Luis Nani | 2012/13 Performances

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Gee Male said:
I'm not sure if I'm confusing terms, I think it's more likely that we're seeing the same thing but interpreting it differently.

I'd wager that what you're describing as "odd basic mistakes" I'd call evidence of a lack of a footballing brain. I think his mistakes are more down to poor decision making than just making a mistake. Poor decision making on a continuous basis is, to me, a lack of a footballing brain.

I don't disagree with any of your post, we just interpret things differently.
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But to come to the conclusion that he has a lack of a football brain even though he makes great decisions is silly. You're simply overemphasizing the negative and using selective memory. Those basic mistakes don't happen often but when they do, people act like he makes them all the time.

Again, the poor decision making isn't as often as we think. I have to say is execution at times is woeful and maybe this is what you're speaking to. Compared to all the situations where he's made good decisions, I don't see how you can say he has the lack of a footballing brain. At the very least, when not performing well, we see the worst of Nani as he simply tries to do too much and it gives the impression he lacks one. I have always thought some people on here just can't come to grips with Nani's unpredictability and erratic confidence. Maybe you're one of them. I see it more of a confidence issue than lacking a football brain.
 
Plato said:
But to come to the conclusion that he has a lack of a football brain even though he makes great decisions is silly. You're simply overemphasizing the negative and using selective memory. Those basic mistakes don't happen often but when they do, people act like he makes them all the time.

Again, the poor decision making isn't as often as we think. I have to say is execution at times is woeful and maybe this is what you're speaking to. Compared to all the situations where he's made good decisions, I don't see how you can say he has the lack of a footballing brain. At the very least, when not performing well, we see the worst of Nani as he simply tries to do too much and it gives the impression he lacks one. I have always thought some people on here just can't come to grips with Nani's unpredictability and erratic confidence. Maybe you're one of them. I see it more of a confidence issue than lacking a football brain.
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Erratic confidence? As excuses for a lack of a footballing brain go, that's a stretch.

With Nani, he's always better when everything is moving fast around him and he plays with his instincts. As soon as he has time to think about it, more often than not he's in trouble as his decision making lets him down. it's not just poor execution, a lot of the time what he's trying to execute is simply the incorrect choice.

Of course, there will always be a lot of instances where things come off perfectly for him, but that's because of his natural ability as a footballer, not because of a good footballing brain.

But then it depends on how you define a good footballing brain really. And therein lies part of the circular reference to the argument on Nani - some will defend him to the death, others will criticise him to the death, the truth lies somewhere in between.
 
The poor decision making is not some mythical beast, some rare occurrence we see a couple of times a season which people latch onto and inflate into something bigger. The criticism about his decision making is based on his everyday game, about when he shoots when someone is in a much better position than he is, about when he chooses to run with the ball when there is a good pass on. It is almost always about preferring to do something himself when some of us wish he would look around him.

Yes you need players who take people on, yes he can unlock defenses when we are struggling to find a way through, yes his risk-taking style will inevitably lead him to lose the ball more than others. I would not want to beat this out of him altogether. But for me he could find a better balance than he does.
 
Gee Male said:
Erratic confidence? As excuses for a lack of a footballing brain go, that's a stretch.

With Nani, he's always better when everything is moving fast around him and he plays with his instincts. As soon as he has time to think about it, more often than not he's in trouble as his decision making lets him down. it's not just poor execution, a lot of the time what he's trying to execute is simply the incorrect choice.

Of course, there will always be a lot of instances where things come off perfectly for him, but that's because of his natural ability as a footballer, not because of a good footballing brain.

But then it depends on how you define a good footballing brain really. And therein lies part of the circular reference to the argument on Nani - some will defend him to the death, others will criticise him to the death, the truth lies somewhere in between.
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Nani is an interesting footballer. I think his confidence plays a major role into his play. It's not an excuse for anything really. Just my observation on how his decision making directly correlates with his confidence and form.

You said it in your last paragraph. I'm not sure what parameters you're using for a good footballing brain especially as we're referring to a player who's a winger. A position not known for its consistency. If decision making is any part of that, you have to take the bad with the good and those good decisions aren't simply down to his ability. If you really think that's the case, then you should look up at his performances at the Euros and how he performed in the first half of last season.
 
