but should be home for the second half, so there should be a match report. 

In terms of the match outcome I'm leaning slightly towards Athletic Bilbao as they are playing much better in the cup and Marcelino is a strategic master, he does know how to setup a team to counter his opponents. They are also playing at home and Valencia CF has a poor track record away from home, so I'm guessing 2-1 victory for Atheltic Bilbao on this one.

Jasper Cillessen recovers from injury

Some good news for Valencia CF as Jasper Cillessen has recovered from his injury and is training separately from the squad, trying to build up his fitness, with decent chances of being included in the lineup for the next league match. 

Omar Alderete is another player who has recovered from his injury and is training normally with the squad so he is likely going to be available for selection as early as Thursday for Valencia's match against Athletic Bilbao in the semi final of the Spanish cup.

Hugo Guillamon has also recovered from his injury that he sustained in Valencia's last match after a direct head on collision with an opposing player. His nose was ruptured and required surgery, but now he is fine and will be available for the next matches. 

Gabriel Paulista is still out injured and chances are he will be out for the rest of the season as before when he recovered slightly he was put on recovery training and the injury returned, so now they are going to go slow with him and allow more time for  his recovery. 

Valencia CF 0-0 Real Sociedad Match Report

After an exciting finish to the match it ends in a draw, which is realistically the fairest result. Real Sociedad dominated the first half and were the better team, with Valencia CF dominating the second half and being the better team. Both teams had some decent chances to score, I'd say Valencia CF more so, with a great opportunity for Maxi Gomez in the second half when he was basically alone one on one with the goalkeeper, but his shot was straight into the goalkeeper.

Jose Bordalas chose a very defensive lineup for this match with a 5 man defense and a 3 man midfield and unsurprisingly Valencia's midfield got overrun and Real Sociedad dominated the whole first half and Valencia CF relegated to long range efforts that led to nowhere. Good thing is that Valencia CF held in the first half, although Real Sociedad did threaten the goal on a few occasions, with Giorgi having to intervene with a solid parade to save the goal. 

Jose Bordalas made changed on half time and introduced Carlos Soler in place of Cristhian Mosquera who was on a yellow card and seemed likely to get sent off if he continued. This change did wonders for the team and Valencia CF actually played some good football in the second half, going immediately on the offensive and threatening Real Scoiedad's goal. Few big chances would come up for Valencia as Jose Gaya first sent a powerful shot from long range, then Maxi Gomez found himself in a great goal scoring opportunity after a perfect through ball by Bryan Gil, but Maxi's shot went straight into the keeper. Later on it was Bryan Gil again with the attack this time he dribbled past a player and send a shot towards goal, though only through the center line and in the path of the goalkeeper. 

Valencia CF coach brought even more attacking options as he introduced Racic and Guedes and it was full force trying to score a goal, but for all of the attacking Valencia CF did there was no end result. Towards the end of the match the game became scrappy and neither team was able to string more than a few passes together with both teams relying on long balls and headers to move the ball around. 

The match ended in a 0-0 draw and this leaves Valencia CF 5 points bellow 6th placed Real Sociedad and 3 points off of 7th place, but a match down on Villarreal who play later today. I think its safe to say that Valencia CF is out of the running for European football and it would take a miracle for achieve that. Yes there is still plenty of matches left, but judging from our play and results it seems unlikely that we'll manage to gain more points over the higher placed team right now, especially as Valencia CF will be focused on the cup in the coming weeks as there we have a chance to place in the final and there is also very tough matches coming up in La Liga. 

The standout performer for me was Bryan Gil, I think he has a great future and showed today why he is valued so highly. I hope we get to see him play alongside Guedes more though as these are our two most creative players and I would think featuring them both in the lineup would benefit Valencia. 

Valencia CF to face Marcelino's Athletic Bilbao in the cup

Valencia CF will fact Athletic Bilbao in the semi final of the Spanish cup, led by former Valencia CF manager Marcelino. Valencia CF beat Cadiz 2-1 to move into the semi final, while Athletic Bilbao surprised Real Madrid and beat 1-0 to progress into the cup's semi final.

The new rules for the cup are that two legs will be played, an interesting turn on events as previous rules stated that only one game will be played. 

