Miroslav Djukic last match?

Miroslav Djukic could have his last game as coach of Valencia CF this Sunday in the match again Getafe. Valencia CF president Salvo earlier in the season claimed that Miroslav Djukic is safe for the whole season, but he is forced to say that to keep things calm and quiet, another loss would mean the end of Miroslav Djukic and even a win, which is highly unlikely may still be the end for him, even if it means just prolonging the stay a little.

Getafe are playing some good football this season and it shows on the table, as they are in 6th position with 19 points, only 6 bellow 3rd placed Real Madrid. This isn't guarantee that they will finish top 6 at the end of the season, but with 11 games they've shown they can hold their own against most teams and certainly Valencia CF is one of those teams.

Getafe are playing at home and in the situation Valencia CF is right now, Getafe are the clear favorites to win, which at this point I think I wouldn't be too bummed out if it means Djukic gets ousted. I just don't trust him anymore to lead the team to good things and everything I've seen from him tells me that he is not going to get things right.

For example he keeps playing players out of position, he keeps on insisting on the failed central defensive duo of Mathieu and Costa when Ruiz has proven that he is way more competent than Mathieu and R. Costa right now and in the few matches he played Valencia CF actually defended competently.

The team also doesn't have wing play, at least not in a good solid way that would enable them to penetrate opposition defenses and to me this is a failure of tactics and training. I mean you got to practice moves in attack so that players know what to do and what is expected of them, right now I feel like its free for all and no one really knows what to do or what is expected from them to do.

We have 3 great attackers on paper in Pabon, Postiga and Jonas, but somehow can't utilize them properly. I mean Postiga is great on positioning and dead ball situations, not very technically gifted, but has a sense of goal, Pabon is the type of player who likes to cut in from the side, run at players, dribble past one or two players and he showed that he is really good at it at Betis, and we have Jonas who is an assist machine and who's proven this time and time again each season. He is a sort of poor man's David Silva that operates through the center, rather than through the wing, yet this season he hasn't done much.

To me this means they aren't utilized properly and that the team isn't functioning as a unit and this can be due to lack of match practice in training, lack of build-up practice, players being out of position often, or all of these combined.

I mean on paper the Valencia CF team should perform way better, this is not hugely weakened team from last season, in fact we lost Soldado, but gained Pabon, Postiga, Michel, Ever and Canales are fully fit, we have a more robust defensive midfielder, etc...

Again, at this point I don't trust that Djukic can improve the team and lead them to Champions League position, I actually won't mind if Valencia CF lost to Getafe so that we can get a new manager. I know the financial situation is bad and that if we have to pay Djukic all the money of his contract it would be terrible, but I hope that Djukic would be honest with himself, realize that he is terrible and can't lead Valencia CF and come to an agreement to reduce the penalty of breaking the contract and get paid up till 31 December and obviously be free to look for a new job. This would be the best possible scenario, though I'm not so sure if Djukic is a fair and honest man.

What I know for certain though is that if Valencia CF lose against Getafe that would be it with Djukic, I just hope that the next manager that replaces him is actually more reputable and more able to lead a club like Valencia CF.

Miroslav Djukic must go

Okay, this is the last straw for me. I haven't been writing because I haven't watched half of the matches because every time I watch I get extremely frustrated and even though I've watched the match and have my notes, I just can't make myself write it because of how terrible the team is playing and because most the the results are loses.

For me this loss today against Almeria puts the nail on the coffin for Miroslav Djukic. I didn't want to write this article earlier, because I thought I'd give him time and that the team would improve, but that has not been the case at all, in fact, if anything the team has gotten worse.

This match against Almeria tonight just showed how bad the team is playing and we are basically almost half the season. Within few more matches and is end of the first half of the season, and the team couldn't be further from playing good football and winning.

Lets face it, with the type of games we've been having in most of the matches we can't win, the team is at best a bottom half team that finishing 10th place would be considered great. That is how bad the team is playing and has been playing so far in the season and I don't have any illusions anymore that it can improve or better said that Miroslav Djukic can improve the team to fight for at least a Europa League spot right now, I'm afraid we are going to miss out even that.

