Thanks mate! Few ex pro's seem to think he's auditioning for the United job perhaps alongside Giggs, personally I could see him managing the senior England team someday!
Gary Neville, Out of the Studio and into the Mestalla!
- Thread starter maccakid
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Thanks mate! Few ex pro's seem to think he's auditioning for the United job perhaps alongside Giggs, personally I could see him managing the senior England team someday!
Espanyol vs Valencia
(LIGA BBVA)
Life goes on without Feghouli as we go into another league game only 3 days later as we look to follow up our 7-1 triumph in the previous game.
View attachment 201570
We line-up in our usual formation but with a few changes in personnel. Vezo returns in place of a not fully fit Abdennour and on the backing of his excellent showing in the previous game Rodrigo keeps his spot on the left wing. I had called one of our youth players, Nacho Gil, into the squad to replace Feghouli and with Cancelo carrying a slight knock I decided to throw him straight into the first team ahead of Mina.
View attachment 201569
We drop our first points in the League. Extremely disappointing after the impressive victory that came before it, we created plenty of chances but could not score, Alcacer in particular being very wasteful.
View attachment 201568
Our two centre backs played well, combining for the goal as well as being solid defensively, but the rest of the team was lacklustre in attack. Our strikers were wasteful and Rodrigo was unable to live up to the standards of his previous performance, his mistake gifting Espanyol their goal. Nacho Gil was also much less of an attacking threat than Feghouli, though I don't want to be too harsh on a 20 year old making his first appearance for the club.
(LIGA BBVA)
Life goes on without Feghouli as we go into another league game only 3 days later as we look to follow up our 7-1 triumph in the previous game.
View attachment 201570
We line-up in our usual formation but with a few changes in personnel. Vezo returns in place of a not fully fit Abdennour and on the backing of his excellent showing in the previous game Rodrigo keeps his spot on the left wing. I had called one of our youth players, Nacho Gil, into the squad to replace Feghouli and with Cancelo carrying a slight knock I decided to throw him straight into the first team ahead of Mina.
View attachment 201569
We drop our first points in the League. Extremely disappointing after the impressive victory that came before it, we created plenty of chances but could not score, Alcacer in particular being very wasteful.
View attachment 201568
Our two centre backs played well, combining for the goal as well as being solid defensively, but the rest of the team was lacklustre in attack. Our strikers were wasteful and Rodrigo was unable to live up to the standards of his previous performance, his mistake gifting Espanyol their goal. Nacho Gil was also much less of an attacking threat than Feghouli, though I don't want to be too harsh on a 20 year old making his first appearance for the club.
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Valencia vs Granada
(LIGA BBVA)
The League games keep coming thick and fast as again my team only gets 3 days rest. This time we have a home encounter against Granada, the surprise package of the season so far, who currently sit in 5th place.
View attachment 201559
Four changes to the team. Orban and Perez replace a tired Gaya and Parejo and Mina is given his chance to make a claim for the right wing spot. Abdennour also returns to the side ahead of Vezo who is unlucky to miss out after a solid performance last time around.
View attachment 201556
My first defeat as Valencia manager. We looked short of ideas in the final third and Granada showed us exactly why they were riding high in the table securing victory with a late goal and leapfrogging us into second place. After the high of our 7-1 victory came the low of Feghoulis injury and now 5 dropped points in 2 games. It is my job as manager to ensure that this is only a blip and does not turn into a slump.
View attachment 201555
A very similar story to the last game except even our centre backs were disappointing this time. Our strikers were again wasteful, Rodrigo again disappointed and again our option on the right wing showed just how much we will miss Feghouli. In a change of tactics on the hour mark I returned Negredo to the advanced forward role he scored 4 in only a week ago but to no improvement, to be honest we never looked like scoring today.
Much hard work ahead then!
(LIGA BBVA)
The League games keep coming thick and fast as again my team only gets 3 days rest. This time we have a home encounter against Granada, the surprise package of the season so far, who currently sit in 5th place.
View attachment 201559
Four changes to the team. Orban and Perez replace a tired Gaya and Parejo and Mina is given his chance to make a claim for the right wing spot. Abdennour also returns to the side ahead of Vezo who is unlucky to miss out after a solid performance last time around.
View attachment 201556
My first defeat as Valencia manager. We looked short of ideas in the final third and Granada showed us exactly why they were riding high in the table securing victory with a late goal and leapfrogging us into second place. After the high of our 7-1 victory came the low of Feghoulis injury and now 5 dropped points in 2 games. It is my job as manager to ensure that this is only a blip and does not turn into a slump.