Athletic Bilbao has had a great run in the cup, beating the likes of FC Barcelona and Real Madrid to place in the semi final, so they will prove Valencia's toughest challenge in the cup yet. It will be very interesting to see how that match plays out and if Valencia CF beat Athletic Bilbao they have a great chance of winning the whole thing.

Valencia CF vs Real Sociedad Match Preview

La Liga is in action this weekend and Valencia CF hosts Real Sociedad on Sunday at the Mestalla. With the winter transfer window behind us the teams can focus on their game and hopefully use the new arrivals to their benefit. Valencia CF had 6 departures and 3 new arrivals with one signing and two loan deals till the end of the season.

Chances are the two loan deals will leave in the summer and continue in their respective clubs, as Valencia CF doesn't have enough money to purchase either of them. In order for Valencia CF to make any significant purchase they would first need to sell a player for a big sum of money and then reinvest that money into other players.

Valencia CF is coming into the match against Real Sociedad after a hard fought win over Cadiz in the cup with which Valencia CF moves in the quarter finals and with both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid out of the competition our chances just got a bit higher to win the whole thing. Our opponent Real Sociedad on the other hand lost 4-0 to Real Betis in the cup, so they are coming into this match with a demoralizing defeat just days earlier.

Valencia CF has some good news this week as both Cillessen and Alderete have been doing light training and while its unlikely we'll see them recovered enough to feature in this match, they should be ready for next weeks match. Gabriel Paulista is still out injured and as I've reported before unlikely to feature this season at all. 

I expect tomorrow to be a tight match as most of Valencia's matches are this season with Valencia being the slight favorite because they are playing at home and coming off of a important win in the cup, while Real Sociedad are coming off of a demoralizing loss in the cup. So I think that will play slightly into tomorrow's match and I think Valencia CF might just clinch this. I'm saying 3-2 for Valencia CF final result.

What are your predictions for this match, let us know in the comments!

Valencia CF 10th in salary expenditures in Spain

Valencia CF now has one of the lowest salary expenditures in all of La Liga. Before the winter transfer market in which the club offloaded 6 players VCF had the 8th highest salary expenditures in the league, but after the winter transfer window the expenditure is much lower and now the club is 10th in overall salary expenditures. 

The highest paid player still is Goncalo Guedes with around 6 million euros salary per year, Carlos Soler following him with around 5 million euros per year, similar to Gabriel Paulista and Jasper Cillessen. 

Then a bit further down is Jose Luis Gaya who earns about 3.5 million euros per year, followed by Maxi Gomez and Helder Costa. Of course Helder Costa is only here on loan, and he carries a hefty price tag so its safe to say that Valencia CF won't be signing the player.

Valencia CF vs Cadiz CF Match Preview

Valencia CF will play Cadiz CF is tomorrow's cup match, a lucky draw for Valencia CF as all of the other teams were significantly stronger at least on paper. Real Sociedad and Real Betis play against each other so one of them will be one in the next round, Athletic Bilbao plays against Real Madrid, so hopefully they can surprise Real Madrid like they did FC Barcelona and these would make Valencia's trip to the final much easier.

First thing's first though Valencia CF needs to beat Cadiz CF and its not going to be a walk in the park, they've been playing well in the cup, while Valencia CF on the other hand has been having serious issues against much weaker teams in the cup, though with a bit of luck we've been able to defeat them so far. Valencia CF is also coming in after a string of losses in the league, so it will be a tough match, with a lot of changes to the team as well. Valencia CF sold or loaned out 6 players and it brought in 3 reinforcements, one permanent signing Eray Comert and two loans in Bryan Gil and Ilain Moriba the first one a winger and the second one a defensive midfielder. 

Jose Bordalas is going to have to make use of the new players immediately as a lot of the options before are now gone and he does not have time to slowly bring them in, he'll have to do it in a quick manner and I expect to see at least one of the new arrivals in tomorrow's match against Cadiz CF.

In terms of the match I expect it to be close with both teams going at each other and having chances. We are likely to still see more of the periphery players being used, though I expect Bordalas to incorporate more starting eleven players in the lineup than previous matches. Ultimately I expect a small victory for Valencia CF, probably something like 2-1. 

Maxi Gomes Instagram controversy

So there has been a big controversy when Maxi Gomez posted a picture on Instagram with the words "day off". Apparently hundreds of people have decided to insult and demeanor the player with some very disparaging comments. 