Miroslav Djukic is just not the coach to make it work, he had his chance, he had the full support of the board and of the president and even the fans have been contempt and waiting on him to really develop the team, but I think its clear now that this is not going to happen.

I've went back in anticipation of another loss and rewatched some of the games and in most games the midfield was pretty much non existent and the average concurrent passes seemed to be around 3 and then the ball would have been lost and a counter attack pretty much with the defense that we have assures a goal for the opposing team.

I think the players moral is low, self belief is low and I think they question the coach as well, I also don't think that Djukic was ready for a team like Valencia CF, he has never coached a team of similar status as Valencia CF and a small team coach doesn't understand how to coach a higher tier club. We've seen this time and time again, the few coaches that manage to get it right from that position end up becoming really recognizable and great coaches who are then worth million to bring.

Valencia CF doesn't have the money, but at this point I think it may not be the worst to splash 3-4 million on a great and proven coach, than just waste 1 million here, 1 million there and have bad coaches and loose out on Champions league and maybe even Europa League this season.

Its better to splash the cash on a proven coach and then just forget it and be secure that he will do very good and be able to steer the team even with bad players to a good position on the table, which right now would be 5th to 6th position and 4th position would be just amazing.

At this point Salvo must act as well, if he is to not be named one of the worst presidents in the history of the club and I must say I already miss Manuel Llorente who's approach was way better and he would have been in the locker room every day if he had to, to talk to the team and get everyone to perform.

I'm also sick and tired of Braulio who has no plan at all, he is like a headless chicken in the transfer market with no vision and/or long term planning. I mean putting a random person on his position would have done a better job this season and for that matter last season as well.

First thing's first though and Djukic must go, in fact if he is honest with himself he will resign on his own and won't demand to be paid his full contract. At this point his false confidence won't do him any good, it clear that the task for him is too big and he isn't competent enough to manage the team.

Road of No Return: Adil Rami to leave

Valencia's defense is not at its best and has not been for quite a while now. From the defenders that club did has: Cissokho was loaned to Liverpool; Guardado has been a liability; Bernat has been decent; Pereira explosive; Barragan needs more work, Ruiz has been promising but suffered an injury; Mathieu has been inconsistent; while Rami and Costa have been slow and out of form.

In Valencia news over the past couple of weeks, Rami has been punished by the club for badmouthing his team-mates as well as the coach by saying something along the lines of "they got no balls" (no pun intended). The club was quick to act and suspend his pay and playing time. With the issue out of hand and no one willing to negotiate it was deemed best to get rid of Rami. As some of you may recall he was up on the transfer market in the summer yet no one bought him despite attracting a lot of interest. As such, the club decided to loan him out to Italian giants AC Milan for an undisclosed fee (some reports say 500,000 euros) with an option of purchase. Rami expressed delight at this news and reportedly told the press that it was a dream of his to play for Milan.

For the Valencia fans, however, this is both positive and negative. In one hand, one of the trouble makers and weak performers of the team is being forced out. On the other hand, Valencia have one less defender to work with. Some sources suggest that Fuego could be used as a center back while Ruiz recovers. I think Fuego was amazing at CDM and I don't think he should be changed. Maybe try Romeu in defense since he has played there before. Djukic will have to put something stable together until the transfer market. It is rumored that Guardado could also be on his way out to Everton while Tiago Ilori will be brought in to reinforce the defense.

Feel free to let us know what you think :)
AMUNT VALENCIA!!!

Athletic Bilbao 1-1 Valencia CF Match Report

Athletic Bilbao stay undefeated at home and Valencia CF manage a draw in a tough away fixture. I think both clubs can be satisfied, but disappointed with the result as well, depends on how you look at it.