View attachment 201555
A very similar story to the last game except even our centre backs were disappointing this time. Our strikers were again wasteful, Rodrigo again disappointed and again our option on the right wing showed just how much we will miss Feghouli. In a change of tactics on the hour mark I returned Negredo to the advanced forward role he scored 4 in only a week ago but to no improvement, to be honest we never looked like scoring today.
Much hard work ahead then!
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razielioux
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Cheers, mate! 
I agree. In recent years I have been guilty of this, always playing 4-1-2-2-1 and ticking every team instruction going. So enjoying trying something different for a change, stripping it all back, playing to my teams strength (two excellent strikers) and reverting to a good old fashioned 4-4-2.
AA Gent vs Valencia
(Champions Cup Group G)
An away trip in the Champions League gives us a chance to put our recent struggles behind us as we travel to Belgium to take on AA Gent.
View attachment 201313
Again I have decided to play my strongest possible team in the Champions League. Gaya and Parejo both return to the side, while Piatti regains his place ahead of the recently disappointing Rodrigo. We also try a third different player in three games in the RW role as Cancelo recovers from his minor injury. Cancelo in my mind is the most likely to make the spot his own until at least January so I'm hoping for a good performance.
View attachment 201309
Back to winning to winning ways! An incredible third hattrick of the season from Negredo was enough to pick up the three points. I admit I was nervous at 3-2 but Gent being reduced to ten men helped us to see the game out.
View attachment 201301
A strange performance as in most of the team were quite average, but three players put in star turns to earn us the points. Piatti, who had been dropped recently, returned to the team with a bang. Cancelo proved my pre match prediction correct, his two assists and all round excellent performance ensuring that the RW position should be his for the short term at least. And finally Negredo. Running out of superlatives for the Beast, able to rest him at the 60 minute mark as he had already fired in his third hattrick of the season. And its not even October yet! Also impressive was the fact that this hattrick came playing in the deep lying striker role, showing he can score goals no matter what role I use him in.
(Champions Cup Group G)
An away trip in the Champions League gives us a chance to put our recent struggles behind us as we travel to Belgium to take on AA Gent.
View attachment 201313
Again I have decided to play my strongest possible team in the Champions League. Gaya and Parejo both return to the side, while Piatti regains his place ahead of the recently disappointing Rodrigo. We also try a third different player in three games in the RW role as Cancelo recovers from his minor injury. Cancelo in my mind is the most likely to make the spot his own until at least January so I'm hoping for a good performance.
View attachment 201309
Back to winning to winning ways! An incredible third hattrick of the season from Negredo was enough to pick up the three points. I admit I was nervous at 3-2 but Gent being reduced to ten men helped us to see the game out.
View attachment 201301
A strange performance as in most of the team were quite average, but three players put in star turns to earn us the points. Piatti, who had been dropped recently, returned to the team with a bang. Cancelo proved my pre match prediction correct, his two assists and all round excellent performance ensuring that the RW position should be his for the short term at least. And finally Negredo. Running out of superlatives for the Beast, able to rest him at the 60 minute mark as he had already fired in his third hattrick of the season. And its not even October yet! Also impressive was the fact that this hattrick came playing in the deep lying striker role, showing he can score goals no matter what role I use him in.
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September Review
View attachment 201292
From the high of winning 7-1 against Betis to the low of losing 1-0 to Granada pour league form was fairly mixed, but overall I'm quite happy with our form. I am especially pleased that we have secured two wins from two in the Champions League and have gave ourselves a great chance of qualifying for the next round.
Player of the Month
View attachment 201285
It's that man again, the Beast, Alvaro Negredo! He was even better this month bagging his second and third hattricks of the season on the way to scoring 8 goals in 6 games. That's now a very impressive 13 goals in only 10 games, he is the current top scorer in LIGA BBVA and is also second on the Champions Cup charts.
View attachment 201275
The traditional big two have made their way to the top, with Real Madrid in particular in spectacular form. Granada also leapfrogged us in the table with their victory over us, meaning we slip to fourth. I'm not too disappointed though, I can assure you if Valencia are still in a Champions Le\ague spot at the end of the year Gary Neville will be a very happy man.
View attachment 201292
From the high of winning 7-1 against Betis to the low of losing 1-0 to Granada pour league form was fairly mixed, but overall I'm quite happy with our form. I am especially pleased that we have secured two wins from two in the Champions League and have gave ourselves a great chance of qualifying for the next round.
