Luis Nani | 2013/14 Performances

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akash02 said:
You could make the same statement for Valencia as well or Kagawa.
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The difference is, particularly with Valencia, people don't justify his place in the team because "X is more shit", but that seems constantly the only reason ever given for Nani's inclusion. No player I'm aware of is ever excuses his faults so consistently by pointing out that someone else is a bit shitter, than Nani is. No one. Nobody defends Rooney by saying "but hernandez is more shit". if Evra has a poor game it isn't "but Buttner is rubbish". Yet with Nani whenever any criticism is levelled at him someone will inevitably point to someone equally or more crap (usually Young or Valencia) and somehow thinks that justifies his place in any hypothetical team of the future.

It all seems at odds with this player who is apparently on his day a top class winger when the only reason given to play him seems to be some people think he's slightly less bollocks than someone else and as if that by itself means he'll be "brilliant next year"
 
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Plugsy said:
The difference is, particularly with Valencia, people don't justify his place in the team because "X is more shit", but that seems constantly the only reason ever given for Nani's inclusion. No player I'm aware of is ever excuses his faults so consistently by pointing out that someone else is a bit shitter, than Nani is. No one. Nobody defends Rooney by saying "but hernandez is more shit". if Evra has a poor game it isn't "but Buttner is rubbish". Yet with Nani whenever any criticism is levelled at him someone will inevitably point to someone equally or more crap (usually Young or Valencia) and somehow thinks that justifies his place in any hypothetical team of the future.

It all seems at odds with this player who is apparently on his day a top class winger when the only reason given to play him seems to be some people think he's slightly less bollocks than someone else and as if that by itself means he'll be "brilliant next year"
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Our wingers are all shit, so whoever you pick it will be the least shit one rather than the one who is completely perfect. Usually the Valencia/Young lovers says one of those two should play because Nani is bad at X, Y and Z - in which case the obvious reply is "Yes he is bad at those things, but Valencia and Young are by far even more shit".
 
Annahnomoss said:
Our wingers are all shit, so whoever you pick it will be the least shit one rather than the one who is completely perfect. Usually the Valencia/Young lovers says one of those two should play because Nani is bad at X, Y and Z - in which case the obvious reply is "Yes he is bad at those things, but Valencia and Young are by far even more shit".
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Of course our wide options are all quite poor but I don't see how we get from that to "it'll be his (Nani's) year next year." I also don't understand why he's the only player you cannot criticise in isolation. 120 pages where if you scroll back much criticism of Nani has been dismissed by the argument of "X is more bollocks". It doesn't seem to happen, at least on the same scale, with any other player I can think of.
 
Plugsy said:
Of course our wide options are all quite poor but I don't see how we get from that to "it'll be his (Nani's) year next year." I also don't understand why he's the only player you cannot criticise in isolation. 120 pages where if you scroll back much criticism of Nani has been dismissed by the argument of "X is more bollocks"
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Because Nani is the type of winger LVG loves having in his teams, with Moyes and SAF here it was the opposite "Valencia/Young's years" as they suited that tactic much more than Nani. So this year is Nani's to prove himself, in a way it hasn't been "his" year in the past as Valencia and Young has been the clear preference.

Nani is by far the most heavily criticized player in the United squad and even if he plays good he is hated on by a large amount of fans. Check the Valencia thread when he did his defensive job very good this year, all the Valencia lovers kept praising him for an outstanding and world-class display even if he created absolutely nothing offensively.

Kagawa is in the same position, him running most in the entire team and having a defensively great display earns him complaints of how bad he is unless he dominates the offense as well. Every player has to perform to a different standard, Welbeck just has to be good defensively when he plays as a winger and he's supposedly world-class.
 
Annahnomoss said:
Nani is by far the most heavily criticized player in the United squad and even if he plays good he is hated on by a large amount of fans. Check the Valencia thread when he did his defensive job very good this year, all the Valencia lovers kept praising him for an outstanding and world-class display even if he created absolutely nothing offensively.
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You'd have to be quite the moron to criticise someone doing a defensive job for not creating anything offensively, wouldn't you?
 