Plato said:
But to come to the conclusion that he has a lack of a football brain even though he makes great decisions is silly. You're simply overemphasizing the negative and using selective memory. Those basic mistakes don't happen often but when they do, people act like he makes them all the time.

Again, the poor decision making isn't as often as we think. I have to say is execution at times is woeful and maybe this is what you're speaking to. Compared to all the situations where he's made good decisions, I don't see how you can say he has the lack of a footballing brain. At the very least, when not performing well, we see the worst of Nani as he simply tries to do too much and it gives the impression he lacks one. I have always thought some people on here just can't come to grips with Nani's unpredictability and erratic confidence. Maybe you're one of them. I see it more of a confidence issue than lacking a football brain.
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If you're going to be condescending, probably best to have a stronger argument than that.
 
Adebesi said:
The poor decision making is not some mythical beast, some rare occurrence we see a couple of times a season which people latch onto and inflate into something bigger. The criticism about his decision making is based on his everyday game, about when he shoots when someone is in a much better position than he is, about when he chooses to run with the ball when there is a good pass on. It is almost always about preferring to do something himself when some of us wish he would look around him.

Yes you need players who take people on, yes he can unlock defenses when we are struggling to find a way through, yes his risk-taking style will inevitably lead him to lose the ball more than others. I would not want to beat this out of him altogether. But for me he could find a better balance than he does.
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I feel like you're talking about his recent form because barely anyone mentioned any of this whenever he was performing well.
 
Nani. Valencai. Young - awesome to have 3 wingers of that calibre. There's plenty of game time for all 3. We shouldnt be comparing who's best, we should be made up that we have such variety and quality. Its a long season, and I'd be made up if Nani and Fergie could bury the hatchet (preferably not in Nani's head)
 
mungy said:
What has Ashley Young done wrong? Nothing, I'd say his performances have been better than Nani's and this is backed up by the fact that SAF picks him above Nani on most occasions.
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I was wondering whether SAF is starting Young ahead of Nani because in his mind Nani is gone at the end of the season & so not in his long term plans, so he wants to see if Young can really do Nani's job long term or whether he will need to find a replacement.

Or am I reading too much into it?
 
Plato said:
I feel like you're talking about his recent form because barely anyone mentioned any of this whenever he was performing well.
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Ive said all this before, last time I did though it was such a can of worms I vowed to keep my own counsel about Nani for a bit. I couldnt (cant) be arsed with the ferocity of the debate any negative opinions about him provokes.

Though clearly he is a player who goes through good and bad spells and when he is having a good spell, by definition these problems are less evident. Which is not to say not evident.
 
To anyone saying Nani has a poor footballing brain, does Giggs have a good one? If so, why? I've always found it slightly odd hearing this universal acknowledgement that Giggs is an 'intelligent' player in a footballing sense whilst also seeing him consistently losing possession with aimless passes and mindless flicks. His decision making and selection of passing can be absolutely all over the place - worse than Nani's in that latter respect. That's no disrespect to Giggs who has obviously been a fantastic player, but it is genuinely completely inconsistent to think someone like Giggs has a good footballing brain whilst Nani does not. Nani doesn't have a poor footballing brain so much as an enormous amount of inhibition for someone of his talent in my opinion. When he's on his game, he can look the smartest player on the pitch. When he's not, nerves creep into his decision making, which is a bad thing for someone who has so many attributes and so many different ways to beat a man. This does not make him lacking in 'intelligence' in the way you'd think the term was applied; it just makes him a player constantly stuck in about 7 minds (screamer, don't lose the ball, beat a man then cross, cut through into the middle, beat four players, chip the keeper, etc).

To be fair though, this 'footballing brain' thing is more complex than we give it credit for. We know that there are certainly players with exceptional awareness and knowledge of the game, but I think sometimes a poor level of footballing intelligence is actually a bit difficult to determine aside from things like nervousness, inhibition, a need to express to stake a claim, etc. Players with lots of talent - Nani, for example - can actually look quite stupid at times on a football pitch, whilst clearly being capable of excellence and fantastic awareness also. I think ultimately it needs to be allowed that footballing intelligence is constituted heavily by things like confidence and mentality just as much as it is by some sort of inherent, natural level of intelligence that varies from player to player.
 
