Antonio Valencia Facing Another Battle at Man United

There's only one member of the Manchester United squad who might tell you they'd rather remember the 2011-12 season than last year's title-winning campaign.

Quite right too, because which United player wants to remember those horrific 10 seconds at the Stadium of Light when they thought they'd won the Premier League only to hear it had been snatched away by Sergio Aguero?

But if United as a group had a disappointing season followed by a successful one, those fortunes were reversed for Antonio Valencia.

The Ecuador winger was United's best player two seasons ago. It was a fact recognised at the club's Player of the Year award ceremony, as the 27-year-old swept the board.

His goal at Ewood Park during the 2-0 win over Blackburn looked like it had all but clinched the league before United managed to blow an eight-point lead with six games to go.

That he was left on the bench for the deciding game during that run-in, with City at the Etihad Stadium, remains one of the mysteries of Sir Alex Ferguson's 26 years at Old Trafford.

But that player who frightened full-backs with his pace and power was absent last season. At times he looked like someone without a shred of confidence, and even the basic things started to look like hard work.

Without a trick, like Cristiano Ronaldo or Nani, and relying heavily on his right foot, it looked at times like opposition teams had found him out, simply showing him inside onto his left foot to stop him dropping his shoulder and bolting for the byline.

Valencia faced a challenge the minute he signed from Wigan in 2009, arriving to fill the void left by Ronaldo's move to Real Madrid.

But he won the fans over and then had to battle back from the terrible ankle injury he suffered in the Champions League tie with Rangers in 2010.

With a new manager to impress and competition from Nani, Ashley Young and Wilfried Zaha, Valencia is faced with another tough task this summer.

Most of his teammates will have tried their best to forget the 2011-12 season, and those unbearable memories from the Stadium of Light.

But Valencia would do well to remember what made that his standout campaign.