I feel for Javi Gracia, he was chosen in a really bad situation and hasn't gotten any signings that he was promised, so he was lied to from the start. With all of that our of the way he still bears some responsibility for the results we are getting. So the question is can Valencia CF coach Javi Gracia turn things around or is it time to 'think' about a new coach? Is it time to 'think'(not act) about a new coach?
I've always been against managerial changes, especially the rushed and ridiculous ones, I've asked to hear the name of the replacement and if its going to actually be better and almost always the replacement has been worse. The only time I agreed with a change was with Gary Neville, he was way out of his depth and his appointment was a friendly gesture by Peter Lim to a friend and football investor in the same British club. Other than this time I'm yet to see a positive change and replacements have almost always turned out worse.
I've been reading our comment section and seeing people eyeing Javi Gracia for the sack and saying its time for a change, so is it? I have to be honest I've barely watched 4-5 matches all season long and don't have the best comprehension of our overall performance, but from the matches I've watched and the statistics I've seen and reports I've seen on the other matches it doesn't look good.
Valencia CF has serious issues with scoring goals, in every match we've played this season we've had trouble creating chances and scoring goals. Even when the team has created chances, they've failed to convert them, so a low rate of chance creation and a low rate of conversion and that has led to a disaster season. Defensively speaking we aren't much better, but generally speaking we don't concede too many goals and usually our goals have come from individual mistakes. I think what we lack in the back is a Garay, who had experience, was super talented and played well with Paulista. Now that we don't have a player like that we pair Diakhaby in with Paulista and he has been making so many individual mistakes. Mangala was quite good the first time he was in Valencia CF, but hasn't been consistent and solid ever since and is also a vulnerability when played. Hugo has been a good revelation and has provided decent performances, but is still too inexperienced and raw to be that rock at the back.
Javi Gracia has generally stuck with the 4-4-2 formation that worked in the past for us and hasn't had much success with it, but when he tried to experiment with another formation he's had even less success, so for now we are stuck with the 4-4-2 formation.
So will it be a good idea to sack Javi Gracia and bring in another coach? Well that depends on what coach are we bringing in, if we had some respected names like Pellegrini, Leonardo Jardim, Bielsa, Rafa Benitez, etc... then I would say yes, absolutely, bring them on. Thing is Valencia CF has changed coaches so many times in the pat 6 years, that I don't think many coaches would like to join us, I think our reputation has suffered immensely and I don't see any bigger name coach that would want to work under Peter Lim.
So I'd give Javi Gracia the full season, I don't think he is capable of turning things around, I think we are going to finish somewhere in the middle of the table and we should make a coaching decision once the season is over. I wouldn't be opposed to a new coach for next season, but they have to be an upgrade over Javi Gracia, they have to have some credibility.