KingEric7 said:
To anyone saying Nani has a poor footballing brain, does Giggs have a good one? If so, why? I've always found it slightly odd hearing this universal acknowledgement that Giggs is an 'intelligent' player in a footballing sense whilst also seeing him consistently losing possession with aimless passes and mindless flicks. His decision making and selection of passing can be absolutely all over the place - worse than Nani's in that latter respect. That's no disrespect to Giggs who has obviously been a fantastic player, but it is genuinely completely inconsistent to think someone like Giggs has a good footballing brain whilst Nani does not. Nani doesn't have a poor footballing brain so much as an enormous amount of inhibition for someone of his talent in my opinion. When he's on his game, he can look the smartest player on the pitch. When he's not, nerves creep into his decision making, which is a bad thing for someone who has so many attributes and so many different ways to beat a man. This does not make him lacking in 'intelligence' in the way you'd think the term was applied; it just makes him a player constantly stuck in about 7 minds (screamer, don't lose the ball, beat a man then cross, cut through into the middle, beat four players, chip the keeper, etc).

To be fair though, this 'footballing brain' thing is more complex than we give it credit for. We know that there are certainly players with exceptional awareness and knowledge of the game, but I think sometimes a poor level of footballing intelligence is actually a bit difficult to determine aside from things like nervousness, inhibition, a need to express to stake a claim, etc. Players with lots of talent - Nani, for example - can actually look quite stupid at times on a football pitch, whilst clearly being capable of excellence and fantastic awareness also. I think ultimately it needs to be allowed that footballing intelligence is constituted heavily by things like confidence and mentality just as much as it is by some sort of inherent, natural level of intelligence that varies from player to player.
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Good point.

BUT that's where the money is...that's why somebody like CR7 delivers virtually every week, Rooney is similar cause he still performs week on week. Big players perform.
 
It's no doubt frustrating with Nani. There's one of the very, very best players on the planet in there somewhere, but it just hasn't quite happened yet. He was getting there during 2010 and the first couple of months of the next year which is what makes it so annoying. A lot of people on here thought that was something of a Ronaldo 06/07 catalyst type season and I thought the same.
 
I think Giggs has a terrific football brain. His execution isn't always right, and sometimes he goes for stuff when it would be better not to. But the ideas are usually surprising and clever. I've said this before, but often when his flicks and stuff don't come off it's because his teammates aren't on his wavelength.

With Nani, all too often what he chooses to do seems... I don't know the word for it... kind of stupid, in a footballing sense.
 
I dont know Plech. What you're saying there just comes across as being perceived from some type of preconceived notion. Sometimes Giggsy's flicks are just ill-timed and unnecessary. The same thing when he attempts passes to no one in particular and then either points at the space or at the player who didn't do what he wanted despite nothing being on in the first place. He does come up with some clever passes, mind. I think most are more predisposed to criticizing Nani as they have less affinity for him compared to Giggs.
 
Plechazunga said:
I think Giggs has a terrific football brain. His execution isn't always right, and sometimes he goes for stuff when it would be better not to. But the ideas are usually surprising and clever. I've said this before, but often when his flicks and stuff don't come off it's because his teammates aren't on his wavelength.

With Nani, all too often what he chooses to do seems... I don't know the word for it... kind of stupid, in a footballing sense.
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I think Giggs has a fantastic Football brain but when things don't come off it's not a wavelength thing but more of Giggs' imagination getting the better of him. Nani can tend to over think things, he plays at his best when he plays on instinct.
 
Plato said:
I dont know Plech. What you're saying there just comes across as being perceived from some type of preconceived notion. Sometimes Giggsy's flicks are just ill-timed and unnecessary. The same thing when he attempts passes to no one in particular and then either points at the space or at the player who didn't do what he wanted despite nothing being on in the first place. He does come up with some clever passes, mind. I think most are more predisposed to criticizing Nani as they have less affinity for him compared to Giggs.
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Yes, if I was prone to self-criticism, I'd say it's because Giggsy is a total legend who's been winning shit for United since I was fourteen years old... four fecking teen!... while Nani has an evil-looking head and does backflips.