For Valencia CF one can be disapointed because the team had several good chances to increase the lead, but the players failed and somewhat wasted their chances. For example we had two shots by Jonas, header by Feghouli, header by Postiga, good pass from Barragan to Feghouli and this one provided a deep pass in the penalty area, but there weren't Valencia CF players close enough. So several good chances that didn't result in goals that could have. 

Bilbao had their chances as well, they had one dangerous shot that hit the post, had few dangerous shots from outside the penalty area and really pressed Valencia CF for the past 15 minutes and tried to get to a win.

Ultimately it was an improved performance from Valencia CF, with Barragan really impressing me in attack and Feghouli doing significantly better than in the previous matches and winning the penalty for Valencia CF. Pabon had some good moves as well and linked up well with Guardado and the defense was pretty solid until the goal. 

Jonas did really well as well, had some good moves and dribles, forming positions for himself and had two good shots on goal. Paco didn't have any chances, but the service to him was low and for example Barragan and Jonas chose to shoot, instead of pass to Paco who was in good position both times. I think that Barragan loob could have been a goal if he passed to Paco, but it was hard to see and be sure that he would have passed accurately. 

Technical details:

Player Ratings:

Guaita 6 - Secure in dealing with what was thrown at him, didn't have hard direct shots, but was secure in how he handled the goal and penalty area.

Barragan 6.5 - Impressive performance from Barragan, especially in attack as he provided several passes and crosses and he had one loob on goal. I guess injured at the end as he was replaced by Ruiz.

R. Costa 6 - Had a good game, I would have preferred Ruiz as he has been solid and the team hasn't conceded with him, but R. Costa had a good game as well. Don't know if he could have done anything more for the goal.

Mathieu 6 - Stable performance from Mathieu, he had few blocks and interceptions.

Guardado 5 - Decent defensively and provided some help on the left wing to Pabon, but gave away the ball once to Bilbao who were able to have a counter attack out of it and was sometimes caught too forward and had trouble tracking back.

Fuego 6 - Good solid play, intercepted few balls and helpful in the defense, was also involved a bit more in the forward passing as well as opposed to previous matches.

Banega 6.5 - Scored the goal from the penalty spot and provided some good through passes, also intercepted and won the ball several times, but he also lost the ball quite a few times as well. Needs to improve his passing.

Feghouli 6 - Was actually good for a change and was involved very much in the attack, linking up good with Barragan and the central midfield, provided few good passes in the penalty area and won the penalty kick.

Jonas 6.5 - Was involved in many of the chances and was able to create space for himself to shot twice at goal. Had good understanding with Paco and Guardado.

Pabon 6 - Hard working industrial performance, provided two great crosses and linked up good with Guardado, though didn't cut inside the penalty area at all, which he should have done few times.

Paco 6 - Good showing even though he didn't score, provided a pass to Jonas for a good shot on goal, found himself in good positions, but the service to him wasn't particularly good.

Subs:

Postiga N/A - Had one header that could have been better, but by that time Bilbao were on the offensive and he couldn't do much.

Canales N/A - Weak performance, came in and was expected to hold the ball and give VCF more possession, but he just didn't do much.

Ruiz N/A - Not enough time.

Kuban Krasnodar 0-2 Valencia CF Match Report

Valencia CF managed to get their first win the the Europa League against their Russian opponent Kuban Krasnodar by 2-0. Kuban Krasnodar is a newcomer to the Russian Premier league and hasn't opened the season very good so the expectations were that Valencia CF is and must win this game.

Whilst Valencia won, it wasn't all that convincing win. In fact Valencia struggled for most of the match and it was only after Kuban Krasnodar silly goalkeeper mistake that Paco managed to score and bring Valencia CF a lead of one goal. After that the Russians tried to push forward and win, but Feghouli put an end to their hopes with a brilliantly taken free kick.

Overall it wasn't a convincing win, the wing play was almost non existent and the team really started playing after Fede came in in place for Canales and caused some problems with his pace and trickery. Paco also had an impact with his goal, but also good positioning and desire to run, so he was in a position to punish the goalkeeper's mistake.

