Ferguson said Valencia can play on the left The Old Trafford boss said: "He was fantastic last season, absolutely brilliant. "He was a great signing, he really was. "The great thing about him was he takes the ball with such great strength and balance. He can take the ball up to the other end of the pitch for you. We missed that pace and acceleration. "Although Nani has done fantastic - I mean he's been a revelation this season - we've missed that." Of course Nani is fantastic Fergie has been quick to praise the contribution of Portuguese ace Nani, which has helped to compensate for Valencia's absence. But he is looking forward to early April when he should be able to pair both his first-choice wingers at a crucial time. He said: "We can use Nani or Antonio on the left - that would give us really good width and speed." This is interesting because maybe Valencia could play on the left like Robben does on the right.
More likely he'll switch Valencia and Nani from right to left depending on who we're playing. SAF tends to use his wingers to counter the opposition and play specific roles, rather than just based on their best position. He used to play Giggs on the right sometimes when he felt he would be able to cut inside and get some shots off. He also used to use Hargo as the right winger when the opposition had an attacking full back who needed to be neutralised. And Rooney often gets shifted to the wings when he feels he'll get more space out there. I can see him putting Nani up against whichever full back is likely to be easier to drag out of position, whilst Valencia may be sent up against a full back who needs to be contained and tracked if he comes forwards.
I'd rather have Nani on the left. Nani can cut back inside and shoot whereas Valencia is better at hugging the touchline. But there's no reason why they can't switch wings from time to time during a game.