But I'm not prone to self-criticism, so that can't be it.

Both are unquestionably creative and technically phenomenal, and unquestionably erratic and frustrating at times. Like Armchair Critic, I think Nani's at his best when he has no time to think, so maybe 'no football brain' is wrong, it's more like 'no football higher brain'.
 
Dawdling on the ball doesn't equal thinking imo. Basically, I still think he's thinking when he's playing quickly. If anything, he has a very quick football brain, great awareness, and a good eye for a pass.

Nani's like the Joker in Nolan's films. He needs things happening around him and feeds off the fact he can just "do things". When everything slows down or just becomes far too predictable, he simply doesn't know what to do and turns into a right spastic. To me, this sums up how he plays when he's not on form. When he is, he just does whatever he wants and it all seems to work out.

The fact I'm using such a poor analogy probably means I should head to bed now.
 
Plato said:
Dawdling on the ball doesn't equal thinking imo. Basically, I still think he's thinking when he's playing quickly. If anything, he has a very quick football brain, great awareness, and a good eye for a pass.

Nani's like the Joker in Nolan's films. He needs things happening around him and feeds off the fact he can just "do things". When everything slows down or just becomes far too predictable, he simply doesn't know what to do and turns into a right spastic. To me, this sums up how he plays when he's not on form. When he is, he just does whatever he wants and it all seems to work out.
The fact I'm using such a poor analogy probably means I should head to bed now.
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With Rooney and RVP in the side, there is plenty of playmaking, control and creativity up front. Let them orchestrate the play and Nani can play the supporting role as the 3rd man upfront. He doesn't need to be a playmaker, or 'think' but rather play based on instinct and the passes that Rooney/RVP provides him with.
 
wonnie said:
With Rooney and RVP in the side, there is plenty of playmaking, control and creativity up front. Let them orchestrate the play and Nani can play the supporting role as the 3rd man upfront. He doesn't need to be a playmaker, or 'think' but rather play based on instinct and the passes that Rooney/RVP provides him with.
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Nani has always been a provider and mild goalscorer for us so I'm not sure where you're drawing playmaker from.

What do you mean when you say instinct? It's a serious question. If it's under the basis of playing quick football then I wonder how you lot view the other players capable of playing the ball quickly. By this logic, players like RVP, Rooney, Cleverley, Kagawa and Welbeck simply use their instinct as well when it comes to this slick passing football we've shown on occasion. It's known the aforementioned players tend to make better decisions with the ball when they have more time on it versus Nani. However, I doubt this is the point so many who have this view actually believe. The point that the players I mentioned above who can play quick passes, are using their instinct in such situations when most posters I think would say they are displaying their footballing intelligence.
 
I think there is a big difference in Nani's "intelligence" depending on if he is getting played on a regular basis. You watch him when he comes on as a sub or when he hasn't been playing for weeks and it's so obvious he wants to do something spectacular, as if he has a massive point to prove... As we saw against Chelsea he is capable of this, but for every spectacular moment there will be 9-10 "stupid" ones. When he is playing regularly he is actually a very intelligent player, who isn't actually that greedy. A far cry from watching him at the moment.

You can compare Nani's intelligence to Rafael's positional discipline - when they are in and out of the team through form/injuries/Fergie being Fergie they seem very poor. After a run of games (bar the odd instance) they become very good.
 
Plato said:
Nani has always been a provider and mild goalscorer for us so I'm not sure where you're drawing playmaker from.

What do you mean when you say instinct? It's a serious question. If it's under the basis of playing quick football then I wonder how you lot view the other players capable of playing the ball quickly. By this logic, players like RVP, Rooney, Cleverley, Kagawa and Welbeck simply use their instinct as well when it comes to this slick passing football we've shown on occasion. It's known the aforementioned players tend to make better decisions with the ball when they have more time on it versus Nani. However, I doubt this is the point so many who have this view actually believe. The point that the players I mentioned above who can play quick passes, are using their instinct in such situations when most posters I think would say they are displaying their footballing intelligence.
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I mean, even though Nani is a creative player with an abundance of technique I don't think he particularly thrives if he is given such an enormous creative responsibility. For example, if he was playing in a 4-4-2 with deep/less attack-minded CMs and strikers who were poachers or predominantly limited than there would be a lot of creative burden on him.