By the end Djukic brought in Romney in place of Parejo to close out the game and this time he showed a more stable play, although it was against a significantly weaker opponent and when the end was towards the end. Anyways impressive displays from Fede, Paco scored a goal which will be good for his confidence and the defense has been solid, even with Mathieu out and R. Costa partnering Ruiz for the first time in a long time.

Technical details:
FC Kuban Krasnodar(0): Belenov, Kozlov, Xandao, Dealbert, Melgarejo, Fidler, Tlisov, Khubulov (Tsoraev, m. 59), Bueno (Bucur, m. 68), Popov y Cissé (Balde, m. 81).

Valencia CF(2): Guaita, Barragán, Ricardo Costa, Víctor Ruiz, Guardado, Javi Fuego, Parejo (Oriol Romeu, m. 76), Feghouli, Canales (Fede, m. 59), Bernat y Piatti (Alcácer, m. 66).

Goals: 0-1. M. 73: Alcácer. 0-2. M. 81: Feghouli.

Player Ratings:
Guaita 6 - Didn't have much work, whatever came towards him he was secure.
Barragan 5 - Not the most influential of matches, was good in defense and a bit lacking when going forward.
R. Costa 6.5 - Made several interventions and blocked few shots, bailed out Ruiz on one or two occasions too.
Ruiz 6 - Somewhat weaker performance compared to R. Costa, but did enough to stop Kuban Krasnodar attackers and keep a clean sheet.
Guardado 5 - Decent at the back, but failed to contribute much going forward.
Fuego 6 - Good solid display at the center of the park, broke up few play and was generally useful in defense.
Parejo 5.5 - Good performance, but nothing special. He was more accurate with his passing and didn't make any significant mistakes.
Feghouli 6 - Scored a goal with a brilliant free kick, but was otherwise invisible and didn't contribute anything.
Canales 5 - I've always considered him a big talent with a huge potential, but its getting clearer and clearer that after all his injuries he just doesn't have it anymore. Average performance with nothing to stand out.
Bernat 5- Quite anonymous performance by Bernat who really failed to threaten Kuban at all. Tracked back nicely though and helped out in defense.
Piatti 5.5 - Showed off his pace a few times and found himself in semi decent situations, but was unable to make the most of it. Largely covered and prevented from scoring.
Subs:
Fede 6 - Didn't have too much time, but with his coming on the game changed and he did cause problems for Kuban with his pace and trickery. Had one good shot towards goal from the right side.
Paco 6 - Came in and scored a goal shorty after, so he will be happy with that and deserves more playing time and to start these type of matches.
Romeu N/A - not enough time.

Kuban Krasnodar vs Valencia CF Match Preview

FC Kuban Krasnodar vs Valencia CF Match Preview

Stadium: Kuban stadium

Date: 03.10.2013; 18:00 CET

2nd matchday, Europa league

Coaches: Dorinel Munteanu and Miroslav Djukic

Valencia's opponent in tonight's match in the Europa League is Kuban Krasnodar a Russian football club based in Krasnodar. In 2011 the team began playing in the Russian Premier League after having won the Russian First Division in 2010.

The rise to prominence for the Russian club has been fast, after finishing 5th in the Russian Premier League, but will it be longstanding?

Valencia CF lost its first match in the Europa League to Swansea in what was a huge 3-0 defeat for Valencia CF. Since then the club has bounced off domestically and has won the last three matches, but only barely and with minimum advantage, pretty much all of the goals being quite lucky as well.

So its quite a bit of a mystery how the team will play tonight and will it be able to win against what is a relatively weak opponent compared to some of the other clubs. Winning tonight against Kuban is a must though if Valencia CF hopes to qualify for the next round of the Europa League and it would be great to win convincingly to improve the goal ratio as that can also be a factor later on.