Player of the Month
View attachment 201285
It's that man again, the Beast, Alvaro Negredo! He was even better this month bagging his second and third hattricks of the season on the way to scoring 8 goals in 6 games. That's now a very impressive 13 goals in only 10 games, he is the current top scorer in LIGA BBVA and is also second on the Champions Cup charts.
View attachment 201275
The traditional big two have made their way to the top, with Real Madrid in particular in spectacular form. Granada also leapfrogged us in the table with their victory over us, meaning we slip to fourth. I'm not too disappointed though, I can assure you if Valencia are still in a Champions Le\ague spot at the end of the year Gary Neville will be a very happy man.
England U21 Duty
International duty rolls around again and I will be hoping it goes as well as the previous one. The squad chosen is very similar to last time but we have lost Ibe to the senior England team. On the plus side Calum Chambers and James Ward Prowse, who I am particularly excited about seeing in action first hand, have not been selected by the senior team on this occasion so will travel with us.
Greece U21s vs England U21s
An away trip to Greece first, they lie in 5th after two games and I am confident of another win.
View attachment 200907
A similar lineup to our previous game but the obvious quality of Chamber and Ward Prowse means they are immediately granted a place in the starting XI. Ward Prowse comes in as the central attacking midfielder allowing Grealish to move to LW to replace Ibe. A strong lineup.
View attachment 200904
Disappointing. The same scoreline as the Greece vs England game in 2001, when Becks scored THAT freekick, but certainly not the same feeling of elation, as it was us that threw away a two goal lead. Perhaps my overconfidence had spread to the team and led to complacency.
View attachment 200903
A disappointing performance but one player did live up to the pre match hype, Ward Prowse scoring the opener before whipping in a delightful Beckham-esque cross for Blackett to score the second. Following the previous international break one of the biggest surprises was that Wilson didn't score, though he did register an assist and was again one of our better players.
England U21 vs Malta U21
We are given an immediate chance to make amends with a plum home fixture against Malta who lie bottom of the group. While I am going to do everything within my power to ensure complacency is not a recurring theme I am expecting a dominating performance.
View attachment 200899
Lewis Cook and Nathan Redmond looked tired in training and have been rested for this game. Dele Alli returns to the side and will replace Cook in CM. Birmingham winger Demari Gray also comes into the team leading to a couple of changes in the roles of my attacking mid-fielders. Ward Prowse has been moved to RW to maximise the effectiveness of his crossing, allowing Grealish to return to a central position and Gray will line up in the inside forward role.
View attachment 200898
Just the performance I was after. Granted the opposition were weak, but we completely dominated the game from start to finish and scoring 7 in any game is no easy feat.
View attachment 200897
Every player in the team played brilliantly today! At the back we kept a clean sheet while LB Targgett grabbed registered two assists and CB Cooper two goals. Chalobah and Alli controlled the midfield allowing the attacking trio to do what they do best, Ward Prowse, Grealish and Gray all registering attacking returns. An up top James Wilson got back amongst the goals with a brace, meaning he has now scored an incredible 9 goals in 4 games under my stewardship.
View attachment 200890
Greece move into second place after their comeback in our game. We are in a solid position though, top of the group, our 7-0 win over Malta ensuring that we have a very positive goal difference and that we end the international break in high spirits.
International duty rolls around again and I will be hoping it goes as well as the previous one. The squad chosen is very similar to last time but we have lost Ibe to the senior England team. On the plus side Calum Chambers and James Ward Prowse, who I am particularly excited about seeing in action first hand, have not been selected by the senior team on this occasion so will travel with us.
Greece U21s vs England U21s
An away trip to Greece first, they lie in 5th after two games and I am confident of another win.
View attachment 200907
A similar lineup to our previous game but the obvious quality of Chamber and Ward Prowse means they are immediately granted a place in the starting XI. Ward Prowse comes in as the central attacking midfielder allowing Grealish to move to LW to replace Ibe. A strong lineup.
View attachment 200904
Disappointing. The same scoreline as the Greece vs England game in 2001, when Becks scored THAT freekick, but certainly not the same feeling of elation, as it was us that threw away a two goal lead. Perhaps my overconfidence had spread to the team and led to complacency.
View attachment 200903
A disappointing performance but one player did live up to the pre match hype, Ward Prowse scoring the opener before whipping in a delightful Beckham-esque cross for Blackett to score the second. Following the previous international break one of the biggest surprises was that Wilson didn't score, though he did register an assist and was again one of our better players.