Instead of say Hernandez or Welbeck (whose link-up play is quite excellent actually) RvP is an another level and is capable of directing/co-ordinating the attacks with Rooney. The whole 9 and a half position then he was talking about in the interview today. It's a bit like telling Nani 'you don't have to do try and force the issue and do it all on your own, you've got teammates who can help you'.

Give him less 'responsibility' if that is the right word, and let him play himself into form, and then we can see the Nani of 09/10, 10/11 again.
 
Many won't agree, but as i have said previously, i believe Nani is an inside forward, more than a winger. He has great quality, which is without question really, so for me his inconsistency can be attributed to indecision.

If we see him in and around the edge of the box, rather than on the touchline, his indecision seems to disappear. He knows exactly what he wants to do in those areas, which is find a yard of space to get a shot off from either foot, or look for quick one two's to get in behind.

Closer to the touchline, he often seems torn between going down the line and cutting inside to get a shot off. In his poorer games he ends up making the wrong decision too often, rather than lacking any quality. He tries to beat his man too many times while he makes his mind up, and such indecision usually means poor end result.

I think we would see a completely different player if he were given a run as a wide forward in a front 3. If we think back to the start of last season, when TC and Ando were in midfield. During that spell because those 2 were generally carrying the ball much higher up the pitch it allowed Nani and Young to receive the ball much closer to the box than the touchline. The result was 5 or 6 goals and as many assists for Nani in that spell, and some of his best ever form imo.
 
apotheosis said:
Many won't agree, but as i have said previously, i believe Nani is an inside forward, more than a winger. He has great quality, which is without question really, so for me his inconsistency can be attributed to indecision.

If we see him in and around the edge of the box, rather than on the touchline, his indecision seems to disappear. He knows exactly what he wants to do in those areas, which is find a yard of space to get a shot off from either foot, or look for quick one two's to get in behind.

Closer to the touchline, he often seems torn between going down the line and cutting inside to get a shot off. In his poorer games he ends up making the wrong decision too often, rather than lacking any quality. He tries to beat his man too many times while he makes his mind up, and such indecision usually means poor end result.

I think we would see a completely different player if he were given a run as a wide forward in a front 3. If we think back to the start of last season, when TC and Ando were in midfield. During that spell because those 2 were generally carrying the ball much higher up the pitch it allowed Nani and Young to receive the ball much closer to the box than the touchline. The result was 5 or 6 goals and as many assists for Nani in that spell, and some of his best ever form imo.
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I agree with the first three paragraphs - he needs to play closer to goal. His crossing, when he gets it right, it excellent. But at the same time there is a lot of indecisviness and stop start play when he plays on the wing. As you said, he really comes alive with his shots off either foot and one twos closer to goal.

Not sure about the beginning of last season bit - I mean he was playing brilliant through 09/10 and 10/11. I don't think he was even the standout player during that brilliant run of performances we had. It was probably Young who made the bigger impact during that time, and Rooney with his goals.
 
KingEric7 said:
To anyone saying Nani has a poor footballing brain, does Giggs have a good one? If so, why? I've always found it slightly odd hearing this universal acknowledgement that Giggs is an 'intelligent' player in a footballing sense whilst also seeing him consistently losing possession with aimless passes and mindless flicks. His decision making and selection of passing can be absolutely all over the place - worse than Nani's in that latter respect. That's no disrespect to Giggs who has obviously been a fantastic player, but it is genuinely completely inconsistent to think someone like Giggs has a good footballing brain whilst Nani does not. Nani doesn't have a poor footballing brain so much as an enormous amount of inhibition for someone of his talent in my opinion. When he's on his game, he can look the smartest player on the pitch. When he's not, nerves creep into his decision making, which is a bad thing for someone who has so many attributes and so many different ways to beat a man. This does not make him lacking in 'intelligence' in the way you'd think the term was applied; it just makes him a player constantly stuck in about 7 minds (screamer, don't lose the ball, beat a man then cross, cut through into the middle, beat four players, chip the keeper, etc).