We have to remember that even hundreds of people are just a tiny minority on Instagram, Maxi Gomez has thousands of followers and Instagram has hundreds of millions of users, so we are talking about a small minority of people who decided to share their displeasure in a disrespected way.

I think players should be aware of criticism and should be able to take that, but people need to be more respectful as well, direct insults and stuff serve no purpose and no player will ever read that. So the best way to do it is by providing constructive criticism or even harsh criticism, but without insults. The focus should be sporting wise without insults to the players, I know things can get a bit too heated at times and VCF has major issues right now, but again targeting players with insults is not the way to go. 

Of course we here at the site take pride in the fact that we don't remove comments, except in extreme rare cases which has happened maybe 5-6 times over the past 13 years. We are staunch believers in free speech and lively debate and encourage all our readers to engage in debates and discourse. Most of our commenters have been super informative and respectful and we have not even had to look at much of the comments. 

Official: Bryan Gil joins Valencia CF

Tottenham's Bryan Gil joins Valencia CF on a 6 months loan deal. The player has been linked with Valencia CF for the past two weeks and the negotiations moved slowly with several alternatives to the player being reported in the news. Ultimatelly Valencia CF managed to reach an agreement with Tottenham over the loan deal for Bryan Gil. 

The dispute came with Tottenham requiring 2 million euros fee for the loan deal with Valencia CF finding that unacceptable, especially for a loan deal of only 6 months. 

Bryan Gil is already in Valencia and has passed his medical examination, so the player will be available to the coach from tomorrow.

Valencia CF sets its attention to Mickael Malsa

Valencia CF is looking at yet another option for midfield and this time its UD Levante's Mickael Malsa who plays as a defensive midfielder. Valencia CF wants to buy Mickael Malsa, though it first wants a loan deal for 6 months with a purchase clause at the end of the loan deal for 5 million euros. The club is in a weak financial situation so a purchase now is outside of possibility, but they could purchase the player in the summer from next years transfer money. 

As you know VCF has been linked with tons of names, but between Jose Bordalas rejecting some of the players and the financial burden in order to get some of the others the club has settle on Mickael Malsa who Jose Bordalas values the most and is the profile that he seeks, unlike some of the other names who are way more attack oriented. The club would also go for a purchase option for the player and at 5 million it is something the club can afford to spend in the summer. 

Diego Costa to join Valencia CF?

Diego Costa to join Valencia CF if Maxi Gomez is sold in the next 48 hours. Valencia's Maxi Gomez has been placed on the transfer market since the start of the transfer market, as Jose Bordalas has lost trust in the forward and with the player having one of the highest salaries in the club he is on the exit door. So far there has been no formal offers for the player, though several clubs have inquired about him.

Valencia CF have identified a replacement for Maxi Gomez in the event that he is sold and that replacement is non other than Diego Costa. Another interested club for the striker is Salernitana from Italy, though the player would prefer to join Valencia CF as Salernitana are battling relegation in Serie A.

Diego Costa is currently without a club so he is going to come for free, and of course he would earn a much smaller salary compared to Maxi Gomez.

Peter Lim goes to court against the government

Peter Lim has challenged the Valencian government in court over the extension of the ATE or lack thereof. As you know Peter Lim and the Valencia government have been at odds for some time now over the construction of the new stadium and its surrounding, something which Valencia CF agreed on when getting the land to build the new stadium on.

The past year the city council has really put the pressure on Peter Lim to finish the stadium as all of his previous promises and "guarantees" were broken. The last proposal by Peter Lim and company was that the new stadium would be built by 2026 with a reduced capacity of 40k with the ability to extend the capacity to 45k. Clearly a massively downgraded plan as initially the new Mestalla was build to house 75k seats with further updates reducing the number to some 60k seats. The latest proposal by Lim and company have the stadium at only 40k seats and supposedly to be built by 2026. The proposal didn't go over well and now Peter Lim went to court to try and extend the ATE by 2030.

