I thought exact same thing! Blomqvist is almost a nobody in United history
He only had one season with us.
Nani
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I thought exact same thing! Blomqvist is almost a nobody in United history
He only had one season with us.
A pretty decent season though wasn't it?
He played 38 games (25 in the Prem) , scored 1 goal in the Prem and no other goals. He 7 assists, 5 in the league.
So he was an ok backup to Giggs and not much more than that.
A peak Nani would have been perfect for any side. He was a world-class player at his best. Too bad Fergie mismanaged him. Should have had an even better time here than he did with the talent he had.A peak Nani would've been perfect for our right side Exactly what we are missing. 
Agree.
He had the lot technically but could never find that level of consistency that the real greats have.
Jesus, people are revisionistic. When he was here, he was yelled at all the time for being highly inconsistent. Now people are reminiscing about how a peak Nani would save everything and how Fergie mismanaged him.
'Member Nani? I member.
Edit: By the way, I do think he had his great-heights and definitely a legend at the club - but his consistency even at peak Nani would still leave us swearing and considering buying another right winger.
'Member Nani? I member.
Edit: By the way, I do think he had his great-heights and definitely a legend at the club - but his consistency even at peak Nani would still leave us swearing and considering buying another right winger.
Yep. He was infuriating.
He was definitely inconsistent but on his day he was unplayable.
Someone commented on how he needed the manager's complete confidence in order to perform. He needed to know that he wouldn't be benched if the next dribble didn't come off or he had a bad game. When he was shown that confidence and given a run of games, he was generally one of the best players in the league.
Unfortunately, especially in his latter years, Fergie was quick to take him off, put him on the bench or even publicly chastise him after a poor performance. You could argue that Nani should have toughened up and risen to the demands of top-flight football. You could also argue that people are different, and that if you wanted to get the best out of Nani, Fergie's approach probably wasn't the right one.
It's also a matter of different football philosophies. Some people prefer a more workmanlike winger like Valencia who will give you consistent 7-8/10 performances and deliver a large supply of crosses. I prefer a winger with Nani's creativity who even when playing poorly has the capacity to decide a match with one piece of genius.
I remember being surprised by how quick people on here (and Fergie for that matter) were to condemn Nani after he conceded possession. If you want your players to do the unexpected and extraordinary, you have to accept that it comes with a few more mistakes.
I'll say one thing, if all you have in your team is workmanlike 7/10 players like Valencia, you'll almost always play second fiddle.
I'll take a consistent 7/10 over a regular 3/10 with the occasional 8.
Me too. But that is not a fair description of Nani's time at United.
It's not the choice though, is it?
He had one good season with us. Maybe one and a half. The rest of the time he was infuriatingly inconsistent.
Whilst I agree with your overall sentiment, noone is rewriting history here. The caf had many many strong supporters of Nani during his time here. Convinced all he needed was a run of games. And that it was down to Fergie then Moyes and then LVG that they couldn't get the best out of him.
Nani was amazing on his day, but he didn't have his day often enough. That's totally on Nani and noone else.
He made 10 assists and three goals in the Premier League in 09/10, as well as five assists and two goals in the Champions League.
He made 19 assists in the league in 10/11.
He made 12 assists and scored eight goals in the league in 11/12.
After that he inexplicably started just 14 league games for us.
The numbers speak for themselves. After a few years to bed in he became one of the best wingers in the league and consistently produced the numbers. People just remember him as frustrating because he conceded possession quite a lot, which is bound to happen when you have the burden of being the main creative outlet.
As I said, he had one good season. Your stats back that up. One out of what, seven? A testament to his inconsistency. We had a genuine world class winger. Ronaldo. He went to Real Madrid for a world record fee. Nani went to Fenerbahce. Says it all.
Excuse me? Which two of those three seasons were not good?
He was class. Players of his ilk will often be inconsistent.
9/10 and 11/12 were okay. 10/11 was good.
Okay. If you don't think 12 assists and eight goals is a good season for a winger, then Valencia never had a good season for us. Neither did Giggs since 2000 which is as far back as Transfermarkt's stats go.
Luckily I don't exclusively use stats in order to rate a player. I watch them play. Even if I agreed with you that he had three good seasons, which I don't, you're left with a player who has performed less than half the time he was with us.
No point in arguing it mate, some of the rubbish on here isn't even worth the time.
'Contributions' like this certainly aren't.
He's semi retirement since he left Man. United hasn't he?
Was awful for Valencia last season (a difficult time for the club admittedly) and every time I've seen Lazio this season he's always on the bench.
Does well at international level but he's under-achieved at club level last 5 years unless someone can fill me in with all his achievements.
Was awful for Valencia last season (a difficult time for the club admittedly) and every time I've seen Lazio this season he's always on the bench.