To be fair though, this 'footballing brain' thing is more complex than we give it credit for. We know that there are certainly players with exceptional awareness and knowledge of the game, but I think sometimes a poor level of footballing intelligence is actually a bit difficult to determine aside from things like nervousness, inhibition, a need to express to stake a claim, etc. Players with lots of talent - Nani, for example - can actually look quite stupid at times on a football pitch, whilst clearly being capable of excellence and fantastic awareness also. I think ultimately it needs to be allowed that footballing intelligence is constituted heavily by things like confidence and mentality just as much as it is by some sort of inherent, natural level of intelligence that varies from player to player.
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Great post!

First I thought "what the hell is he on about," but then you explained that very well too.

Obviously Nani cannot have a retarded football intelligence - he would never have come this far with that. However, his decision to start dribbling in the 93rd minute is a bit retarded. Usually, he makes the right decisions, but as you say, because he tries the difficult approach many times he looks more stupid than other players who miscalculate an easy pass.
 
wonnie said:
I agree with the first three paragraphs - he needs to play closer to goal. His crossing, when he gets it right, it excellent. But at the same time there is a lot of indecisviness and stop start play when he plays on the wing. As you said, he really comes alive with his shots off either foot and one twos closer to goal.

Not sure about the beginning of last season bit - I mean he was playing brilliant through 09/10 and 10/11. I don't think he was even the standout player during that brilliant run of performances we had. It was probably Young who made the bigger impact during that time, and Rooney with his goals.
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Nah. Young's impact was very short lived at the beginning of last season. Nani was certainly in the whereabouts as he was in good form up til he himself got injured.
 
It reminds me of all the people who said Rafael had no footballing brain, whatever the feck that means.
 
wonnie said:
I agree with the first three paragraphs - he needs to play closer to goal. His crossing, when he gets it right, it excellent. But at the same time there is a lot of indecisviness and stop start play when he plays on the wing. As you said, he really comes alive with his shots off either foot and one twos closer to goal.

Not sure about the beginning of last season bit - I mean he was playing brilliant through 09/10 and 10/11. I don't think he was even the standout player during that brilliant run of performances we had. It was probably Young who made the bigger impact during that time, and Rooney with his goals.
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You could say the same for Young as i did for Nani during the same period, he has never had a better run of form for us than he did in that first few games.

My point is Nani is better further infield than out on the touchline. He looks far more dangerous and comfortable in my view in and around the edge of the box.
 
wonnie said:
I mean, even though Nani is a creative player with an abundance of technique I don't think he particularly thrives if he is given such an enormous creative responsibility. For example, if he was playing in a 4-4-2 with deep/less attack-minded CMs and strikers who were poachers or predominantly limited than there would be a lot of creative burden on him.

Instead of say Hernandez or Welbeck (whose link-up play is quite excellent actually) RvP is an another level and is capable of directing/co-ordinating the attacks with Rooney. The whole 9 and a half position then he was talking about in the interview today. It's a bit like telling Nani 'you don't have to do try and force the issue and do it all on your own, you've got teammates who can help you'.

Give him less 'responsibility' if that is the right word, and let him play himself into form, and then we can see the Nani of 09/10, 10/11 again.
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I know what you mean but as of right now, our wingers just simply aren't playing well. I dont think it has much to do with creative burden as much it does just poor execution. The way we're playing right now, we still focus on the wings but they're not our source of creativity. They're simply tasked with providing good end product which hasn't happened consistently enough from any of our wingers. The last time Nani had meaningful contributions in a game was against that Turkish side (drawing a blank) we played where he could have had 4-5 assists. The creative burden wasn't necessarily on him either but he acted more as an inside forward and was a genuine threat most of the time he got the ball.

Nani simply needs a run of games which I'm unsure he will get as I am one of those who thinks contract issues are holding back his playing time. This is why I think he'll struggle to return to his usual form. Hopefully, circumstances change.
 
Hectic said:
It reminds me of all the people who said Rafael had no footballing brain, whatever the feck that means.
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I agree it's a bollocks term used only when no better explanation can be offered for regular inconsistency. Play players where they are most comforatble and you will see the best of them in my view.

Look at Henry, played as a winger, albeit a highly rated one his form was patchy and he struggled to make an impact at Juve or initially at Arsenal.