Plugsy said:
You'd have to be quite the moron to criticise someone doing a defensive job for not creating anything offensively, wouldn't you?
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A winger job is primarily offensive and secondarily defensive, so if you are a winger who don't create offensively you are always shit no matter how good your defense was. Which is why Valencia is better as a full-back as he does nothing offensively.

The same people who parade the streets when Valencia did his defensive job good criticizes Kagawa/Nani if all they do is do their job defensively. Welbeck has the same thing going for him, all he needs to do is do his defensive job well and is usually considered to have a great game.

Different standards completely. If Nani/Kagawa/Rooney has 4 mistakes in the offense in a game they are absolutely slated, which is the average Valencia has after 4 touches of not challenging his full-back in a 1 vs 1 and instead turning back and ruining a great chance due to his lacking confidence. This is a huge mistake, but nobody cares about it as long as he doesn't pass the opponent the ball he is considered to have had a great game.
 
Nani's problem is that even when he 'plays well' often 'playing well' means a decent cross or an incisive pass but is often accompanied by large periods of utter dross in the very same game.. Even when he got those much lauded assists way back when, it you see the game he was more often than not also the most wasteful person on the pitch. You can't tell one minute to the next if you're getting a 9/10 or a 3/10 performance. One incisive, brilliant cross followed by 30 minutes of it looking as if nobody explained to him which side he was on. Aside from those who constantly use the 'But X is more shit.." line, i.e those who got to lengths to make excuses for him, he has the label of being inconsistent not because fans don't like the cut of his jib or hair, but because that's what people see and have over the years.

If that wasn't true then why have consecutive managers not been convinced by him? Why haven't Europe been knocking the door down to secure his services?

The cold-hard truth, as I see it, is that people just don't want to face the reality of Nani and want to hang on to this bygone hope of a young, slight, wiry legged teenager who'll one day "come good". The language people use (e.g referring to his 'potential') to me show that this is how people still view him
 
Plugsy said:
Nani's problem is that even when he 'plays well' often 'playing well' means a decent cross or an incisive pass but is often accompanied by large periods of utter dross in the very same game.. Even when he got those much lauded assists way back when, it you see the game he was more often than not also the most wasteful person on the pitch. You can't tell one minute to the next if you're getting a 9/10 or a 3/10 performance. One incisive, brilliant cross followed by 30 minutes of it looking as if nobody explained to him which side he was on. Aside from those who constantly use the 'But X is more shit.." line, i.e those who got to lengths to make excuses for him, he has the label of being inconsistent not because fans don't like the cut of his jib or hair, but because that's what people see and have over the years.

If that wasn't true then why have consecutive managers not been convinced by him? Why haven't Europe been knocking the door down to secure his services?

The cold-hard truth, as I see it, is that people just don't want to face the reality of Nani and want to hang on to this bygone hope of a young, slight, wiry legged teenager who'll one day "come good". The language people use (e.g referring to his 'potential') to me show that this is how people still view him
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Any dribbling winger will always have a big rate of losing possession after all they have to dribble past a player, then put in a cross or pass. You know Ronaldo/Robben/Hazard/Ribery loses the ball an awful lot? It is the style of that sort of player, either you want to have that type of player who can win you a game in a second by pure individual brilliance or you don't. Ribery has similar stats to Nani in terms of how much he loses the ball per game. Ribery is considered maybe the most solid winger in the world in terms of this, so it is a bit exaggerated that Nani loses it nonstop and gives it away.

The thing with Nani is that when he does give it away it is always the most ridiculous looking decision ever, which annoys people and makes them hate him and any minor mistake will be highlighted from that point on. Kagawa has a similar ability to pass the opponent and look completely relaxed at all times, which makes people think he doesn't care even when he just passed the ball to the opponent. Valencia is liked for the opposite reason, he always looks like he tries incredibly hard which people love and the same goes for Welbeck.

It isn't right to blame Nani for which type of player he is, one tactic suits it and another doesn't. All top teams have these players except us though, we have 0 players with this ability in our team to win the game on their own with a dribbling genius or challenge the defense constantly with 1 vs 1's.

If I was choosing wingers for a defensive and flat 4-4-2 I would be benching Nani as well, which is why he was benched under SAF and Moyes more often than not. In a 4-3-3 I would have Valencia among the last options in the entire team out wide, because he does nothing offensively except receive it - see a full-back and get scared - stand still and pass backwards.
 