Does well at international level but he's under-achieved at club level last 5 years unless someone can fill me in with all his achievements.
I think he was excellent for two calendar years, 2010 and 2011.
He was with us from 2007 to 2015 (the last year being a loan). Do you think that's good enough?
He's been a bit crap for Portugal too bar a couple of games at the Euros. Definitely won't be starting at the World Cup and I'm not sure he'll even go.
He's actually still an ok player but he barely plays due to injuries.
A 'peak Nani' is a myth, a mirage.
We should have gotten rid of him sooner.
We should have gotten rid of him sooner.
Nani was class and would walk into our side. When he was playing in it we regularly went far in the Champions League and were one of europes top sides.
Portugal will call if he can walk I'm sure.
It will be odd seeing Portugal at a major tournament one day without any of Ronaldo, Nani or Quaresema in their squad. Think you have to back to Euro 2000 as Quaresma was in the 2002 squad I think as a youngster.
Best memory for me was the showboating versus Arsenal. Loved it!
He was fantastic when given a consistent run of games. However he didn't have the mentality to be a squad player. He wasn't the kind of player who could perform off the bench or play one game in three or four.
You either had to trust him as a guaranteed starter or ship him off. When we did the former he was great.
You either had to trust him as a guaranteed starter or ship him off. When we did the former he was great.
He was also very good for us in his first season as a 20/21 year old. Had 5 goals and 16 assists in all competitions according to ESPN icluding 3 goals and 6 assists in the league. This includes his performance against Arsenal in the FA Cup when he ripped them to shreds.
He had a quiet year in 08/09, but that can be excused as he was still a young player, in his second season at the club, competing for a place in the team against the likes of Ronaldo, Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov and Giggs.
http://www.espnfc.com/player/67716/nani?season=2007
Can't seem to find it but seem to remember he created the most chances alongside another player, (might've been David Silva) in the Premier league between 2010 and 2013. Also averaged just over a goal or assist every other game for United in his first 100 games. Vastly underrated by many IMO.
The criticism directed at Nani is that he was inconsistent. My argument was that whenever he was played consistently, he consistently delivered. The numbers certainly back that up. Apart from the three seasons mentioned he also had eight assists and three goals in 26 league games in his first season, which I'd call a very impressive debut season for a 21-year-old.
I agree that stats can be incredibly reductionary. Unfortunately, in this case it's all we have save for our memories, which clearly tell of two different players. My memory tells of a player who was one of the only ones to try to provide an alternative to the slow sideways passing that characterised us during Fergie's latter years. A player who would make you yell at the telly when he threw the ball away but who would also often, as the numbers show, make the difference when we were lethargic and unimaginative, as was often the case.
Players like that should be allowed more room for mistakes than other players because what they do is so much more difficult (and important) than for example Valencia's signature move, the run-forward-then-stop-to-turn-around-and-pass-the-ball-backwards. And my claim is that Nani wasn't given that leeway. It always puzzled me to see so many fans complaining about zombie football while being overly critical towards one of the only players who actually tried to create something.
There is a reason that he wasn't played consistently, though. It's because he wasn't playing well consistently. Therefore he was dropped. As a manager of Man Utd, you can't afford to keep playing someone in the hope that they will eventually turn it on. Nothing Nani has done since he left us suggests we made a mistake in letting him go. The mistake was not letting him leave sooner.
Actually Quaresma's first tournament for us was Euro 2008 where he only played one match and he only played in two tournaments for us, Euro 2008 and Euro 2016 which is a bit weird since he has so many caps for us. He'll be in his first World Cup next season at 34.
I'm not as sure as you that Nani wil go to Russia in the summer. Bernardo Silva, Quaresma, Gelson and Guedes will all go if fit so that doesn't leave much room.
For the calender year of 2010 he was world class - A one man highlight reel and one of the most productive players in Europe. I was sure he was going to go on to be a superstar for us.
Never maintained it - I just don't think he had the personality for it. Strange because guy could do anything with a ball.
Never maintained it - I just don't think he had the personality for it. Strange because guy could do anything with a ball.
I can never get away from the great number of free kicks he took, of which just one went in directly and just one led to a headed goal.
The rest went high and wide. Not on target and saved, but very very high and extremely wide. Never could understand how he was allowed to keep taking them.
The rest went high and wide. Not on target and saved, but very very high and extremely wide. Never could understand how he was allowed to keep taking them.
Definitely below expectations.
Nani will probably go as a false striker I reckon with Andre Silva flopping at Meelan. Will Eder get a sentimental call or has he been successfully retired after his goal?
You surprise me on Quaresma, genuinely thought he was one of those regardless of form who was always in the squad.
He came through at Sporting in 2002 so thought he might've made the world cup squad that year. Must've confused him with Simao.