No, not the Indian caste system untouchable, but rather untouchable in that the team can't function without them.

I think next season will see more roster changes, not as many this year I hope, but I think the degree of those changes is really dependent upon a. how the team finishes the season, and b. if it wins the Copa Del Rey. But regardless, surely there must be a core group of players that must be kept together if the team wants to do anything for next season and must hold to them if other teams come calling asking for their services. According to you, who are they?

For me, I think they are: Silva, Mata, Banega, Albiol, and Marchena. Why?

-Silva because he can play numerous positions and can play them well. I personally think it was a mild stroke of genius to drop him into a sort of central midfield role, but he can only play this position well if Banega and either Marchena or Maduro are doing there job well. Regardless, Silva I think brings much in terms offense and last ball distribution to the team.

-Mata because he's young and he surely can provide more than he's already illustrated. Really, he's only been given half a season or less to prove himself and what he has shown has been impressive at times.

-Banega because he actually makes central midfield come to life after those dour years of Quique's barraquero (sp) style of having two defensive central midfielders. Only thing I wish he would do is put in some shooting practice. If he can develop some semblance of a shot he will be dynamite.

-Albiol because he's the team's best central defender bar none. Part man-marker, part positional defender, part quasi-sweeper, if Valencia gets him a better partner than surely the goals against next year will drop.

-Marchena because he brings grit and he excels at either defensive midfield or central defense. Yes, he does accumulate cards a bit easily, but Valencia needs an aggressive player to keep other teams honest. I think it's no secret that Valencia plays much better with him than without him.

Why no Villa? I was tempted to include him, but I'm beginning to dislike his public displays of constantly evaluating where he stands with regards to Valencia at each season's end. I don't necessarily hold it against him that he does, I just wish he'd shut up about it and keep it to himself. It would be like telling your girlfriend every now and then that you'd be interested in finding out what other girls think of you. Not the best way to go about things.

I would keep Villa here, cause he is one of the best strikers in the world and there are many who has worse attitude. And like that guy. I agree with the rest.

And I would like if Vicente and Joaquin stayed. I know Vicente played rarely in the recent years, but I have no heart to sell a player like him. He would die for Valencia.
Joaquin is a great player too, a little old fashioned, and one footed but really useful. And we can't know how Sisi or Pablo will perform here if they come, so selling Joaquin would be a big mistake imo. Although seems like Koeman hates him, I hope not he will be the coach next season.

This is the list of the players that we will have inthe team for next season:

Cañizares
Hildebrand
Butelle
Miguel
Curro Torres
Alexis
Helguera
Marchena
David Navarro
Albiol
Caneira
Moretti
Del Horno
Joaquín
Sisi
Pablo Hernández
Baraja
Banega
Edu
Hugo Viana
Albelda
Sunny
Maduro
Manuel Fernandes
Vicente
Gavilán
Regueiro
Mata
Silva
David Villa
Zigic
Morientes
Arizmendi
Angulo
Aaron

Get rid of lots of them is even a more complicated mission than buying a new star.

Drakul: Ouch. When you factor in all those players plus the uncertainty of if Ruiz should be the one making transfers and if Koeman should even bother to return for next season, this summer could be the summer from hell. I know it sounds grave, but when you factor in all these thing and if you think Valencia with just a few smart moves in the summer may challenge for the league title next year, that may be just a bit too much to ask.

Rubenche: I'm of two minds when it comes to Vicente. Yes, he's a good player, but the poor boy has legs of glass. Yes, they are people, but I think one of the problems that Valencia has this year is that it gave long contracts to players it shouldn't have - Angulo, Albleda, and Cañizares. Yes, I like certain players too, but I don't want Valencia to become some sort of retirement home for old stars at the cost of being competitive. Where do you find a balance between being loyal to players and discarding them for a younger version, I don't know.

As for Joaquin, I wasn't too thrilled when he was signed, but I've come to accept him. My problem with him is that he is a basically a dribbling specialist who has the flawed inability to score. Maybe he's put in poor systems or he just isn't understood, but for the money paid for him Valencia isn't really getting back the return on the investment. But then again, Valencia overpays many times for players and a player's transfer fee is out of a player's hands, so you can't judge the player for it.