I think if he is to be given a start for Portugal against USA, that's like one of the last major chances to somehow reanimate his career. If he'll play like he had against Germany, being so wasteful, i expect Bento will bench him against Ghana.
 
Annahnomoss said:
Any dribbling winger will always have a big rate of losing possession after all they have to dribble past a player, then put in a cross or pass. You know Ronaldo/Robben/Hazard/Ribery loses the ball an awful lot? It is the style of that sort of player, either you want to have that type of player who can win you a game in a second by pure individual brilliance or you don't. Ribery has similar stats to Nani in terms of how much he loses the ball per game. Ribery is considered maybe the most solid winger in the world in terms of this, so it is a bit exaggerated that Nani loses it nonstop and gives it away.
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I remember when Robben was heavily criticised for the past 2-3 years for being too "selfish" and trying to go for goal too frequently. Nowadays, he's praised for just about everything he does. Similar sorts of arguments were also pointed out against Nasri and Hazard. This is the style of players they are, and they won't work well in a more restricted role in a defensive system.
 
Lane said:
I think if he is to be given a start for Portugal against USA, that's like one of the last major chances to somehow reanimate his career. If he'll play like he had against Germany, being so wasteful, i expect Bento will bench him against Ghana.
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I wouldn't consider his performance against Germany wasteful, especially considering the performance of most of his team mates. Trying to make the best out of a bad situation, where your team mates aren't making any decent runs and not offering themselves to receive a pass, even Ronaldo's movement was pretty awful. Nani didn't have a good performance against Germany, but he was the best of a bad bunch in my opinion and he was always there to receive the ball and try create something.
 
Fortunate to be in the right place, but dispatched it well. Shocking defending though and anyone should be expected to score in that scenario.
 
Stuck it well. Poor defending though and Howard committed far too early. One or two Nani-esque touches though too so far
 
Did Howard slip for the goal?

I thought Nani had dummied him on first watch but looking at that clip above seems like Nani does not do anything before Howard goes to ground.

It's an unstoppable finish either way.
 
Ole'sbodyguard said:
Did Howard slip for the goal?

I thought Nani had dummied him on first watch but looking at that clip above seems like Nani does not do anything before Howard goes to ground.
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He just anticipated Nani shooting straight away and went to ground far too soon.
 
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He's been pretty cack since scoring. Similar Nani to what we've seen the past few years - does something decent but then the end product is 10 times worse. Good finish though.
 
Glanville95 said:
I think

He just anticipated Nani shooting straight away and went to ground far too soon.
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I was thinking that(hence thinking he had been dummied) at first but he does not spread himself and just seems to fall down so I was wondering if he slipped.

Either way, he's not saving that shot at that range.

Edit: Just rewatched on BBC. Howard just goes down to early.
 
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Manucho the boss said:
He's a grown man, nearly 28. Why does he have a star shaved into his hair? The guy is a clown.
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Ronaldo.jpg
 
That was a lucky chance, but Nani took it really well and confidently.
 
Ole'sbodyguard said:
Did Howard slip for the goal?

I thought Nani had dummied him on first watch but looking at that clip above seems like Nani does not do anything before Howard goes to ground.

It's an unstoppable finish either way.
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nice little dummy. hopefully we will sell him for some penny.. I think we could be happy with 10mil.. the salaries are as important..
 
Took his goal well, then followed it up with some awful touches. Typical Nani really.

Don't know why he gets branded as inconsistent, he's always like this.
 
I never understand about him. He can score that great goal. But he can't do basic football staff. Can't make a simple pass and even can't receive an easy pass from his team mate, correct me if I'm wrong but I think he nutmeg himself when trying to receive that ball in about 20th mins. He's giving the ball away too easy.
 
At least Nani is really improving his shot compare to last season.
 
Nani in splits opinion shocker.

Been decent. As good as any Portugal attacker has been in the first half. Some loose passes, some moments of quality.
 
A goal > constantly dispossessed and squandering possession > flurry of testing shots.

Christ, his performance has fluctuated the first half.
 
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