England U21 vs Malta U21
We are given an immediate chance to make amends with a plum home fixture against Malta who lie bottom of the group. While I am going to do everything within my power to ensure complacency is not a recurring theme I am expecting a dominating performance.
View attachment 200899
Lewis Cook and Nathan Redmond looked tired in training and have been rested for this game. Dele Alli returns to the side and will replace Cook in CM. Birmingham winger Demari Gray also comes into the team leading to a couple of changes in the roles of my attacking mid-fielders. Ward Prowse has been moved to RW to maximise the effectiveness of his crossing, allowing Grealish to return to a central position and Gray will line up in the inside forward role.
View attachment 200898
Just the performance I was after. Granted the opposition were weak, but we completely dominated the game from start to finish and scoring 7 in any game is no easy feat.
View attachment 200897
Every player in the team played brilliantly today! At the back we kept a clean sheet while LB Targgett grabbed registered two assists and CB Cooper two goals. Chalobah and Alli controlled the midfield allowing the attacking trio to do what they do best, Ward Prowse, Grealish and Gray all registering attacking returns. An up top James Wilson got back amongst the goals with a brace, meaning he has now scored an incredible 9 goals in 4 games under my stewardship.
View attachment 200890
Greece move into second place after their comeback in our game. We are in a solid position though, top of the group, our 7-0 win over Malta ensuring that we have a very positive goal difference and that we end the international break in high spirits.
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I agree I can see it going either way him and Giggs as a team at Utd or maybe the the England job, I'm sure a few people would have something to say about that though.
Athletic vs Valencia
(LIGA BBVA)
This match actually happened before the International break but just realised I didn't file the report so going to make amends for that now.
View attachment 200822
With the International break coming up I felt no need to rest any players so a very strong team, this is what I would consider my current first choice XI.
View attachment 200820
A strange match as in three of the four goals came within the first five minutes! In truth we were comfortable throughout, having more possession than we are used to and creating far more chances.
View attachment 200819
Easy to see the reason for our dominance, Our two strikers dovetailed perfectly today, Alcacer again scoring another early goal, set up by Negredo. Negredo then continued his own goal scoring form, scoring twice, as Alcacer returned the favour by supplying both assists. Piatti also had another good game.
(LIGA BBVA)
This match actually happened before the International break but just realised I didn't file the report so going to make amends for that now.
View attachment 200822
With the International break coming up I felt no need to rest any players so a very strong team, this is what I would consider my current first choice XI.
View attachment 200820
A strange match as in three of the four goals came within the first five minutes! In truth we were comfortable throughout, having more possession than we are used to and creating far more chances.
View attachment 200819
Easy to see the reason for our dominance, Our two strikers dovetailed perfectly today, Alcacer again scoring another early goal, set up by Negredo. Negredo then continued his own goal scoring form, scoring twice, as Alcacer returned the favour by supplying both assists. Piatti also had another good game.
Valencia vs Malaga
(LIGA BBVA)
View attachment 199589
Again a few of my players have came back from the international break either tired or carrying slight knocks so with Roma coming up midweek I was forced to make a few changes. In defence Santos gets a rare start and Orban comes in for Gaya at LB. In midfield Gomes, who has been working his fitness up through subsitute appearances, starts in central midfield and young Nacho Gil gets another chance on the right.
View attachment 199555
As the report says Malaga have one of the worst defences in the League, and while our own defence could have played better, we managed to come out on top in a game with plenty of goals. A win that temporarily takes us top!
View attachment 199554
A mixed bag. Negredo did not meet his usual standards and Fuego was extremely poor. On the other hand Alcacer got a brace and played well and Piatti was simply brilliant to continue his good form. Youngster Nacho Gil also played well and Bakkali supplied two assist after coming on as a substitute.
(LIGA BBVA)
View attachment 199589
Again a few of my players have came back from the international break either tired or carrying slight knocks so with Roma coming up midweek I was forced to make a few changes. In defence Santos gets a rare start and Orban comes in for Gaya at LB. In midfield Gomes, who has been working his fitness up through subsitute appearances, starts in central midfield and young Nacho Gil gets another chance on the right.
View attachment 199555
As the report says Malaga have one of the worst defences in the League, and while our own defence could have played better, we managed to come out on top in a game with plenty of goals. A win that temporarily takes us top!
View attachment 199554
A mixed bag. Negredo did not meet his usual standards and Fuego was extremely poor. On the other hand Alcacer got a brace and played well and Piatti was simply brilliant to continue his good form. Youngster Nacho Gil also played well and Bakkali supplied two assist after coming on as a substitute.