Valencia CF squad:
Guaita, Jaume, Pizana, Barragán, Ricardo Costa, Víctor Ruiz, Mathieu, Bernat, Guardado, Javi Fuego, Parejo, Oriol Romeu, Míchel, Fede, Feghouli, Robert Ibáñez, Piatti, Pabón, Canales, Paco Alcácer.

Technical Details Valencia CF (probable setups):
Formation: 4-2-3-1
Line-up: Guaita; Barragan, Ruiz, Mathieu, Guardado; Fuego, Michel, Feghouli; Canales, Bernat; Pabon.
Tactics: Medium defensive line, own half pressure, medium frequency wing attacks, low short passing.

Granada 0-1 Valencia CF Match Report

The second win in a row, albeit a very lucky one. Judging by the performance last night Valencia CF didn't deserve to win and it was pure luck that we did in the last seconds of the match.

The play was started by Ever Banega as he released Sergio Canales deep on the left side, this one ran past his marker, managed to enter the penalty area and from the side pass the ball to Jonas who slotted the ball in the goal.

The match was overall close with both teams have few chances on goal, but nothing too serious. Most of the match was played in midfield, with back and forth between the teams. Both teams had quite a large amount of shots towards goal, but most were out of the bounds and only few on each side were on goal.

I'd even go on to say that Granada was a bit more dangerous when attacking, as Valencia CF was void of ideas when going forward and neither the wings, nor through the center were there any chances. The overall build-up play was poor and the players could retain the ball for longer and recycle chances, most of the time the ball was lost close to the 25 meters from goal and Granada transferred into attack.

The closing down was better than we've seen in the past this season, but it still wasn't good enough, there were still some risky situations and lackluster coverage from the midfield and defenders.

Not a match to brag home about, the performance was mediocre, but hopefully gives the players a bit of motivation and self belief. They still need to work hard and show much more, this type of performance won't win us many games in the future.

Technical Details:
Granada CF (0): Roberto, Nyom, Diakhaté, Murillo, B. Angulo, Recio, Iturra, Brahimi, Pereira, Buonanotte (Ighhalo, m. 79) y El Arabi (Riki, m. 68).
Valencia CF (1): Diego Alves, Joao Pereira, Mathieu, Víctor Ruiz, Guardado, Javi Fuego, Éver Banega, Jonas, Pabón (Bernat, m. 64), Fede (Feghouli, m. 71) y Postiga (Canales,m. 70).
Goals: 0-1. M. 90: Jonas.

Player Ratings:
Diego 6 - Had to make several saves, though wasn't really troubled and did well enough.
Joao 5 - Good performance, but not great and was rather poor when going forward. There was no link-up with Fede.
Ruiz 5.5 - More secure performance than I've seen from Rami or R. Costa and I think he should continue to start. Had few tackles in which he stole the ball and was generally on position.
Mathieu 5 - Less secure than Ruiz, but wasn't terrible like some previous matches.
Guardado 5 - Some mistakes in defense and failed to provide appropriate cover, but did go forward to a good extent and provide another man to pass to.
Fuego 5.5 - Went on about his duties quietly and did well defensively, but failed to provide the goods when going forward.
Banega 5.5 - Finally playing in his natural position as a central midfielder and the team is playing better, with more space in the middle and quicker passes, but this was generally a week performance.
Fede 5 -  Pretty much invisible until middle in the second half when he went in the middle and had some forward arrays, but a rather weak performance overall.
Jonas 6 - In the right position at the right time and scored a goal to secure the win for Valencia CF. Other than the goal he wasn't very good and didn't even touch the ball too many times.
Pabon 5 - Still playing as a winger and its stifling his ability. Needs to play more centrally and while he has good pace, he is not very good at penetrating the defense from the wing.
Postiga 5 - Doesn't move very much and is mostly fixed in the penalty box, I think Djukic might need to put Pabon in place of Postiga and see what happens.
Subs:
Canales 6 - Provided the assist for Jonas goal and that is all that matters.
Feghouli 5 - I don't know what he is thinking, but his performances have been extremely poor this season and needs to show something, anything.