Once he was moved into an inside or wide forward role, look at the marked difference in both performance levels and consistency. I think a similar case can be made for Nani to be played as an inside forward. It may make a difference, it may not, but there are always reasons for inconsistency in my view, and i have never thought Nani looked as comfortable or decisive playing on the wing, as he does in and around the box.
 
Nani's days at Manchester United appear to be numbered as the winger's relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson has reached breaking point.

ESPN understands that assistant manager Mike Phelan had to mediate and calm the Portuguese following last Wednesday's 5-4 Capital One Cup defeat to Chelsea, after Ferguson had criticised Nani for his wasteful use of the ball that led to Eden Hazard's late penalty in 90 minutes.

For his part, sources close to Nani say that he is feeling "victimised" and blamed for any bad result, but has become increasingly vocal about that in the dressing room. He has also had angry words with United coach Rene Meulensteen.

Ferguson's frustration with the winger's performances grew towards the end of last season, and it is understood he would have sold the Portuguese in the summer, with Lucas Moura intended to serve as a direct squad replacement. United ended up being gazumped by Paris Saint-Germain for the Brazilian.

While Nani's natural talent is hugely respected at Old Trafford, many of the coaching staff are believed to question his focus.

As it is, United will attempt to find a buyer in January, with Ferguson also prepared to spend to fill the place he hopes will be vacated.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/s...lls-end-for-nani-at-manchester-united?cc=5739
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Wonder if there's any truth in that. If there is, it's not looking good for Nani.
 
I bet Party Boy Phelan was dancing up on him in his hotpants and Nani got weirded out.
 
Hectic said:
It reminds me of all the people who said Rafael had no footballing brain, whatever the feck that means.
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It probably means that you head the ball, and somehow all your brain cells evaporate from your head like that. It's a very common belief in some sub-cultures, I believe....
 
Plechazunga said:
Yes, if I was prone to self-criticism, I'd say it's because Giggsy is a total legend who's been winning shit for United since I was fourteen years old... four fecking teen!... while Nani has an evil-looking head and does backflips.

But I'm not prone to self-criticism, so that can't be it.

Both are unquestionably creative and technically phenomenal, and unquestionably erratic and frustrating at times. Like Armchair Critic, I think Nani's at his best when he has no time to think, so maybe 'no football brain' is wrong, it's more like 'no football higher brain'.
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Here you may be onto something, but that leads me to belive he's perhaps low on confidence when it comes to decision making. I call this Jeopardy Syndrome; speaking personally if I'm watching Jeopardy my first instinct is usually correct but if I overthink it I tend to be wrong.
 
KingEric7 said:
To anyone saying Nani has a poor footballing brain, does Giggs have a good one? If so, why? I've always found it slightly odd hearing this universal acknowledgement that Giggs is an 'intelligent' player in a footballing sense whilst also seeing him consistently losing possession with aimless passes and mindless flicks. His decision making and selection of passing can be absolutely all over the place - worse than Nani's in that latter respect. That's no disrespect to Giggs who has obviously been a fantastic player, but it is genuinely completely inconsistent to think someone like Giggs has a good footballing brain whilst Nani does not. Nani doesn't have a poor footballing brain so much as an enormous amount of inhibition for someone of his talent in my opinion. When he's on his game, he can look the smartest player on the pitch. When he's not, nerves creep into his decision making, which is a bad thing for someone who has so many attributes and so many different ways to beat a man. This does not make him lacking in 'intelligence' in the way you'd think the term was applied; it just makes him a player constantly stuck in about 7 minds (screamer, don't lose the ball, beat a man then cross, cut through into the middle, beat four players, chip the keeper, etc).

To be fair though, this 'footballing brain' thing is more complex than we give it credit for. We know that there are certainly players with exceptional awareness and knowledge of the game, but I think sometimes a poor level of footballing intelligence is actually a bit difficult to determine aside from things like nervousness, inhibition, a need to express to stake a claim, etc. Players with lots of talent - Nani, for example - can actually look quite stupid at times on a football pitch, whilst clearly being capable of excellence and fantastic awareness also. I think ultimately it needs to be allowed that footballing intelligence is constituted heavily by things like confidence and mentality just as much as it is by some sort of inherent, natural level of intelligence that varies from player to player.
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This is an excellent post.
 
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