Deportivo Alaves is Manu Vallejo's destination

Manu Vallejo has chosen Deportivo Alaves as his next club and all is left now is for both clubs to agree on a transfer. I've learned that Alaves has no transfer money so they are trying to get the player on a loan deal with Valencia CF pushing to sell the player as they do not count on the player in the future and as such they are trying to push for an obligatory purchase option at the end of the loan. Chances are it is going to be a low sum, something along the lines of 1.5 million euros with Valencia CF reserving some percentage of the players rights. 

FacePhi announces sponsorship with Valencia CF

FacePhi partners with Valencia CF. The company will sponsor Valencia CF and join the VCF Business Club. FacePhi was chosen to provide facial biometrics as an access method for the Valencia CF stadium. Hopefully this is just decorative and isn't used to erode people's privacy at Valencia CF stadiums. 

While I am glad Valencia CF is getting more sponsors these type of technologies really anger me as they erode our privacy and bring us one step closer to an authoritarian society. 

Samu Castillejo is hours from signing with Valencia CF

AC Milan's Samu Castillejo is just hours from signing with Valencia CF reports from Italy suggest. This is Valencia's second option if they are not able to secure the services of Bryan Gil. With Tottenham reportedly asking for 1.5 million euros for a 6 months loan, that deals seems to be off and Valencia CF is negotiating with AC Milan and Samu Castillejo as we speak in order to facilitate the move. 

To recap from my previous article about the player he has featured prominently at AC Milan in his first two years there, but has been getting less and less time since last season, culminating with only playing 122 minutes this season total. As such the player is looking for a way out of Milan and Valencia CF is an exciting destination.

If this option also fails then Valencia CF have a third option in Carles Perez.

Cristian Rivero loaned out to Alcorcon

Valencia CF forth goalkeeper Cristian Rivero has been loaned out to Alcorcon for the next 6 months. Valencia CF wanted to sell the player and FC Dallas looked to be his destination, but the deal was not made for whatever reason. We still have no clue why that deal fell through. 

He is not going to have any chance at Valencia CF with Giorgi being bough last summer, initially as a B team goalkeeper, but he was given a chance in the preseason due to injuries to Cillessen and Jaume and he took his opportunity in stride and was a starter for couple of matches before making some blunders in two of the matches and was replaced with Cillessen. Long story short due to bad planning on behalf of the management, circumstances and just bad luck Rivero has not had and will not have a chance at Valencia CF.

Valencia CF to sign Alaves's Joselu for free

Valencia CF is working to sign Alaves's striker Joselu for free this summer as his contract is due to expire in the summer, and he has made the decision to continue elsewhere. Valencia CF were thinking of purchasing the player this transfer window in case they were able to sell Maxi Gomez, but since that didn't pan out the club has decided to sign a personal deal with the player and acquire him for free the coming summer. 

Joselu is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Deportivo Alavés in La Liga and has featured 22 times, scored 10 goals and provided 2 assists. Impressive achievements considering Alaves are at the bottom of the table with just 17 points out of 22 matches and struggling as a team. They've scored 16 goals in La Liga with 10 of those coming from Joselu. 

Valencia CF interested in Roma's Carles Pérez

Valencia CF is interested in Roma's winger Carles Perez as an alternative to Samu Castillejo if that loan deal falls through. Carles Perez is a Spanish football player who currently plays for AS Roma in Italy. He joined AS Roma in 2020 from FC Barcelona on a 6 months loan deal and impressed with his performances, so Roma decided to purchase the player for 13 million euros. His 2020/21 season was a successful one with Carles featuring over 30 times for Roma in all competitions. Last year however has not been as good for him and playing chances have been sporadic and mostly coming on as a substitute in short stints.

AS Roma have offered the player to Valencia CF in order to provide him with some playing time and Valencia CF is still looking for another reinforcement in order to give Jose Bordalas more options. 

Ilaix Moriba joins Valencia CF on loan

Ilaix Moriba joins Valencia CF from FC Leipzig on a 6 months loan deal as a direct replacement for Daniel Wass. The loan deal has no purchase option its a pure loan deal in order for the player to gain some playing time as he has been underutilized at Leipzig and a temporary stop gap for Valencia CF to cover for Daniel Wass. 

The player has not played much at Leipzig, but he returns from the Africa Cup with Guinea in which he played all of their matches. This means that he is fit and ready to start playing for Valencia CF at any given moment and chances are Jose Bordalas will give him a tryout in the cup match against Cadiz.