Jose Mourinho puts Antonio Valencia on the naughty step

Antonio Valencia might not have learned English in his time at Manchester United, or indeed his time at Wigan Athletic, but it seems as if he’s a relatively decent bloke. He was made captain, largely due to his age and experience, if not his winning, shining personality. He was a reliable right-back, if susceptible to age and the fact that he used to be a winger and was never really a defender.

However, he largely didn’t complain about the situation and was happy to turn in 6/10 performances for most of his time as a right-back, and 7/10 when he was allowed to play further up the field. He was the only decent signing made when Cristiano Ronaldo was replaced by him, Gabriel Obertan and that walking horrorshow Michael Owen.

But now, he’s fallen out with Mourinho after failing to attend the Derby County defeat in the Carambar Cup, which the United boss is miffed over, believing the captain should attend all club games.

That meant that Valencia was dropped for the West Ham game, and it isn’t clear if he’ll be given another chance against his namesake club in the Champions League tonight. Diogo Dalot could be the man to feature on the right-hand side of defence after doing alright in his debut against Young Boys, or Ashley Young could retain his place at full-back.

This is only really interesting because Valencia seems one of the most harmless people at the club, and if Mourinho is now going at him for a reason - justified or not - it’s worth assuming that the whole thing is going to come crashing down relatively quickly. Over to you to fix this mess of your own creation, you bumbling fool, Ed Woodward.